$Finally!  Starting this was easy.  Finishing was a bit of a problem.
Hopefully part two will go quicker.  I got the C&C for AoRF too, thanks.
I'll respond to that later.



	$Whew!  Back after a long, long christmas torture session.  Sorry I'm a
bit late with this.  Hope this helps.  Seeings how I've largely missed
all the good technical comments, I'll ignore them for the most part and
see if I can't actually finish this before I have to run off again.


Prologue

A seeming eternity ago, when he was about six, Ryouga's father told him
that
during those times when it seemed the world made no sense regardless of
how
diligently one tried to sort things out, it was best to ask the heavens
for
answers. "From matters of the heart to the injustices of life, turn to
the
skies and direct your questions there, and the answers will come to you,
and
you'll be made to understand your place in things." Ryouga had been
incredulous, but now that he found himself embroiled in such a situation
and
it seemed the only avenue that remained open to him. He had never done
this
before, never felt so confused that he needed to, but no matter how hard
he
thought, answers were not forthcoming. So now it fell to this last
desperate
act.

Looking skyward with a hopeless, searching stare, he said, "I've got a
question for you. It's silly, really. I kind of feel embarrassed asking,
but
I really don't have anywhere else to turn. I hope I don't seem stupid in
asking what might be obvious to anyone else if they were in my
situation,
but I'd really like to know exactly how is it that I can be standing in
the
middle of an American desert one moment, and then a flash of light
later,
the next thing I know I'm waking up in the middle of China wearing
nothing
but a pair of torn purple pants?  I've never owned purple pants in my
entire
life! Purple pants look stupid! SO WHY AM I IN THEM NOW?!"

	$Ah, the important questions of life.  Hey, at least it wasn't a red
thong with black tiger stripes.  That looks pretty silly too, believe
me.


The cries startled Lin-Mei, the eight-year old girl who was helping lead
Ryouga, whom she had discovered in her grandfather's crops, up the
trail.
She looked fearfully over her shoulder towards him, an action that had
been
repeated before. "<Grandfather, he's yelling again. This time at the
sun.>"

	$Old man: Perfectly understandable.  Isn't it glaring in your eyes too?

The old man, Yun-Lo, said, "<I know. He's obviously unbalanced, but
powerful. You saw what he did to the wild boar that tried to attack him.
That beast could have overpowered any ten men in the village, but he
managed
to knock it out in one blow.>"

"And why am I carrying all of these sunflowers?! I don't even like
sunflowers! The pollen makes me itchy!"

	$Is this Ryoga speaking?  Why does he have sunflowers.

 "<We'd better get him to the Master quickly.>" Lin Mei shuddered at the
display.

"<Yes. Quickly.>" There was a touch of hesitation in old man's voice.
While
it was true Yun-Lo had no love of strangers --especially half-naked
foreign
ones with bad taste in clothing who had appeared in a crater caused by
an
explosion which had shaken the village last night-- he still wondered if
even this belligerent youth deserved to meet what was probably going to
be
his end at the area's new sovereign lord.

	$Poor guy.  The lord, that is.

 The stories Yun-Lo had heard of
those that dared to defy the Master... well, if even one of them were
true,
he would be showing fealty with a smile on his face from now until the
end
of his days.

It had not always been like this. Things were peaceful until three years
ago
when the new lord appeared out of nowhere and announced his takeover of
the
region. All attempts at resistance to his absolute rule proved futile in
the
face of the raw power he and his minions commanded. The consequences to
resistance were severe, and ended very quickly. Still, in spite of this,
life was not unbearably bad. Aside from using the villagers as slave
labor,
forcing them to build a huge fortress in the mountains nearby, and
providing
a small amount of their crops to feed him and his handful of close
lackeys,
the lord made little in the way of demands.

	$Why, even on a bad day there was at least one bowl of boiled pond scum
for each villager.  And on a good day, well, that mouthful of millet
just filled you right up.

 He kept to himself, though there
were frequently strange lights and sounds coming from the mountain where
the
newly built fortress stood. The bizarre displays would appear during
both
day and night, but Yun-Lo was too sensible to allow curiosity to get the
better of him. The affairs of those more powerful than he were beyond
his
concerns. The credo of his life was to keep his head down, be obedient
and
all would be well, or at least as well as could be expected.

	$Yes, indeed, rock farmers are a philisophical lot.

 He was no
revolutionary, no hero. He was just a pitiful farmer his entire life,
and he
intended to die as one as well, but not for some time, if he had any say
in
the matter.

	$I dunno, I'd rather be a corpse than a live rock farmer.

The only reason he dared go to the Master's fortress now was that there
was
a standing order about reporting anything unusual directly to the lord.
For
whatever reason, he seemed fiercely territorial about his claims, and
dealt
with intruders harshly. The boy was certainly unusual, and Yun-Lo would
be
damned if he would risk his life for some overly loud stranger. If such
disobedience was discovered, he shuddered to think of what would happen
to
him and his family. No, there was no doubt about what he would do. He
would
lead the boy to what was most likely his doom and not look back. Guilt
was
for those who could afford it, and the old man had been poor since his
birth, though even if he possessed a thousand times the money he had now
it
would still not be enough to afford the Master's anger.

"I know somehow this is all your fault, Ranma! Thanks to you, I'm going
through hell once again!"

Yes, Yun thought, he would be poor until the end of his days, which
would
hopefully be more than the ones this boy had remaining.

	$Knowing Ryoga, if Yun did live longer than him, he'll probably be all
but immortal.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Avenging
Chapter 8
Ten Rings to Rule Them All

	$Nothing to do with the Lord of the Rings?

Part 1


Any and all C+C is appreciated.

	$No matter how late or pathetic it may be, eh?

 You can contact me at
sommer@3rdm.net

Standard disclaimer:
I don't own any of the any of the Marvel characters, or the folks from
Ranma
1/2 or any of the other various anime sources I refer to here.

BTW: The idea for the opening here was created in my mind long before
the
events of Sept. 11. Just in case someone thought I wrote that part as
some
sort of reaction to it, this is not the case.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hasam tugged at the collar of his white shirt. The garment was far too
small
to fit his six foot plus, three hundred pound well-muscled frame. It
felt

	$Pretty sure it's six-foot plus rather than six foot-plus as I think I
saw in earlier C&C.

like a snake was constricting around his chest. He would have sworn his
wife
had shrunk his clothing in the wash, save that he didn't have a
girlfriend,
much less a spouse, to wash his clothing for him. The puss green
sweater/vest that went over the shirt did nothing to help either his
breathing or his eyes, as it clashed miserably with the baggy plaid
pants he
wore. Actually it clashed with everything he had ever worn in his
twenty-five years of life.

	$Possibly because turbans are really hard to accessorise?

