Series:    La Femme Ranma
Chapter:   #3 "Recovery.. and Loss..?"
Author:    Akraen (S. Metcalf)
Email:     akraen@hotmail.com
Website:   http://www.akraen.com
Category:  Ranma x-over with La Femme Nikita (+ cameos)

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

"Target is in the area. Remember, people, he can be anywhere and
anyone."

The agents spread out  after nodding in acknowledgement.

Moments later the first of them reported in. The news was not
good. There was a convention going on in the area. There were
thousands of people in the area and checking each one for their
chameleon would be impossible.

The team leader cursed to himself before alerting headquarters
of the situation.

"Keep in place. Just do not let him get past your positions!"
Operations ordered.

He then turned to Madeline and queried, "Coincidence?"

"It may be coincidental that a convention occurred, but I think
I can say he chose to hide out in it intentionally."

"How long do we have before the tracer quits being operational?"

"It was a mission tracer." Madeline replied calmly.

"Right. How long since the tracer was activated?" he said with a
sigh.

"Three hours, 7 minutes, 53 seconds." Madeline replied coolly.

"From now on all missions use full tracers." Operations bit out
to Madeline, before changing the orders to the recovery teams,
"Situation has changed. All units seek out the target. You have
less than a hour. Begin sequencing."

Teams began to infiltrate the crowd. Each team led by an agent
with a tracing device tuned to the tracer's frequency.

None found the chameleon in the scene.

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

"We are running out of time. You have less than ten minutes to
find the target before the mission becomes terminal. Move it,
people."

As Michael ordered his team to do a second pass through the
crowd he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He twisted
around and stared up at the rafters above the arena before
calling in, "He's in the rafters."

Hurriedly he moved to intercept along with Nikita who had
realized something was up. None of the other agents seemed to
understand the situation and continued to do sweeps of crowd.

By the time they got the confirmation from Berkohf, it would be
too late. Michael and Nikita were the only ones capable of
completing the mission prior to the tracer going dead.

As Michael and Nikita were hurrying to his position, Ranma was
staring down at the convention and the agents sifting through
the crowd.

'That's _it! _There is _no way_ they could have found me so
fast. They must have some way of knowing where I am.' Instantly
his mind returned to the point where he had thought a mosquito
bit him and he cursed silently to himself, Kuso!

Quickly he dug in with his fingernail and pulled out the small
chip, through the pain. As he stared at the little homing
device, he felt that familiar tingling feeling and turned around
to see the woman and another agent almost upon him, with guns
drawn.

'Guess the workman clothes _weren't _so perfect after all.'

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

Operations and Madeline were waiting at Recovery station when
they arrived.

"Welcome back." Madeline said before turning and walking away.

Ranma was led past the watchful eyes of Operations, but stopped
in front of him.

"I know about the tracer now..." he pulled down the collar of
his workman's coveralls to reveal the bleeding chunk of missing
flesh he had torn to remove it. He turned once again to walk
away after handing the tracer to the man.

"Interesting." Operations spoke aloud before turning and walking
back to his office.

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

Operations looked up and said, "Well?" when he heard Madeline's
entrance.

"He has been put into the agent training quarters and the entire
wing has been put off limits. The motion sensor system is
operational." she calmly replied.

"Good. I trust we won't have a second escape tonight?"

"No. Ranma has assured us that he hasn't planned his second
attempt to be any time soon."

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes." Madeline paused then amended, "I think he would lie if he
had to..."

"But you trust him not to be lying now?"

"He doesn't feel he has to." she pointed out as she turned to
look at the video of him coolly handing the tracer to
Operations, which had been playing continuously by the man.

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

Three months passed by. Ranma slowly grew to accept the
captivity he was now subjected to. He had mixed emotions about
the woman whose care he had been placed into, though.

He had learned that her name was Nikita. He had also learned
that although she didn't like inflicting pain, that she was very
expert at it. The only thing keeping him from hurting her was a
bit of his old refusal to hurt a girl, combined with the bit of
respect that he had grown toward this strong woman. He wondered
sometimes what she was like prior to becoming involved with this
place.

He didn't care at all for the training this place was trying to
push into him.

The English lessons were boring but considering that everyone in
this place spoke it at least as their second language, he felt
he had to agree to them.

