[Episode 244154] [Episode 244154]West of downtown Welland, 8:00 AM…
"…at last, the game of tag upon which the future of the Earth depends is about to begin," the CBC commentator stated before gazing on his loudly-dressed companion. "What are your opinions of this, Don? Will this be easy or hard for Ranma Saotome?"
"I'd say easy," the famous hockey coach replied. "I read about his martial arts school before I came down here to Welland. Now, I'm not an expert in martial arts, but from what I've read, he's been trained since kindergarten in some pretty heavy-duty fighting skills." He waved down to the start line close to the intersection of West Main and Denistoun Streets, where Ranma — currently dressed in his normal red sleeveless tang and black combat pants — was stretching while Lum, standing about five metres east of him, looked relaxed and ready, though she was stretching her neck and arms. The CBC booth was located on an open air stage in the parking lot close to the intersection. "We now know Miss Redet there can fly." That had been released to CBC by an unknown source last night. "Captain Redet agreed that his daughter…"
"Excuse me! Mister Cherry! Mister McLean!"
Both turned to see Lum waving at them. "Yes?!" Don Cherry called out.
"On my planet, you always use our given names with titles, not the House names!" the Oni teenager called out before she gave them both a wink and grin.
Both commentators exchanged looks, and then they laughed. "Well, as I was saying, Captain Invader did agree that his daughter would keep below fifteen metres above street level; about forty-nine feet in the old system. Now, you might find it hard to believe, Ron, but practitioners of Ranma's art form would find jumping that height virtually a normal thing to do! If he conserves his strength and acts at the right minute, he should be able to pull this off quite quickly."
"Of course, the entire world is tuning in to us to watch this event, which is truly historic," Ron McLean then added. "The first OPEN contact between the people of Earth and another planet. Now, planet Uru, the fourth of fifteen worlds, orbits a sun about the same size as our own they call 'Oniboshi,' thus it often can been seen as proper to address the planet as either 'Uru' or 'Oniboshi.' The planet itself is forty-five light-years — roughly fourteen parsecs for Star Trek fans out there — from our own solar system. Atop Uru, members of her native race inhabit a total of ten worlds as well as three worlds currently disputed with their coreward neighbours, identified as the Imperial Dominion of Noukiios. The total population of the Union of Uru as a whole is close to sixteen billion people, but at least they've got the room for all those people."
"Room we should hopefully start getting soon if things go well today," Don added before he looked over. "Ah, looks like we're about to start!"
Stepping onto the street close to where Ranma is, Zed pulled out his starter's pistol. "Are the contestants ready?" he called out. On seeing both of them nod, he aimed the pistol into the air. "On your marks…get set…GO!" He fired.
Everyone screamed out as Ranma raced down the street right at Lum, who remained in place as the Terran came at her, barely puffing as he closed the range. At the last second, she crouched and leapt high into the air, which caused the crowd to howl and scream out in anger as Ranma's hands barely missed her boots. But that didn't stop the martial artist as he plunged on ahead down West Main Street, reaching into his shirt to draw out what appeared to many of the onlookers to be a long bed sheet…
Lucky thing I gave him that sheet Tsuruko-sensei found in the scabbard of my sword, Nodoka mused from her position close to the CBC booth. Never thought that Genma would actually create such techniques in the first place. She then smiled as she watched Ranma move to slip the bed sheet around him as he focused his ki upon himself. Much that Lum-chan seems prepared to be defeated, I doubt she'll expect this…
"He's pulled out a bed sheet…OH, MY GOD!"
Everyone watching this — including a wide-eyed Lum, who was hovering over the street wondering why Ranma was racing right for the Main Street Bridge instead of turning around to try to leap at her — gasped in disbelief as Ranma and the bed sheet around him seemed to vanish right before their eyes. "My God!" Don exclaimed. "He's got some way to CLOAK himself?!"
"What's he doing…?!"
At that moment, in Nerima (local time 10:03 PM)…
"HOW DID THE BOY LEARN THAT?!"