 The ensemble was rounded out with shoes so
blindingly white that they were nearly mirrored surfaces. Idly he
wondered

	$Idly,

if lasers would bounce off.

His head aching from staring at his clothes for too long, Hasam sought
relief by looking to his right where his partner and best friend,
Fekish,
sat. Of average height, a slender build, and a year younger than his
companion, Fekish was similarly attired in eye-burning wear. As an added
bonus, he also wore a bright purple hat with a white cotton ball affixed
to
the top that swung violently around whenever he so much as shifted his
neck.
The assault on the senses was only made easier by the fact that there
was
less of Fekish to go around. Unlike Hasam, the clothing chosen for his
friend seemed more form-fitting, though given Fekish's usual easygoing
nature, he could have worn an iron maiden and still seemed obliviously
happy.

	$Fekish: No, really, it fits fine.  Kind pinches in places, though.
Almost like its digging into my flesh.  And it's a little heavy...  No,
really, I like it.  But, well, do you have one for an autumm?

It was times like this Hasam would have considered color blindness a
blessing. Choosing to spare his eyes from further torture, he turned his
attention to the only other passenger in one of the backseats of the
stretch-limousine. Col. Akbar sat across from the duo, trying patently
not

	$patiently,

to look at them.

"Why are you making us wear these ridiculous outfits again?" Hasam said
miserably to his superior,

	$Yes, explain it again for the reader.  ^_^  And I'm going to ignore as
many technical errors as possible.  I really am.

The Colonel forced his eyes upon his subordinates and laughed, "My dear
Hasam, you are going incognito on this flight. The whole world is set
against our peoples, firmly convinced we are nothing more than a bunch
of
terrorists."

"But we are terrorists," Hasam pointed out.

"Freedom fighters for the homeland," both Fekish and the Colonel said as
one.

It took every ounce of willpower Hasam had not to roll his eyes in front
of
his superior. At least Fekish's reflexive regurgitation of
political-religious jargon could be understood since the shorter man was
probably the most impressionable human being on the face of the planet.
He
was fairly certain Fekish could be talked into stripping in front of a
convention of nuns and singing "I'm a little teapot short and stout,"
with
only five minutes of prodding.

	$Heh.  People like him are the backbone of all sorts of organizations
that like brainwashing.  Taliban, militant groups, the 700 club, Hare
Krishnas...

 That was one of the reasons Hasam had been
assigned to him: to keep him from doing anything stupid or giving away
any
secrets he knew about the movement.

The Colonel's tone remained carefree and easygoing. "Be that as it may,
the
two of you are going to fly out of this country in your disguises." He
handed booklets to each of the passengers. "Here are your passports."

As Hasam looked his over, his jaw nearly dropped into his lap. "My name
is
supposed to be Sven Svenson

	$It's tempting to break out into the Monty Python bit about the moose
and the

, a professional golfer from Iceland?! Do they
even have golf courses there?"

"Several," Fekish answered cheerfully as he began absorbing the
information
contained within the passport.

	$And he would know because...?

"Ingenious, isn't it? No one would suspect Icelandic golfers of being
terrorists.

	$Having read this, if I'm ever on a flight and I see a tall blond guy
talking with a nordic accent and reading a golf magazine, I'm taking him
out THEN.

 I came up with the disguises myself." The Colonel preened over
what he obviously considered an impressive achievement.

Hasam grasped Fekish's cheek and pulled. "I think our skin's a touch on
the
dark side to try passing ourselves off as coming from an island in the
middle of the Atlantic Ocean that was settled by Europeans."

The Colonel waved his hand dismissively. "Bah! It doesn't matter. The
Japanese think all gaijin look alike." He carefully handed Fekish an
awful-looking briefcase decorated in yellow and pink pastels. "This is
the
item you're going to take on the flight with you. Don't worry about
passing
through customs. Its contents are impervious to detection. However, no
matter what, you must not open it. It must remain sealed."

"It's a bomb, isn't it?" Hasam growled as Fekish accepted the briefcase
without a word.

	$Technically, no.

The Colonel looked insulted. "Don't be ridiculous; it's no bomb. This is
a
very valuable item we obtained here in Japan. It's the reason to our
being
here in the first place. It's imperative that the case gets back to the
homeland, which is why we've taken such drastic measures to ensure you
can
fly it home without fear of being detained."

"Oh. When you put it that way, that makes things a little different."
Hasam
relaxed slightly.

The Colonel added, "Although on the offhand chance your presence is
somehow
detected and it appears you will be arrested by the authorities, there's
two
concealed buttons located on the top of the case. Push them at the same
time."

Fekish held the case up by its handle. He spotted two nearly concealed
studs
next to each lock on the top. "You mean these?" He brushed his
fingertips
across the tops.

"DON'T TOUCH THEM!" The Colonel dove for cover. In the enclosed confines
of
the limo, that meant lunging headfirst into the floor.

"It is a bomb!" Hasam resisted the urge to hit the Colonel with the
briefcase, mainly in fear of setting off the explosive rather than out
of
any respect he held for his superior.

"Nonsense," the Colonel scoffed, recovering quickly. "As I said before,
it
is not a bomb.

	$It's just that it's very fragile and we ran out of bubble wrap, so we
had to package it in C4 putty.  But _it_ is not a bomb.

Although even if it was, you should be proud that I would
bestow upon you the opportunity to do such a great deed that would usher
you
into Allah's arms."

Tearing the briefcase from Fekish's grasp, Hasam began gesturing wildly
about with it in his hand. "I'll tell you what, if blowing one's ass up
is
such a great opportunity to be ushered into Allah's arms, and everyone
has
such tremendous respect for all that you've done for our cause, why
don't I
give you the case and you can get on the plane with it, while I hang
around
this plane of existence for a while longer?"  He thrust the case in the
Colonel's direction.

	$If he's got that much common sense, why is he a terrorist in the first
place?  I mean, usually smart people with an agenda and a bit of
bloodlust become serial killers and lawyers.

The man waved the overture back. "Alas, it is a tempting offer, but it
is
not my fate to do such for the cause. I am much too important to our
organization in a number of ways and am quite irreplaceable."

"No, you're not. I've seen what you do, and frankly, it's not that hard
to
sleep in most of the time, boss people around when you are awake, and
spend
money on good food and better women. I can do it quite easily." He
thrust
the case back in the Colonel's direction.

He refused it again, this time with a pointed scowl. "This is not a
negotiable point. It is imperative the two of you take this briefcase
and go
on the flight, as you have been ordered."

"Fine," Hasam sighed. "Since it's so imperative that we get this case to
the
homeland, can you at least tell us what is inside?"