The physical attacks were either designed to kill or were things
he already either knew or knew an improvement on. He had agreed
to learn the killing moves, but he knew he wasn't ever going to
use them.

As for the weaponry classes... there was a sticky point there
where he had been sure the other reddish-brown haired woman had
been close to punishing him when he refused to learn how to use
them. His reasons were a combination of his belief that weapons
were useless in a real battle, that his father had taught him,
and a refusal from his moral code to kill someone simply because
they were in the way. The people here had eventually worked out
a compromise with him. If he would agree to learn how to fire a
gun, they would make sure that all he ever had to fire was ammo
designed to knock out rather than kill. The only really annoying
thing about these classes is that he was forced to double train,
once in each form, in order to keep his skills in whichever form
he was in.

The line had been drawn, however, when they had decided to teach
him to use his cursed form to complete missions. Oh, he didn't
mind the costumes and the blending in. It was the coming onto
guys part which bothered him. Whatever body he was in, there was
no doubt in Ranma's mind that he was a guy. He didn't want any
part with pleasing one. And that was one issue he refused to
compromise on.

Ranma hadn't planned on making his second escape attempt this
soon, but with all the pressure that had been placed on him, to
accept the whole girl thing, he was getting desperate.

This desperation was the only reason that he willingly set out
on the current path of destruction.

"Nikita?" Ranma asked the girl who had been remarkably tolerant
with him these last few months.

"Yes, Ranma?" Nikita replied. She was curious what the boy
wanted as he rarely used only her name to form a question.

"Would it be possible for me to get a pet?" Ranma asked with a
longful look on his face.

"A pet...?" Nikita asked aloud. Sure, she had realized that the
boy was getting anxious, but his question had been unexpected to
say the least.

"Yes. Preferably a c..at. I never had one of my own. My father
always kept them away from me." Ranma stated.

If Nikita had known how close to breaking down just the act of
saying the word was putting him she might have said 'no' without
an argument. Luckily for Ranma, the practice he had put himself
through of saying the word without visibly flinching or
stuttering had paid off.

"I'll see what I can do..." Nikita quietly replied with a bit of
warmth in her voice.

"Thank you..." Ranma whispered in response then blinked and
looked away before quietly returning to the weapon simulator, as
if he was ashamed for asking.

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

"What do you think of his request for a cat?"

"It could mean he's getting used to being with us. It's possible
of course that it's just a decoy designed to pull our attention
away from something else." Madeline replied after a moment of
thought.

"Should we deny his request then?" Operations replied without
taking his eyes off of the boy, currently girl, as he trained in
the weapon synchronization room.

"No. No, I think we should give him the cat. It would make him
more reliant upon us, and I do not see the harm an untrained
kitten could do." as if in afterthought she added, "We will of
course keep an eye on him and the kitten at all times in case it
_is_ a decoy."

"Of course." Operations said with an unreadable smile. "Alright,
if Nikita comes to you with the request, grant it. Oh, and
Madeline?"

"Yes...?"

"Please be sure to place a tracer on the cat, as well as Ranma
himself. There is something about this request which just
doesn't feel right. But, as you say, what harm can a cat do?"

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

"Ranma?" Nikita's voice stopped the young man mid-leap, and he
somehow stopped his momentum and came straight down in a perfect
landing.

"Yes, Nikita?" Ranma asked calmly.

"I have some good news. Operations decided to grant your
request. You'll find him in your quarters after training is
complete." she said with a smile.

"Thank you!" Ranma gushed and hugged her. For once through this
'pet' charade he didn't have to act. He was so glad that he was
almost out of this place. Today, Madeline had been particularly
determined to convert him into accepting the girl role. She had
only stopped after he had sent her two assistants in the task to
medical.

Enthused by this news, Ranma went back to training with even
more spirit.

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

"His productivity has increased since Nikita gave him the news."
Madeline noted.

"Yes, perhaps we will finally be accepted. If he accepts his
admittance into our organisation, how long will it be before he
is ready for his first mission?"

"It depends on whether you want him to go in as a girl or a
boy." Madeline admitted with a wince.

"Yes, I heard that you were having problems convincing him in
that matter. How are Alex and Lynda?"

