Disclaimer: Ranma and any characters and concepts
depicted in this story do not belong to me and are the
sole property of Rumiko Takahashi and all associated
and respective owners and creators. I am not making a
single cent off this story. 


***= Change in setting or POV. Tread carefully.

IMPORTANT: 
Please read Author's Notes at the end of the chapter
for important information. 

Mini-Note:
This is a complete revision/rewrite of Silent Knights.
You will notice that this is radically different from
the original, and yet similar in many ways. ENOY!




Summary: 

The time...is today.

This is NOT the world you live in.

This is also a world of eternal midnight. A world
where the destruction of the 
sun 287 years prior changed the very world it watched
over. Its remains washed 
over the planet in the form of sentient creatures
known espers, and the energy 
released by its dying breath gave birth to the next
generation of mankind.

This is a vision of tomorrow, in a world of unlimited
possibility. A place of 
limitless power in a world that has evolved into
something far more than it is 
today. Superhumans, cyborgs, the supernatural,
evolution, and gods among men 
have become all too real. Super-powered martial
artists, man/machine super 
weapons, omnipaths that can control the minds of
millions, elementals that can 
change the face of the planet and even demons from the
depths of hell have 
stepped up to test their mettle.

In the traditions of Ranma 1/2, X/1999, Project ARMS,
Orion, Rival Schools: 
United by Fate, Image's Wildstorm Universe and
countless other visions of mass 
destruction I bring you a land where anything that can
go BOOM...will.





Age of the Superhuman






Chapter 0: S.P.B

Chapter Soundtrack: 
"Torn Apart" by Stabbing Westward
"The Perfect Drug Remix #3" by Nine Inch Nails




The crisp breeze whispered through the night air. High
atop the skyline of 
Tokyo, Japan one could marvel at a sight that could be
seen 24/7. A million twinkling lights that, from high
above, could be mistaken for the stars in space. 

The vision was accompanied by the soundless fluttering
of small orbs of light, the soft glow being the size
of a small marble. These peaceful creatures gently
ride the air on transparent wings, their light a
yielding gold that gave contrast to the obscurity
surrounding them. The creatures known as espers exist
all across the planet called Earth. 

The time is 2:30 PM, and the world looks as if it is
seeing midnight. Such is the world of today, and such
as the world will be tomorrow and all days thereafter.


But now is not the time to lament over lost light. Man
has moved on, the world and all its creations have
moved past the need for a singular star hanging over
their heads. Such as will be shown on this cool Sunday
afternoon.




Tokyo Tower.

A grand spire and beacon in the night. It is national
symbol and source of pride for the people of Japan. It
has been the focal point for many a conflict, and
throughout it all it still stands resolute. Today it
shall serve that purpose once again.

A figure slowly materializes from the depths of
nowhere, appearing mere inches from the very tip of
the Tower. He gingerly takes landing upon the spire of
iron and steel and stares out into the majesty of the
capital of Japan. His hair is spiked and cascades down
his back, which flows in the same fashion as the black
trench coat in the wind.

"Underworld H.Q., this is Shaper #00102. Designation:
Deimon Sun." The being spoke seemingly to know one.
"I've arrived at the battle site. Are you getting a
clear feed?"

"Hold on one second, Sun, while we confirm the
signal," A female voice on the other end spoke.

His eyes scanned the city line while he waited. They
eventually fell upon a skyscraper some seven miles
from his position. This super-sight was afforded to
him as one of the many unlimited powers he could grant
himself on a whim. He was one of only a few beings
that existed in the world, a being capable of warping
and manipulating reality itself. He was a being known
as a Shaper.

"Connection confirmed Sun," The voice reappeared.
"We're ready and waiting on this end, fire it up."

"Gotcha, moving in," He confirmed.

With only a minute flexing of thought, he vanished
into nothingness once again.



*



At that same moment, four individuals stood atop the
roof of a major conglomerate skyscraper. Beneath them,
the sounds and sights of man on the move could be
heard. Cars winding through traffic, people crowding
the sidewalks, and all of it illuminated by the city
lights around them.

On the edge of this needle reaching into the sky, a
girl in jacket and jeans, and of eighteen years of age
sits. With one arm resting on a knee she gazed outward
onto the majesty before her. Her memories of this
place were sparse at best, but to think that she was
so close to home again...

"Yo," A pig-tailed boy approached her from behind
before kneeling down next to her. He was dressed
similarly, except the jacket was sleeveless and
fingerless gloves were on his hands. "So how's it
feel? I mean it's been quite a while since we've been
in Japan."

"I guess......it feels nostalgic," She murmured as she
looked up at the stars above. A gentle breeze blew
through her long dark-brown hair. "The stars were just
like that, when we first passed through Tokyo."

An esper rode by on the invisible river of air. It
landed lightly on the Kasumi Tendo's extended finger.
Its six spindly legs tickled her skin as it crawled
about, glowing its celestial light and creating small
shadows upon her face.

"What's up? Ever since we got back here you've been a
little...down." Ranma Saotome asked in concern as he
put an arm around her shoulders. "Aren't you glad to
be home?"

"I am. It's just...its been so long, and we've been
through so much," She said in a melancholy tone. "I
wonder if my father will even recognize me...after all
this time..."

"Why wouldn't he? He's your dad. Parents don't forget
their kids," He reminded. 
"I think you're just homesick."

"Yes, I suppose I am," She sighed. "What about you?
Aren't you sad that our trip has finally come to an
end?"

"Well hell, of course I am," He said as he stood up
straight. "But I've known we wouldn't be on the road
forever. I also knew that we'd have to leave the
circuit eventually. But hey, at least we've got the
chance to go out with a bang."

At that moment, his eyes moved upward, and he spotted
a figure in a black trench coat materialize out of the
thin air of the eternal night. His eyes were a ghostly
white, and the presence he exuded would put anyone on
instant edge. 

"The ref's finally here," Ranma said with a grin.
"Time to get this started."

Kasumi rose to her feet and joined her partner as well
as the two other participants at the center of the
square. Their opponents were two, one with a head of
shaggy light-brown hair and the other with black hair
parted down the middle. They were seventeen and
sixteen respectively and they were both dressed the
same; black shirts and slacks and black gloves.

"All our battles have always ended in ties," Hiroshi
Yagami smirked. "We fully intend on ending that record
before you leave the circuit."

"Hehehe, yeah you're not out of the league yet,"
Daisuke Nakano added. "Consider the lumps we give you
to be your going away present."

"All I'm hearing is talk from you two," Ranma
shrugged. "If you think you can beat us, then go ahead
and try. You'll fail of course but..."

Kasumi simply stood in silent wait and contemplation
as the jibes were exchanged and the arbitrator for the
upcoming skirmish prepared himself. 

"Central, bring up the profiles for all active
participants," The Shaper once again spoke to his
second on the other end.

"Stand by..." The woman spoke.

It took seconds before a translucent gray screen
appeared before him. Several windows opened up within
the screen, each one a detailed dossier of the
participants at hand.

"Alright people, I'll try to make this quick and get
the usual preliminaries out of the way," He spoke at a
normal tone, but by the reaction of the people
gathered below, they could hear him perfectly. "I'll
run down the usual rules..."

Everybody came to attention as the telepathic voice
spoke to their very minds. 

"All activity is to be kept INSIDE the warp. Any
illegal moves such as attempting to shatter the shift,
sneaking extra participants into the battle, or trying
to attack the judge of the match will result in
instant disqualification," He read off. "Is that
clear?"

All four nodded in affirmation. All combatants in the
Underworld Enterprises 
S.P.B Tournament circuit knew that it was impossible
to attack a ref. Since they could quite literally warp
reality at their whim, any attempt to even raise a
hand against them would be stopped before it started.

"Excellent. The challengers for this match are Kasumi
Tendo and Ranma Saotome," 
He nodded to the corresponding fighters. "The
defenders for this match are 
Hiroshi Yagami and Daisuke Nakano. This is a no-powers
barred, anything goes, 
and no energy restrictions match."

He then took a moment to survey the area around them.
He took into account the potential power levels of the
fighters, as well as their reputation for annihilating
the landscape during their matches.

"Ten miles should do it," He decided and then turned
his attention back the fighters. "This match will be
contained in a Level 3 reality shift, NON-reflective,
so don't worry about ricochets."

He waited a moment for the information to sink in. He
glanced over every fighter to ensure that the rules
had proper time to ferment.

"Alright people, lets do this," He raised a single
gloved hand. "Bring the noise."

He snapped two fingers. With that simple gesture a
translucent, gray dome began to form around a ten-mile
radius. The dome was totally invisible to all save the

Shaper himself and the participants contained within.
Deimon slowly lowered himself onto the top as it was
being formed. He walked a small distance as if it were
solid while he watched the combatants below.

"Finally," Hiroshi said as he gazed up at the dome
forming above their heads.

The world they were standing in began to gradually
shift into an entirely new universe contained within
the field. The people below began to fade into
nothingness, the wind ceased to blow, and the stars
above began to flicker out of existence. 

There was one anomaly that existed in all reality
shifts. It was the fact that the espers were somehow
able to flow freely through the borders separating the
dimensions. Even as the shift came to completion, the
small living orbs of light continued to float lazily
in the ocean of air all around them. Unencumbered by
the distortion generated by passing into another
universe.

"Well now, shall we get started?" Daisuke asked while
keying his sights on 
Ranma.

"Yes, lets." Ranma agreed while cracking his knuckles.

The air was silent, and thick with the intensity being
generated by the two rival teams. Daisuke and Ranma
never took their gaze off each other, as did 
Hiroshi and Kasumi. 

A silent signal between them was suddenly given, and
Daisuke and Ranma took off toward the edge of the
roof. When they reached the edge, Daisuke did the
unthinkable...and leapt straight off. Ranma, on the
other hand, did not do something so suicidal, but it
was nonetheless spectacular. He actually began running
down the side of the building! His speed was so great
that the affects of gravity had not taken hold and he
was able to catch up to his opponent who was falling
at terminal velocity.

"YOU NEVER DID HAVE ANY BALLS DIDYA SAOTOME?!" Daisuke
laughed as the ground approached at a frightening
rate.

"I HAVE BALLS! I JUST DON'T HAVE A DEATH WISH MORON!"
He yelled back.

