Here's the revised, hopefully final draft of chapter 3. I realize
there was a lot to be desired in the previous draft, because I passed
over the ironic setting for the first battle as if it were a mere
backdrop. I've corrected that grievous oversight now; the
significance of the battleground is far more clearly noted in the
dialogue. Have a ball flaming me.

	CHAPTER THREE

	"Tell me...what is your primary mission?"
	"Take control of Japan," six voices answered, with a fair amount of
soft murmuring. 
	"And your secondary objective?" 
	"Attempt contact with the alien aircraft," two of the voices said.
One of them said something vaguely resembling "kill." 
	"And what do you do if you encounter resistance from units 000, 001,
or 002?" 
	"Destroy!" There were chuckles, along with one high-pitched giggle. 
	"Perfect," Wily chuckled evilly. 

	*****

	"Eight...nine...ten...okay, that's enough," Light said, writing on a
clipboard. "90 percent accuracy rate, Ranma," he said.
	On the other side of a plexiglass partition, Ranma relaxed. His
right arm now sported an energy cannon of some sort. "Not bad for the
first time, right?" he asked.
	Light nodded. "Not bad at all. Disarm, please." Ranma's arm cannon
blurred and shifted. Within a few seconds, it had vanished, replaced
by Ranma's metallic fist. "Now, your turn Ryouga," Light said.
	Ryouga frowned. "Why does he get a gun?" 
	Light smiled apologetically. "Sorry, lad, I had to go with a
different armament type for you," he explained. "I had to create your
equipment from scratch, from a prototype schematic. If I'd had the
time, I'd have built another plasma cannon." 
	Ryouga shrugged. "Whatever. Neither of us really needs weapons
anyway, right?" 
	Ranma entered the control booth with Dr. Light, while Ryouga stepped
out into the practice area. The fiberglass target Ranma had been
firing at, marked with scorched holes, dropped into a slot in the
floor, and was replaced by a fiberglass mock-up of Burn Scorpus.
"Ready?" Light asked.
	"Ready," Ryouga nodded, drawing a roughly flashlight-shaped object
from a slot on his back. 
	"Go!" Light commanded. 
	Scowling, Ryouga switched on his weapon and charged. The device in
his hand hummed, emitting a glowing blade. Dashing forward quickly,
Ryouga slashed through the dummy, quickly reducing it to a pile of
junk in seconds. 
	"Not bad, pig," Ranma commented from the control booth, as Light
made marks on his clipboard. 
	"Who're you callin' a pig, Ranma?" Ryouga growled. 
	"Well gee Ryouga, if the snout fits," the pigtailed cyborg taunted. 
	"You're dead, Ranma!" Ryouga said, igniting his sword. Ranma took a
stance, inviting the red-armored martial artist to attack.
	Light looked up in alarm. "Boys, boys! Stop this at once!" 
	Neither of them were listening. Ryouga charged, while Ranma leapt
into the air, preparing to drive his armored boot into Ryouga's face.

	Suddenly, both of them dropped to the floor, groaning.
	Light removed his finger from a button on the console. "I'm sorry,
lads," he said. "I can't let you two start ripping each other apart."

