Quoting Arthur Hansen <arthur@kindred.net>:

Ranma Unleashed III




-




A fan fiction story revolving around the world of "Lois & Clark: The New
Adventures" and "Ranma 1/2." No infringement of ownership is meant. It is
just for fun.




-




Soun stared at the giant panda that had suddenly invaded his home. Somewhere
in the back of his mind, he noted that the only ones that really appeared to
be scared were himself and Nabiki. Kasumi was calmly sipping tea while Akane
looked ready to attempt to beat up the intruding creature with the dinner
table.

For Akane that is fear.  

The six and half foot tall panda was suddenly picked up set unceremoniously
out of the way and dumped on the ground. "Quit that, Pop! You're scaring the
hell out of them!" The high pitched voice seemed a little too high, but the
figure was definitely young enough to be Saotome's son.




"You wouldn't be... Ranma Saotome, would you?" the master of the house
asked, hope evident in his tone of voice.




The wet and bedraggled figure just hung her head. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about all
this."




The long-haired man snatched her up in a bone-crushing hug. "I've been
waiting to meet- you- ?" Soun squeezed a little harder, feeling something
that shouldn't be able to be there on a young man. He backed up while
holding his forefinger up. "Bu-bu-bu-"




Nabiki had regained a bit of her courage at this point. She had closed the
distance a bit. "Daddy, Ranma is a girl." She poked the smaller girl's
breast.




"But Saotome said he had a son!" Soun wailed.




With a tweak of her breast, Nabiki replied with, "Does this look like a
boy?"




Soun had no response, as he seemed to be out of it at this point. The only
young woman that hadn't said anything just calmly led him away with a small
shake of her head.




"Nabiki! She's still a guest!" Akane had finally calmed down a bit. She
hated to see anyone picked on, it seemed. "Hi, my name's Akane!"




"Um, hi." Ranma looked surprised at her friendliness.




"Would you like to be friends?"




The soaked girl just nodded shyly. A friend?




Akane pulled her outside and towards the dojo. Once they were inside, she
asked, "You do martial arts, right?"




"Yeah." Ranma was looking at the area carefully.




"How about a friendly match? I promise not to hurt you!" She tightened her
gi in preparation for the fight.




"I'd be impressed if you could even hurt me, actually." The red-head snorted
with a bit of derision.

The red-head snorted with derision.  "Not likely"

"Are you belittling my skills?" You could almost hear the anger seeping into
her voice at the suggestion of slighting her abilities.

Ranma could hear the anger seeping into her voice.

"No, but after smashing through solid rock and barely feeling it, I doubt
you could top that." She had an infuriating smirk on her now.

"Nah, it ain't a skill thing so much.  But I've been smashed through solid rock
and hardly felt it."

"Then you won't have to dodge this, will you?"




Ranma quirked her head, smirk still profoundly evident. "Nope. You're
right."




"Here I come!" Akane lashed out with a straight punch, but still holding
back her strength considerably.




The other girl didn't dodge or even blink as the fist smacked into her
cheek. Akane pulled her stinging fist back. "This time for real!" Her fist
blasted out with enough power to powder cinder-blocks.




The red-haired girl was knocked off her feet, but her face only looked as if
it had been slapped. Akane just looked at her fist incredulously. Then the
pain of a broken finger made itself known to her. "Ow. And you aren't even
hurt? How can that be?"




Ranma sat up. "Wow! It actually stings a little. That's some right-punch you
have there."




"Quit making fun of me! How dare you-"




"No, that was really good! You hit almost as had as my old man!"

almost as hard

"But you aren't even hurt!" Now Akane was looking very confused.




"I'd be surprised if you could hurt my cursed form. The fact that you can
make my cheek sting is great!" Ranma bounced to her feet in a blur.




"Huh? Cursed form?"




Noticing the total confusion that the other girl was giving her, Ranma piped
up, "Oh, yeah! I fell in this stupid pool that turned me into a
super-strong, super-tough, super-fast chick."




You could almost here the gears spinning in the youngest Tendo's head.
"Turned into a girl?" Now that she thought about it, Ranma was kind of
speaking like a-




"Yeah, I'm actually a guy! If you've got some hot water, I'll show you!"
Ranma smiled brightly at her.