In the span of seconds from when Daisuke jumped, he
collided full force with the empty street below. The
mighty collision created a blast that tore apart the
very asphalt itself. Massive cracks were forced
through the rock and large chunks of the road were
ripped from their foundation and thrown to the wind
like so many pebbles.

Ranma simply launched off the side as he neared the
end. He front flipped as he flew effortlessly into the
air and came to a soundless landing a small distance
away from the impact crater generated by Daisuke. At
that moment, amidst the dust cloud, a figure could be
seen emerging from the destruction he had wrought.

"I'm gonna enjoy ripping you a new one," Daisuke
grinned viciously as the smoke cleared. "Are you ready
for the pain?"

"Quit talking and start fighting motor mouth," Ranma
said in annoyance. "Or are you gonna stand their all
day spouting nonsense?"

"I'LL SHOW YOU ACTION!!" Daisuke yelled as she surged
forward. 

His right arm became a rapid-fire piston as he
launched a torrent of punches in his opponent's
direction. Ranma frowned as he began parrying the
high-speed fists being sent at the rate of bullets
leaving an assault rifle.

"HA! Is blocking all you can do?" Daisuke laughed as
the assault continued.

That was answered when a palm suddenly stopped his
right fist cold. Daisuke instantly shot out with his
left, only for it to be captured at the wrist. 
Before he knew what was going to happen next, he was
pulled forward slightly and was met with a barrage of
kicks that sounded like a machine gun firing when they
impacted. Multiple images of the offending limb
accompanied the 100+ strikes coming at god knows how
many miles per hour. At the end of the torrent one
final kick cannoned into his stomach sent him flying
backwards and skidding to a halt along the ground,
leaving a noticeable trench behind him.

"What have I told you about running that mouth of
yours Daisuke?" Ranma yelled after him. "If you have
enough time to talk then you have enough time to
fight!"

"Hehehe, and whom do you think is running off now?"
Daisuke snickered as he rose to his feet. He wiped the
blood from his mouth. "That was your free shot,
consider it a one-time only offer."

"Yeah right," Ranma sneered. "Awful LOT of free shots
you let me have."

Daisuke did not respond to that as he began to laugh.
It had a twinge of mania behind it as he was overcome
by a dark purple field of force that held lines of
black. The laugh turned into a decibel yell that
seemed echo across the universe itself. Small arcs of
black lightning began flying off, shattering the
ground beneath him and superheating the air itself.

"NO MORE GAMES SAOTOME!" He seethed. "HOW ABOUT WE
JUST GO ALL OUT RIGHT 
NOW!!!!!!!!!!"

A gust of heated wind blew past the pigtailed boy. He
stood his ground firmly, already knowing what the
fireworks signified. His entire form was being
super-charged by his own power. His eyes glowed the
color of the aura around him, and even his teeth were
conducting dark electricity between them.

"Oh god, can we hurry this up please?" Ranma tapped
his foot in impatience. 
"I've seen this a hundred times before Daisuke! It
doesn't scare me anymore!"

Suddenly...everything came to a dead stop. The ground
shaking, the lightning striking, the fire burning, and
even the insane laughter came to an immediate halt.

"Very well," He simply shrugged as the miasma halted.
"Couldn't hurt to try."

In an explosive entry, two massive black wings burst
from his back. They were both seven feet in length,
and were as dark as the night itself. He gave them a
test flap that instantly generated gale force winds
that succeeded in knocking, now abandoned, cars over.
Shop windows were shattered and even Ranma had to
cover his face to protect from the maelstrom of debris
generated. 

There was a reason why Daisuke was known as the 'Black
Angel'. This was it.

"Now, where were we?" He wondered as he rose a few
inches into the air. "Oh yes! 
I was just about to hand you your ass."

With a second monstrous flap he charged forward with
ungodly power and speed. 
Before Ranma knew it, he was rammed into at near Mach
1. They both grappled viciously as they were taken for
a ride high into the sky. Daisuke shot upward, cutting
through the air like scissors through paper.

"I KNEW THAT YOU LOVED HEIGHTS SAOTOME!!" He laughed
as he brought them up a mile over land. 

"I PREFER MY OWN WAY, THANKS!" Ranma yelled back as he
planted a foot rather firmly into his opponent's face.
"THIS IS WHERE I GET OFF!"

With those words, Daisuke took firm grasp of his ankle
as he pried the foot off his face. He then began
spinning at an increasing rate of speed, his hold on
the join never loosening in the slightest.

"YOU WANT OFF?! I'LL HELP YOU!!"

To Ranma the world became a formless blur, as he had
to fight to keep his lunch down. Daisuke's spin was
equivalent to a turbine, the revolutions coming at an
unfathomable number per second.

"HERE WE GO!" He laughed as he let go.

The projectile that was Ranma shot down to earth. The
formless speck slammed full force into a one-story
antique. The impact sent him crashing clear through
the ceiling and impacting the floor beneath it. On the
outside, the windows blew outward and an explosion of
dust, debris, and shattered plates rushed out to the
four winds.

"Now the icing on the cake." He snickered as one
purple-black orb appeared above each open palm. "A
GIFT FROM ME TO YOU SAOTOME!"

He hurled each orb overhead style. They screamed
through the air as they burned a path toward their
target. They dropped into building, but amazingly
enough a delay of half a second occurred. Then a tidal
wave of fire and destruction spewed forth from the
confines of the annihilated structure. Sidewalk was
ripped apart and what was left standing of the
well-respected shop was vaporized by the all-consuming
blast. The blast echoed throughout the limited reality
they fought in, and a thick column was smoke snaked
into the sky. At its base was a brightly lit fire of
orange and reds.

"Ooohhh, that had to sting," Daisuke cringed in false
pity as he hung there in mid-air and admired his
handiwork. "Huh, I suppose I should've left something
to bury..."

He slowly lowered himself to ground level, still
keeping a few inches between himself and the ground.
The inferno was still raging with its terrible
ferocity. 
The sheer heat even forced the Black Angel himself to
back off a distance or risk getting burned to a crisp.

"Hehe, c'mon Ranma, I know you don't get beat that
easily," He said to no one as he continued watching
the chaos given form. "Ahhhh, there you are..."

He made reference to the sight of a shift in the
rubble. Several large pieces of ceiling had survived
the blast and was now lying their being slowly
incinerated. 
That was before the pieces began to shaking and
rocking. An arm could be made out as the several
hundred pounds of debris began to slowly rise into the
air. Fire was all around the being that was displaying
far beyond human strength. Red eyes twinkling into the
inferno could be made out, but nothing more.

"HAHAHA! Been liftin them weights Ranma?" Daisuke
nodded his approval. "I do believe this is gonna get
interesting..."

The figure walking out of the inferno was somewhat
shorter than the person who 
was put in it. The being casually let the remains fall
to the ground behind it. 

"Tch...he says I have a flair for the dramatic," He
rolled his eyes in wait.

"So sorry to keep you waiting," the new being spoke in
a high-pitched voice. 
"Next time, don't bury me so deep, angel boy."

Ranma was no longer the pig-tailed boy he was once
was, literally. What stood in his place was shorter,
thinner, and had a layer of orange and black-stripped
fur. Her hair was bright red, her chest had noticeably
increased in volume, and a tail had come into
existence from the base of her spine. Her ears were
longer and had a point, and small whiskers protruded
from her cheeks. 
Her jacket had been burned off, and small trails of
smoke rose but no burns accompanied them.

"Meow..." She said flatly.

"You never cease to amaze me Saotome," Daisuke
snickered. "Alright kitty, let's dance."




While the destruction down below was being wreaked,
Hiroshi and Kasumi had yet to make a move. The column
of smoke rose majestically in the background and the
heat in the area began to increase due to the inferno.

"I'm glad to see Daisuke's improved so much," Kasumi
said simply. "I take it you've been training as well?"

"Of course," Hiroshi answered. "Our battles have given
us quite the motivation. 
In fact you've been making an impression on all the
teams."

"Have we now?" She asked in genuine curiosity.

"Why yes, I'm amazed you haven't noticed," Hiroshi
informed her. "But I really don't care about the other
teams. Its you I'm thinking about."

Kasumi simply turned to one side slightly.

"Allow me to demonstrate, I am not the same man you
fought last time," He grinned as he uncrossed his arms
and bade her to attack. "Let's make our last fight a
memorable one shall we?"

"Very well, I would like to see what you've learned,"
She said as she rotated her neck. "Hopefully our
repeated matches haven't been in vain."

"Indeed,"

He charged forward, backed by an incredible amount of
power. A trail of dust followed under him as he moved
at a speed that would span an eye blink to a normal
human. Kasumi simply dropped back as he came upon her.
Her hands grabbed onto his collar and her foot drove
into his sternum. He was sent flying nearly off the
building by the force of his own momentum. He cursed
his mistake and twisted upside down in mid-flight.
Kasumi kicked up to her feet just as he loosed a bolt
of white-hued energy.

She jumped backward as the bolt annihilated the area
where she was, the explosion rocking the entire
building right down to its foundation. Hiroshi halted
his momentum in mid-air, where he gingerly floated for
several seconds before beginning a slow descent back
to the ground.

She started a collision course between them, charging
straight through the flames as if they meant nothing.
They met with a resounding impact as Hiroshi used a
forearm to block the high-kick meant for his head. He
countered with a fist that was avoided as she spun to
the outside, falling into a sweep that knocked his
base out from under him.

He rolled immediately to his feet, but as he regained
his bearings he was immediately put on the defensive
again. A face full of rapid-fire sidekicks that forced
him to put all his attention on parrying and evading,
met him as he stood. She skipped forward on her
supporting leg and Hiroshi was forced back
step-by-step. 

After several seconds of the relentless assault, his
eyes widened as he felt for another step but met
nothing but air. He found himself teetering on the
very edge of the building, but when he turned his
attentions back to his opponent he found the bottom of
her foot hovering centimeters from his nose.

"Well...," He swallowed. "It seems I still have much
to learn, don't I?"

"It takes time. Ranma and I have been training for
many years, so don't think this means you haven't
improved." She said as she lowered her leg and backed
off several steps. "Don't you want to try it again?"

"No thank you," He said just as his eyes flared white
and his pupils vanished. 
"Lets say we try my specialty shall we?"

Kasumi only had time to cross her arms in front of her
face before the wall of force knocked her clear off
her feet. White lightning flared all around the shaggy
haired teenager as a feint white glow outlined his
form. Kasumi skidded to a halt close to the blast
crater he had created earlier. She uncrossed her arms
just in time to see Hiroshi rise methodically into the
air.