The Colonel shook his head. "It is on a need to know basis, and you do
not
need to know. I can tell you it was not easy to acquire and cost us a
tremendous sum of money, but it was worth every cent. In our hands, its
contents can change the face of the world and bring victory to our
righteous
cause. That stupid, trusting infidel woman will pay for her greed and
improper lifestyle eventually, when the time comes to turn our attention
to
this festering pit of infidels and their unbelieving ways. I will
personally
see to it the woman is taught her place in the proper scheme of things
and
is brought low. Hahahaha!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Roquat?"

"Yes, Mistress?"

	$Sometimes I regret not having read all of the previous chapters.

	<snip>

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Such a stupid woman, like all of her gender." The Colonel continued to
grin
at his perceived intelligence and wisdom.

	$Being a man, I cannot make a truly cutting mark about our frequent
stupidity when it comes to women, but I can shake my head and sigh.

That made Hasam worry all the more, because the Colonel was neither
intelligent nor wise, just lucky, and his luck rarely extended to those
around him.

	$As you say, it's sometimes better to be lucky than competent.

This was a terrible situation; Hasam could feel it in his bones. He was
being made into a sacrificial lamb, and supposedly their religion was
against that sort of thing. But sensing the Colonel would not be swayed
from
his plan, Hasam remained silent and waited for an opportunity to think
about
the situation the first chance he could once he was away from his
superior.

All too quickly they arrived at Tokyo Airport, and Hasam was not any
closer
to a solution than before.

"We are here." The Colonel clasped both men's hands and thumped them
both on
the shoulder. "May Allah travel with you."

"I'd just as soon he distracted the authorities rather than travel with
us,"

	$Heh, cute.  And imagine the paparatzi.

Hasam said ominously as he exited the vehicle. Fekish was close behind
him,
still smiling vacuously.

"So long, my friends." The Colonel waved once at the duo, then shut the
door. As it closed, Hasam could hear his superior hiss, "Get us the hell
out
of here!" to the driver. The car sped off a moment later, tires
squealing on
the pavement.

"Isn't odd how he only refers to us as his friends when he needs us to
do
something dangerous?" Hasam said idly. Fekish merely shrugged.

Paranoia ate away at Hasam's senses like a sea full of sharks devouring
a
bloodied fish in their midst

	$That's a very specific way of getting eaten away at.  He's had time to
hone that trait.

 as he and Feckish entered the airport. He was
certain every eye in the terminal was focused on them, ready to pounce
upon
him long before they ever made it to the plane. And once that happened,
even
Hasam didn't want to know what those damn buttons did. The Colonel had
to be
lying. It had to be a bomb.

Unable to take the pressure, the big man spun on his compatriot.
"Fekish?"

Fekish waved his finger. "Ah, ah, ah. We're undercover."

Hasam's eyebrow twitched. "Excuse me, Bjork."

	$Let me find my chefs hat...  Ah.  "Bjork bjork bjork!"

"That's better, Sven. Now, do you think the green in Reykjavik is in
need of
repair? I want to improve my golf game the next time we go on tour, and
as
they say, it's only on a good green that you can properly hone your
game.
That Woody Tiger fellow is awful good."

"Knock it off!" Hasam hissed. "You're good with locks and explosives. I
want
you to open up that briefcase and find out what's inside."

"But the Colonel told us not to." Fekish suddenly became uneasy. He
shifted
his weight between one foot and to the other, almost like a metronome
with
how rhythmically he swayed back and forth.

	$Heh, interesting trait.  Will we get to see more of this guy?  I like
him.

"Yes, but the Colonel isn't here to give orders now and the situation
has
changed."

"It has?"

"Yes. I'm in charge."

"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense." He stopped moving back and forth.

"Of course it does, and you know I've always looked out for you. Now do
me a
favor. Go into the nearest restroom. Go into one of the stalls and close
the
door behind you. Then open up that damned case without setting off any
booby-traps and tell me what's inside."

"Okay." Fekish obeyed the orders and walked off.

Hasam watched his partner enter the restroom. The feeling of being
watched
grew exponentially. Had he been less loyal to a friend, and didn't like
Fekish as much as he did, he probably would have left the airport
outright.

	$and liked Fekish less than he did, he

The Colonel was lying. Oh, he might have been technically telling the
truth,

	$Bingo.

but he was putting their lives on the line while he sat back and watched
events unfold. Hasam hated that. He preferred the idea that in his god's
eyes, all men were equal, rather than those that had money were
important,
and those that had nothing were useful as cannon fodder. He was no
different
from the Colonel, at least not in the ways that mattered. There was no
reason their leader could not have been here instead of himself. It was
times like this he seriously questioned his faith, or at least those
religious leaders that supposedly knew what it meant to be faithful.

Tension continuing to build, Hasam paced back and forth frantically,
drawing
stares from passers by. He tried to stop calling attention to himself,
but
even when he scratched his nose, he felt eyes boring in on him. He began
to
sweat uncontrollably, despite the cool air of the terminal. An odd
compulsion to stand on top of a trashcan and shout out to everyone to
quit
staring at him grew ever more powerful. His breaking point was fast
approaching.

	$Man, you'd think he farted in a crowded elevator or something.

He was mopping the sweat from his brow for the third time when Fekish
reappeared, smiling happily and carrying the case as though it contained
nothing more than clothing. That eased Hasam a great deal. There was no
way
Fekish would be so casual if he were carrying a bomb. Still, he had to
make
sure.

"So, Bjork, what does our golf bag carry in it?"

"We don't have a golf bag."

"I meant was there a bomb in there?" Hasam hissed.

"That's not what it sounded like."

"Think of it as code."

"Like Pig Latin?"

"If it'll make you feel better, fine."

"Okay. No ombay, on the friebcasay."

	$I didn't think that was how you did pig latin...

"Stop that right now. No more code. Just speak quietly." Hasam swatted
Fekish over the head with his hat.

Fekish leaned closer. Hasam bent down to hear more clearly. Softly, the
smaller man said, "There's no bomb in the case."

The air left Hasam's lungs in a rush so loud that the gasp drew several
people's stares, but he didn't care. He hadn't been sold out after all.
He
wasn't going to be blown up. He should have trusted the Colonel. The
next
time he saw his superior, he would apologize profusely for his rude
behavior. "So what is the item we're smuggling back home?"

Fekish looked up to the ceiling as the list formed in his mind. "Well,
there
were lots of things. Let me think. Inside there were several shirts,
sweaters, pants, socks, edible underwear, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap,
K-Y
Jelly, unused condoms, a tube of talcum powder, a pair of suspenders."

	$Ah, so they're a pair of gay professional golfers from Iceland with no
fashion sense.  I bet you don't see that everyday.

Hasam began to tune out as his partner's voice continued its listing of
the
common items. He wondered if it was drugs they were smuggling, perhaps
in
the talcum powder. It seemed odd, but who knew how they were raising
money
anymore?

Fekish continued. "A bag of golf tees, toothpicks, bio-weapon kept in a
metal cylinder with status readout on the side, lint brush, argyle
soACK!"