Akane just glared at him. "Why didn't you mention this when you first got
here?"




"Well, er, I was kinda... embarrassed. How would you feel if you showed up
to get engaged and you were a boy because it rained?"




She opened her mouth to retort, but then snapped it close with a click. She
still seemed upset. "Hot water it is, then."




-




Akane ignored the pain of her toe from the kettle she dropped on it. She
looked over the young man in front of her. "Ah..."




"Hi!" Ranma bowed. "I'm Ranma Saotome!"




"I'm Akane Tendo. Magic is real?" she blurted out.




The boy just shuddered. Just before he could reply, a voice interrupted.




"Akane? Could you tell Ami and father that I had to leave? My work called me
in again. You'd think they just can't do without me at all!" It was the
oldest girl, Kasumi. She was wearing a smart suit and skirt combination that
made her look older than her nineteen years.




"I could cook!" her youngest sister exclaimed happily.




"Are you going to replace the microwave with your own money, too?" The
older, longer-haired girl gave a stern look.




Undeterred, Akane replied, "But that was only once. And I've gotten better!'




Ranma just kept looking from one to the other. He didn't seem to be fully
following this conversation.




Kasumi smiled brightly. "We'll practice this Saturday, okay? You can show me
that recipe from school that you mastered and then we'll work on a more
advanced recipe. But let Ami do the cooking, that's what she was hired for."
She waved as she walked back towards the house.




"Not that great a cook, I take it? My old man can only cook rice and
cabbage," Ranma tried to interject helpfully. "Well, and instant noodles."




"I'm a good cook!" she snapped back very angrily. She looked abashed a
second later. "Sorry. But I'm a little sensitive about my cooking skills."




He shrugged in reply. "Why? Are you planning to be a chef?"




"Er, no. But I'd like to be a great cook like my older sister is!"




A new voice interjected, "But Akane, you don't have any talent for cooking.
Kasumi does." Nabiki was now visible, leaning against the entrance to the
kitchen.




"You aren't much better, you know!" Akane snapped at her middle sibling.




"Yes, but I'm willing to admit that I can't cook. So, your dad can only cook
rice and cabbage, too?" Nabiki asked the vaguely familiar boy standing
there. She was positive that she hadn't seen him before though. "And where
did Ranma go?" Oh, that's why. He looks just like a male Ranma.




Akane giggled. "Nabiki, this is Ranma Saotome. He has a little problem with
cold water. It was cold water, right?"




"Er, yeah. Cold water turns me into a girl. Well, a girl that can bend iron
bars like pretzels, but a girl." He blinked for a second. "Say, you don't
think our dads learned to cook from the same place, do you? On their
training trip under their master?"




"Could be. You're really that girl?" Brown eyes watched him suspiciously.




Ranma sighed. "Yeah. It really sucks."




-




"This is my son, Ranma." Genma was sitting on one side of the table, Ranma
at his side.




"Hi!" he said with a quirky grin.




"These are my daughters Nabiki and Akane. My eldest daughter is away on
important business, I suppose?" Soun asked as he looked at his two remaining
daughters. They nodded. "Is this really the same person from before?" he
asked as he looked at the obviously male Ranma.




"How best to explain?" Genma pontificated. He reached out suddenly, grabbed
the unsuspecting boy and tossed him into the pond. "It happened on our
training trip to that accursed grounds." The now-girl broke the surface of
the koi-pond looking angry. "I had no idea the danger that lurked before us.
The danger that falling into those pools would cause us."




"What was the idea of dragging me there? Those nutcases nearly killed us
several times!" Ranma shouted from the water. "Getting us cursed was bad
enough without people trying to murder us!"




"Ranma! Adversity will make you stronger! And once we unlock the secret of
your cursed strength, the Anything Goes School will be unbeatable!"
Lightning cracked in the background as Genma laughed maniacally.




Nabiki looked at the odd duo through lidded eyes. "Unbeatable? I doubt it?"

I doubt it."

"How strong are you?" Akane asked doubtfully from we she sat next to her
sister.




For a demonstration, Ranma picked up one of the boulders and balanced it
with one finger. "Strong. Very strong."




The older sister dropped her cup as her father looked on in shock. "How is
that possible!" she stuttered. "Are you some sort of alien?"




