Hi, gang! It's been a long time since this one hit the list
and, seeing as how I'm about to wrap it up, I thought I'd
repost the earlier parts.  I know about floodposting, so no
worries on that front. I have better manners than that. :)

So, here's the first issue. Hope you all like it!

Many thanks to Gary Kleppe, Arthur Edwards, and Brian Payne
for all their input and help. It wouldn't have been worked
without them.

Ranma 1/2 used without permission
Spiderman used without permission
C&C is, as always, welcome and appreciated

============================================

	I am Uatu, the Watcher.
	From my sanctum, I have witnessed endless timelines of
countless worlds. Things beyond imagining, horrors and
wonders both ghastly and exhilarating, I have seen.
	And yet I find my attention drawn all too frequently to
your own world, earth.
	In every timeline, every possibility is eventually
addressed, creating the wonder that is the multiverse. It is
simplicity and complexity as one.
	You all know one of the many outcomes of when a man named
Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider. You also
likely know one of the many outcomes of the life of one
Hikaru Gosunkugi, a young man in Japan who spent his entire
life unnoticed, save for a brief moment when his path
crossed with that of Ranma Saotome.
	What if that radioactive spider had been in another place
at another time? What if it had bitten someone other than
Peter Parker? The life of this individual would be
irrevocably changed.
	This I know, for I am the Watcher.


======================================

      "Cross your fingers, Kenji."
	"Yes, Dr. Sanzaki."
	Ryo stood before the massive control panel, its pattern of
blinking lights playing across his face in the darkness of
the laboratory. The protective suit he wore itched at his
skin, sweat from the insulated material chafing him.
	His heart thundered in his chest as he stared over at the
machine, his life's work. Everything, from his university
research grant down to his own personal resolve, rested on
how this test went. It had to work. It just had to.
	"Secondary power systems online, Doctor," Kenji said.
	"Neutrino flow steady," Sanzaki replied, eyes now fixed on
the readouts flashing across various monitors. "All systems
green."
	At the end of the machine, which resembled a strange
weapon, an emerald glow began to form. The aura surrounding
the growing point of light began to flare as the energy
increased, its light banishing more and more of the
darkness.
	"Radiation output is within tolerable levels," Kenji
stated. "Guess we could have done without the suits, eh?"
	"No need in borrowing trouble," Sanzaki replied with a
chuckle. "Set output logging to ten megahertz and inject
power."
	The orb of energy grew to the size of a basketball,
resembling a tiny supernova as the hum of building power
filled the small testing room. The glow now bathed the lead
walls in its sickly light.
	"All systems nominal. Engaging fire control systems and
locking on target."
	"Confirmed. Firing systems are online and target is
acquired. Initiating."
	The orb vanished, replaced by a lance of jade energy that
struck the reinforced lead slab with vicious force. The
light danced around the chamber's space, threatening to
pierce even through the shaded visors of their radiation
suits.
	"So far, so good," Ryo Sanzaki breathed as he studied the
readouts. Their attention focused on the control panels,
neither noticed a small spider descending into the path of
the blast. It lingered upside down, basking in the flow of
power from the beam before crawling back up to the ceiling
and vanishing into the myriad of metal beams.
	"Firing sequence disengaged," Kenji stated as the mean
thinned and faded into nothing. "Power levels cycling down."
	"Confirmed. System deactivated."
	Darkness replaced the emerald glow for a moment before the
lab's standard lighting engaged. Soft white light replaced
the shadows as Doctors Ryo Sansaki and Kenji Matsuhara
exchanged looks of triumph.
	"It works!" Kenji exclaimed as he doffed his helmet. "We
did it!"
	"It still has a long way to go," Ryo replied, smiling
himself, "but if we're right, then the genetic recombinator
can lift mankind out of the depths of disease and poverty."
	"You idealistic bastard," Kenji grinned. Ryo turned his
back, not noticing the look of avarice in his colleague's
gaze.

================================

        "You shouldn't have run, twerp!" exclaimed the guy
holding Hikaru Gosunkugi up by the collar of his torn
uniform. "This is gonna hurt you more than it's gonna hurt
me!"
        A hard punch slammed into Gosunkugi's stomach,
threatening to force up the pop-tarts he had for breakfast.
As he fought to hold his breakfast, more blows landed from
the caveman holding him. After a few moments of pounding,
Gosunkugi hit the floor of the secluded alley.
        Waves of pain rolled through him as he lay on the
hard pavement, unable to resist as the three raided his
pockets in search of his wallet. He simply moaned as the
leader removed it, incapable of fighting back.
        "Three hundred yen!" he shouted, anger in his voice.
"All you got is three hundred yen?"
        "I...don't....have....any more," Gosunkugi gasped,
trying to rise up on all fours. A shoe collided with his
midsection, lifting him off the ground a little before he
slammed back down.
        "That," came the angry voice of the leader, "was for
wasting my time, gayboy." The sounds of mindless laughter
and receeding footsteps echoed in Gosunkugi's ears. He lay
there a few minutes more, trying to catch his breath and
recalling just how it all happened.