	"Wh--what the?" Ranma asked. "I can't move..."
	"Me...either," Ryouga said. His sword lay a half meter away, blade
extinguished. 
	Light pressed another button, and the two cyborgs slowly got to
their feet. "What happened, Doc?" Ranma asked.
	Light frowned. "You two must control yourselves," he admonished.
"There shall be no fighting between you, aside from weaponless
sparring."
	"Okay, sensei," Ryouga said, retrieving his sword. He glared
momentarily at Ranma, before exiting the training room. 
	Light sighed. "I want to show you something," he said, motioning to
one of the library computer terminals in the lab. The cyborgs
followed him across the room as he switched on the terminal. The
display revealed a vaguely cube-shaped node of circuitry, with a tab
extending from the side. 
	"What's that?" Ranma asked.
	"This is a weapons adaptor module," Light explained. "If you
encounter one of these, you should insert it into your weapons system
upgrade slots immediately."
	"What slots?" Ryouga asked.
	Light tapped a few keys on the terminal, and the image on the screen
shifted. The tab on the side of the nodule detached, revealing a
roughly pentagon-shaped chip assembly. "Ranma," he began, "Your right
arm has an access panel with eight square-shaped slots. Yours," he
addressed Ryouga, "has eight slots for these chips." 
	The boys examined their arms, attempting to find the panels Light
was talking about. 
	"These upgrade modules," Light continued, "allow you to add new
abilities to your arsenal. If you should defeat an enemy and find
these modules among the remains, add them into your weapon systems
immediately."
	"If you say so," Ranma shrugged. "So, now wh--"
	Alarm klaxons began blaring, and the lighting in the lab flashed.
	"Not again," Light grimaced. "What is it this time?" He began typing
furiously at the security console situated next to the library
terminal. The screen showed static for a moment, then resolved into a
six-way split. Each section of the screen had a flashing number in
one corner, and showed a scene of utter chaos. 
	Light went pale. "Dear God," he breathed. 
	"What's wrong?" Ranma asked, looking up at the screen, reading the
captions: "003-Minato, 004-Hokkaido, 005-Nagano, 006-Hiroshima,
007-Mihara, 008-Tokyo Tower...what the heck is this?" 
	"Trouble," Light said. "Those numbers...they represent a series of
industrial robots we created to handle tasks that are dangerous for
humans." He stared at the screen at length. "There's something
strange going on...we haven't completed construction on those
robots..."
	Ranma and Ryouga joined the cyberneticist in observing the screen.
In the first area, people were running and screaming as large,
crescent-shaped blades flew through the air, cutting through
everything in their path. The second view showed enormous chunks of
rock being tossed about, demolishing everything in their path. In the
third view, a deep blanket of ice crept over the surface of a large
temple. The next view was a scene of horror, as blast craters pocked
a city's business district. The fifth view showed plumes of smoke
rising from an active volcano, into which conduits had been embedded.
Lava flowed through the conduits freely. In the final view stood
Tokyo Tower...only it was crackling with electricity, arcs of static
coursing across its surface. An occasional bolt of lightning would
erupt from the tower, striking buildings, cars, and the odd passerby.

	"What the hell is going on?" Ryouga wondered.
	Light frowned. "I...I'm not sure." He continued typing, and a
flashing window popped up in the center of the screen. He stared at
in in shock. "Dear God...Albert, what have you done?" His typing
speed increased furiously. "Wily has reprogrammed the industrial
robots to do this..."
	"Can they be stopped?" Ranma asked.
	"Let me see..." Light said, pounding away on the keyboard. Window
after window of information popped up over the chaotic satellite
views. "Not by any means short of destruction," Light answered
finally, his face ashen. "I've tried everything I can think of...he's
completely locked out all the command codes." 
	Ranma smirked. "We'd better get out there and stop them, then," he
announced. 
	Ryouga nodded. "Right...there's too many lives at stake to let this
continue." 
	Light continued working at the console. The satellite view of the
chaotic sectors switched to static, which was replaced by six robot
mugshots. "I'm afraid you're right, we have no choice but to destroy
them," he said, sighing heavily. "These are your enemies, boys:
Cutman, Gutsman, Iceman, Bombman, Fireman, and Elecman." He pointed
to each robot in turn. "They are extremely powerful, so be careful.
Also, Wily may have set up...surprises for you along the way. There's
no telling what you'll run up against out there, so stay on your
guard at all times." He paused, frowning. "I want you to remember
that your curses are still active." The two cyborgs groaned. Light
shrugged apologetically. "We've discovered that the curse responds to
your body's electromagnetic field...and the bionics have become an
extension of your own bodies, generating the same field." He began
walking across the lab as he continued, "Ranma...your curse won't
affect your abilities. You will, however, become lighter, thus your
jump boosters will be able to propel you higher. Ryouga, on the other
hand," he cautioned, "you may have a little difficulty adjusting to
your...enhanced cursed form." 
	"Whaddya mean 'enhanced'?" Ryouga asked warily.
	Light shook his head. "It's nothing to be alarmed about...your
cursed form proved to be somewhat limited in abilities, so Tofuu and
I devised some additions you may find useful." He smiled. "Far more
than the original version, anyway."
	"If you say so," Ryouga said uncertainly. 
	Light walked back over to them, carrying a helmet under each arm.
"Here, lads," he said, "the finishing touches. Wouldn't want to risk
taking any head damage," he said.
	Ranma took the dark blue helmet he was offered, and placed it on his
head. The 'collar' of his armor whirred, and extended upward to lock
onto the base of the helmet. Ryouga's red and white helmet locked
into place in a similar fashion. 
	"Alright, lads...where do you want to go first?" Light asked,
already manning another device. 
	"We'd better take out that Bombman guy first," Ranma said. "Looks
like he's doin' the most damage." 
	Ryouga scowled. "A guy named Bombman, loose in Hiroshima. How much
more sadistic can you get?" 
	Light nodded. "Good luck, Ranma, Ryouga. Be careful." The scientist
pressed a final button, and the two cyborg martial artists vanished
in twin columns of light.