"Alien?" Ranma asked as she put the boulder back.




"You know, like Superman." Akane looked at her as if she were stupid.




"Who?" Ranma glared back at her.




Genma nodded to himself as if everything suddenly made sense. "That could
explain it."




"Huh?" Now Ranma was very confused.




"That pool must be the Drowned Pool of Superman's Daughter!" Genma shouted
as he stood up and pointed dramatically at the wet girl.




"I doubt that. Can she fly?" Nabiki asked through lidded eyes. She refilled
her tea again as she had recovered her composure.




"Nah, I can only float a little bit-"




Nabiki spat out her tea in surprise. Her sister just looked on in awe.




"You can actually fly?" Akane asked. "Only the Kryptonians and the Ultra
Agents can fly by themselves. Like Rising Sun!"




Ranma scratched her head looking very confused. "Rising Sun?"




"What rock have you been living under? Rising Sun is the premiere Japanese
super-heroine. It was about a year ago that she received the top-secret
American Ultra Agent enhancement process. Now she's one of the strongest
people in the world." Akane was rattling off facts as if she had memorized
them. "The US's normal enhancement process only makes you really tough,
strong and fast!"




"Er, what?" Ranma was looking very, very confused.




Soun coughed suddenly. "Be that as it may, that is not the issue before us.
Ranma? These are my two youngest daughters; Nabiki and Akane. Pick one to be
your bride!"




Ranma froze as he came under the glare of two girls.




"Oh, he wants Akane. She has that problem with boys, after all. So Ranma
would be perfect." Nabiki looked quite satisfied with this arrangement.




"What?" they both shouted in frustration. "Don't we get a choice?" Ranma
said loudly while Akane screamed out, "I'm too young to get married!"




"Well, Saotome, they already sound like a couple?" Soun said while smiling
loudly.




"Yes, indeed they do, Tendo!" Genma said.




Ranma seemed to be very tense until she finally sighed and plopped down.
"It's not fair," she said quietly.




Nabiki and Akane both gaped at the sudden change in her manner. The elder
daughter quirked an eyebrow, while the younger one looked confused.




Akane whispered angrily to the sometime girl, "Why are you giving up so
easily? This is our future!"




The redhead snorted. "Like I gotta choice? Only one of me. Not even much a
prize, you know. Besides, I can't beat him up. I might hurt him really bad.
And I'm not going to have an... accident happen again. Never again."




The youngest Tendo wrinkled her nose suddenly. "You stink. Er, why don't you
go clean up and change back. Then I'll clean up after you." She blushed from
her embarrassment for the way she phrased that.




Ranma's stomach rumbled. "What about dinner?"




Nabiki just rolled her eyes. "It'll be an hour or so until Ami finishes
dinner."




-




The light of dawn was filtering in through the open doors of the dojo,
backlighting Genma ominously. "Are you ready, Boy?"




"I was born ready, Old Man!" Ranma replied cockily. With that, they threw
themselves at each other to engage in mortal combat. They fought, as if men
possessed, for over a half an hour. Grapples to punches to throws. Dodges
and follow-ups, feints and cunning traps.




Finally, Genma managed to pin Ranma decisively. Once Ranma finally gave up,
another ten minutes as his face went blue, they were going to start going
over some exercises that they'd read up in the stolen Chinese techniques.




A pair of clapping people startled the two of them. They were not Asian,
even if they were wearing training gi.




"Who are you?" Ranma asked, unthinkingly rude.




The two quickly glanced at each other, then back to the newest students of
the dojo. The first bowed stiffly. "Daniel Bar."




The second, a young woman with short-cropped hair, answered as she bowed.
"Miriam Benders."




"Ranma Saotome," the boy replied abashedly.

I doubt Ranma is all that easy to abash.  It's not like he isn't customarily
rude to every single person he talks to.  

"Genma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." Genma
was looking at the two very closely.




Ranma stared at them suddenly, as if scanning them with a sense that was not
sight. Their presence, at rest was different, was the only way that he could
describe the feeling. They were trained soldiers, of that he was certain.
But there was something off about their auras. Something very unusual
indeed.

You've got a point of view problem here.  You shift from some outside observer
to Ranma's internal thoughts in the same paragraph.  