        Being Sunday, Hikaru Gosunkugi had the whole day to
himself. Both his mother and father worked seven days a
week, meaning he had the house all to himself.
        Having woke to the sound of his alarm clock, he had
stumbled into the kitchen, hoping to maybe find some rice
left for him. Instead of a decent breakfast, however, he had
been left pop-tarts. As always. Not exactly the breakfast of
champions.
        Eating a couple anyway, he had retreated back into
his room to gather some books to return to the library. They
were a few days overdue, meaning that a stiff penalty would
be incurred. Gathering his wallet, he had checked the
contents.. He had enough yen for a two-way train ticket to
Tokyo, the late fee for the books, and maybe some cheap
bento for lunch. Sighing heavily, he had showered, dressed,
and gathered the books and his wallet.
        The train ride had been uneventful, allowing him to
browse through one of the books he had checked out. "Voodoo
For Dummies" had been the title, and it was humorously
written. However, none of the spells he tried worked. Many
of them required objects or ingredients that he either
didn't have, or couldn't pronounce. Of the three spells he
DID have the materials for, well, he'd never look at Post-It
notes and shaved cats the same way again...
        Yet another failure. Closing the book, he had
wondered it he would EVER become a competent wizard. All he
wanted was some power... something to set him above the rest
of his fellow man... something to get the attention of Akane
Tendo...
        The books had been returned, but once outside the
library, things took a nosedive. Outside had been Keiichi,
Gan, and Morita, three of Furinkan's worst thugs. They never
messed with the likes of Ranma, they weren't stupid, but the
likes of Gosunkugi were fair game to them.
        He had hoped to slip away before they could see him.
He got all of three steps before one pointed him out. The
chase ended up in the alley in which he now lay, hurt and
broke with his wallet and his dignity in the hands of three
Neanderthals. Gosunkugi was used to being beaten up by just
about everybody... it seemed his lot in life. Times like
that made him think that he would never be more than a
punching bag with legs for the rest of his life.

        "Ow!" he exclaimed, looking up at his left hand when
he felt the sting. On his hand was a grey spider, fangs sunk
into the flesh. He was momentarily surprised that he would
notice the spider's bite with the beating he had just
recieved. Before he could swat it, though, the spider
skittered off of his hand and into the shadows ahead.
        "Great," he said as he pulled himself to his feet,
"now I've gotta see a doctor!" He couldn't tell if the
spider was poisonous or not, but it was best not to take
chances. With his luck, it probably was.
        He took a step toward the mouth of the alley when
the dizziness set in. Gosunkugi's vision blurred, shifting
in and out of focus. Fire began to burn in his blood as his
stomach cramped and his brain throbbed all at once. He
dropped to his knees, a low moan escaping his lips before he
slipped into unconsciousness.

==========================

        The courtyard of Furinkan High was curiously empty,
Hikaru noticed as he walked across the grounds. It was
nearly lunch, and there should have been several students
out enjoying the sunshine. Instead, nobody was around.
        Meandering around one of the back corners of
Furinkan, he saw Akane Tendo kneeling alone on the grass.
Her uniform was perfect as always, a small bento box in her
hand. Gosunkugi looked left, then right, seeing who else was
around. Like the front, the rear of the yard was empty, save
for the two of them.
        Now's my chance! Gosunkugi thought to himself. He
had never felt this confident before, this strong. He
casually walked up to the kneeling girl, opening his mouth
for a greeting.
        Akane's gaze fell on him, a look of revulsion and
horror settling on her face. A piercing scream escaped her
lips as she rose from the ground. Before he could wonder
what was wrong, countless more screams joined Akane's.
        The courtyard was suddenly filled with people, all
looking at him in fear and disgust. Many were pointing and
screaming, as though they were looking at some horrible
monster. He finally looked down at himself to see what all
the commotion was about.
        A scream burst forth from his lungs at the sight.
His body was enormous, covered with rippling muscles and
coarse black hair. His hands sported only three fingers,
long claws at the ends. Another pair of hands appeared, and
another. Gosunkugi discovered he had six arms all together,
and none of them human. As he searched for a way out in the
crowd, he caught a glimpse of himself in a window.
        "NOOOOO!" he screamed in a deep roar. His head was
large and misshapen, eight blood-red eyes lined up on each
side. A gaping maw filled with fangs was what passed for his
mouth, a green substance dripping from the teeth. His head
was covered in the same coarse hair, completing his
spider-like visage.
        A maelstrom of emotions whirled within him; fear,
pain, rage, confusion, and countless others. Desperate for a
way out, he ran to the nearby wall, hoping to get past it to
somewhere safe.
        Gosunkugi cleared the wall in one bound, only to
find a swirling mass of space beyond it. Looking back, he
found that Furinkan was gone, replaced by the white void. He
began to fall toward the center of the massive vortex, a
scream blasting forth from his chest...