	*****

	"Look at the chaos, the destruction, the carnage..." said the voice
from the shadowy throne aboard the Irregular airship. "Magnificent."
	"You do not wish to destroy the interlopers? They are, after all,
infesting your territory."
	"It will be a moot point soon, for soon they will be under my
control...as will their creator, Wily. No, we must let history run
its course for now. I will merely observe." 
	A darkness expanded from the throne, filling the central command
chamber of the airship. When the darkness dissipated, the throne
stood empty, the shadows parted. The throne itself was a grand
masterpiece of art and technology, sleek black metal with controls
built into the multicolored decorations. The emblem of their dark
leader was emblazoned upon the high back of the chair. 
	"He frightens me at times," one of the bridge hands commented.
	"He frightens everyone," another replied. "That's why he's our
master." 
	"I thought he was our master because he'd destroy us if we didn't
obey him?"
	"That too." 

	*****

	An apocalyptic scene greeted the two cyborg martial artists as the
teleport beam deposited them. 
	"Holy shit," Ryouga observed. "It looks like a war zone around
here!" 
	Ranma nodded, scowling. "Yeah. That Bomb guy really did a number on
this place."
	An elderly man, dressed in a tattered, charred, and obviously old
Japanese military uniform, ran down the street towards them. "Someone
help!" he screamed. 
	The boys exchanged a glance, and moved to intercept. "Relax, take it
easy," Ryouga said as they reached the man. 
	"Please..." he said, gasping for air, "you've got...to..." The man's
face turned pale as he stared at them.
"You're...you're...AAAAHHHHHH!!" He took off running in the opposite
direction. 
	"Hey, hey wait!" Ranma called after him.
	"Never! I ain't gonna let no robots kill me!" the man yelled over
his shoulder, running a tactical zigzag pattern.
	The cyborgs took off after him. "Calm down! We're here to help!"
Ryouga shouted.
	"Sure, just like your friends helped the rest of the city?" the man
spat. 
	"Will you chill already?" Ranma asked, leaping to land in front of
the fleeing refugee. "Look, we're the good guys. We're here lookin'
for a guy named Bombman. Robot, fat orange head...seen him?"
	"Seen him? He's the one responsible for all this!" the now
calmer-seeming man said. He pointed down the thoroughfare the three
stood upon. "Head that way, and follow the bomb craters. Can't miss
it." With that, he took off the way he was originally headed. 
	"Well, let's get this over with," Ranma said. "Stick close, Ryouga.
Don't want you wanderin' off gettin' lost or nothin'." 
	Ryouga growled low in his throat, but made no comment. 	Just then,
the air was filled with an odd buzzing sound. Ranma's head snapped
up. "What's that?" he asked. 
	Ryouga began looking around as though trying to pinpoint the source
of the noise. His eyes dilated down to pinpoints, and he frowned.
"Some kinda weird helicopters. A lot of 'em, headed this way fast." 
	That was as much warning as Ryouga was able to give before a
dome-shaped robot, suspended in the air by helicopter rotors,
divebombed Ranma. Ranma shouted in surprise and flipped out of the
way just in time to avoid being slammed into by the minichopper.