"I must admit our battles have had their share of
excitement," He said as he raised an arm into the air.
"A shame that they must come to an end."

He opened a palm, which crackled with power. Just
above it a small twinkle began to form and increase in
size.

"Allow me to demonstrate my forte Miss Tendo!" He
laughed. "The power of an 
Elite!!"

The twinkle increased to that of a bright white star
above his head. The heat being emitted from the light
is enough to melt metal. The sheer power contained and
concentrated is enough to annihilate a city, but in
the hands of Hiroshi only one monument would be
destroyed by the blast.

"Burn."

He aimed his palm at the building, and brilliant light
exploded from the star. 
Kasumi watched in near awe as pure white fire washed
over everything she knew. 
The explosive discharge filled the sky as the
shockwave of illumination blasted outward. If there
were still stars in the sky, they would have been
blotted out. 
If people were still around, they would have been
blinded.

The sound of steel, iron, and glass being wrenched and
destroyed accompanied the blast as it plowed a path of
instant obliteration floor-by-floor. The beam was ten
times the size of Hiroshi himself, and nothing could
possibly stand in its path. Metal was melted, glass
was blackened, and everything else in-between was met
with swift and total evaporation. Daisuke and Ranma
could not help but halt their face-off at the presence
of a tidal wave of destruction.

"Oh no..." Daisuke muttered.

"Ditto..." Ranma agreed quickly.

The beam finally gutted through the insides of the
conglomerate headquarters, leaving nothing but a
hollow skeleton behind. Not even that would last as
the torrent of energy contacted the ground. A
shockwave of pure fire exploded from the base and
spilled outward into the street like a literal sea of
flame. An inferno tsunami headed straight for the
Black Angel and the boy turned cat-girl.

"DAMNIT HIROSHI!" Daisuke yelled as he took to the
air. "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU 
ABOUT FIRING THAT THING NEAR ME!!!"

He shot forth into the sky just as the conflagration
flowed underneath like living liquid. It tore down the
streets, blasting over and tumbling cars, setting any
and all establishments in its path ablaze, upturning
the streets and sidewalks, and vaporizing any and all
trees and grass planted.

"Heheheh," Hiroshi snickered in pompous satisfaction
as he gazed upon the apocalypse he had wrought. A ring
of smoke was flowing out from what was left of the
skyscraper. Now reduced to a smoldering crater of
ashen metal. "Too easy."

He floated in mid-air as the tempest settled. That's
when a flicker caught his senses. His eyes fell back
onto the remains of the skyscraper, where he could
detect the slightest traces of movement.

"Well well, it seems I'm not the only who has
improved," He laughed as he crossed his arms. 

Beams of white light began spewing forth from the
wreckage. Then a geyser of raw power erupted from the
multi-ton mound of debris. The beam burned skyward,
its hue and sheer power mirroring that of Hiroshi's.
It climbed ever higher into the heavens until it
slammed into the reality barrier protecting the real
world from the havoc inside. An explosion erupted on
contact and sparks of white stars began settling along
with the flames falling back to earth.

It was from this aftermath that Kasumi slowly floated
to his level. Her body crackling with white lightning
and her hair flowing freely in the force she was
radiating outward. Like Ranma, her jacket had been
completely evaporated, but for some reason that was
ONLY thing destroyed. The white halo that Hiroshi
possessed now encompassed her form, and the two looked
like angels warring in heaven.

"Very good, I'm amazed the beam did not overload you,"
He complimented. "But you couldn't have absorbed
enough energy from the blast to defeat me."

Then he noticed something strange going on about him.
It was the espers, they were beginning to gather
around Kasumi. Their flight patterns creating circlets
around her, akin to electrons orbiting the nucleus.
The surrounding flight path ceased abruptly as the
espers then chose to float a small distance away, as
if giving themselves space. Then in a breathtaking
display, small bolts of continuous lightning erupted
from each creature. They all struck the girl at once,
arcing and forking as they danced the surface of her
body.

Hiroshi simply watched in vested interest as he felt
her power beginning to rise continuously, feeding off
the power of the creatures that possessed the sun's
light itself. White mixed with gold as the two power
sources taken in by Kasumi merged together. In a
burst, the fuel line was cut and the espers slowly
floated on sightless currents of air, their task
completed.

"Marvelous," He gazed on upon magnificence as he
reached out a hand. "Now that we have been properly
charged..."

A small white ball of energy formed at his open palm.
In a burst of sparkle the orb formed into an energy
sword of a single edge. Kasumi's movements were
identical, as she too generated a blade with but a
thought.

"Now," He aimed the tip of the blade, capable of
cutting through steel with ease, in her direction. "It
is time for you to face your better."

She was wordless as she brought the sword forward. Her
weapon resembled more of a katana than Hiroshi's and
her form showed as such. It glowed of the same white
and gold mixture as the rest of her being, while
Hiroshi's was simply the pallid of his own internally
generated power. With those last few words, the match
began round two.


*


Deimon whistled as he watched from the top of the
dome. He knew that the two teams had a reputation, but
it was something else to see it in person.

"Wow, they've annihilated two buildings already, and
have left everything else a smoldering hell," He
observed. "They've got style."

"We've gotta pool goin on to see if this'll end in
another draw or not," His female companion spoke
through connection.

"Put me down for a hundred...," He then thought to
himself for a brief moment. 
"Caitlin, bring up their files again. I wanna get a
better look at these people."

"You got it,"

Once again the translucent gray screen appeared before
him. The four profiles of the fighters scrolled down
before him and he reached out a finger to touch the
screen. The selected bio expanded and contained all
the needed information on the fighter.

"Lesse here...Ranma Saotome...Combat Metamorph...Rank:
2. Jeez, he's the first changeling I've seen that
changes sex when they morph," He raised an eyebrow. 
"Pretty freaky."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" His partner
yelled into his ear. "What's wrong with turning into a
girl?"

"Ahhh nothing really, I was just saying..." He
sweatdropped then sobered when he saw another anomaly.
"What the hell...Bio-Vendial Power Output...102?
That's pitiful." 

"Yeah I know, but he's undefeated in singles
competition. I've never seen anything like it." She
told him. "AND they both make it a habit to challenge
fighters of higher Rank."

"He takes on fighters of three and above, has one of
the lowest output ratings 
I've ever seen, and he's undefeated?"

"Pretty much, take a look at his Combat
Specifications." The woman suggested.

"Okay. Lesse...Physical, makes sense since most
changelings are," He continued. 
"Ahh I see. He's an Adaptive type."

"He's a rare find alright. Most Physical types have a
weakness against long-range attacks, but certain ones
have compensated for that." She explained. 
"Either through evolution or instinct, no one knows.
At any rate, they have the uncommon ability to
regulate their own statistics. Shunting more into one
stat while losing in another. Makes them pretty damn
effective."

"No kidding. Let's see what is partner is like." He
switched profiles with but a finger. "Kasumi
Tendo...Energy Absorption and Energy
Manipulation...Rank: 2. 
Bio-Vendial Power Output...<Variable>."

"Yeah, it seems her power is totally dependent on how
much energy she absorbs from whatever source she can
find." She explained the odd rating. "We've had her 
B.V. output range from 76 to......354."

He whistled.

"Heh, what about Hiroshi. The way he nuked that
building, he's gotta be pretty high up there," He
moved his profile. "Hiroshi Yagami...Energy Projection
and 
Energy Manipulation...Rank: 4. B.V. output...507 AND
he's an Elite. Man, this kid is a monster."

"He's been in the circuit for a while now. Him and
Daisuke have a good string wins under their belt,"
Caitlin informed him. "But even Elites have downfalls.

They have a tendency to be born powerful and STAY
powerful, but they problems getting any stronger."

"Daisuke Nakano...Low-Level Energy Absorption and
Projection, Flight, Enhanced 
Strength, Speed, and Durability." He read off.
"Physical combat type, no wonder, as well as an Energy
type. B.V. output...269, and a Rank of 3. Nice, very
well-rounded."

"Daisuke's powers is what makes them such an effective
team," She explained. 
"Low-Level absorbers are only able to absorb ambient
energy, not active like true Absorbers, but
considering the amount of power Hiroshi leaks off it
works perfectly for him. The more Hiroshi fights, the
stronger HE gets."

"Perfect combination," The screen vanished in a blink
and he brought his attentions back to the battle
below. "This should prove to be quite the match-up."

"Alright, I got ya down for a hundred."

"Make that two hundred."



*


Daisuke floated a small distance away, his black wings
keeping him perfectly aloft. He watched the two highly
charged fighters above and he could feel the power
radiating off. More so on Hiroshi than his opponent.

"Makes me wonder how much of his power she absorbed,"
He looked down at the chaos below. "If she sucked
enough to generate a blast like he did...I better get
some distance after I soak a little more."

He was, at the moment, absorbing the excess power
flowing off the two. Though he had yet to figure out
why Kasumi's was releasing so much less. He then
realized something that had crossed his mind...his
opponent was gone. 

"Hey...where the hell is Saotome?" He wondered as he
searched the area beneath him. There was not much,
save for charred black landscape that stretched a
blast radius of a mile. "Oh...that's too funny...don't
tell me he got nailed by the backlash!"

He laughed out loud for all to hear. 

"THE GREAT RANMA SAOTOME! FRIED TO A CRISP BY A
SHOCKWAVE!" He hooted. "Didn't even die by a direct
hit!!"

"And just what the hell is so funny about that?"

"Huh...what the..." The voice had come from nowhere.
He whirled around, trying to pinpoint the location.
"Am I hearing things?"

"I'm right here genius!"

"Where are you?!" He searched frantically. All he
could find was empty sky and burned ground, no place
for Saotome to hide. "Don't play games with me!!"

"Jeez you are a moron," The female voice groaned. "I
said I'm right HERE!"

Daisuke felt a furred arm wrap around his throat and
clamp down viciously. Ranma's head peeked out from
behind his shoulder, her arms trapping him in a
sleeper hold from behind.

"Peekaboo," She grinned showing the canines that
developed when she metamorphed.
"I hitched a ride when the flame wave came and you
ditched. Did you think I was gonna sit there and let
myself get roasted?"