	$Heh heh.

Hasam threatened to crush Fekish's windpipe with how hard he twisted the
shorter man's shirt in his meaty fist. "What was that about a
bio-weapon?"

"It's located in the top portion of the case," Fekish gasped out. "Right
next to some sort of device that gives out a false image to x-ray
machines."

"How do you know it's a bio-weapon?"

"Oh, that's easy. I dated a biochemist while we were here. She'd get a
little drink in her and then would go on and on about the different
types of
bio-weapons her company had her make.

	$Bragging?  Moral delimma?  Or just making smalltalk as best she could?

 I paid attention to what she said
because women like it when you take their jobs seriously, respect their
opinions, and listen to what they have to say. I read that in 'Cosmo'."

	$Again, I like this guy.

Hasam cut him off. "And what happens if we push both those buttons on
the
top?"

"It'll release the gas from its container, and depending on the toxicity
levels, it could conceivably kill everyone in the airport."

	$Damn, I really would have thought it would have had at least a little
explosive.

Hasam tuned everything else out. So, they had been betrayed, set up to
die
by their self-proclaimed 'superiors.' Well, he'd show them how superior
they
were when he and 'Bjork' left their little package behind. "Leave the
case.
We're out of here."

"But, what about the mission? If we abandon it, we'll be punished."

"If we get on that plane, we'll be dead. I'd say all other punishments
fall
somewhat short of that." Hasam considered the situation. "We can't just
leave the case in the middle of the airport. Someone will think it's a
bomb
and they might grab us before we get out of here. And there's no way I'm
risking taking it with me. We're ditching it, now." Hasam looked around,
finally spotting a solution to their problem. "See those two guys over
there? The ones standing next to the gate and looking around like
they're
trying to spot someone?"

Fekish looked to where his partner was pointing. There were two men. One
was
huge, even larger and appeared more powerful than the sizable Hasam. The
other was about Fekish's height and had a similar build. Both were
wearing
trenchcoats and hats low to their faces. "Those two suspicious
individuals
that are trying hard to not look suspicious? Yes."

"They're foreigners that just arrived here. I watched them disembark the
plane while you were in the restroom. Go over there and play 'dumb
tourist,'
and ask them in broken Japanese to watch the case while you go to the
restroom. Then head out the front entrance. I'll meet you there."

Hasam left, making Fekish swallow his doubts and force himself to obey
the
orders. Casually, he went up to the pair and bowed before them. "Excuse,
please. I am most humble golfer from Iceland. Must use restroom. Please
watch case so no one steal."

"Is your name, Bjork?" the smaller man asked.

	$name Bjork?

Fekish froze. How did the man know? Was it a trap? What could he do? How
should he respond? Important decisions were best left in the hands of
superiors, who tended to be smarter than him. Racking his mind, he came
up
with the only wildly elaborate and nearly insane plan that he felt might
get
him out of this dire predicament.

	$I really liked the Tick's response in a similar situation.  '"Ah...
Err...  Uh... No."  It was the perfect answer.  There was no way it
could possibly be confused with a 'yes'.'

With a sly smile on his face, he said, "Yes." He prayed answering the
question would work, since he was all out of other ideas.

The smaller man slapped his companion on the back. "See? I told you so.
Didn't I say he looks like a Bjork the instant he headed toward us?"

	$Heh.

"Yes, you did," the big man sighed in a tired voice.

Smirking, the smaller man told Fekish, "Yeah, go on. We'll watch your
case."

Fekish bowed once, and ran as fast as he could towards the exit of the
airport.

	$No comments about it being funny he didn't know where the restroom
was?  Aww, I'm disappointed.


Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The two men looked at the case in front of them. "It hurts just to look
at
it, doesn't it?" the big one asked.

"I think it has a great color-scheme," the shorter one replied.

"You would."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you have a terrible fashion sense."

"Feh! You're just jealous because your outfit isn't as flashy as mine."

"Oh, really? Why don't we take off our trenchcoats and ask someone?"

"We can't do that. We're supposed to be," the smaller man whispered,
looking
around. "Undercover. People will know we're super villains if we show
off
our costumes."

	$In cog knee toe.

"So if the costumes will give us away, why didn't we just come in our
normal
clothes?"

"Then how would the people we're supposed to meet recognize us if we
didn't
wear our costumes?"

"We could have described ourselves to them."

"Oh, come on. What would we tell them? Be on the lookout for a pair of
Chinese men. One of them is somewhat slender, fast, and likes wearing
wolf
skins while the other is seven feet tall, has four hundred pounds of
solid
muscle, and likes tiger skins? Lots of guys look like that. They'd
probably
walk off with the wrong people."

	$Knowing the area, I'd have to agree.

"Okay, but let me ask you this. You're saying that they're supposed to
recognize us by our costumes, right?"

"Yep."

"How are they going to recognize us if we're wearing trenchcoats over
our
outfits?"

"Oh, that's easy. We'll... Umm, that is we can just... Actually we
can...
Ohh. Look at those. Are those titties?"

	$Heh.  Are you sure they aren't American?

"Where? Where?!" It took the larger man a moment to spot the woman
heading
in their direction. She did indeed have an impressive pair of breasts,
her
open tan vest and tight, white tee-shirt only enhancing the fact. They
barely noticed that aside from having a good body, she was also
attractive,
with a long mane of black hair that traveled halfway down her back,
bound
only slightly by a red bandanna on top.

"Do you think she's one of the people the boss hired?" the thin one
asked.

	$Looking back on this after reading the chapters...  That's funny.

"Oh, that would be great. Maybe she would show us her titties if we
asked
nicely."

"I bet she would. You know what they say: nothing ventured, nothing
lost.
Let's go ask." The shorter man picked up the briefcase and joined his
partner in heading towards the attractive woman.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Located no more than twenty feet away, hidden behind a column and trying
to
blend into the crowds, Agent Kaori Otani of the undercover unit of
Airport
Security looked over the description of the terrorists she and her men
had
been given. Aloud, she said, "Two foreign terrorists, both men in their
early twenties. One very large and the other average height and somewhat
slender, dressed in suspicious clothing and carrying a briefcase with
yellow
and pink pastels on it." She turned to her two partners. "Sounds like a
match. What do you think?"

"I think that hot looking chick has got to be at least a," Ryo Saeba
held
out his hands in the woman with the tan vest's general direction, and
cupped
them, squeezing slightly as if testing the ripeness of a pair of
invisible
tomatoes. "38-C," Ryo concluded.

Kyo Saeba looked between the hands and the breasts in the distance.
"Hmm.
Sorry, Kaori. I'm afraid I have to go with Ryo. Look's like he's got the
better match to me."

	$Cute.