"Kuso!" he cursed. "What the hell are these things?"
	The two cyborgs were now surrounded by a swarm of no less than a
dozen robot choppers. Beneath the noise of the rotors, the boys could
barely make out a repeated chant of "Bladerbladerblader..." from the
swarm. 
	Ryouga drew his beam saber and powered it on. One of the Bladers
dropped over his head, only to find itself quickly slashed in two. He
dropped into a forward roll, and came up underneath the swarm.
"Ranma! Time to make good use of all that target practice!"
	Ranma nodded, and activated his plasma cannon. Even as the swarm
divided, and six of the Bladers charged towards him, he unleashed a
volley of plasma shots. The helicopters from hell proved to be quite
agile, but one took a hit on the rotor, and dropped to the ground,
exploding on contact.
	"Careful, Ryouga," Ranma warned. "Looks like they blow up if they
take a hard hit."
	Ryouga nodded, but soon found himself distracted as he took a direct
hit from a Blader, which knocked him down. Growling, he ducked two
more attacks and stabbed a finger into the ground. "BAKUSAI
TENKETSU!" 
	The blasted street erupted more violently than the cyborg expected,
knocking him off his feet again. Fortunately, it also surprised the
Bladers, two of which exploded after taking large chunks of asphalt
to the underbelly. Ranma, meanwhile, was skillfully dodging Blader
attacks while blasting away with the plasma cannon. One of the
robochoppers tried to evade, only to end up colliding with another
which was gearing up to attack. Both Bladers dropped hard, and
exploded. 
	Within a few minutes, the two cyborgs managed to destroy the entire
Blader swarm. Ryouga stood, gasping for breath, examining the damage
to his armor. Ranma disarmed his plasma cannon, and frowned at the
damage he'd taken in blocking one of the minicopters with his left
hand. "Dammit," he said, "we gotta be more careful." 
	Amid the wreckage of the Bladers, the two boys noticed a few
gleaming white pods. "What're those?" Ranma wondered.
	"I dunno," Ryouga said. "They fell out of some of those choppers."
He walked over, and picked up one of the larger ones. 
	"Careful..." Ranma cautioned, but he trailed off as the chestplate
of Ryouga's armor popped open, and a small round tube telescoped out
of the secondary layer. "What the--?"
	Ryouga examined the pod. A cylindrical tab at one end glowed with
energy. On a hunch, he upturned the white capsule and pressed the
glowing end into the tube on his chest. Electricity arced across the
tube briefly, and the capsule ceased glowing, crumpling into a ball
of scrap. Ryouga tossed it aside, and his armor sealed up again,
emitting a series of odd tones. Ranma noted that the damage from
Ryouga's earlier collision with one of the Bladers had repaired
itself almost completely. The lost boy grinned. "It's energy," he
said. "I feel stronger."
	Ranma picked up one of the smaller pods, and his chestplate opened,
revealing a similar tube. Shrugging, he pressed the capsule into the
tube, and drained it. His left arm repaired itself partially. He
grabbed the other remaining pod, and used its energy to complete
repairs on his arm. "Not bad," he commented. The two cyborgs
continued onward, seeking out their primary foe, Bombman.