"Alex will be in recovery for at least another month. Lynda on
the other hand was released almost as soon as she regained
consciousness."

"He's still going softer on women? I thought we would have cured
him of that?" Operations said in surprise.

"I'm afraid I doubt we ever will. However, at least he's willing
to disable them if he has to now. It is good enough I suppose."

"Good. And on that other matter?"

"I'm afraid we may have to forget about using him in that
matter. If we push any harder he may refuse to help us at all.
And unlike most operatives, his skills are enough that I'm
afraid we must allow some compromise."

"Agreed. Very well, after Ranma has gotten acquainted with his
new pet ask him once more to do it, and if he still refuses...
accept him as he is. Even without this one bit of training he'll
make an excellent addition to our operations."

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

Ranma steeled himself not to react until after he was inside the
room and the door was closed and locked.

_Then_ he began to breakdown as the cat purred and yowled as it
rubbed up against his legs.

Operations and Madeline had realized something was wrong, when
they saw him suddenly cringe away from the cat and begin to
shake as he tried to get away from the cat.

"Security! Get to Ranma's room, _now!_" Operations yelled out as
he witnessed what was going on inside.

They watched on the monitors as their security team raced to the
room and began pounding away at the door.

That's when it occurred. Ranma's demeanor suddenly changed as he
suddenly 'yowled' and swatted his hand at the door where the men
were pounding at it.

The two in the office stared in mutual shock as the steel
reinforced door was shredded in seconds.

"I think we just found out what harm a cat can do." Operations
quietly spoke.

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

[ALL OPERATIVES! ALERT! HOSTILE IS RANMA! SEAL ALL EXITS AND
_AVOID_ CONTACT!] a computer recording voice repeated every so
often as alarms sounded and lights flashed.

Operatives ran about the section headquarters in the chaos of
the strange escape. Operations, Madeline, Michael, Berkohf, and
the others currently in the main control station stared at the
monitors showing the escapee's progress through the corridors
that snaked through the structure.

Repeatedly they had tried to block the currently female martial
artist only to stare in shock as even the strongest of doors
designed to stop the harshest of attacks failed to hold up to
the claws of energy unleashed upon them. At first an attempt had
been made to confront the strangely acting Ranma. That thought
had been dumped when the first team witnessed a steel reinforced
cement wall turned into powder and metallic shreddings the size
of toothpicks.

All agents which had not been in the field had been called in to
help contain the situation. That included Nikita who had still
yet to arrive.

"Michael, when Nikita arrives I want you, Nikita, and your team
to take him down. Unharmed if at all possible. I needn't remind
you that he is worth more to section than the lives of your
team."

Michael stared back emotionlessly as he calmly replied, "It will
be done."

Operations nodded once coolly.

Michael started to leave but turned around and asked, "Is that
all, sir?"

"Yes, Michael. Begin assembling your team." the other man
replied after a moment, then returned to watching the monitors
without any further attention to his most senior field agent.

"Nikita's entered, sir!" a voice shouted out.

"Why are you bothering me about a single agent! We have a crisis
on our hands!" Operations snapped at the hapless agent.

"S-sir! She's entered right around the corner from where R-ranma
is!" the man stuttered out as he watched the two sight one
another.

"Michael! Get down there _now!_"

Operations turned his attention to the monitors and watched as
the strange encounter played itself out...

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

Nikita was frustrated. It had been a hard time for her of late.
She was pulling double time having to help train their newest
agent along with her regular fieldwork and she had been paying
for it by a loss of sleep hours. She had been looking forward to
the downtime to catch some of it up, but no sooner had she lay
down on the bed than her phone rang and she heard that all too
familiar greeting, "'Josephine'"

As she had returned to the base she had one thought repeating
itself within her mind 'I don't know what the emergency was but
whichever target had raised its head and caused her call-in was
going to pay for it.'

Needless to say it was a complete surprise to enter and see her
pupil racing about on all four legs. She was about to call out
to him, or her in this case, when the message which had been
continually playing itself was repeated to her distress, [ALL
OPERATIVES! ALERT! HOSTILE IS RANMA! SEAL ALL EXITS AND _AVOID_
CONTACT!]