She grabbed one ear on each of them, then brought the ears together
rather
violently. Each man's respective head followed the path their ears had
taken. Their heads produced a similar thud. "Ow!" Both said as one,
enhancing the brothers' identical nature.

	$Nyuk nyuk nyuk.

"Would you two idiots pay attention?!"

Ryo said, "Is this another one of your jealous rants because we found
yet
another woman that's more attractive and feminine than you?"

Kyo nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You have to get over this obsession you
have
with us. I hate to tell you this --not that it will stop me from doing
so--
but men just don't find you attractive, except the gay ones that mistake
you
for a guy."

Ryo pointed out, "And she does get an extraordinary amount of lesbians
hitting on her. Some of them quite good-looking."

"It's that butch, tomboyish way she dresses. I hear women like that go
for
that look."

"Think we should try that? I mean dressing like butch women."

"Couldn't hurt."

It took everything Kaori had not to pull out her gun and shoot both of
the
egocentric, chauvinistic, deluded buffoons. "Knock it off! Pretend for
just
one second you got your job based on actual abilities instead of the
fact
your uncle is in charge of the force. We are in the middle of an
assignment.
We need to get that obnoxiously decorated briefcase, with the highly
toxic
substance in it, away from those two stupid-looking guys in the
trenchcoats
without setting things off."

"You don't want us to set the guys off?" Kyo asked.

"No! The briefcase. We don't want them to set the briefcase off."

"Oh, is that all?" Ryo said. He and Kyo nodded to one another, removed
themselves from the cover of the column and headed towards the two men
without another word.

	$Heh.  This is so gonna work.

Kaori paled. The two idiots were dead, which wouldn't have been so bad,
save
for the fact they were going to take her and everyone else in the
airport
with them. She briefly considered gunning the pair down before they drew
too
close to the terrorists, but couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger.
It
was too quick a death for them. All she could do was close her eyes and
say
a prayer.

"I swear by all that is holy I will go with you two idiots to Hell and
torment you there even as you tormented me in this life."

	$Kaori in a revealing devil suit with a pitchfork and tail.  Heh.
That'd be cute.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The two trenchcoated men were about to approach the woman when they
found
two identical twins, about their age, stepping in front of them and
preventing them from walking up to the woman and asking her about a
quick
peek of her breasts.

Kyo said, "Would you mind giving me the briefcase?"

"Our partner would appreciate it greatly," Ryo continued. "She's going
to
bitch a lot if we don't get it for her. Actually, she'll bitch a lot
anyway,
but she won't turn quite as red if we have the briefcase than if we
don't."

The pair looked at one another, then shrugged. The shorter man said, "I
know
what it's like to get yelled at. Our boss does it to us all the time. Do
the
veins on her forehead pop out?

"Oh, all the time," Kyo assured him.

Ryo said, "We tried playing connect the dots with them once, but she got
angry with that, too."

The smaller man elbowed his companion in the ribs. "Hey, we ought to try
that with the boss."

"It would be pretty funny," the larger man agreed.

"Here." Feeling sympathetic to the twins' plight, the shorter man handed
Ryo
the briefcase.

Ryo turned back to where Kaori still remained behind the pillar, nearly
chewing on the concrete in anxiety. "We have it! And I still don't see
why
you were whining so much about getting it! All you needed to do was ask
politely!"

	$If only everyone in the world would be so polite to each other, we'd
have a lot less bloodshed.

	Damn that would be boring.  Stand up for your right to be entertained.
Be rude to someone today.

"Get out of the line of fire!" She shouted, rounding the column and
pointing
the gun at the two suspicious men. She was joined by the other twenty
members of her unit, all of whom followed Kaori's lead and burst from
their
concealment, aiming their guns at the strangers. "You two put your hands
behind your heads and drop to your knees, right now!"

The pair looked the situation over. The larger one said, "I think our
cover's blown."

"I'd be inclined to agree."

"Our instructions were clear if that happened. This is the moment you've
been waiting for."

"You got that right. Let's do it!"

Both men threw off their trenchcoats just as the circle of undercover
personnel closed in on them. All of the civilians who found themselves
between the two groups ran for cover in a mass panic. The only one that
left
coolly was the woman who had been the focus of both the foreigners and
the
twin's attention.

As their trenchcoats hit the ground, both men pulled their masks on and
stood revealed before the law enforcement personnel in all their
brightly
dressed glory. The larger man wore a full-bodied costume. It was plain
brown
around the hands and lower arms, along his boots and lower legs, and
across
his pelvis, shoulders, upper chest and mask. A dark orange covered the
few
remaining areas of his costume. Only the area around his eyes and mouth
was
cut out, allowing him to see and breather easier.

	$breathe

The smaller man wore a costume that was dull yellow, only broken up by
blue
along his hands and upper arms, and on his boots. A large blue 'W' was
in
the center of his chest. The only other odd feature were a tiny set of
white
wings on his mask, located around the ears.

The law enforcement personnel drew back. Kaori kept her gun leveled at
the
pair as she said, "Tell me these guys aren't super powered beings. We
seriously can't deal with SPB's."

In response to her question that was more of a plea, the larger man
ripped
up a huge section of walkway that several of the police were standing
on,
knocking them off their feet and sending them into various states of
unconsciousness as they fell in among the debris.

"Shit!" Kaori only hoped the large man was not invulnerable as well as
strong. She lined her gun  sights up with the head of the man, and aimed
at
the mouth. Maybe she would get lucky and he'd have it open when she
fired.
Insides weren't anywhere near as invulnerable as outsides on these guys,
or
so she had heard.

Just as her finger squeezed the trigger, there was a yellow blur and she
suddenly found herself without a pistol. It took a moment for the pain
of
having her finger nearly ripped off to set in, and she clenched her
teeth in
agony. Other men weren't as stoic as they shouted out, holding their
hands
in pain. Kaori was one of the few to realize what had happened to their
firearms.

The yellow garbed man dropped the last of them in a pile at his feet.
"It's
not nice to point your guns at the future rulers of the planet."

The larger one said, "You tell them, Mint."

Mint turned on his comrade. "No! When we're in costume, we use our
super-villain names. I'm the Whizzer."

	$Aww, man.  That's horrible.  Kinda reminds me of the old joke beer.
Wolf-whiz pale ale.

The big man appeared embarrassed. "Aw, come on. I don't want to be
called by
my name. I like Lime perfectly fine. It's been my name my entire life."

"No way! You have to. It's all part of being a decent super villain. You
have to have a cool name and people call you it. That's why I picked
yours
for you. It'll strike fear into your adversaries."

"I don't think 'Power Man' is going to strike fear into anybody."

"But it's appropriate. You've got power, and you're a man. So that makes
you
Power Man."

"Well, I guess you're right."