He moved his eyes over to her as he fought to either
free himself or get some oxygen to his lungs.
Apparently she was adding more strength to herself, as

Daisuke was unable to break the lock despite his own
enhanced strength. He slowly began to lose altitude as
his consciousness began to slip.

"Good bird boy," Ranma-neko watched as the ground came
up slowly. "Nice and slow."

Suddenly, the wings she was between came to life. They
spread to their full length and Daisuke shot skyward
at top speed. Ranma had to hang on for dear life as
the wind pressure was forcing her to loosen her grip.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! WE'LL SLAM INTO THE
BARRIER!!" She screamed as she looked up to see the
gray dome coming in rapidly.

Daisuke simply grinned and let out a chocked chuckle.
Ranma looked back and forth between the shield and the
ground. She had two choices, let go and fall down to
earth in a fatal freefall or take the impact of
slamming into the shift barrier, lose consciousness,
and fall anyway.

"Gee, that's a hard choice," She rolled her eyes.
"Good luck angel boy, see ya on the ground!"

She let go and instantly found herself in freefall.
Daisuke was content to gasp for much needed air; just
before realizing he had not stopped yet. He slammed
head first into the shift barrier, creating a booming
thud that demonstrated the thickness of his skull. He
was once again seeing stars, but it was thanks to his
durable frame that he did not suffer worse; like a
concussion.

Ranma was having problems of her own. The ground was
miles away and coming up fast. Even if she jolted all
of her stats to durability, she would not survive the
fall, at least not with a few dozen broken bones.
That's when she looked below herself. A bank
headquarters building was coming up, it was tall
enough, not like the skyscraper that was annihilated
but higher than most others around it. If she could
fall parallel, and close enough to it...

"This...had better work." She focused on her hands,
or...paws...as it were. It was a trick she had devised
some time ago. Her B.V. output was low compared to
most, but that did not matter. It was not about how
much power one had, its how they used it.
"C'mon...c'mon, work."

Her fingers glowed blue. Vapors of energy began
radiating off them as small blades of translucent blue
power began to form on the tip of each finger. Each
one elongated until they were about an inch in length.
Each one was capable of cutting through solid stone,
though she was trying to elevate that to metal.

The building was just beginning to come up. At the
rate she was falling, it would take only a second
before she pancaked into the ground. The brick of the
outside suddenly began flying by at a maddening rate.
Ranma slowly reached out with the claws until contact
was made. She was shook by a savage jolt as her
momentum drastically decreased. 

The claws dug into the stone, leaving noticeable
trenches in the brickwork after her. She closed her
eyes tightly and waited for the drop to finally stop.
When she felt that she was no longer moving, she
opened her eyes slowly and one at a time. A quick
survey told her that she had stopped a little higher
than halfway down, which still accounted for several
stories.

"At least I'm alive." She sighed in relief. She forced
one hand out, reached up and dug them in again. She
slowly began to climb up the side, laughing at the
thought that cats were afraid of heights.

It took several minutes for her to finally reach the
top. She crawled up and over the edge before
collapsing on her back and taking a much needed rest. 
Surviving a fall from wicked heights was enough to tax
the strongest person.

"Was he insane or something?" Ranma said in
bewilderment over Daisuke's actions. 
"It's like he wanted to kill us bo...AHHHH!!!!"

She rolled backward onto her feet before leaping in
the same direction. A dark bolt of power collided into
where she was as she landed on all fours, ears
twitching and her eyes searching the skies. 

"GOTTA STAY ON YOUR TOES SAOTOME!" Daisuke yelled as
he aimed his palm again. 
His other hand was bracing his wrist for the shotgun
recoil the blasts produced. 
"ITS HUNTIN SEASON!"

He fired off additional rounds at the cat-girl. All of
them missed their mark as 
Ranma took off, still on all fours, and went roof
running at impossible speeds. 
Daisuke fired off two more missed charges before
growling and closing his wings together. He went into
a perfect dive that lasted several seconds before he
spread the appendages wide again and began flying
alongside the fleeing feline. 
He reached out one arm and fired along her path,
looking between his target and where he was going.

Ranma did the same, seeing his inability to stay
focused on her as an opening. She waited until his
attentions shifted back to his flight path. In that
instant she leapt off the building with as much
agility as she could muster and tackled the Black
Angel in mid-flight. It was like the cat finally
catching the canary. The impact knocked Daisuke
off-kilter and he was unable to keep himself aloft.
They both came to a crash landing to the ground, with
Ranma leaping off the tumbling flyer just before
impact. He wound up landing face first into the
street, sliding to a rather painful stop, but in doing
so, saved his wings from damage.

"Do you even...realize...how annoying...you are?!" He
said in-between spits of dirt.

"Awwww, but I just wanted to play," She grinned as her
tail swished from side-to-side. She had a tendency to
keep to all fours while in cat-form. The benefits in
doing so were a greater agility and reaction time,
even without the use of modifying her statistics.

"You want to play? Well I'm right here and I'm not
going anywhere," His wings came to their full spread
again, all the while sucking in the free-floating
power gently trickling down from above. "The more we
'play' the stronger I become. Think you can take me
now Saotome?"

"Won't know until I try right?"

With that, Daisuke thrust both palms forward and
unleashed bolts at rapid fire. She pushed everything
to speed, and became nothing more than orange blur
moving side-to-side, the bolts harmlessly striking the
ground where she was. Before Daisuke knew it, Ranma
was past his firing range, and the two engaged in
close-quarters. Blows began being exchanged in the
hundreds. Sometimes a shockwave would emit when fists
or feet collided, but the two were moving at such a
rate it was impossible to tell.




The blades collided, and arcs of gold and white
lightning spilled forth from the encounter. Both were
equal and neither one would flinch in the face of the
other. The girl's face was of total calm and
obliviousness to the severity of the conflict before
her very eyes. Hiroshi was grinning maliciously. So
few people were able to properly gauge his powers like
she could, so battles like these were something he
relished.

They both pushed off each other while continuing to
hover high above the earth. 

"Your blade is stronger than before, I am impressed,"
He then raised an eyebrow as he noticed something else
that was rather interesting. "Your power bleed, I can
barely sense it. How did you accomplish this?"

"I concentrate my power to a single point within
myself. It keeps the energy I absorb from burning off
as quickly, but it limits the use of long-range
attacks." She explained, and then indicated the blade
in her hand. "But manipulations like this do become
stronger."

"Your skills constantly have me in amazement," He
chuckled. "But my power is unlimited, I need not worry
about burning off energy. Which, in this case, gives
me an advantage."

He raised a hand, and with no trouble at all began
firing tiny bolts that had the characteristics of
bullets from his palm. The rounds came at a rate that
could match an M-60, and Kasumi had to focus all her
attention on juking and weaving through the assault. 

"HAHAHA! I see you haven't lost any speed!" He laughed
as he followed her flight path.

The match had now become a mid-air dogfight, with
Hiroshi hot on her heels as they streaked through the
sky. The energy bolts shot dangerously past her face
as she zagged from side to side to avoid the stream.
She then reversed the grip on her blade, and in one
motion turned to her back and hurled the energy weapon
in his direction before moving to her front.

Hiroshi was still laughing when he suddenly found the
tip of the blade coming straight at his face. He
instantly broke off his barrage, stopped, and bent
backward as the blade sailed far too close overhead.
As he regained his bearings he attempted to take sight
of his enemy, but she was nowhere to be found.

"What the..." His eyes searched all angles and
degrees, but they could not pinpoint her location.
"How did I lose her?"

A flash caught his senses, and he brought his gaze up
just in time to see Kasumi's feet descending upon him
rapidly. They slammed hard into his chest, and he was
knocked back a ways before stopping himself. He
instinctively lashed out in a thrust, only for her to
slip past and inside the blade's realm of uselessness.
She took hold of the wrist just before sending her
elbow crashing hard into his cheek. He was forced to
let go of the blade, and the sword dissipated into
nothing, much like Kasumi's after she threw it. 

She took grasp of both sides of both sides of his
head, and sent her knee slamming into his nose just as
she picked herself up and over his head. She twisted,
and once again using both feet, sent them hard into
the square of his back. The blow sent him hurtling
toward the ground at high speed, but he succeeded in
stopping himself, spread eagle, just as he would have
made contact with the asphalt.

She was already his superior in close-range, and by
what he had learned, she and Ranma specialized in
mid-air combat, which made the margin even wider. This
would not do, the only way for the match to become
even again was if he could lull her back to the ground
and into a duel of blades, something he excelled in. 

He shot straight back up into the air without changing
his position. It was just as Kasumi reappeared,
sending her foot into the area he just occupied.
Hiroshi stopped a good distance above, brought both
his hands above his head and formed a second blade in
their grip. He dove straight down in a stab, driving
the blade straight into the pavement as she rolled
forward, her feet having touched the ground. He
followed her path and she manifested her own weapon as
soon as she could stand again. Once again the two
blades clashed in a burst of lightning.

Even the distance, one could make out the struggle.
Arcs of lightning exploded outward every time their
swords came together. The advantage shifted between
them several times. It was similar to all their
battles and one of the reasons they always ended in
draws. However, this battle would take an unusual turn
as Hiroshi broke off their latest clash.

"Hehehe, I promised that this battle would not end in
a draw," He said between breaths. "But...it seems the
only way that will happen is if I use my full power."

Kasumi narrowed her eyes as she took controlled
breaths to regain her energy. She wondered what he
could possibly mean by unleashing his full power. She
could have sworn that he was already fighting with all
his strength already. Though she had to recognize the
fact that he was two Ranks above her, and though it
blew the minds of everyone that she was capable of
fighting someone of such superior power, she truly did
not know what his limit was.

"Allow me to show you the effect of unleashing all my
energy at once," He dissipated the blade and wiped the
blood from his nose. A solid white orb of power then
surrounded him. He slowly rose into the air, Kasumi
watching his every movement. "I suggest you take
cover, this will get ugly."

He gnashed his teeth together and clenched his fists
at his sides. Lightning began coursing around the
sphere that surrounded him, and high winds began
blasting forth from this new point of origin. Waves of
force erupted from the ever-increasing mass of energy
that was Hiroshi. They ripped across the enclosed
reality they were fighting in, slamming into the
barrier and rocking it violent. Kasumi could only
stand there and watch in wonder at how a human could
generate such obscene amounts of power.



