Edward Becerra wrote:

{Wasn't that long ago.  Many of those people would still be important.}

        You forget, we're talking about teenagers here. To most of them, 6 months
ago is ancient history.

Doesn't mean it's in the history books.  Besides, my point was just that Nabiki
would recognise them just from reading the paper.  

       Nabiki managed to stop coughing but was now looking at Ranma as if
he had grown horns.  That this uneducated, lazy, obnoxious, jackass was
now the heir to a financial fortune measured in...in...Nabiki had to think
about how much he would be worth...

{Lazy?}

        Yes, one can claim that Ranma is lazy, in that, when faced with a problem
that cannot be solved with martial arts (ie, he can't just beat the snot
out of someone to fix things) he tries to take the easy way out. Moral
lazyness. Genma's influence, in my opinion. But this _is_ a form of
lazyness. Does't always have to mean you lie around on your butt all the time.

Like Nabiki's one to talk about taking the easy way out.  She's always believed
in minimum effort, maximum return, and let someone else take the heat.
However, perhaps in this case she just means, "Not engaged in lucrative enterprise."

       Bruce Wayne, dilettante playboy, acknowledge womaniser, layabout,

{Say, isn't someone going to wonder about that, given that the wish
specified a non-lazy father?  Of course I suppose most of them have
forgotten there ever was a wish.  "acknowledged"}

        Again, different form of lazyness. Moral, physical, spiritual...

Bruce Wayne's public persona has all of them. 

and generous business person smirked as he looked over the file on his
son, Saotome Ranma, or as he would be called in America, Ranma Saotome.
Admittedly the boy was a fighter, having spent many years training in
various places and in numerous Martial Arts, including some of the places
that he had trained himself.  The boy had already surpassed him in so many

{Oh...so sorry.  You fall in Spring of Drowned Man Carrying Fruit Bat!}

        BWAHAHAHAAHA! Good one! Now THERE is a fic idea! (And the supervillains
start carrying supersoakers full of hot water...)

I always loved Manbat.  I even had a copy of his solo comic book.  

areas at such a young age, easily being the equal of Bruce in the pure skill
of the Arts.  No doubt the young man could teach Bruce many tricks, but he

{How could Wayne assess the boy's skill from a written file?}

        Bruce is an extremely intellegent man, and a detective that could match
(and perhaps exceed) the skill of Sherlock Holmes. In his postition, the
first thing *I'd* do to assess the lad's skills is to hire some
professional sensei's to look him over, watch him in combat, and deliver a
professional opinion. Again, Bruce knows what he's doing, and how to
delegate a job to an employee who can get it done, and done right.

       Tim heard all of this from the doorway.  "I guess you won't want
me around anymore then."
       Bruce's chair whirled around at that, "What do you mean by that
Tim?"
       "Well, with your son coming, I wouldn't think there would be any
room around here for me."
       Bruce frowned, "What gave you that idea.  If anything, he would be
more like an older brother to you, just like Dick.  I already consider you
one of my sons."
       Tim blinked.  "You mean that?"

{Gee, I wonder what Tim's father thinks of that.}

        THAT depends on whether you're using the comic or the the Animated Series
as your source material. In B:TAS, Tim's father is a small time punk who
worked for Two-Face part time, and got in the way of someone, to end up a
John Doe in the Gotham River.

Oh right...I forgot.  Yes, this probably is TAS reality here.  I haven't
seen all that many of the recent ones.  

       "Alfred, make arrangements to have a company jet ready to take off
for Tokyo, Japan in 30 hours.  And pack suitcases for Barbara and Tim.  I
want them to accompany me."  Bruce said as he pulled on his cowl and went
towards the Batmobile.

{Barbara Gordon:  Oh, Dad?  I'm flying to Japan with Bruce Wayne this
weekend.
Demon Head Commissioner Gordon:  What!?}

        Again, if you're using the B:TAS as source, Gordon knows what his daughter
is. In a recent episode, while under the influence of the Scarecrow's fear
gas, she suffered a show-length nightmare sequence where she died in the
costume, and her father attempts to hunt down and kill Batman, Robin and
Nightwing in revenge. It ends (after she recovers) with a meeting with her
father where she tries to confess, and her father stops her. His words,
while chosen to be non-committal, show that he knows but doesn't want to
actually SAY it. He prefers to be able to _claim_ that he never OFFICIALLY
knew his daughter was Batgirl. After all.. if she confesses, he HAS to
arrest her, It's his duty. As long as he KNOWS, but has no proof, he can
hide behind the legal protection of official doubt and intent.