=========================

        Gosunkugi awoke with a start, gasping for breath as
he stifled a scream. He lay on the floor of the alley,
taking in deep breaths as his heart began to slow. The
adrenaline that raced through his veins began to thin after
a few moments, leaving him somewhat drained.
        "What a nightmare," Gosunkugi said as he rose to his
feet. The shadows in the alley had lengthened considerably
since he had passed out, meaning that he had lost a few
hours at least. Looking up, he saw the sky had a
reddish-gold tint.
        Great! He mentally cursed, it�s almost sunset! The
train's already gone by now! Still cursing, he began to make
his way to the mouth of the alley.
        As he walked, Gosunkugi noticed that something felt
odd. The pain from the beating he'd received earlier was
completely gone. In fact, it was almost as if he'd never
been jumped at all. There was something else strange as
well, though he couldn't quite pinpoint it. He felt almost
as if his balance was better somehow, improved. He felt...
stronger.
        While he was pondering these strange things, he
stepped blindly into the street. He didn't notice his
mistake until the blaring horn of a car pierced his ears.
Looking up, he saw a Daimler-Benz bearing down on him.
        "SHIT!" he yelled as he jumped backward out of the
speeding car's path. The leap took him clear of the car, and
the curb, even the sidewalk. He watched the car speed off
into the distance, wondering what his problem was. Once the
shock wore off, however, he noticed that the view he had was
quite wrong.
        Looking down, his heart caught in his throat when he
saw the sidewalk several feet below him. Stunned, Gosunkugi
looked around, wondering what was holding him up. After a
few moments, he realized that he was, in fact, adhered to
the wall.
        His legs were in a kneeling position, the bottom of
his feet touching the rough stone surface of the building
behind him. Curious, he touched the wall with his hands. He
felt them stick to the surface, adhering snugly to the wall.
He pulled his right hand away, the appendage coming off
easily. He repeated the procedure with the other hand with
the same result.
        What is going on, here? Gosunkugi asked himself as
he crouched on the wall like a human spider. Looking down,
he saw some people moving about below him. It appeared that
they hadn't noticed him yet. Gosunkugi decided to keep it
that way, turning effortlessly to climb upward.
        Arms and legs moving quickly, Gosunkugi scaled the
side of the building without any effort. His hands and feet
never slipped, sticking to the surface securely as he made
his way up.
        As he climbed, a window opened next to him. Stopping
for a second, he saw a woman in a cleaning outfit lean out,
a cigarette in her mouth. Her face froze for a second, head
turning toward him.
        "Uh... Lovely weather, huh?" Gosunkugi said lamely
as the cigarette dropped form the woman's mouth. A scream
followed a second later, threatening to split Gosunkugi's
ears. Grimacing, he propelled himself to the side, clearing
the alley he once lay in and landing on the side of another
building. he launched himself sideways again, performing a
quick somersault before sticking to the surface a third
time. Wasting no time, Gosunkugi crawled to the top of the
building.
        "What the hell happened to me?" he asked as he
crouched on the ledge several stories above the pavement
below. He felt as though he had gained a whole new
equilibrium. Crawling up the buildings and leaping the way
he did felt almost natural, as though he had been doing it
all his life.
        Maybe when that spider bit me, he thought, could it
be...? Curious, he stepped onto the roof, searching for
something to test his strength out on. Stumbling across a
likely section of pipe, Gosunkugi picked it up. It was a
little longer than his forearm, and almost as thick. The
lead length bent easily once he exerted pressure on the
ends.
        Hikaru Gosunkugi stared into the sunset, wondering
what gift had been bestowed on him by the Kami.

================================

	Kenji replaced the phone in its cradle, staring directly
ahead at nothing. He licked his lips in greed, the thought
of what Leung would pay dancing in his mind. All he wanted
was one little thing, after all. And what he wanted was very
easy for him to obtain.
	Pasting a calm expression on his face, Kenji Matsuhara
exited the small office he shared with Ryo Sanzaki. Of
course his esteemed colleague would be upset, but he failed
to realize just what potential for profit the recombinator
technology held.

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