"Are you a new student and teacher?" Dan asked as he eyed the slightly
scruffy duo. Their outfits looked very worn. "Sensei Tendo didn't mention
that he had other students."




"Ranma is engaged to marry Akane, to join our houses and family martial arts
into one. We study a similar style of Anything Goes." Genma was being very
formal, which was quite unusual for him.

Actually it isn't.  Genma's a posturing old clown, and that means he can be
very formal indeed, as opposed to Ranma who is always inappropriately familiar.    

"Mister Bar!" Akane yelled as she charged over from the house. It looked

Perhaps "called"?

like she had just woken up. She bowed hastily to the students. "Oh, hello
Captain Miriam!"




Walking at a more leisurely pace into the dojo, Soun watched the ongoing
proceedings. "Good morning. Genma, may I borrow your student?"




At Genma's nod, Ranma bounced forward. Soun sent out a fast punch at the
young man, but only managed to hit his afterimage. With a slight smile, Soun
went on the offensive as he tried to hit the elusive boy.




Akane gaped in astonishment. She could believe that people like Superman and
the Ultra-agents could avoid her father like this, but Ranma wasn't in his
cursed form. How good was he?




Dan and Miriam watched interestedly as Soun finally managed to trip him over
a mat, forcing Ranma to start blocking.




Soun stopped. "I am very impressed Ranma. You have a very good foundation in
Anything Goes."




"I'm the best!" Ranma managed to say before being clobbered from behind by
Genma and landing flat on his back.




Akane was quite surprised; she had barely even seen the old man move. It was
like watching Dan doing one of his high-speed tricks. "Wow!"




"Ranma! You are not even ready for the next step of your training. I think
you overestimate yourself if you think you are the best at this point in
your life."




"That was a cheap shot, Old Man!" the boy yelled out as he rubbed his head.




"Breakfast!" Ami called from the house.




"Akane, you and Ranma can practice this afternoon. After school." Soun
motioned them to go and get their breakfast.




The rest of their getting ready for school was normal and mundane. Nabiki
pawned off Ranma to Akane, to show Ranma how to get to school. Ranma was
just aware enough to avoid getting splashed a few times. He did wonder why
she looked so sad when she looked down a side road.




Akane blinked first in surprise then anger. In front of her stood a huge
hoard of boys with various items. They immediately charged her with various
and sundry battle cries, proclaiming their love.




"Jerks! Idiots! What do you think you are doing?" she yelled as she started
to pummel the boys down. She moved with power, speed and almost grace. They
didn't stand a chance, but they did manage to muss her hair.




"Forsooth, those barbarians thought that they had a chance to defeat thee,
my love. But only I have this chance, for it is mine destiny." An elegant
young man was wearing the traditional Japanese dress robes; kimono and
hakima. Over his shoulder, he lightly rested his wooden practice sword that
he carried in his right hand. He stepped out from the shadows of a blooming
cherry tree.




Ranma suddenly got a bad feeling. Maybe it was something to do with Nerima,
he thought to himself.




"Tatewaki Kuno," Akane said with a sigh. "It must have been you that riled
them back up to attack me. I've already proven that you guys can't defeat
me. Why are you pestering me?" She looked like she was starting to get angry
again. She caught the rose that was sent towards her, just as Kuno noted the
boy standing next to her.




"Who art thou, who stands so closely to my rose? But wait, tis rudeness
itself for me to not introduce myself. Tatewaki Kuno, invincible sword of
Furinkan High." He pointed his bokken at Ranma threateningly.




"Invincible Sword? Since when?" a girl up on the second floor asked Nabiki.
Akane's sister just shrugged.




Ranma just pointed for a moment to make sure he was the one being addressed.
"Ranma Saotome. You've got a high opinion of yourself, don't you?"




"Not at all," Kuno said. Suddenly he seemed to become a bit angry. "Why do
you stand so near my beloved?"




"Ranma is staying at my home for the time being. He's-"




"Under the same roof at my Akane? How dare you!" Kuno shouted as he charged,
swinging his sword extremely fast in a downward swing.




Ranma ducked and rolled, just barely avoiding the cut. His face hardened in
expression as he realized that Kuno was far more dangerous than he'd
expected. Behind him, Akane just blinked in amazement. That wasn't possible,
was it?