Ranma's English marks were not all that good, despite his
having travelled to countries where the language was necessary.

{When did Ranma ever travel to a country where English was necessary?}

        It's the height of arrogance, but it's truth. English is as close to a
universal tongue on this world as we're likely to get. Airline pilots all
are required to speak it, it's taught in schools all over the world, it's
even used between countries. An African and a Japanese, say, will conduct
business dealings in English, because it's the one language they have in
common, even if it's NOT their mother tongue.

Useful...yes.  But I'd think that English is only necessary if they visited
Australia or Hawaii or someplace.  

       Nabiki was dazed, looking over the books that she had.  Ranma
would leave.  There was no question of that in her mind, especially since
Genma no longer had a hold on Ranma.  Ranma could now declare all the

{Who says?  Regardless of the genetics, Genma was married to Nodoka when
Ranma was born, and raised him from a grub.  Panda-san has at least as much
claim to be called Ranma's father.}

        Perhaps. But once claimed by Bruce, Genma's promises become null and void.
by the simple, brutal fact that Wayne is POWERFUL. (Promise? What promise?
Would you like to talk to the 150 different lawyers I've just hired? I'm
certain they can keep you busy for a few decades...) Bruce Wayne to someone

Mind you since they are in Gotham City, the response would tend to be 
"No, I'll think I'll wear a costume and start blowing up your factories, instead."
After all, the capricious and unjust abuse of corporate muscle is a very common 
origin for supervillains in the TAS universe.

Most of those promises were never legally binding in the first place, however.
No court would have ever forced Ranma to marry Ukyo in compensation for a
stolen yattai for example, even in Japan.  They were moral debts, and lawyers
can't annul giri.  

Similarly, for all his resentment of Genma, there's gotta be a big part 
of Ranma that will always see The Great And Powerful Panda as his "real"
father and Bruce Wayne as this guy he met last Tuesday.  After all, considering
how many fiancees he juggles, what's a couple of fathers?  

Still, I'm sure that the City Fathers of Gotham will be eternally grateful
to Ranma for importing their newest supervillain, The Black Rose.

       Thanks to Bruce-kun's resources, she had managed to read up on all
of the adventures and troubles that her son had been in since Genma had
taken him away.  The Neko-ken, all of the fiancees, the challengers, and
the dangers.  She had even read up on Jusenkyu, and the problems that had
created for her son.  After Bruce-kun took her son to America, she planned
to regain her honour for failing so miserably.
       But there were some things that needed to be taken care of first.
Mainly dealing with Saotome Genma.  Dealing with the betrayal of her trust
in him, and the way he had harmed her son.  Most of all, dealing with a
young girl named Ranko and her pet Panda.
       She could not hold Ranma to the promise made so long ago, but

{Why couldn't she?}

        And offend Wayne Enterprises? Let's face it, doing that could cause Wayne
to take offense against her, and through her, Japan. It could be said that

Nodoka is a single private citizen.  If Wayne would go after an entire country
for her personal actions, he's no better than Luthor.  Worse, after all, 
Luthor would just hire an assasin to kill her and forget about it.  

{Bah.  Either Ranma is a man among men, or he is not.  If he is not,
if Nodoka finds his curse to be shameful, then Ranma should have a
problem.}

        Again, if Nodoka has a problem with the curse, she must first face the
fact that regaining her honor could cause damage to her motherland, which
is in itself, a dishonorable act! It can be argued that accepting the

<Shrug>  I've always suspected that Nodoka would finish with herself once
her husband and son had atoned, anyway.  Death is cure for what ails ya, and 
the best escape from dishonour.

dishonor of not keeping her oath is worth it to avoid the GREATER dishonor
of causing a potential economic threat to Japan.

        The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.. or in this case, the
honor of the many outweighs... well, you get the idea.

        Just my take on things. Take it for what it's worth.

        Ed Becerra

        "Dreamers may die, but the Dream is eternal.."