Do you know what deliverance is?
Ranma got a good idea as he stared up at the blasted hole. He was more muscular than agile; nowhere near Ryouga in terms of strength, but he could hold his own. However, his physical abilities were only a compliment to more esoteric abilities. The few guards who still stood didn’t last long; Ranma saw the same disgust that had twisted - still twisted - his own face as scarlet energy blasted their weapons to slag, and sent them flying.
And then that single eye turned toward him, a glowing slit more menacing than a thousand glares from Soun, or a hundred promises of death from Saffron or Herb. Ranma barely noticed others fall around the man. The only thing that kept Ranma standing was the man’s badly-accented Japanese.
“My name is Cyclops; we’re the X-men. Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Mutsumi stumbled forward. “He... he’s with us. He becomes a girl... under certain circumstances.” She sagged into Ranma’s arms. “Quickly... others are coming.”
Cyclops looked around at the surroundings. “Are there any others?”
Mutsumi bit her lip. “Can’t tell. None in this area, though.”
“Good,” Cyclops whispered. His head turned to each end of the corridor; a stray glance later, and each end was sealed. “Can you make your own way up?”
Ranma hefted Mutsumi in his arms. “Yeah... but what about her?” He looked at the others; they were no less impressive. Well... the redhead didn’t look like much, but the others - the incredibly-agile ninja, the short clawed bundle of muscle that smelled of death - looked impressive.
Watch it, kid, the voice spoke in his head as he found Mutsumi lifted from his arms - by thin air. Okay, so all of them are pretty impressive. The other girls found themselves lifted by similar amounts of nothing; Ranma shook his head, and jumped up to the next floor.
“I’d meant to ask if he could fly...” Cyclops whispered quietly in English; the others chuckled. Ranma smiled as he continued his ascent; he understood what it meant to follow self-made entrances, and leaped from floor to floor to the surface.
“Whoa.” He didn’t understand the airplane he found there, though. He’d seen aircraft like this in military books and photos, but never in person - and never like this.
“Get in, kid.” This guy’s Japanese was perfect; Ranma turned to find the short one standing behind him. “Unless you want to become part of Sinister’s love hotel...”
Ranma didn’t know who ‘Sinister’ was, but knew when to take advice. He jumped into the plane as the others came in, and found a comfortable chair. Within seconds, the aircraft was soaring high above Hokkaido; within an hour, they were halfway to Alaska.
Part of him felt like screaming as the plane made its way. Being a girl half the time had given him some of the fears women had. The possibility of some guy putting that in there, forcing him... making him a real woman... in that respect, his fear of rape was just as keen as any female’s. And this was worse: it was organized, systematic...
“You did good, kid,” A mug of hot chocolate moved in front of his face; Ranma took it quickly. “My name’s Wolverine. What’s yours?”
“Ranma. Saotome Ranma.” He sipped the hot chocolate, savoring the warmth as it washed through him, and remembered the ocasional times Kasumi made some for the family. A wave of sadness came over him; would he ever see them again? “Why... why are we here?”
Wolverine sighed. “You’re a mutant, kid. The place we busted you out of has a thing for eugenics, and wanted you as a surrogate mom.” He frowned. “You... change into a girl? Is that your mutant ability? It can’t be your only one, after what we saw...”
Ranma shook his head. “Nah, that’s a curse; got it in China a year ago. Pop and I went to this cursed training ground... now, whenever I get spashed with cold water, I become a girl. Hot water changes me back.” He frowned. “I’m no mutant. Everything I do is martial arts.”
Wolverine smiled wryly. “Not quite, Ranma-san. You read as mutant; everyone on this plane does.” He put a hand on Ranma’s shoulder, a twinkle in his eye. “Now, what’s this martial art like?”
Back in familiar territory, Ranma smiled. Suddenly, it seemed like the flight was going much faster...
***
Ranma carried Mutsumi out of the hangar and into a waiting stretcher. He was really the only one who didn't need it; he'd already healed from the fight, a fact which caused no raised eyebrows, but a few smiles from the 'X-men', as they called themselves.
He didn't know if he was a mutant or not. The ki-blasts he'd fired off in that fight weren't his usual - and that last move certainly wasn't normal.
Ironically, the more he thought about it, the more it didn't matter. He was who he was; it was a mantra he'd spoken to himself after finding his manhood threatened, and it certainly applied now. If he had a few abilities he could use in a fight... cool.
He cast an eye on Mutsumi as he watched the motorized stretcher move her away. He couldn't be angry at her for what she'd done. A martial artist's duty is to protect the weak and helpless - and the group he'd found there certainly applied, perhaps more so than anyone he'd ever encountered. He was the perfect person to save them - because it was what he'd been trained all his life to do.
He barely noticed the smile on Jean's face as she passed him. "Ranma, I know you're fine, but we'd still like to give you a checkup. Mr. Sinister tends to be subtle in his dealings, and we just want to make sure he hasn't done anything. Do you mind...?"
"Um... sure." Ranma followed Jean's arm and the stretchers as they led to the infirmary.
See other episodes by Nightelf
(Posted Fri, 25 Oct 2002 04:59)
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