Kyo recovered enough to say, "Okay, so his super ability is that he's
big
and strong, so that makes him Power Man. That means you, with your name
being the Whizzer and that color of costume you're wearing, must be your
super ability is to..." He trailed off

Ryo picked up the line of thought. "Ewwww! That's completely
disgusting."

Whizzer looked at them, confused. "What is?"

Kyo gave him an  'are you that stupid?' look. It was one that only
children
really mastered, most adults forgetting how to do it as they got older.
"It's obvious. With your name, and the color of your yellow costume, you
can
only have one super power..."

"...That of super peeing," Ryo finished.

Whizzer recoiled at that. He pointed accusingly across the terminal to
where
Ryo stood. "That is not my super human ability. I'm super--"

Ryo saw him disappear.

"--Fast." Whizzer finished as he stood next to Ryo, the officer's wallet
in
hand.

Ryo grabbed the offered limb that held his wallet, then pulled out a set
of
cuffs. "All right. Being a terrorist is one thing, but there's nothing
lower
than being a pickpocket." Ryo slapped the cuff on the appendage he was
holding, only to discover...

"Hey, I cuffed myself."

"Told you I was fast." Whizzer side-stepped Kyo as the officer tried to
hit
him with a stun baton, allowed the man to trip over his outstretched
foot,
and caused Kyo to hit his twin with the baton.

Kyo looked at his brother's stunned form. "Curiously, I don't feel the
slightest bit of remorse at that." Not one to let a decent opportunity
pass
by, Kyo kicked his brother once again in the side, intent on blaming the
super-villain later.

	$With twins, is that considered a self esteem problem?  Self-loathing,
abusing yourself and all that?

"Dog pile on the big guy!" Kaori shouted to the remaining personnel. She
chose to stand outside the fray as the men obeyed her orders and threw
themselves at Power Man. As commander of the operation, it was her duty
to
call in reinforcements, such as every military and law enforcement
person in
a fifty kilometer radius to come to their aid. She only prayed it would
be
enough to stop these two monsters before the casualties became too high.
This screwed up, loser situation was exactly why she loathed super
powered
beings. And every time she encountered another one, her anger grew. She
didn't care if the media had dubbed some of them heroes. They were all a
threat. Something had to be done about them before it was too late.

	$That reminds me of someone, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

High above, perched on the slanted rooftop of a tall building
overlooking
several blocks, Hawkeye stared down at the city streets, perturbed. She
had
been looking for some sign of criminal activity, but all she managed to
catch was a couple of purse snatchers and the start of a cold. They had
been
hardly worth the effort of the glue arrow used on them, and she had no
anti-histamines to stop her sniffling. It was looking like she would
have to
call it a day. She would have preferred operating at night, but there
was
the restaurant to run and school to eventually enroll in, so this was
the
only time Ukyou had available to hunt down criminals for the rest of the
week.

The stuffiness in her head warned her it was time to give up and call it
a
day when she spotted a quick movement below. Two female police officers
bolted out of a restaurant and into their car. On a whim, Hawkeye shot a
cable arrow into the ground next to the rear driver's door and slid down
the
length of cable even as the car started up.

Hawkeye knocked on the window. "Excuse me." She made out the name on the
driver's badge. "Kobayakawa-san, I'm one of the heroes that's new to
this
town, name's Hawkeye. You need any assistance?"

The pair looked the archer over cautiously. Kobayakawa was the first to
speak. "I remember you. Aoi said you helped him nail some would-be
rapists
last week."

"Saturday night," Hawkeye confirmed.

"Right. Well, as nice as the request is, I'm afraid we can't allow
unauthorized personnel to ride in our vehicle without--" Kobayakawa
found
her speech interrupted by her partner, Tsujimoto tapping on her
shoulder.

"Let him in," Tsujimoto whispered in Kobayakawa's ear. "Since we're
dealing
with superpowered bad guys, we can use the help. We're authorized to let
people ride with us in emergency situations. Besides, he's wearing
tights
and has a seriously hot ass. This might be our only chance to hit on a
major
hunk."

	$Heh, I think it'd be fun if Ukyo and Kaori were to inadvertantly end
up hitting on each other.

"I'm not that superficial," Kobayakawa said.

Tsujimoto gave her a warning stare. "How long have we been partners?"

Kobayakawa considered that and sighed. "Fine, I am. But I'm more subtle
about it than you."

"Agreed."

To Hawkeye, Kobayakawa announced. "Hop in the back."

Hawkeye could feel herself blushing as she accepted the ride. She had
caught
the 'hot ass' comment. A pity it had to come from a female. It was times
like these Ukyou hated impersonating a guy to help keep her identity
secret.
At this rate, she would never get lucky enough to find a boyfriend. It
was
too bad, too, since she had met a number of good-looking male officers
during the ensuing weeks of her new second career. However, she couldn't
hit
on them for fear of them freaking out, and she certainly didn't trust
any of
them enough to confide her secret identity. With the way her life was
going,
she feared ever having a chance at finding a decent boyfriend.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The hero known as Daredevil finished tying up the latest of his
so-called
'Rogue's Gallery'. The self-proclaimed, 'Master of Disguises,' a name so
unwieldy that even the villain in question had taken to calling himself
just
MoD. Daredevil made certain to use the coarsest set of chains that were
concealed in his voluminous crimson-colored robes.

"Curse you, Dirtdevil!" MoD snarled. "How did you know it was me under
this
nun-disguise? I thought it was foolproof!"

Daredevil pulled with far more force than was required on the chains.
"First, my name is Daredevil. Second, you made the mistake of using
aftershave, as well as the allowing the smell of gunpowder cling to your
habit. There isn't a nun around that would use Brute and shoot
firearms."

"Obviously you never attended a Catholic school," the man muttered.

	$Heh heh heh.  I liked that one.

While MoD was still lamenting his fate, Daredevil's acute hearing picked
out
the sound of a police car heading at top speed in his direction from two
blocks away. Quickly, the masked man threw one end of the chain over a
nearby lamppost and hoisted the criminal up into the air.

"Hey! I'm chaffing here! I'll sue you for physical abuse and excessive
force!" MoD roared.

"I can recommend a good lawyer for you," Daredevil muttered as he
wrapped a
different chain around a lamppost and swung through the air. His timing
was
perfect as on the downside arc of his swing the police cruiser turned
the
corner and started to whip by. Daredevil landed deftly on the moving
vehicle's roof, then lay flat and grabbed onto the sides without
allowing
the driver to be aware of his presence.

As Mousse traveled overhead, he was barely able to hear the officer's
radio
over the roaring of the engine. "Confirmation on two super villains at
the
airport. One is really strong and called Powerful Guy. The other has
something to do with urination, evidently. Be advised and grab a
poncho."

	$That's just too funny.  Poor Mint.