The pig-tailed boy dropped his backpack as he dodged a follow-up attack. "I
accept your challenge," he managed to get out between very fast jabs.




"Hmm. You test my new found prowess a bit, peasant. But I am done and this
fight is over," the kendoist intoned with a bored smirk on his lips. No one,
not even Ranma, even saw his blow as his opponent was flung twenty feet.
From the way he flew, it appeared he'd been struck in the head with a
powerful attack.




"Ranma!" his new fianc�e screamed. "How did you- When did you get so
powerful?"




Tatewaki turned to her, leaving Ranma lying on the ground in ignominy. "For
you, my love, I would do anything to prove myself worthy of your attentions.
The fortunes of the Kuno family allowed me to - woof," his explanation was
suddenly broken as two feet impacted his head to drive him into the ground.




Kuno arose without the slightest sign of worry or pain. "Ah, you are still
up? Good! Then let the charade commence!"




Ranma narrowed his eyes. Kuno wasn't even slightly affected by having his
head smashed into concrete hard enough to shatter it. He suddenly cupped his
hands near his navel and then shouted, "Eagle Air Strike!" A bust of ki shot
out at his surprised opponent.




With stunning force, Kuno was slammed into the side of the building and
through it. Everyone in the yard blinked in surprise at the impossible
seeming move.




"Do a Ki Fist next!" one of the boys yelled.




"No, Spinning Hover Kick!" another yelled.




"Heh, he didn't have much," Ranma smirked aloud.




"Ranma? Have you checked your head? You're bleeding!" Akane said as she
walked up and touched his temple.




"Okay, he was better than I thought," he explained his thoughts. 

he admitted.  

He winced

as she touched the wound. "Don't worry about it, head wounds always bleed a
lot."




"Was that supposed to hurt?" Kuno asked as he stepped back out the hole in
the wall. "I will admit that you surprised me with that technique, but it
was pitifully weak." His outfit was shredded, but he himself appeared to be
unmarked in the slightest.




"Damn," Ranma and Akane echoed the other in unison. Ranma started to crouch
to leap and dodge when Kuno just moved faster than he had ever seen anyone
move before.




To Akane, it looked like one of the ultra-agents had charged them, leaving
behind a blur of images. She desperately tried to move out of the way, even
as Ranma moved the other way.




The crowd blinked and just oohed and ahhed as they could only see three
blurs. Kuno was barely visible, while Ranma was almost as fast. Akane was
noticeably slower, but only if you had trained eyes. Concrete shattered from
the swordsman's missed blows, carving out the earth in huge trenches. The
battle, such as it was, lasted only three seconds before it collided with
drinking fountains over three hundred feet from the start.




Some of the girls screamed in fright as the fountain exploded from the force
of the attacks that hit it. Kuno appeared, nonchalant and composed. He
flicked his bangs out of his eyes. "And that is that, my compatriots."




From the dust a voice suddenly spoke. "You coulda hurt Akane." As the dust
and water settled, two figures appeared, one huddled over the slightly
larger. "Akane," the new girl said as she shook the other carefully.




"Ranma?" she replied incoherently. She lapsed back into unconsciousness as
she was set carefully down.




Blue eyes almost seemed to flash in anger under darkly crimson bangs that
dripped with water and grime. "You... hurt... Akane... You Jerk!" Ranma
yelled as she rocketed forward at her foe.




"Don't do it, you'll be killed," Nabiki screamed out. Kuno had become some
sort of monster!




Kuno slashed again with his sword, catching the girl squarely with as burst

a burst

of cutting wind. Something she totally ignored as she slammed into him with
the force of a cannonball. It was Kuno's turn to fly through the air again
to impact into the ground painfully again. His face bore a bruise that
swelled as people watched.




"Not bad, Kuno. But not nearly good enough," the girl smirked. Her
shirt-jacket seemed to be ripped and destroyed, but the wife-beater under it
seemed fine. Not that the tight-fitting shirt, wet as it was, hid much of
her feminine modesty that she seemed to be lacking




"I fight on!" Kuno yelled as he popped to his feat suddenly. "I will not
lose!" He started to move forward when a loud voice cut in.




