The Himalayas

 

            On the screen a film played.  To most it would appear to be a science fiction film.  A teenage boy with a glowing body and red eyes stood definitely before a 30-foot tall monster machine.  The film had no sound but the intensity of the boy’s yell when he attacked was most obvious.  From his cupped hands a beam of red light leapt to meet the beam of reddish light coming from the robot.  For a moment they pushed against one another.  One would move forward, the other back.  Then the other would push forward.  The earth below the boy’s feet caved in as his beam became thicker and began the push towards robot.  When beam met robot a mighty explosion erupted destroying what was left of a courtyard of sorts.  Then the screen turned went to static.  A man pushed the power button and the screen went blank.  <”As you can see the boy escaped.”>  The man stated in Mandarin.

            <”I assumed he would.”>  The voice that answered was booming, an eerie tone that simply screamed evil.  <”And now he is in America with Xavier’s group, correct?”>

            <”That is correct.”>  The man flipped through a few papers.  <”We are unsure of his condition at this time.  He may have died from the battle with the Sentinel.”>

            The other voice laughed.  <”That one will not die so easily.  I will have him.”>

            <”Of course.”>  The man bowed and turned to leave.  <”I will go and gather him immediately.”>

            <”Not yet.  I wish to test him first.  I want to know how powerful he can become.”>  A giant hand motioned to the other side of the room.  A light came on.  Said light revealed a tube with a suspended body held within.  <”Besides, you have much work to do.”>

 

 

            Xavier’s School for the Gifted, Three days prior to Chapter Two

 

            Deep within the bowels of the school, many feet and levels below the surface, there is a meeting of sorts within the medical room.  Three people; Logan, Ororo, and the Professor, stand around the bed of a rather important child.  Said child had single-handedly defeated a monster that the whole of the X-Men would have been hard pressed to defeat.  He began to stir.  His eyelids fluttered open.  He blinked and looked around while still lying down.  After noticing that there were people at the foot of his bed he sat up.  His mind immediately went into tactical mode.  He relaxed after quickly determining that those in front of him held him no ill will.  He also noted that his mother’s sword was still in his hand.  So he opted for a nicer greeting than the bust of ki he had original planned on using.  “Ohayou.”

            Ororo and the Professor looked to Logan, who simply smiled before answering.  “Ohayou.”  The Professor told Logan something that Ranma did not understand.

            <”What did he say?”>  Ranma asked.

            <”He just wanted to know if you were feeling better.”>  Logan relied the message.

            <”Yeah.”>  Ranma nodded.

            <”The fight with the Sentinel took allot out of you didn’t it?”> Logan asked.

            The boy was silent for a moment.  Finally he nodded.  <”Yeah.  Being stuck in that tank didn’t do me any good.”>

            Logan stopped for a second before he thought of another question.  <”What did that doctor do to you?”>

            Ranma’s eyes flashed red for a second as he thought back.  They returned to their original color as he began.  <”He kept pumping me with stuff to keep me weak so I couldn’t get out.  While he was doing that he tried to brainwash me into doing what he wanted.  When you guys showed up I decided to make my break.  I figured that if I couldn’t finish off the guards you’d help.”>

            “Ask him if he knows he’s a mutant,” The Professor instructed Logan.

            The teen nodded.  <”I’ve known for a while now.  My power’s been growing slowly for the past couple months.  The first time I really used it all the way was just before the doctor took me.  Before that it would come and go.”>

            <”It happened when your mother died, right?”>  Logan asked.

            Ranma tightened his grip on the sword.  <”Yeah.  I made sure that the guy who killed her wouldn’t hurt anybody else.”>

            The Professor nodded sadly.  “Tell him that I have done some research on him.  It appears that he has been declared legally dead.  I’d like for him to stay here until he recovers and learns to control his power completely.”

Logan relayed the information.  Ranma nodded sadly.  <”I’ll stay…for a little while anyway.”>

            The Professor nodded.  “Ask him what his mutant power is.”

            Logan looked at the Professor in confusion.  “I thought it was super speed.”

            Xavier shook his head.  “We have no real way of knowing.  Considering how many abilities he showed during your escape it could be super speed or a good deal of others.”

            Logan nodded and relied the question.  <”It might be absorption.”>

            <”Might be?”>

            <”I’m not too sure.”>

The Professor nodded.  “Ask him how much control over his power he has.”

            Logan relied the question.  <”I’ve got it under control.”>

            <”How much control?”>

            Ranma smiled.  <”Hand me a book on English.”>

            Logan arched an eyebrow but turned to Beast.  “He says he thinks his power is absorption, and he wants a book on English.”

            “Just a moment.”  Beast turned back to a small table and picked up a book.  “I brought one just in case he wanted to stay.”  He said as he handed the book to Logan, who in turn gave it to Ranma.

            <”What does this have to do with your power?”>

            Ranma smiled.  <”Watch.”>  He held the book aloft in his hand and concentrated.  Seconds later the book was surrounded by a soft blue glow.  It stayed like that for only a moment before returning to normal.  Ranma opened his eyes.  He smiled at Logan and tossed him the book.  “Here.”  Logan caught the book but was a bit surprised when he noted that all of the pages were now blank.  “The book only had the basics.  Got another one?”  He asked.