Daredevil sighed from his perch on the roof. It just figured; yet
another
loser super-villain to deal with, and a perverted one no less. Didn't
they
have any standards? Daredevil swore he would be going after the strong
one,
no matter how tough he was. Anything was better than fighting another
putz.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Where do you think you're going, boy?" Genma shouted to his son's back
as
the pair continued up the road. It had taken Genma nearly an hour to
track
his son down, given the tremendous lead the youth had built up since he
had
departed the Tendou residence earlier in the morning. It would have been
no
cause for concern, except the boy had taken all of his belongings with
him.

Ranma continued walking forward while answering, keeping his back to his
father. "I told you, Pop. I'm buying a plane ticket to China, and
finding a
cure." He shouldered his pack, with the disguised shield strapped to it,
for
emphasis.

"Foolish boy, you can't possibly afford air fare to China."

"I can if I sell this useless hunk of metal strapped to my back." Ranma
patted the paper-wrapped shield.

"But you need that to become a great and powerful super hero."

Ranma stopped and gave his father a surprisingly soft look. "You're
absolutely right, Pop. I need it to become a great and powerful
super-hero."

"Then you've seen reason and are coming back home?"

"I've seen reason and am not becoming a super-hero." With the matter
decided, Ranma doubled his pace. It wasn't that far to the airport, just
another five miles or so.

Something uneasy shifted in the pit of Genma's stomach. For some reason,
the
boy sounded determined this time. Really determined. "But your mother-"

"Can go join S.H.I.E.L.D if she wants to help bust super villains and
wear a
flashy skintight costume. I'll keep practicing martial arts, fine! I
like
that. But this being a heroic paragon of the country crap is over! I am
a
normal guy, except for that stupid curse thing that you gave me. I am
not a
super-hero, nor a super-hero sidekick, with a cowardly panda as a
mascot!"

"I'm a cute animal sidekick, not a mascot," Genma insisted.

"It's over, Pop. Deal with it.'

"But son-"

Ranma spun in anger upon his father. "Damn it, Old Man, you don't get
it!
I'm tired of every time there's a little trouble you throw me into that
ridiculous costume and tell me to get my head taken off by some lunatic
who
can freeze me solid with his breath or secretes acid through his pores!
I am
not a human target! I'm just a kid that hasn't even been able to make
more
than a handful of friends in his entire life because I have to run
around
and train thanks to this stupid idea Mom had! I'm tired of you guys
trying
to make me into something I'm not. I'm sorry I drank that super soldier
crap
that I don't even remember drinking. I wish I had never seen it in the
first
place, then I'd be normal and not have to put up with this dumb stuff. I
don't care if I've done some good here and there. It's not like I even
need
the costume for any of it. I just want to be left alone."

A police car rolled past, sirens blaring, in the direction of the
airport.

Genma was about to make some remark about how if Ranma hadn't drank the
formula he'd have probably grown up a skinny wimp when he sensed the
seriousness in his son's ultimatum. It was not totally unexpected. Once
Ranma had gotten older and realized there was a world outside of
training to
be a super hero, he had been resistant to fulfilling the pledge. Usually
he'd agree with the plan once Genma talked some sense into him, but
other
times he would dig his feet in and become almost intractable, causing
Genma
to waste hours explaining how things had to be. But this time it was
worse,
undoubtedly due to the curse, being engaged to one of the Tendou girls
(which one was still up in the air), and living up to the high
expectations
of him now that they were becoming a reality. But in the end, it didn't
matter. The boy had to tow the line. It was up to Genma to deal with the
matter before it got out of hand.

The older man adjusted his glasses, one of the signs that he was going
to
deal with a matter in complete seriousness. "The world needs you, boy.
It
needs heroes now more than ever. You have the potential to be one of the
greatest, not just because the super soldier serum runs through your
veins
or because you have an indestructible shield, but because you have the
will
to keep on going where others would falter. Once you're determined to do
something, you keep at it until the job's done. That you have the
abilities
you do makes it all the easier for you to accomplish your tasks. You
fought
that Hulk even though he was far more powerful than you. You defeated
Ulos,
even though he could bench press a Toyota, and you won because you
persevered. That's what I mean."

Another car roared past, momentarily interrupting the speech. Genma
waited
until it trailed off into the distance to speak again.

"Strange days are upon us, boy. I've been feeling it building up for the
last few years, and I think the dam broke recently. You have heroes and
villains popping up all over the place. It's true there were a handful
in
the early days of my childhood, even in my grandparent's day there were
a
few. But now, now it's like it's all hit at once. You're a basically
good
person, maybe even better than me, I'll admit. You'll be one of the
best,
someone that can be trusted above so many others. You should be the one
people look up to, largely in part because you don't want the job. It's
harder to abuse power you don't want to wield, and power you'll have.
People
will believe in you and follow you. They'll trust their lives to you, if
you
let them. But you have to let them, boy, otherwise there's no telling
who
they'll follow. All I know is, it would be better if it were you instead
of
someone else.

	$*sniff*  That's beautiful.

"It's not easy. Responsibilities never are. But you're more than capable
of
managing it, once you set your mind to it. You just have to believe in
yourself." Genma adjusted his glasses again. It was all he had to say.
There
probably could have been more, but it would have just been repeating the
same thing in a different way. Best to leave it as is and wait for his
son's
reaction.

Two more police cars roared past, sirens screaming that something
dreadful
was occurring. The pair watched the vehicles travel down the road until
they
were out of sight.

Genma looked at Ranma expectedly. It was a hard look, one Ranma had
rarely
seen on his father. Under different circumstances, with different issues
at
stake, he would most likely have relaxed his defenses and listened
wholeheartedly to what the older man was trying to tell him. But not
this
time. Something told Ranma this was where an important decision had to
be
made. Either he would  set out on the course his parents had dictated to
him

	$Extra space.

since as far back as he could remember, or set out on one of his own
choosing. It was perhaps the most important decision of his young life,
and
couldn't be decided to casually. And then it happened in the blink of an
eye. A resolve he had never known settled upon him. He knew what was
right
for him, and he wouldn't back down, no matter what.

Ranma looked at his father, gave a sad shake of the head, and sighed.
"Fine,
I'll follow those police cars and help them out if they need it."

Genma beamed at the declaration. "I knew you had it in you. I've never
been
so proud of you as this moment, son, and I mean that. Choosing to become
a
super-hero is-" Genma abruptly stopped as Ranma handed him the wrapped
up
shield.

Before the older man could say another word, Ranma informed him in a
calm
and controlled voice, "I'm going to help them out, but it's going to be
as
Ranma Saotome, not Captain Japan or Bucky. I'm never using that shield
again. Find yourself someone else to play superhero."

Without another word Ranma ran at top speed in the direction that the
police
cars had taken, not even giving Genma a backward glance. In his mind, it
was
over.