"Please stop this violence!" Floating in the air was the white and crimson
clad form of Rising Sun, the premiere super-heroine of Japan. Her head, as
always, were covered by her full helmet.




Ranma and Kuno took in her appearance with quick sideways glances. They were
still posed to attack each other in an instant.




"Please back away and offer no violence. I am a fully accredited officer of
the law." Light gray combat boots touched the school yard pavement softly.




"Feh, this battle is not mine nor yours, girl. I sought battle with that cad
Saotome." Kuno spat out.

Ignoring the insalubrious phrasing of the sentence, wouldn't Kuno forget about
the battle and immediately offer to date Rising Sun, the only woman worthy of his
new superhuman might?  

"Why you! I'm gonna pound you into the ground!"




Rising Sun flicked in between then and clapped her hands together hard, with
stunning force. Her hands impacted at super-sonic speeds with a shattering
boom. "That is enough! You two have already hurt enough innocent
bystanders!"




"Akane!" the bedraggled redhead murmured in remembrance. She super-speeded
over to the figure lying on the ground and carefully cradled her head,
looking at her intently. "She doesn't seem to have any broken bones."




The Japanese superheroine seemed to pause in indecision. "I shall summon an
ambulance. Who started this fight?" Her faceless helm turned to look at the
two figures.




"This guy egged on all these people to attack Akane. Not that they were a
threat to her. And then he attacked us." Ranma glared at Kuno hotly.




"Indeed, these boorish peasants did think above themselves. Only I am worthy
of the beautiful Akane Tendo's attentions." Kuno flicked his bangs back so
that he could see better.




Kasumi, behind the helmet of Rising Sun, narrowed her eyes and then grinned
to herself. "So you set these boys on her?"




"Nay, I merely mentioned that only a man that could defeat the fierce Akane
would be worthy of her attentions. Even I myself had to travel to distant
lands to improve myself sufficiently to truly prove my superiority." He
looked quite smug at that.




"And where did you get that Kryptonian Enhancement? Those are a regulated
technology of the United States and not easily obtained," she asked
directly.




"I traveled through the United States, but my new trainer was based in
Mexico, I believe. How I wish I could have avoided those accursed American
isles!" Tears started streaming down his cheeks. "To be so humiliated by my
father as we met in a restaurant in Honolulu!"




"And a psychiatric evaluation too," Rising Sun muttered to herself.
Unfortunately, she was all too aware that Tatewaki Kuno would probably be
charged with nothing more than reckless endangerment, if that.

Unless Ranma filed assault charges.  

Akane was just coming around as an ambulance trundled across the grass. "Ow.
Did any get the number of that truck?"

anyone

"I think you got a concussion, Akane." Ranma looked into her eyes, noting
that one pupil was slightly larger than the other.




She touched the side of her head carefully. "Probably. Oh, no! What about
school?"




Rising Sun was talking to a police officer as she pointed out Ranma, Akane
and Kuno. The officer then walked over to Kuno, but Ranma didn't listen in
as she suddenly realized that she was supposed to be getting checked into
school in an entirely different gender.




"I can't go to school like this!" She gestured at herself.




Akane giggled. "Yeah, I guess you will have to check in later."




"Unhand me! Do you know who I am? I am Tatewaki Kuno, scion of the noble
house of Kuno. Rising Star of the Kendo Unlimited-"




"Look buddy, we just want to ask you some questions. Things got out of
control here and we need to determine what went on." The police officer
looked upset and frustrated.




Rising Sun walked over and held up her hand to catch Kuno's attention. "Kuno
Tatewaki of clan Kuno. Do you know who I am?"




Kuno nodded slightly in reply. "Yes, Ma'am. You are the superhero known as
Rising Sun."




She nodded at that. "I am a registered official of the law and personally
sworn to the Emperor of Japan to defend these lands. I would ask you to
honor this Inspector Tanaka's request and answer his questions truthfully."




"Thank you, Rising Sun. I believe I can handle it from here." Tanaka bowed
at his waist respectfully.




The superheroine gestured at Ranma and Akane. "I will get their side of this
story. It looks like they might need a bit of medical assistance anyways."




-




Ranma, restored to his proper gender, walked home from the emergency room.
It was only about ten blocks from the Tendo's house. He watched Akane very
closely, as the doctor ordered.