Elsehwere, Ranma and Daisuke were still locked in
their struggle. They were perfectly matched thus far.
Though Ranma did possess superior fighting skill,
Daisuke's strength and speed exceeded his own. Even
when pushed to their individual max. This alone forced
the fight to an active stalemate.

Even as they traded blows at an alarming rate, Ranma's
tail slowly sneaked over and snaked around her
opponent's ankle. With a firm yank Daisuke was sent
crashing to his back. He immediately sent a bolt
flying at the cat-girl before he could take advantage
of his weakness. She quickly flashed her energy claws
and cut the ball of power into four pieces that
harmlessly exploded like so many sparklers.

Daisuke blinked in shock at how effective those claws
were, especially if they could shear an energy attack
like a solid object. He did not want to wait around
and see their effect on humans. He released his wings
again and took off to the sky. Despite both being
Physical fight types, he thought it safer to keep at a
distance and exploit his rival's weakness of
long-range attacks.

"HEY! Come down here and fight me like a man!" Ranma
demanded.

"As tempting as that is, I like the view up here a lot
better!" Daisuke laughed as he caught his breath. "How
about we play a game of dodge ball?"

With those words he created an orb of dark energy in
one hand.

"If you get hit, you not only lose the game, but your
head too!" 

Ranma crouched down and prepared to go on the move
when sudden a surge of power blew past them. The surge
interfered with Daisuke's hovering slightly, knocking
him off-balance by a small margin. Ranma felt a
tingling across her skin and her fur stood on end. It
was like one massive static shock.

"What in the world is that?" Ranma brought her gaze
over in the direction the wave had come from, just in
time to be struck by another.

"Oh no..." Daisuke said with wide-eyes. "He's not
gonna try to pull it off is he?"

"PULL OFF WHAT?!" Ranma's sensitive hearing allowed
her to pick up that little comment.

"He's going for full-power!" He answered. "Which means
this entire area is DUST!"

A piercing scream split the sky. Hiroshi yelled for
all the heaven's to hear as his power continued to
increase to near god-like levels. Even when charging
in the air, the ground shook violently. Whatever
windows were left shattered to dust. The air warped at
his very presence, and the waves of force erupting
from him grew stronger in intensity.

"H...Hey...what the hell...?" Ranma sputtered as she
felt her feet leaving the ground. "What's goin on
here?!"

She was thrust upward in an uncontrollable spin, as
was Daisuke who found his wings to be totally useless.
Large chunks of rock and even whole buildings were
ripped from their foundation as gravity completely cut
itself off.



*



Deimon fought to retain his balance another violent
jolt shook the dome. He raised an eyebrow as another
series of cracks form at the surface, each shockwave
sent through the barrier caused more to appear.

"That bastard, is he trying to break the barrier?" He
kneeled down and placed a hand on the surface. "I
don't think so."

A surge ran through the entire dome, sealing any and
all cracks created. It was only a temporary solution
as the jolts continued to increase in ferocity.

"Barrier reinforced." He reported. "And as for that
jackass Hiroshi, instant disqualification."

"Deimon wait!" His partner, Caitlin, suddenly called
through the comm. connection.

"Huh? What is it?" He asked in exasperation.

"We've been suspecting something about Hiroshi for
quite a while now," She started. "We believe he may
possess low-level reality warping abilities."

"He's a low-level Shaper?" He said in confusion. "Why
the hell did they allow him to fight in the
tournament?"

"It's not that simple Deimon," She explained. "This
has happened once before. When Hiroshi attempts to
increase his power to its maximum limit, he releases
colossal amounts of energy. That energy is so intense
and pure that it actually interferes with the physics
of the reality the fighters are kept in."

"Yeah I can tell. The gravity's gone totally null in
there." He said as he stared down at the chaos being
unfolded below.

"He's not in conscious control of it. It only occurs
when he's charging to full strength."

"Conscious or not, I can't allow this match to
continue," He decided. "If he forcibly shatters the
barrier, all the damage done inside will spill into
the real world."



*


He had never gathered this much power before. The feel
of it was beyond words. He knew that he had this
ability, but he never dared use it before. If he ever
lost control of such monstrous energy, the world, or
at least a small corner of it, would be put in
jeopardy. However, if was going to win this battle
decisively, he was not going to hold anything back.

He could see his rival screaming something to him, but
he was beyond hearing her. He could see that their
enclosed environment was suffering rather badly in the
face of the onslaught he was unleashing. But there
could be no stopping now, not with so much power being
released. The only way to end it safely was to go all
the way to full, and he intended to do just that.

"Huh?" He suddenly blinked at the awkward silence he
was now hearing. "What...happened?"

He was now floating in the air. The stars were back in
their proper places, the breeze was blowing, and the
world was not being rended asunder by his power. He
stared at his hands in befuddlement, he was no longer
charging. His power had completely dissipated, as well
as the dimension the contest was taking place in.

"Hey...everything's normal again," Ranma looked around
in relief. "AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

It was now the SECOND time a cat would fly through the
air. She was in freefall yet again. Now that gravity
had taken hold on the world, it was currently trying
to rein all its followers back into its iron grasp.

She screamed as the ground once again was coming
toward her in a fevered rush. There were no tall
enough buildings for her to properly slow her descent.
The only thing she had to look forward to now was
becoming a pulpy piece of street pizza for all to run
over. Her eyes were closed as she awaited the
inevitable, but death would be postponed as she
suddenly felt herself come to an abrupt stop.

"Huh? Well that was shorter than I expected," She
opened her eyes slowly. "I coulda sworn I heard
somewhere that falling to your death was more painful
than this."

"Ranma? Are you okay?" Kasumi smiled as she held her
in her arms. They were both floating high above the
city, with Hiroshi and Daisuke not that far away and
doing the same.

"Yeah, I am now," She said shakily as she gaped at the
distance between them and the earth. "Jeez, is Hiroshi
half-god or something?"

"One could come to that conclusion," She giggled. "But
it seems we're out of danger now."

"This match has been declared a draw," A voice then
spoke into all their minds at once. They all looked up
to see the Shaper hovering above their heads; his eyes
staring collectively back at them. "By order of
arbitrator Deimon Sun. Good match, all of you. Have a
nice afternoon."

He vanished silently into the night. Everyone present
let out the breaths they were keeping in as the calm
after the storm began to settle in.

"It seems our record is to remain unbroken," Hiroshi
said as he floated over. "I suppose that is as good as
any victory."

"So is it true?" Daisuke asked. "Are you two really
leaving the circuit?"

"Yes it is, unfortunately," Kasumi confirmed. "Family
affairs have come up that we must attend to. But...we
might return someday, when we have the time."

"Yeah, no way are we quitting until we give you guys a
defeat," Ranma grinned. "But...I gotta say...thanks
for the challenge."

"Feh, you're just lucky the ref jumped in when he
did," Daisuke sniffed. "I had you on the ropes and you
know it."

"Forgive him, he knows not from his brain and his
manhood," Hiroshi chuckled. "Perhaps...one day...our
paths will cross again. I shall be waiting eagerly for
that day."

"So shall we," Kasumi smiled.

Daisuke opened his wings and a white flame erupted
around Hiroshi. The duo shot off into the night, and
in mere seconds were nothing more than twinkles in the
distance. 

"Well, that's it," Ranma sighed. "We are officially
out of the tournament."

Kasumi lowered gently back to the skyscraper they had
started. In one corner of the roof, two backpacks lay
in wait. As soon as she touched down, Ranma jumped off
and instantly thanked Kami for once again being on
solid ground.

"Ranma, aren't you going to transform back?" Kasumi
asked.

"I wish," She frowned. "Used up a lot of energy in the
fight. Its gonna be a while before I regenerate enough
to morph back."

Kasumi walked to the edge again. She took one last
look at the grand magnificence of Tokyo at the eternal
night. It was breathtaking, but they had more pressing
concerns.

"I never thought I would say this, but," She smiled
lightly. "Let's go home."



***



The intense reverb of the music pumping from the
inside could be heard from a mile away. Motorcycles,
cars, and even the occasional Humvee could be seen
parked outside the club's doors. There was a massive
party going on inside the doors of the techno/rave
club called the Edge. Only a select clientele had been
invited, but the newcomer approaching its doors needed
no invitation. Or so she would prove in several short
minutes.

"Hey, check it out," The bald one of two bouncers
guarding the establishment nudged his partner. "Babe
comin in at twelve o' clock."

He nodded over in her direction and his red-haired
companion followed with his eyes. They fell upon a
teenage girl approaching the doors. She was of
seventeen years of age, and her hair was cut short to
a point at the base of her head. She was dressed in a
black leather jacket and pants to match.

"Nice," He whistled. "You suppose she wants in?"

"If she does," His hairless partner grinned. "She'll
have to pay the entrance fee."

The girl approached the doors without any regard to
the two heavies guarding it. She would have walked
past them, unhindered, had one of them not raised a
hand to halt her movement. She stopped in mid-step and
simply glared at the redhead sidelong.

"Excuse me, but this club is being reserved for a
private gathering," He informed her. "I'm pretty sure
you're not on the guest list."

Her eyes then moved to his bald partner. 

"But...I think we can let you in, for a small 'fee' of
course," He gave a lewd smile as he looked her over
from head to toe. "Of course...uhhhh...we get to name
the price."

They both gave each other slightly confused glances
and shrugs as the girl began to laugh lightly, then
out loud. 

"Oh my, my, my," She shook her head and wiped away a
false tear. "You two are so clueless aren't you?"

"Say what?" The bald man lost his smirk and it was
replaced with a frown.

"I know your boss QUITE well, and if he finds out you
didn't let me in," She shuddered at the thought that
entered her mind. "He's not gonna be too happy, to say
the least."

"Ehehe, riiight," He took firm grip on her shoulder.
"Look, we don't time for games. I highly suggest you
scamper off back to wherever you came from, okay?"

She simply smiled cutely, reached up, and grasped his
wrist lightly.

"I'm sorry, but I really have to speak with him," She
let go after several seconds. "Its very important."

"Yeah well, I'm sorry but I can't...," He stopped
suddenly. He raised an eyebrow as he released his
grasp and stared at his wrist. "Hey...what did
you...AAAHHHHHH!!!!!"

He collapsed to his knees in a screaming fit, all the
while clutching his wrist in writing pain.

"Jesus man, what the hell's wrong with you?!" His
partner kneeled down and attempted to take control of
him.