            The Professor’s eyes widened.  “You mean you learned English by absorbing the book?”

            “Yes.  But I still not very good.”

            Dr. McCoy turned back to the table and got another book.  “Here you go.  I didn’t think we’d need this one this soon, but I am glad I brought it.”

            “Domo,” Ranma said as he took the book.

 

 

            Hours Later

 

            The Professor, Logan, Ororo, Beast, and Ranma were walking down the halls of the lower levels of the school.  Ranma was walking next to the Professor as he explained what everything was and who the few mutants they met were.  Ranma would nod and ask a question every so often.  “And this is the Danger Room,” The Professor motioned to the large metal door to his right.

            “The Danger Room?”  Ranma asked.

            “Think of it as a room to train with your powers,” Xavier explained.

            Ranma’s eyes went wide for a second.  “Sugoi!  Can I try?”

            Logan smiled.  “Lets go up to the controls and see who’s using it right now.”

 

            It took only a moment for the small group to reach the control room.  The young man at the controls turned and greeted them.  “Hey Professor.  I see our guest is up and about.”

            Ranma immediately focused his attentions on the boy.  He was a little taller than Ranma, had brown hair, and wore a visor over his eyes.  “I remember you.  The Sentinel knocked you out.”

            Scott blushed.  “Uh, yeah.”  He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment then realized something.  “Since when can you speak English?”

            “I just learned,” Ranma said with a cocky smile.

            The Professor went to the controls and looked at a monitor.  “A quick training session before lunch?”  He asked.

            “Huh?”  Scott turned back to the controls.  “Oh, yeah.  Nothing major.  Just a quick program for Kitty, Kurt, and Even.”

            The Professor nodded and motioned for Ranma to join him at the controls.  “As you can see Ranma.  This is why we call this the Danger Room.”

            Ranma nodded as he watched the three people train below.  Tentacles of metal, buzz saws, and lasers all made for an impressive display of the room’s danger.  The three training were obviously knew the danger well.  The girl would draw the fire of the lasers giving the boy time to destroy them.  The blue demon-like person would then teleport the boy away as the girl dove into the buzz saws.  Sometimes the demon-like boy would touch down in-between two of the lasers and teleport just before they fired allowing them to destroy each other.  Ranma nodded.  “They have good teamwork.”

            The Professor nodded.  “So do you think you’re up for a round in the Danger Room?”

            Ranma smiled.  “Un!”

 

            Ranma smiled happily as he looked around him.  The room didn’t look like much now, but he knew that soon the fun would begin.

 

            “Are you sure he’s ready for this?”  Kitty asked the Professor.

            “Yeh Professor.  You’re putting him in a team program,” Kurt reminded him.

            “One guy in a team program?  He’s going be slaughtered,” Even joked.

            “Now, now, he did defeat a Sentinel.  If he says he wants to do this then we should let him.”

            Scott simply shook his head.  He couldn’t understand how this new guy had convinced the Professor to let him go solo in a danger team program.  Team programs were designed to train the entire team so they were much harder than the other programs.

 

            “Are you ready, Ranma?”  The Professor’s voice came over the speakers.

Ranma looked up at the control room, smiled, and gave the thumbs up.  All around him panels began opening up and weapons began pouring out.  Ranma continued to smile.  “Omoshiroi.”

 

            This was it!  Now he was in his element.  Battle!  The tentacles were first.  Dozens of them zeroed in on him and dove for him from ever angle.  The smile on his face never disappeared even as they inched closer.  <”A bit more,”> He said softly.  Legs: shoulder-width.  Body: crouched slightly.  Arms: crossed over chest with fists at shoulders.  <”Close enough.”>  The Ki-ah and the wiping of his arms were immediately followed by his attack, an attack that only a ki adept could have seen.  The tentacles were thrown aside and crushed by the unleashing of his ki.

 

            “What the Hell was that!?”  Logan yelled as the control room shook.

            Everyone gathered around the monitors to see what could have happened.  What they beheld was surprising, to say the least.  Ranma stood in the middle of the Danger Room calmly knocking the dirt of his clothes.  The rest of the room did not seem to have faired quite as well.  Ever one of the tentacles that had attacked the boy lay in pieces everywhere.  The floor where Ranma was standing seemed to have been the epicenter for a small explosion, the foot deep crater with a four-foot diameter could attest to that.

            Beast finally came out of his stupor long enough to look at the read outs the machines were giving him.  “He unleashed some sort of attack.  According to this energy spike the attack only took three seconds to generate and then dissipate.”

 

            Ranma’s smile grew even more pronounced as he saw what was his next opponent.  Buzz saws popped up from under the floor and descended on him.  <”Lets see,”> He brought his hand up to his face while curling his fingers in and out of a fist.  <”How ya like,”> A red glow sprang up around his fingers and extended down to his elbow.  <”The Neko-ken!”>