"Why, Oji-san, you left a copy of your Umisen-ken instructions in the scabbard of your wife's sword," a sweet voice echoed from behind a flabbergasted Genma.
The Saotome patriarch blinked as he robotically turned to stare wide-eyed at Kasumi, who was smiling contently as she placed the tea tray on the table. Watching this from near the television, both Akane and Nabiki — the Tendō sisters had returned back to Japan with the help of the Men In Black — laughed before turned back to watch…
Welland…
"Damn…" Lum hissed.
"Sorry about that, Lum."
The Oni spun around towards where she had heard that voice, and then she smiled. "Guess I should've done my homework," she muttered as she relaxed herself, allowing her empathy to reach out so she could try to locate her invisible opponent.
A chuckle from a different location. "Lum, remember, I'm BONDED to someone like you!" came from yet another place. "Let's get this more downtown," he bade from down the street. "Too many people shouting; it's giving me a headache."
Lum blinked, and then she smiled as she flew off towards the bridge…
In orbit two kilometres over Welland…
"Can we scan for him?!" the Kashin's first officer asked.
"He's totally off all the scopes, Number One!" the sensory officer gasped.
"Damn…"
The bridge crew all gazed at a smiling Invader, who was watching the CBC feed on the main view screen. "Boss…?" the first officer began.
The large Oni laughed. "Damn! I knew these Terrans had potential, but I never thought it was something like this!" He pointed to the screen. "That boy there could probably give the Dragonspeaker herself — or some of the really tough ones among the You-Know-Whos! — a run for their money if he got pushed to his limits!"
Everyone gaped. "Um, Boss…?" someone then asked.
"What, Pilot?" Invader asked as he gazed on the navigator.
"If the race ends TOO quickly and news gets back to Onishuto…"
Invader chuckled. "Son, you saw all those space stations in orbit, didn't you?!"
The younger officer blinked, and then he adjusted his glasses. "Oh…right…"
By now, Lum was close to the intersection of West Main and Niagara Streets; the latter, a former part of the route of Highway 58 that connected Port Colborne to Saint Catharines parallel to the route of the Welland Canal, was one of the main north-south thoroughfares in the northwest side of the city. The Main Street Bridge was just a hundred metres to the east of her as she lowered herself to about five metres above street level. As the crowds around her hushed as they tried to see where Ranma could be, the Oni blinked before she smiled. "Okay…" she mused as she flew directly east, ducking through the portal at the western end of the bridge, racing across the old Canal as West Main Street turned into East Main Street at the intersection of King Street right to the southwest of the city hall and the main library…
"Snake One, this is Chief Beaver. Status?"
Harri Evans pulled the radio close to her as she and her sister Slytherins — all of them now perched on the walkway connecting the bridge master's hut at the centre of the span with ladders to get someone down to the deck — scanned around. Thanks to several special runes and notice-me-not charms, the witches were totally invisible to anyone on the ground. "All quiet at this location, Chief Beaver," Harri replied. "Lum's just flew over the bridge onto East Main Street heading for City Hall. As for Ranma…"
"Harri, look!" Pansy Parkinson called out, pointing east.
Harri turned as she quickly spotted a shimmering something in the air midway up the east tower. "Just spotted Ranma, Chief Beaver," she said over the radio…
"Chief Beaver, this is Grizzly 6D," a corporal from the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, walking on the north side of East Main Street in front of the Welland Civic Squadron (where city hall and the library were located), called out. "We have something."
"Report!" Claude Freeman snapped.
"We have a man — Western European, sorta hippy-like, dressed in a very bulky jacket — thinking some pretty mean thoughts towards Lum!" the corporal said as her partner made a hand signal to a nearby Niagara Regional Police constable to get his attention. "Lum's now opposite Scotiabank to the west of Civic Square. Can't see Ranma…"
On-board Kashin…
"Oh, FUCK!"
"Benten!" Oyuki gasped as she and Pukaze watched the Fukunokami biker-girl race out of their guest lounge for the nearby hangar deck, and then they exchanged looks.