	*****

	"Damn you...I've seen you pull some stunts, but...this!?"
	"Look, how many times do I have to say it? This one isn't one of
ours. I've got dozens of units out there right now trying to stop--"
	"Do you expect me to believe that? Where else could--"
	"What exactly do you think I would gain from trying to destroy
Nerima? Did that ever occur to you? I *live* around here, you
know..."
	"..."
	"And so does our--"
	"Okay, okay, maybe you're telling the truth. So if you're not behind
it, then who--?"
	"We're not sure. The technology is far beyond anything we've
conceived of. It's almost as if--hold on. Yes? What!? ...I see. Yes,
yes...no, that won't be neccessary. ...damn."
	"What is it?"
	"Bad news. All our units are down. And worse, we've got reports of
six hostile robots in various locations around the country."
	"Kusottare...this keeps getting worse and worse."
	"Might I make a suggestion? You could send--"
	"I know what you're going to say. I don't think she'd last out
there..."
	"Even if you had access to our armament facilities to upgrade the
android's weapon and armor systems?"
	"Hmmmm...it's possible..."
	"Then get started. We've got a crisis out there!"

	*****

	Ranma and Ryouga ducked around a corner and leaned against a
partially-crumbled wall, panting heavily. Each one drained an energy
capsule, allowing their battle damage to partially heal. Ranma
frowned at a crushed blue capsule lying nearby. "I don't get it," he
said. "That one didn't do nothin'." 
	Ryouga shrugged. "It must have some purpose. At least you had an
intake for it," he added sourly. "I don't have anything that fits
it." 
	There was an explosion from somewhere behind them, and the boys spun
around. "Think that's him?" Ranma asked.
	Ryouga nodded. "Probably. Let's go up and take a look." They jumped
up onto the wall.
	Less than half a kilometer away, the cyborgs located their target. A
robot with a round, black body and burnt-orange limbs stood in the
center of a wide blast crater that the boys could tell had used to be
an apartment complex. The robot's dark orange head sported large eyes
and a mohawk-like yellow fin on top. On its shoulder, the droid
balanced a hefty, black bomb reminiscent of those tossed around in
American cartoons. 
	"Looks like Bombman to me," Ryouga commented.
	Ranma nodded, jumping down from the wall. "Hey! You! Hold it right
there!"
	Bombman turned, and blinked. "Who is there?" he asked flatly. 
	"You've done enough damage to this city! We've come to stop you!"
Ranma called. "Give yourself up peacefully, and we'll take you back
to Dr. Light for reprogramming. Otherwise, prepare to be destroyed."
	Bombman's eyes narrowed. "Designation 001, codename Rock. Your
transponder signal's been altered...I bet Light thinks he's pretty
clever. It's not gonna save your miserable lives though...I'm gonna
blow you to scrap!" With that, Bombman hefted his bomb and hurled it
at Ranma. 
	Ranma activated his plasma cannon and blasted off a volley at the
bomb. To his surprise, the plasma bursts simply bounced off the
casing of the weapon, and it continued to plow towards him.
	"I've got it," Ryouga said, leaping into action. He charged his beam
saber and slashed at the explosive sphere. The undaunted bomb crashed
into him, and exploded. 
	"Ryouga!" Ranma called, as the red-armored martial artist was flung
several meters by the concussion. His entire front was scorched,
large dents scarring his armor. "Kusottare...!" Ranma pelted Bombman
with plasma fire. The robot grimaced in pain as the volley strafed
across his torso. 	
	"That hurt," Bombman said. "Take this!" He lobbed another bomb at
Ranma.
	"Oh no you don't," Ranma said, leaping to intercept. "This is just
like the old goat's Happoudaikarin...I know how to counter that." As
the bomb closed in on him, Ranma shouted a fierce kiai and extended
his leg, slamming his booted foot into it. The bomb reversed course,
flying straight into a surprised Bombman, who scrambled for cover.
The explosion knocked him off his feet. Landing, Ranma closed in. 
	Ryouga regained his footing, grimacing in pain. "Okay, now I'm
pissed," he said, rushing into the fray. Bombman was just getting to
his feet, ready to produce another explosive. "Stay down, freak!" the
red-clad cyborg said, slamming both fists into Bombman's chest with
the force of a piledriver. The sinister robot grunted, staggering
backwards. 
	"You alright, Ryouga?" Ranma asked.
	"Yeah, just a little banged up. Let's finish this guy off before
he...uh-oh."
	The two martial artists scrambled out of the way as a bomb detonated
between them. Bombman leapt a fair distance away, grimacing. "You are
more dangerous than I suspected," he said. "I must waste no time in
disposing of you."
	"Dispose *this*," Ranma said, disarming his cannon. "Moukou
Takabisha!" 
	A small, weak ball of energy formed between Ranma's hands, which he
projected at Bombman. The energy dissipated before it ever hit its
target. 
	All three fighters blinked. "The hell--?"
	"What was that supposed to do?" Bombman asked, before conjuring
another bomb and spiking it at Ranma like a volleyball. Unable to
dodge in time, Ranma took the full brunt of the explosion. He stood
shakily, the chestplate of his armor cratered badly. Growling, he
armed his plasma cannon again and began firing at Bombman while
running an erratic pattern, making it difficult for the demolitions
robot to target him. Ryouga, meanwhile, switched on his beam saber,
and dashed around behind the industrial robot. Bombman focused all
his attention on evading Ranma's shots, which left him completely
open for Ryouga's rear attack. The blade of the beam saber completely
penetrated Bombman, emerging from the chestplate of his armor. The
robot cocked back his arm, slamming Ryouga in the face with his
elbow. The cyborg staggered back, withdrawing his blade, and shifted
into a close-combat stance. Ranma, meanwhile, changed course, coming
right behind Bombman, and began targeting the sparking hole in
Bombman's back. 