Genma was left holding the shield, uncertain of what to say. More slowly
he
followed, the feeling of a lifelong dream shattering into a thousand
pieces,
echoing with every step taken.

	$pieces echoing

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

	<snip>

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane fretted nervously as she tried hard not to listen to what was
going on
in Doctor Tofu's backroom, which was difficult since a glass had somehow
ended up in her hand and was now placed against the closed door. She
wasn't
eavesdropping, not really. She was just looking out for her employer's
welfare, which was what attentive nurses did. Tofu had been acting
strangely
ever since that bizarre incident where the addition to the office had
been
completely destroyed by two super villains that had been apprehended by
the
authorities a few weeks ago. Luckily, the doctor was insured by Damage
Control Inc., who specialized in covering cases of destruction by
super-powered beings.

	$I bet his premiums are going up, though.

 There was still some question as to who was actually
at fault since the villains claimed they had only taken over everyone's
minds in the district and not destroyed any housing. Their declarations
were
silly, though. Akane never had her mind taken over. She would have
remembered that sort of thing.

	$Sure she would have.  ^_^

Since that night, the doctor had been acting strangely, and not in the
'Kasumi is breathing the same air that I am so let's dance' strange, but
secretive strange. Akane's feeling was that it might have had something
to
do with the destruction of the equipment he had received from his
American
friend. The entire apparatus he had built ended up destroyed when the
building collapsed. Tofu had spent the better part of a week salvaging
what
he could from the debris, coming up with several boxes of chemicals that
had
been sheltered by falling crossbeams. But whatever it was that had been
retrieved, he was being secretive with it. No matter how persistent she
was,
she couldn't get the doctor to reveal anything. Instead, when she asked,
he
would behave even more nervously, as though he was trying to hide
something,
which only served to fan the flames of interest further.

	$And her desire, which kept her awake and sweating on those long,
lonely nights...  No, wait, that's my kind of story.  Never mind.

What had also caught her attention and was cause for greater concern was
that sometimes when the doctor was alone in the backroom, he would talk
to
himself. And not just some idle pondering of questions out loud, but
lengthy
and intense conversations. Occasionally it sounded like there was
another
voice in the room as well, a woman's voice, but that was impossible.
Akane
would know if someone had entered the room, since there was only one
door
leading to it and with the way her desk was situated Akane was stationed
directly in front of it much of the day. Lately she would check before
the
doctor retreated back there just to make sure no one was hiding in it
beforehand. Every time she searched, it was empty. Yet once the doctor
returned to the backroom at the end of the day and locked the door
behind
him, the soft talking would begin. Akane had even gone so far as to peek
through the high window to the room once so she could see firsthand if
anyone else was present, but it was devoid of other people. It was just
the
doctor mixing some chemicals and making comments here and there to no
one in
particular. Once Akane thought she heard a feminine voice respond to one
of
the doctor's queries, but she realized it must have been the wind or a
neighbor's radio drifting towards her ears and creating the illusion it
had
come from within. The room was too small and sparsely decorated to
conceal
another person.

The strange matter made her hope Tofu hadn't gone insane. But if he had,
Akane Tendou swore she would remain at his side to help nurse him back
to
health any way she could.

Of course there were added stresses that would have added to the doctor
having a potential nervous breakdown, such as the arrival of his mother.
>From the moment she appeared, Mrs. Ono seemed intent on getting her
youngest
son to live up to his filial obligations to settle down and raise a
family.
Akane had mixed feelings about that. No one had the right to force Tofu
to
marry someone, even if she was his parent (and boy, did Akane sympathize
with that predicament). On the other hand, if he was to consider
settling
down with some girl, maybe one who would be graduating high school in a
few
years, well, Akane certainly couldn't see any problem with that. She had
even received the Mrs. Ono mark of approval in that respect, after
giving
Akane some bizarre hip test that the old woman deemed a good method of
screening prospective bridal candidates. However, Mrs. Ono lacked the
patience to wait for Akane to get older, and was insistent Tofu marry
soon.
And, much to Akane's concern, for some odd reason the old woman seemed
insistent that Kasumi was the perfect match for her son.

	$Funny, that.  I bet the sex would be interesting, though.  'Oh, honey,
that's the biggest I've ever seen!' indeed.

 It showed how
little Mrs. Ono understood Dr. Tofu. Both he and Kasumi were nice people
when taken individually, but they went together like oil and maple
syrup.
Akane knew that was a bad mix. She had tried it in Home Economics, and
it
hadn't turned out well at all. Everyone that sampled the mixture had
agreed
on that.

	$Cute.

	<snip>

Two words from the nearby television caught her attention and shook her
of
her concerns. Akane had left it on for background noise while she filed
the
doctor's patient files (which, thanks to his machine building and hiding
in
the backroom, he had fallen way behind with). Now the regular
programming
was interrupted due to some special report about super villains
attacking an
airport and holding the authorities at bay.

	$It's a red letter kind of day.

Excitement filled Akane's heart. Another chance at action, another
chance at
losing her disability and moving like... No, moving better than those
around
her. Another chance to prove that she could be superior to everyone else
instead of the joke they treated her like, and a lame joke at that.

But there was Tofu to consider. What was he doing behind closed doors?
Would
he be all right if she flew off to play hero again? What if this was the
time he went over the edge and she wasn't around? Of course, he seemed
perfectly fine all day. He had seen his patients and there were no
complaints from any them about his treatments. It was silly, since he
had
been working in the backroom for over a week and nothing bad had
happened.
It was not as though his sanity was on a tightrope or anything, he was
just
secretive and talked to himself. The clarion call to battle filled
Akane's
ears like the roaring of one's heartbeat after an intense run. She
wanted to
soar through the sky again and command the thunder to do her biding as
she
smote her foes with fist and hammer.

Akane knocked on the door, the fast patter of her fist giving away her
anxiousness to leave. "Dr. Tofu, all the filing's done. It's about time
for
me to go. Would you be all right if I left you alone now?"

"Sure, Akane. Thanks for all the help. I'll be fine. " The voice behind
the
door sounded aware and cheerful.

That settled things. "I'll hold you to that." Akane grabbed her cane and
hobbled out of the office as best as she could. There were several
alleys
nearby that she could use to change. All she needed was one tap of the
cane
and then it would be time to fly to the airport and kick some butt as
only
the Goddess of Thunder could do.

	$Aww, all the action is next chapter.  Ah, well.  Looks good, solid
writing, mildly humorous asides, and interestings things going on.  I've
read I think 1 american comic book in my entire life, and watched most
of a season of X Men cartoons, so I'm pretty far out of my league when
it comes to the Marvel universe, but I'm still enjoying the fic.  Keep
it up.

	As I said, I should be able to C&C it within a day or so, now that I'm
not working anymore and back in classes.  Unfortunately, it'll be Friday
before I can send it out.

	Until then.

-Ragun














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