"Wasn't she great?" Akane finally said, a bright smile on her face. She had
new bandages on her face from her scrapes, while her arm was in a sling to
immobilize it. Her previously injured broken finger was just another bandage
in the mess.




"Rising Sun? I guess. It's very neat that she can fly and all. Gives me some
ideas on what I'm doing wrong, anyways." Ranma pursed his lips thoughtfully.




"I wish I could fly like Rising Sun. You know she's totally bulletproof,
don't you? Not that she has a lot of guns to deal with here in Japan, unlike
the crooks in the United States that she helps Superman out with sometimes."
The young girl winced as one of her many bruises let her know of its pain.

bruises reminded her of its existence.  

(The bruise isn't feeling any pain.)

As she opened her ground's gate, she suddenly realized something. "Oh, no!
We aren't going to be able to spar today! Daddy will be furious at me for
getting hurt."




Ranma rolled his eyes. "You don't just spar when you feel up to it. You have
to practice even at your worst. That way you know your limitations in case
you get messed up in a big fight."




"My father is so protective though. If he thinks I'm not up to it, he won't
let me." Akane looked quite serious about the situation.




"So don't tell him. Sheesh."




And with that, they entered the house. At the table, they saw the eldest
sister doing some paperwork.




Kasumi smiled at them. "You're home already? I was just doing some paperwork
from the office." She casually stacked her forms and then slid them into her
folder with unobtrusive speed. "I'll need to take them in, and then I can
help make some lunch."




"Nonsense, Miss Kasumi. I am here to do the cooking, as you know," Ami said
from the kitchen entrance. The compact, fit form of the cook ended the
almost confrontation by entering the kitchen.

Kasumi seemed about to dispute the issue but the compact form of the cook cut
off by returning to the kitchen.  

Ranma narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "She moves like a fighter."




Kasumi blinked in surprise for a second. Overly casually, she replied, "Oh,
I think she took some self-defense classes in high school. Maybe a bit more
than daddy forced Nabiki and I to take, but not much. I think."




The boy looked suddenly horrified. "You mean, you know martial arts and you
gave it up?"




"Kasumi isn't a martial artist, dummy," Akane explained. "Daddy just wanted
to make sure that all of us could defend ourselves at school from perverts."




"Perverts? Like Kuno and his gang?" Ranma asked, curious enough to let the
dummy comment slide. "I don't think Kasumi or Nabiki have enough training to
deal with someone like him."




"Well, more normal perverts. Kuno is pretty extreme. I had no idea he was so
powerful."




Kasumi sipped her tea carefully and then set it down.. "I heard from some of
the men at my work, that Tatewaki Kuno may have been illegally enhanced like
the United States soldiers are."




"So he's a super-soldier?" Akane asked, aghast at the thought of fighting
someone of real superhuman strength and world class martial arts skills.




"I guess Kuno mentioned that he purchased some sort of super-training in
Mexico."




"That's part of the United States, isn't it?" Ranma asked as he scratched
his head.




"No. It borders the southern side of the US, but it isn't part of that
country. Don't they teach geography in school these days?" Kasumi had to
hide the urge to roll her eyes.




The boy shrugged. "Schooling is something I do when I get the chance, but
the Art is everything."




Akane's eyes shined in happiness. "I know how you feel! I just wish Daddy
would push me harder. He's still afraid to hurt me or something, I guess."




-




Click. "This is Ichiou Yukoiu for the Rising Sun Watch," the man on the TV
announced.




"Oh, god. Not this show again," Nabiki said with a groan of dissatisfaction.




"What show?" Ranma said in between slurps.




With just a trace of tension, Kasumi replied while picking up her soup bowl,
"It's a news TV show about Rising Sun. They have this mobile TV studio and
helicopter even."




"In today's news, Rising Sun put down a disturbance of the peace at Furinkan
High School. It appears that a student purchased an Ultra Man enhancement in
some sort of misguided attempt at improving himself within the martial arts
community," Ichiou continued. "Another story from Yuki Tamoichini. Yuki?"