She looked at the boy she was starting to look at as a younger
brother and spoke just two words, "Ranma... _why_?" as feelings
of betrayal flashed through her mind.

The boy who was currently a girl cocked her head sideways before
a feral almost gleeful look crossed over the face framed by the
bright red hair. And then the martial artist leapt at the blond
operative as a voice rang out, "NO-o! Nikita!" and then the body
was upon her and contact had been made.

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

Those in the control room could only stare at the events
occurring elsewhere in the base. They watched as the two
currently female agents met. They saw Michael racing through the
corridors with a haunted look upon his usually emotionless face,
and knew his arrival would come too late. They were silent
witness to the boy-girl's animalistic lunge toward one of
section's best operatives. They viewed the screen and saw
Michael's horrified face and heard his shout of anguish. They
saw the clenching of his fists as he stopped dead in his tracks,
sure that the woman he loved would be cut down before his very
eyes.

Then they gaped in shock as in the next instant they were
witness to a red-haired girl purring contentedly in the larger
blond woman's lap like a gentle pet housecat.

"Someone tell me what just happened?" Operations said as calmly
as he could manage.

Silence greeted his words before finally Madeline broke off of
her staring at the behaviour of section's newest recruit, who
was currently rubbing 'her' head against Nikita's hand, "I think
we just contained the escape."

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

Ranma had slowly come to and tried to stretch only to find his
currently female form restrained very heavily. He opened an eye
and saw that 'Madeline' was standing a few feet away as she
silently stared at him.

Ranma groaned a little at the implication. He had made a promise
to only attempt escape twice. Now he had to either live up to it
or break his word.

Madeline finally spoke after she heard the groan, "We would like
to thank you. We thought there was no harm in such a simple
request. We now know better."

Ranma winced then quickly asked something that always plagued
his mind after an attack of his neko-ken, "Was anyone hurt?"

"No. As it happens we didn't even suffer minor injuries. The
structural damage, however was intense..." she stated while
staring at the once again captive.

Ranma flushed slightly and said, "I'm sorry about that, I really
didn't want to try this..." he trailed off.

"Why did you then?" Madeline calmly asked in an attempt to
understand how the martial art prodigy thought.

Ranma's temper blew up at her words, "I told you I was a guy!
You kept pushing me, but I won't do it!" he fairly screamed. "I
would rather die than do th-that!" he snarled in a fury as he
thrashed angrily in his restrictions.

Madeline continued to stare at the currently female form, before
she finally nodded once and walked out.

Ranma continued to angrily shake and heave as he tried to
control his temper long after the door was closed leaving him to
his solitary confinement.

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

"Well?" Operations asked when he saw Madeline return.

"We were right about his unwillingness to the other request
we've made of him or should I say her." Madeline replied.

"You mean that was the reason for his escape?"

"It would appear so." Madeline replied calmly.

Operations squinted his eyes and began rubbing the bridge of his
nose, "Alright. What are our options now?"

"We could attempt to break him of his resistance, but this would
probably also decrease his performance at best and at worst
cause a full rebellion within his mind. We could cancel him, but
then we would lose his abilities and the chance of ever having
his training passed on to our other agents; not to mention how
hard it would be to do so. We could transfer him out of section,
but the result would be the same for us as cancelling him. And
finally we could give in to his demand and accept what he will
allow us, but of course this could lead into rebellion by the
other operatives and make our position seem weaker. All of our
options at this point are going to be less than satisfactory,
but of them all we will have the greatest possibility of overall
gain by accepting him as he is."

"It looks like we don't have much of a choice, do we?"
Operations spoke with a wry smile on his face. "Alright, return
Ranma to the field operatives program and put him on the same
team as Michael and Nikita. If anyone can handle him it will be
those two."

Madeline nodded in reply and walked away leaving Operations to
stare at the monitor of the holding room where Ranma was being
kept. He nodded to himself as he saw Ranma being led out of the
room.

Suddenly, Operations barked out into the silence of the empty
room, "Maintenance! Holding Cell One is in need of repair. I
want those restraints replaced and strengthened."

He turned away from the monitor and closed his eyes. 'This is
either the biggest mistake I have ever made or the saviour of
this Section. Which are you, Ranma...'

-=- -=- -=-  - * -  -=- -=- -=-

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