"SHE BROKE MY WRIST!!!" He screamed at the top of his
lungs. "THE BITCH BROKE MY WRIST!!"

"What the hell? How?" He turned his attention back to
the girl who had not moved from her spot. "HEY WHAT
THE HELL DID YOU...*"

A boot planted rather savagely to his chin cut off his
sentence. He could have sworn he felt a tooth fly out
just before he lost consciousness. His partner was in
no position to help as his joint had been totally
shattered, or so he thought....

"Tch, you would think they could hire good help at
least ONCE." Nabiki Tendo rolled her eyes in disgust
before she pushed through the door of the club.



*



Multi-colored lights spiraled around the room. Dozens
upon dozens of men, women, and everything in-between
were losing themselves in the trance/techno acoustics
being brought on by the DJ. All two stories were
filled to capacity by the followers of one man. All of
them had come to give their praises and to pay homage
to their sire. 

"So many sheep, so little time," A man with purple
black hair sighed. He spoke to another at his right,
the man who had made all this happen and was also the
leader of everyone present. He was brown skinned and
had a head of moppy white hair. He was dressed in a
dark blue leather jacket and pants to match. He wore a
red glove on one hand and a fingerless one on the
other.

Them and two others sat in a private booth, surrounded
by women whose only purpose was to please them until
they grew bored of it. All four looked upon the
followers their great leader had under his sway. It
was rather impressive, it was essentially a small
army, and not even everyone had been invited to the
get together.

"You know, with this much cannon-fodder," A larger man
to his left spoke. "You should be able to take over at
least one of the other lords."

"Hehehe," A lanky one to his left snickered. "We'll
just throw them at them until the slaughter is too
much for even THEM to stand."

"Tch, I have no interest in that right now," Their
leader spoke as he lounged. "Just keep moving in on
the empty territories to the south. I'll worry about
grabbing occupied lands later."

That's when the languor of the moment was shattered by
multiple murmurs breaking through the crowd. Everyone
had stopped dancing and even the DJ was frozen in
place. The large crowd on the first floor began
parting like the Red Sea as a girl stalked past them
all. Her attentions were locked on only one man in
particular.

The leader tilted his head down from staring at the
ceiling. Despite having shades on, one could still see
the growing amusement in his eyes and face as he
recognized the girl approaching.

"Ahhhh Nabiki," He grinned. "I've been expecting you."

"Oh I'm sure you have," She agreed whole-heartedly as
she came to a stop not too far from his table. "So why
don't we skip the BS, K', and get down to WHY I'm
here."

"Whatever do you mean?" The man known as K' asked in
mock concern. "Have I done something to offend you?"

"I thought I made it quite clear already that Nerima
is OFF-limits," She reminded. "Perhaps you weren't
paying attention when I was laying out the ground
rules the first time."

"Oh? I don't believe I recall anyone here setting foot
in Nerima. Has anyone else heard such a thing?" He
asked of the crowd gathered all around them. They of
course, all nodded their denial and/or lack of
recollection. "See? I am a man of my word."

"Oh god...if you're gonna feed me bull, at least try
harder," She groaned. "I've already caught three of
your cronies prancing around my territory looking for
free drinks. Now unless they can't tell their dick
from their brain, I'm pretty sure they knew what they
were getting into."

K' simply laughed outloud. Nabiki had not been smiling
since she entered, and this scene he was making did
not help any.

"Ooohhh Nabiki," He calmed down. "You give me such
amusement its almost a shame I have to kill you."

He snapped his fingers. Nabiki looked to either side
and saw a pair of fangs appear in the mouths of
everyone present. All the vampires sired by K' were
totally loyal to his every command. If he told them to
jump in a pool of lava, they would. This situation was
somewhat similar...

"It seems you interrupted quite a party Nabiki," He
chided. "My friends aren't too happy with you."

Savage snarls and hisses of bloodthirsty glee escaped
from the mass of demons all around her. Each one was a
human who seeked an easy path to power. As such, they
willingly gave their souls to their sire, and in
exchange he granted them a small piece of the power he
wielded.

"You really don't give a rat's ass what happens to
them do you?" She nodded to the mindless sheep.

K' simply shrugged in amusement.

"So...I'm guessing if I give them a chance to run,"
Nabiki started. "They wouldn't listen?"

"No...I would think not," He answered as best he
could.

"Okay," She shrugged. "Just checking."

With a simple mental gesture, purple flames engulfed
each of her hands. Several of vampires at the front
noticed this and backed away a few steps. A simple
frown by K' forced their resolve to return as they
continued to stalk forward in blind courage.

"So loyal, I almost pity you all," She sighed as the
flames rode up her arms and began to engulf her body.
"Almost..."

A smile came over her as the flames surrounding her
form began to glow an unearthly white. With a tensing
of her fists, a wave of psionic fury erupted outward.
The entire building was bathed in white light as a
burst of raw mental power surged through the gathered
demons. The force wave blasted them off their feet,
sending them crashing into walls, tables, and even
over the bar and into the large assortment of drinks
kept. As bodies were sent flying in an invisible
hurricane, nothing else was affected. Tables and
chairs remained stationary, save for when something
came crashing into it.

As the psychic haze diminished, the tidal wave of
vampiric hell that was about to descend upon her was
no more. All of it scattered to all corners of the
club. K' still had his amused grin, which had not
faltered ever since she had arrived.

"Please K'," She shook her head in disgust. "If you're
going to insult me by sending your brainless flunkies
after me, at least make sure they'll survive past the
first shot."

"Nabiki, there is one thing you refuse to learn. You
seem to think you have some sort of power over me, I
just don't understand where you got that idea..." He
said in confusion. "Crimson, Blade, Talon; educate the
female."

His three companions, the purple-haired one, the
giant, and the lanky vampire respectively, all turned
their gaze to her before vanishing from sight in a
warping from air. Half a second later they reappeared,
all surrounding her and but waiting their master's
command to rip her limb from limb.

"There is something you must understand Nabiki," K'
explained. "I will go where I want, whenever I want,
for any reason I want. You go and ahead and spout off
that its your territory all you please. It means
nothing to me."

"I really don't know what your major mental
malfunction is," She said evenly. "But you must be
some kind of masochist since you try so hard to piss
me off."

"I just think you're so cute when you're mad," He
smiled. "I'll be sure to remember that face since you
won't be around to give it to me in person."

He nodded to the three gathered around their prey. She
could feel the dark power being exuded from each one,
but it was apparent that they were not about to take
her seriously at first.

"So you're the girl whose been goin around and raising
hell with all the other lords," The muscle bound giant
known as Blade looked her over. "Ain't much...."

"Yeah, I here she's kinda guardian angel for Nerima or
something," Talon snickered. "She's been goin around
telling everybody that it's no-vampire zone."

"I suppose she wants to make sure all the kiddies can
sleep safe at night," Crimson laughed. "How noble, but
do you have the power to keep us away forever?"

"Why don't try me and find out," She said as she kept
her eyes on K'.

They needed no further permission. Blade drew back
before sending a meaty fist flying in her direction.
The strength possessed by a vampire would allow him to
send the blow straight through any normal human,
emphasis on normal. 

The punch stopped only centimeters from her temple.
Blade grunted in surprise as his fist began to pull
back of its own accord. An invisible...something...was
pulling his arm back, forcing him to grasp his wrist
and attempt to regain control of the limb. Crimson and
Talon attacked as one, each attempting to bring death
to the girl in one blow.

Their attacks were stopped in a less influential
manner. Crimson's fist was caught with a hand, and a
forearm halted Talon's kick cold. Her eyes flared
purple for an instant, just before a second less
illuminating force wave erupted from her body. The
three were thrown across the room in much the same
manner as everyone else, but unlike the others that
did not take the fight out of them completely.

Nabiki raised her right arm and aimed her fist at
Talon, who was still rising to his feet. Once more the
flame engulfed her hand as the power of her own mind
was made manifest. Her arm recoiled, as a solid
tendril of psionic energy exploded from the top of her
hand. The tendril flew with the velocity of a bullet,
clearing the distance to Talon in microseconds. The
extension of Nabiki's mind wrapped around his throat
and squeezed viciously. With a swing of that single
arm, the tendril hurled the vampire through air. He
was guided across the entire establishment and to its
opposite side where he promptly slammed into Blade who
was also staggering to his feet.

The tendril slithered and retracted back to her hand
as if it were alive. Crimson was the first to actually
recover from the shockwave and he saw how easily she
had dispatched his two partners. He turned his eyes
back to her, she was still preoccupied with K' only,
something he saw as insulting. As such he clenched his
fists, and a cloak of black fire that could only be
ignited within the pits of hell overcame him.

Nabiki then took a moment to actually acknowledge his
presence.

"Look pal, I've taken on dozens of vamps and some of
them were even stronger than you," She said with a
modicum of interest over his existence. "So stop
embarrassing yourself and scurry off while I have
words with your boss."

At that point, his two allies had recovered and were
currently releasing their hellish power as well. She
could feel the energy radiating off all three, and
frankly, she was not impressed.

"Jeez, you people just don't listen to reason do you?"
She shrugged and sighed. "Alright then, if you insist
on doing it the hard way. Come and get it."

A dread silence came over the area, save for the
crackling of the black flame surrounding the three
vampire minions. Then in a sudden rush, Crimson and
Talon charged in for the attack. K� snickered at the
entertainment provided before him. Nabiki was parrying
and avoiding the two dozens fists coming at her with
little to no time between each one. He knew his
bodyguards stood no chance, but it was good for a few
laughs, as well as an accurate way to gauge his
opponent.

�You have gotten stronger Nabiki,� He thought to
himself. �But to go so far as to think you could best
me�. Well, there are limits to reasonable ambition.�

Crimson continued the attack while Talon retreated to
better grasp the situation. Alone, he fared all of
five seconds as he felt himself being suddenly lifted
into air as if by magic. Before he could do anything
about it, he was shot through the air at breakneck
speed, slamming straight through the wall of the club
and coming to a skidding halt outside.

She did not have time to savor her handiwork as she
immediately ducked down. It was at the same time
Talon�s hand swiped over her head in a blade strike,
an energy sword having been formed around his fingers.
She dropped to her hands and sent both her feet
slamming into his torso. As soon as contact was made
he was blasted backward by a wave of force that sent
him hurtling through the air. He crashed hard into
what few surviving tables were left, but it was
successful in taking him out of the match.