	Bombman began to panic visibly, unsure which target to attack. His
main power system was damaged, his armor integrity was down, and the
two enemy units had proven to be able to counteract his primary
weapon. However, his programming did not allow for retreat, only
assault. Grimacing, he locked onto the more immediate threat: the
target firing at his back. 
	
	Ranma rolled to the side as a bomb came sailing past his head. It
exploded nearby, and he had to sink his fingers into the ground to
ride the concussion wave. "Now, Ryouga!" he called.
	"Right!" came the reply from behind Bombman. The renegade industrial
robot began to turn...
	...just in time to see the flash of the beam saber cutting into his
neck. A shower of sparks erupted as the blade slashed completely
through. Ryouga switched off the sword and stepped back as Bombman's
head tumbled away, an expression of surprise on its face. Arcs of
electricity danced frenetically across the robot's damaged body, and
seconds later, Bombman exploded, scattering fragments of metal and
circuitry everywhere. 
	
	"Alright, we did it!" Ranma cheered. "Good job, Ryouga!" 
	Ryouga grinned, giving a thumbs up. "Yeah, that's one down." 
	A small, gleaming cube of circuitry tumbled through the air. Ranma
noticed it, and caught it in his left hand. "Hey, this is his weapon
thingy," he said. 
	"Great, that could come in handy," Ryouga said. He looked around.
"Man...Hiroshima. All this time trying to recover from the war..."
	Ranma scowled. "When I find the guy that turned that nutcase loose,
I'm gonna shove his head so far up his ass--"
	"Save it, Ranma," Ryouga said. "There's five more maniacs out there,
just as bad as Bombman. We need to get back to the lab now."
	"Right," Ranma agreed, opening the comm unit on his left wrist. "Dr.
Light, this is Ranma. Mission accomplished, we're ready to come
back."
	The teleport beams claimed the two cyborgs, and the blasted
landscape of Hiroshima stood in silence.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Try to control yourself..."
"Hey, I'm 20. I'm male. I'm single. I'm not 
getting any. What do you expect?"
"...I stand corrected. And you...just...stand."
-Conversation between Lurker and an 
anonymous AOL user
---
The Eternal Lost Lurker
"You lika de fic? De fic is good, yes? 
...I writa you de fic." 
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net
http://www.geocities.com/~etlostlurker

Oh my God! South Park is coming to video? 
Those bastards!
-------------------------------------------------------------------