"You don't think…?" the crown princess asked.
"I pray not," the field marshal replied; they had been monitoring the Earth military frequencies when the call from the ground patrol had come in…
Ranma relaxed himself as he stood on a cross-girder about ten metres above the eastern entrance to the Main Street Bridge, his eyes narrow as he watched Lum slow down and lower herself right on the ground. Glancing at nearby streetlamp poles and the ledges of the buildings lining both sides of East Main Street, he was quick to make a perfect five-point leap that would put him right atop Lum before he would ditch the bed sheet he was using for the Goshin Dai Ryūsei Fu defensive manoeuvre so that he could concentrate his ki on snaring her before she could fly out of his grasp. As he poised himself to jump, he then tensed on sensing a man trying to push his way through the crowd lining the north side of East Main Street as two soldiers in CADPAT uniforms tried to close in on him from the east. Seeing him focus on Lum, Ranma gritted his teeth before he tossed aside the cloth, allowing himself to become visible as he cupped his hands.
"LOOK OUT, LUM! MŌKO TAKAIBISHA!"
Back in Nerima…
"WHEN DID HE DEVELOP THAT?!"
"Most likely while he was in the Nǚjiézú village."
A stunned Genma blinked before he turned to stare wide-eyed at Nabiki, who returned that with a knowing smile before turning back to watch…
Lum jolted on hearing Ranma's shout, and then she spun around to see a jet of energy — what type, she had NO idea whatsoever — explode from partway up the east tower of the Main Street Bridge to rip past her right to slam headlong into some man with a heavy coat, the impact sending him tumbling down the street towards the intersection of Cross Street. As the Oni's jaw dropped in shock, she then looked up on hearing the thunderous roar of a familiar air-bike. "Benten?!" she gasped.
Just as Ranma was making several leaps to get right at her, Benten raced down, unsnapping her sash chain as she wound up…just as the man nailed by Ranma's Fierce Tiger Pride attack began to stir, his hand reaching into his jacket to yank out what looked like a cell phone. Nearby, a wide-eyed Hermione Granger — who had been walking with her fellow Gryffindors as they patrolled this section of the street — gaped on seeing him move to tap controls on the phone. Then — on also seeing what was UNDER the jacket — she screamed out, "IT'S A BOMB!"
The crowd all cried out in shock. As panic set in and Hermione whipped out her wand to launch a Stunning Curse at the would-be suicide bomber, Ranma landed beside Lum and snared her by the mid-section as he sprang into the air to get her clear. Just before the word "Stupefy" was about to pass Hermione's lips, a long length of silver chain came down to snare the bomber around his waist. He then screamed out in helpless rage as Benten yanked hard, sending him flying up and to the north, in the general direction of the syphon culvert that took the Welland River underneath the old Canal. As people turned to watch, the bomber's screams disappeared into the morning air as he vanished past the roof of city hall just as Ranma came down with Lum to land softly on the street where the bomber had been before Benten sent him flying.
People then ducked as an explosion echoed through the air, followed by — as people who had good vantage points could see it — a geyser of water leaping out of the Canal to shower the maintenance roads to either side of the syphon culvert and the parking lot behind City Hall. As that noise echoed through the air, Ranma then sighed as he gazed on Lum. "You okay?" the martial artist asked as he let her go.
"Um…s-s-sure…!" the Oni sputtered. "Who in the Maidens' Names WAS that?!"
Benten landed her cycle just in time to hear that question. "Some joker who wanted to end this with a fuckin' bang!" the Fukunokami mused as she wound up her chain, and then she glanced at Ranma. "Hey, Ranma! Did you forget something?" she then hissed.
Ranma blinked, and then he sighed. "Right!" With that, his hands landed on Lum's horn buds. "Tag!" As Lum gazed at him, he then blushed. "Uh, that IS legal, isn't it?!"
Lum stared in shock at him as Benten fell over howling with delight while we…
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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