Blade was the last one left, as he took earth-shaking
steps forward. Nabiki skipped backward as his
lumbering fists missed her by miles. By the fifth
attempt she leapt into the air in an impossibly high
leap, twisting in mid-flight so she faced his back
when she landed. She summoned a tendril again, which
shot from the top of her hand and around the brute�s
neck. Being too large to attempt to throw, she instead
used the weapon as a winch and dragged herself up to
hitch a ride on the vampire�s back. The tendril
dissipated and she rested both her hands on either
temple. Before he had a chance to try and shake the
annoying gnat off himself, a surge of purple hued
electrical energy was sent coursing through his very
mind.

He screamed as his body was sent into horrible spasms
and streams of light could be seen escaping from his
eyes and mouth. After only 30 seconds of the
discharge, Nabiki released her light grasp and
causally leapt off the giant. Smoke rose from his hair
and ears as he tipped over and fell on his face in an
unconscious heap, the ground rattling upon impact.

�You call these losers bodyguards?� She sneered. �You
must be skimping on the quality of your employees K�.�

He snickered once again. Nabiki brought her frozen
eyes over to her true target. K� ruled everything
around Nerima, as such it was surrounded on all sides
by vampires. If he were taken out of the picture, than
her home and everyone in it would be safe.

�Very well, if you are anxious to die I shall
accommodate you,� K� then did what most people dread
to see from a High-Lord vampire. Something that people
can only see in nightmares and prayed they would never
have to experience in real-life. He got out of his
chair� �I will take great pleasure in dealing with you
personally.�

He crossed his arms as Nabiki continued to stare him
down without fear. Suddenly, the table he was
occupying began to rattle violently. With an exertion
of thought the table was ripped from its foundation
and made to float weightlessly in the air before him.
With the strength needed to stomp a mere ant, he sent
the new projectile hurtling toward the girl with
enough speed to instantly kill anyone. This would not
happen as the entire thing was shattered to millions
of tiny pieces as it collided with an invisible shield
now erected around her form.

�HAHAHAHA!� He laughed. �Your strength is impressive,
it seems your quarrel with the Vampire Nation has had
its benefits.�

�I�ll show you all my benefits jackass,� Her hands
became alive with violet blaze. �Cause you aren�t
gonna live to see it any other time.�

She dashed forward at above-human speed. She reared
back an energized fist, ready to send it through the
heart of the lead vampire and the source of all her
troubles. However the fist would not meet flesh, as it
slammed hard into a barrier erected by the master
vampire. Arcs of lavender lightning spilled everywhere
as waves rippled through the invisible shield. Nabiki
grimaced as she fought to punch through but was making
no progress.

�Oh please,� He yawned in sheer boredom. �You really
must try harder if you wish to have honor of touching
my personage.�

He waved his hand absently. The field expanded
rapidly, pushing Nabiki off her feet and then flying
backward. She came to a tumbling halt onto the ground,
but she would not be made to quit so easily. A lilac
aura framed her body as shards of wood and pieces of
broken glass wafted into the air. The miniature
missiles then launched forward with a mental command,
all of them ordered to perforate the vampire on
contact. 

They cut through the air like so much real ammunition,
but none of them would make contact as they
systematically exploded into powder as they came
within a few feet of his form. He raised his
red-gloved hand, in an instant it exploded with black
flame and he took aim at his target, which so far had
not shown sufficient power to do damage. 

�Farewell, Nabiki, you were a worthy opponent,� He
grinned. �But all good things must come to an end.�

A wall of black inferno erupted from his hand.
Nabiki�s face became etched with horror as the tidal
wave of hell power bore down upon. The dark blaze
consumed her form and everything else around her,
slowly moving to satiate its appetite by consuming the
building and everything in it. K� aimed his palm
upward and loosed a second stream, blasting a hole
clear through the ceiling through which he could make
his departure.

�Should you meet Lucifer on your way to hell,� He said
as he floated into the air. �Give him my warmest
regards.�

He lifted ever higher into the air as the flames
continued to lick at the building itself. However,
this was not the end of the battle, for life still
existed within the storm. In the midst of the torrent
of fire, a purple light appeared, and in a surge the
flames were blasted away creating a circle of clear
space. Nabiki was on her hand and knees and sweating
profusely, it was taking a good measure of her power
simply to keep the flames at bay.

�Just�where the hell do you think you�re going,� She
said hoarsely and between breaths. �This party isn�t
over yet.�

She aimed toward the sky and fired off a tendril. K�
raised an eyebrow as he felt something wrap around his
ankle. He looked down just in time to see Nabiki
anchoring herself upward and right toward him. Before
he knew it her foot was burying into his face. She
twisted and ground the heel in as she maneuvered and
brought her elbow down on the back of his skull with
hammer-like force. He hurtled toward the ground and
crash landed into the middle of the blaze he himself
had created.

�You never could beat me in a straight fight,� She
spat as she hovered in the air, staring down as the
fire consumed him. 

Her eyes then widened as she detected movement in the
makeshift hellhole beneath her. The form of the
vampire lord could be seen moving and standing amidst
the inferno. The blaze had been caused by his power;
the same forces that empowered his being could not
harm him.

�Now�,� He snarled as multi-colored lightning began
crackling around him. �I am annoyed.�

Nabiki covered her face as a multi-hued surge of power
erupted from the inside. The wave slammed hard into
her but she was still able to keep her balance in the
air. When she uncrossed her arms she found K� hovering
ominously close to her. His form rippling with
hell-born energy.

�NO MORE INSULTS, NO MORE GAMES, AND NO MORE TOYING
WITH YOU!� He roared. �Just DIE!!!�

His bellow echoed through eternity as light overcame
his body. Nabiki was instantly blinded and the very
air yelled in agony as it was torn apart by the
supernova about to be unleashed. The shockwave ripped
through the air, swatting Nabiki away like a
bothersome insect and continuing on to consume the
entire area in its relentless assault. The white demon
light of the blast blocked out everything else, and in
the distance it looked as if a miniature sun were
rising.

When the light dissipated and the dust began settling,
K� floated there, heaving his lungs as he searched for
his enemy. He snickered, as he found no sight of her,
obviously he had let his rage get the better of him
again. He looked down and saw that in place of the
club was an ashen black crater. Everything that had
once been in the area was now literally dust in the
wind.

�Feh, to think a mere human could stand against me,�
He sneered in disgust. �May you rest in pieces, Nabiki
Tendo.�

Black and red fire consumed his form, but as quickly
as the conflagration came, it dissipated. K�
teleported away, leaving destruction and massacre in
his wake, the mark of all High-Lord vampires. 

A deathly silence overcame the world as the blast�s
echo disappeared into the distance. Several minutes
after K�s depature, a hand slowly forced its way
through the ash at the edge of ground zero. Nabiki
pushed herself onto all fours before collapsing onto
her back. Her power was spent, and she was in no shape
to be chasing after elite-class vampires, or vampires
of ANY class for that matter.

�So he vaped his own people,� She said as the calm
began to settle in. �That, and he kicked my ass to
boot. Must be a pretty damn good night for him.�

She groaned as she sat up and gripped her shoulder. It
felt dislocated, but she glad that was all she had
endured. She shakily stood to her feet, and watched as
a few wandering esper floated by, the release of such
energy drawing them to the area like a magnet.

�Ahhh yeah, just a working girl in the 21st century,�
She laughed sardonically as she slowly began the trek
back home. �I�m getting too old for this��









To Be Continued���










Underworld Enterprises: S.P.B Combat Profiles:

1).

Name: Kasumi Tendo
Age: 18*
Height: 5� 8�
Weight: 134 lbs.

Rank: 2

Bio-Vendial Power Output: <Variable>

Combat Specifications: Energy

Powers/Abilities:
Energy Absorption
Energy Manipulation

Comments:
We�ve been watching Kasumi Tendo and Ranma Saotome for
some time now as they have made quite the impact on
the S.P.B circuit since they arrived. These two
fighters are wandering martial artists.

Yes, you read that right. Martial Artists.

I thought that term was pretty much dead, but
apparently there are still a few of them in the world.
Fighters nowadays are totally dependent on their
powers and brute strength to plow through their
opponents. Needless to say this makes for some pretty
boring and repetitive fights. These two are unique in
that they came in with a level of skill that blew away
all other matches by far. Not only are they two of the
best hand-to-hand combatants the circuit as ever seen,
they are more than capable of defeating an S.P.B on
skill alone. This has had a ripple effect on all the
fighters, most especially their foremost rivals;
Hiroshi and Daisuke. It�s this reason that prompted us
to keep careful track of their progress and why it
became widespread news that they are leaving the
circuit.

I believe it�s this high-level training that allows
them to regularly compete with fighters of higher
rank. Kasumi Tendo, for example, makes it a habit to
contest against Hiroshi Yagami, a warrior two Ranks
above her own. As for Kasumi herself, she is rare in
the fact that she is a woman. There are VERY few
female combatants within the tournaments, so much so
thought that I doubt Kasumi has ever fought against
one of them. This does tend to throw opponents off,
and more than once I have been privy to seeing them
grossly underestimate her abilities.

In terms of skill, she and Ranma seem pretty even,
though she seems to have more finesse while Ranma has
the edge in agility. Her powers enable her to absorb
to directed energy attacks, as well take in energy
through direct physical contact. It seems that the
power she takes in has a tendency to burn out after a
fixed period of time, but she seems to have no
problems adapting new powers to her fighting style.
This ability to learn quickly is shared between both
her and Ranma, and I believe it has been gained
through experience and not a power they possess as
S.P.Bs




2).

Name: Ranma Saotome
Age: 16
Height: 5� 5� <Non-Transformed State>
Weight: 148 lbs. <Non-Transformed State>

Rank: 2

Bio-Vendial Power Output: 102

Combat Specifications: Physical, Adaptive

Powers/Abilities:
Unstable Combat Metamorph

Comments:
Ranma Saotome makes up the second of the team that has
made been making waves through the tournament. He and
Kasumi Tendo have so far been undefeated in team
competitions, while Ranma holds the same title in
singles matches. When Ranma first appeared on the
scene in singles, his matches set all new records in
shortest match times. His opponents were simply unable
to compete with such a well-trained fighter, since
most of his opponents were untrained brawlers. The
only fighter I know of that gave him any kind of
lasting competition was the S.P.B named Ryoga Hibiki.
Those two had a long-standing rivalry that lasted
until Ranma departed to start a career in team
competition.