A very young and pretty woman appeared on the screen. "This is the scene
today, where Rising Sun's heroism shines so brightly. A suicide bomber
attempted to release toxic fumes into a children's school. Thanks to Rising
Sun's actions, not one child was harmed and class was back in session not an
hour later." Behind the woman, students were cheering. "Back to your,
Ichiou."




The program continued for another five minutes without any comment from the
family around the dinner table. As an advertisement started up, Genma asked,
"Are you up for a game of shogi, Soun?"




"Always!" his friend replied.




"Wow, she's sure busy," Ranma commented as the Rising Sun Watch came back
on.




"Yes, she does a lot for the Japanese people," Akane replied with a glowing
smile. "I just wish I could do half as much as she does. But I don't have
super powers." She sighed.




Ranma blinked at that. "Right." But Ranma did have super powers.




-




Later that evening, after Genma had fallen asleep, Ranma was still up and
thinking. After a long sit-down, he finally crept from the room. Down to the
kitchen he crept and he took out a cup and filled it with cold water. He
stared at it for a moment, but finally upended it over his head. If he, now
she, was going to be trying to do the most good, it would require the best
abilities she now had.

Ehn.  I suppose it works as a rationalisation.  Although really you hardly need
Kryptonian super powers to stop petty criminals I suppose Ranma finds them fun.  

She slid open the door to the outside. Glancing up to her room, she
concentrated and saw that her father was still asleep. With a bound, she
started to zip from rooftop to rooftop, looking for the normal petty crimes
that abounded. A sudden snapping noise brought a smile to her face.




Just a moment later and she was looking down on some thugs that were
breaking into the back of a store. "Uh hem!" she said, clearing her throat.




The two men looked around, then finally spotted her. "Who the hell are you?"
the one with a crowbar asked in a hissing whisper.




"The Neighborhood Watch. Somehow, I don't think you just forgot your keys
there." Ranma was grinning now.




"Nosy little brats shouldn't get involved." The second thug suddenly pulled
a gun. "It might get you killed."




"Aren't guns hard to get in Japan? I admit, I've been out of the country for
a while, but I didn't think it had become as bad as the United States,"
Ranma quipped while being totally unperturbed.




"It's a dangerous world, thanks to the Chinese and Russians, kid. You act
like some sort of hot martial artist, kid, but martial arts versus guns just
don't work," the thug yelled out.




"A little louder. I don't think the local cops heard you!" she replied
cheerfully. "Oh, and you haven't seen my martial arts yet."




"Screw you, bitch." The thug calmly pulled the trigger four times, snapping
off shots at her body. "Stupid, you didn't even try to dodge... them?" She
wasn't falling. She was just standing on the building above them.




"Heh. Thought I was fast enough to catch bullets," Ranma quipped. She opened
her hand and dropped the four deformed bullets.




"Oh, crap. She's like Rising Sun!" the first thug yelled.




Ranma suddenly dropped in front of them. "Nah. I can't fly yet!" Her fists
lashed out, doubling over both of them. "But I bet I'm a much better
fighter." Suddenly she started to look around. "Weird." She looked over the
two gasping felons. Hefting them like they were small babes, she leaped over
towards the nearest police station.




High above in the sky, Rising Sun watched on in interest. Normally, she
would not have interfered with such a small crime so close to the dojo. If
she were spotted too often near Nerima, it would eventually be learned that
she lived there. But if Nerima suddenly sprouted a local super-heroine, she
could 'drop in' so to speak.




Back down on the ground, Ranma had found a nice police officer to take the
two felons into custody. "Yeah, that guy tried to shoot me after I found
them breaking and entering to Ukon's Jewelry Shop."

The cop will want Ranma's name and address so she can testify.  

"We'll send someone over there to look over the break in. I'm sure we can
get these guys behind bars for a while. At least for possession of a
firearm," the policeman said.




"He didn't think it that special to have a gun," Ranma noted.




"Too true these days. The world's a changing place. What with all the
super-heroes running around and China and Russia starting to make noises,
it's not safe no more."




"We'll get you for this bitch. You just show your face in school somewhere
and we'll find where you live!" one of the gasping thugs. "Then your mother,
your father and your boyfriend will pay, even if you are Ultra Powered."




Ranma just looked at him through half-closed eyes. "Sure. You know soooo
much about me." She gave a little wave and then bounded off into the
distance.


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