Ranma is a very rare breed of metamorph in two ways.
One, he is the only one I know of that actually
changes gender upon transformation. This leads to
question exactly which is his true sex, as some
changelings are born in their transformed state.
However for the sake of our records, we will regard
him as being inherently male. Second, he is of the
Adaptive combat type. This ability increases his
overall effectiveness in battle. Adaptive combat types
usually perpetuate within Physical class fighters.
Since they have a weakness against long-range attacks
they have developed the engrained ability to
manipulate their own physical statistics. For example,
granting themselves greater Speed while suffering a
loss in Strength, or bolstered Durability at the cost
of Agility.

He his already an amazing athlete in his normal state,
and his transformed state only enhances all of his
natural human abilities. Though given the decrease in
mass and weight that his metamorphosis provides, it is
better suited in the realm of Agility and Speed.
However, it is coming to my attention that his
metamorphosis may not be totally developed. I have
noticed that he seems to spend a noticeable amount of
time in his transformed state even after the battles
have concluded. I have yet to determine how he has
compensated for his increased metabolism while
transformed, but one can assume that he has learned to
cope with such issues. 




3).

Name: Hiroshi Yagami
Age: 17
Height: 5� 4�
Weight: 167 lbs.

Rank: 4

Bio-Vendial Power Output: 507

Combat Specifications: Energy, Elite

Powers/Abilities:
Energy Projection
Energy Manipulation
Low-Level Reality Manipulation

Comments:
�Living Battery� would be the best way to describe
Hiroshi. He is capable of generating ungodly amounts
of energy through the process of molecular fusion. His
raw power is nearly unrivaled throughout the
tournament and is only matched by other Elite types
like himself. 

Elites are S.P.Bs born with amazing Bio-Vendial
potential. This shows in Hiroshi whose B.V. output is
one of the highest in the league. However, Elites tend
to have difficulties increasing their power above
their already in-borne levels. Though it is rumored
that Hiroshi is capable of generating even more
strength than he already has, and that he has
attempted to do so in the past. This is a technique he
has dubbed �Full-Power�, and its purpose is in the
name. He attempts to charge himself to his maximum
limit, but the release of such tremendous energy tends
to have a detrimental effect on the environment around
him and most matches involving him have a mandatory
energy restriction in place.

Hiroshi and Daisuke were a perfect example of the
�Power Players� I mentioned earlier. This penchant for
brute force changed when they first encountered Kasumi
and Ranma. Though the match ended in a draw, Hiroshi
and Daisuke looked like they lost at the end, despite
the fact that their opponents were levels below them.
They were continuously lulled into close-quarters
combat, which is where a majority of their lumps were
incurred. This prompted the two of them to pay closer
attention to match replays, and it is from this that
they have achieved a significant increase in their
fighting skills. This same method is what grew a
penchant for combat with energy swords within Hiroshi.



3).

Name: Daisuke Nakano
Age: 16
Height: 5� 6�
Weight: 201 lbs.

Rank: 3

Bio-Vendial Power Output: 269

Combat Specifications: Physical, Energy

Powers/Abilities:
Low-Level Energy Projection
Low-Level Energy Absorption
Flight
Enhanced Strength
Enhanced Speed
Enhanced Durability

Comments:
The �Black Angel� is a well-known fighter within the
circuit. He and Hiroshi have been a dominating force
within the teams division for quite some time, and
their continued bouts with Ranma and Kasumi have
brought record-breaking fanfare for both teams.
Daisuke is usually pitted against Ranma in these
bouts, as the two share similar abilities being of the
Physical combat type.

Daisuke is one of the most well rounded fighters I
have ever seen. He possesses a wide range of abilities
that allow for effective long-range and close-range
combat. His B.V. is also of a respectable level, and
there are very weaknesses within him that can be
exploited. This is also the reason why he and Hiroshi
make such an effective team. Daisuke�s Low-Level
Absorption abilities work in conjunction with
Hiroshi�s penchant of releasing quantities of ambient
power the more he fights. This energy is absorbed by
Daisuke and he uses this to either increase his
physical statistics, or to create low to mid level
energy blasts. His black hued wings serve as the
absorption medium as well as his method of flight. It
is also the origin of his nickname.

Being of the Physical type, Daisuke has benefited the
most from their matches with Kasumi and Ranma. His
increase in fighting ability has accelerated notably
faster than Hiroshi, thus he and Ranma are of a more
even level than Hiroshi and Kasumi. Though his skill
still pales in comparison to Ranma, his sheer
dominance in Strength and Speed more than make up for
this, and the two are known to engage in long periods
of intense close-range exchange. It is still not known
whether his wings are a result of a Metamorphic power
or are simply extra appendages gained through genetic
mutation. Since he does not resemble a bird when they
are deployed, one can assume the latter.



4).

Name: Nabiki Tendo
Age: 17
Height: 5� 4�
Weight 137 lbs.

Rank: 3 <Speculated>

Bio-Vendial Power Output: 254 <Speculated>

Combat Specifications: Mind

Powers/Abilities:
Psionic 

Comments:
Nabiki Tendo is a powerful Psionic, which translates
into the ability to generate and manipulate large
amounts of telekinetic energy. She has been known to
use her powers to create T.K. shields, lift and move
solid objects, levitate, bolster her physical
statistics, and generate tendrils of psionic energy
that she has dubbed �psi-whips�. She also possesses
low-level telepathic abilites, but so far this has
only translated into the ability to give rudimentary
telepathic suggestions such as pain.

Even though she is registered within the Underworld
mainframe she does not, to my knowledge, compete in
sanctioned matches. Therefore her B.V. output and
current Rank have been compiled through careful
observation and may not be totally accurate. It seems
that she has some business involving the Vampire
Nation, and that it consumes the bulk of her time and
what prevents her from competing professionally. I do
not know, nor do I care to know, the circumstances
around this. Though it is talked that it involves
debate over territory.

Like Ranma and Kasumi, she is one of the few that
possess extensive combat training. Though it was not
received abroad, what training she does have has been
enhanced through numerous skirmishes against mid to
high-level vampires. That has brought on a significant
increase in power as well as fighting ability and
should she decide to enter sanctioned matches, I
believe she would be a force to be reckoned with.



5).

Name: K�
Age: <Unknown>
Height: <Unknown>
Weight: <Unknown>

Rank: High-Lord Vampire

Bio-Vendial Power Output: <Unknown>

Powers/Abilites: <Demonstrated>
Psionic
Pyrokinesis
Regeneration/Healing Factor
Flight
Energy Projection
Energy Manipulation
Enhanced Strength
Enhanced Speed
Enhanced Durability
Enhanced Reflexes
Enhanced Agility
Teleportation
Elemental Manipulation

Comments:
We at Underworld Enterprises rarely associate with
vampires, simply because we despise them. They are
nothing more than normal humans who want what they
can�t have, the powers of an S.P.B. But there are
those few whom we have no choice BUT to recognize.
High-Lord vampires are one of them.

As you can tell, K� is pretty damn well stacked when
it comes to powers. There are few abilities he does
not possess, and even then we are not sure if we have
catalogued ALL his potential powers. As a High-Lord
vampire he controls a substance we have dubbed �black
fire�. This substance empowers all vampires and he is
capable generating large amounts of it naturally. When
a vampire is sired, their soul is stripped and they
receive a portion of this power for their own use.
Absorbing this �soul energy�, which actually augments
the power of the black fire, has drastically enhanced
K�s abilities. It should be noted that High-Lord is
NOT the highest-ranking vampire, it has recently come
to our attention that an even higher rank exists. One
that exceeds High-Lords and dwarfs them in power.
Needless to say, this sends a chill down my spine.

He and Nabiki have engaged in a number of skirmishes,
which usually result in widespread property damage. A
vampire�s power cannot be determined by conventional
means, therefore it is impossible for us to determine
his B.V. output. Though, it has been said their power
can be �sensed�, giving the fighter a rough estimate
of where they stand in comparison. K� himself controls
quite a large territory and he is continually
expanding. This territory has so far surrounded an
area called Nerima. It is unknown as to why he has not
penetrated this region further, as his minions already
surround it on all sides.




End S.P.B Combat Profiles���














About the Story and Author:
This story is a complete revision/rewrite of Silent
Knights. This was done due to the fact that the
original was too dark and too violent for me to work
with in the long run. At the core, I am an
action/adventure writer. I like writing engaging,
exciting and thrilling fight sequences, interesting
character development as well as using said writing as
an outlet for any inspired ideas or concepts I have
come up with. 

For some reason, elements such as intense emotional
drama or extreme hatred and vengeance are things that
I always have problems working with or around. While I
can write them, I find myself always regretting it
later, as it severely limits the type of interactions
I enjoy between characters. Though certain
circumstances like Shadowlands have tended to break
that mold.

It is for those reasons that you will not see many, if
any, darkfics or drama pieces from me. If I do decide
to do one, it will be a one-shot or limited to at most
three-parts.





Author�s Notes:

*= I AM FULLY AWARE THAT KASUMI IS 19!!! I took
artistic liberty for this, and the reasons will be
made clear by next chapter. 

1). HOT DAMN, IT�S DONE!

2). One of the primary functions for this story is to
serve as a dumping ground for any and all concepts and
ideas that were scrapped from the tech-oriented
Shadowlands. As such, certain parallels may be
encountered and one can consider this an AU of an AU.
Essentially �Shadowlands with Superpowers�.

3). 

Note to Self:

The mysterious anomaly known as the �Edge� has been
spontaneously generating itself within all newly
birthed universes. I have yet to determine an exact
explanation for this occurrence��but I have my guess
as to who or what might be responsible. So far this
has been documented as the 23rd occurrence. Another
strange irregularity is that, for some reason beyond
my understanding, incidents revolving around one seem
to ripple across to the others. Destruction of the
Edge is universe #4467 will most likely have
interesting side-effects on the others. I will be
keeping close observation.

More information when I have it.

End Note.


4). Seeing as how my pre-reader for Shadowlands has
enough troubles as it is, I�m looking for a pre-reader
for this story. Please e-mail me at the following
address if anyone is interested.

5). As always, C&C is highly valued and archived for
later us.




E-Mail:
Midnight_sunus@yahoo.com

Website:
http://users.animanga.com/shadowlands
















































































 







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