[Ranma/Xover][FanFic] Spring Of Drowned Hero, chapter 3
metro...@mindspring.com
"It ain't easy being green."
DISCLAIMER: This fic takes place in a Marvel/Ranma/SM Universe. Characters
are (tm) and/or (c) their respective owners.
---------
*BOUNCE!*
Akane rubbed her nose. "HEY YOU! WATCH WHERE YOu're going...?!"
Akane Tendo was brave. It didn't matter how big the opponent, her confidence
in her martial arts abilities and strength would see her through any normal
conflict. Reputations she had slightly more trouble with, as those *could*
intimidate her.
Turning a corner with her friends Yuka and Sayuri, she hadn't seen any sign
that would indicate today was going to be a day where she would face
anything worse than Tatewaki Kuno.
However, while she was obstinate, prone to ignoring anything that didn't fit
what she had already made her mind up about (something she would deny as if
she acknowledged such a fault she would be admitting she had something in
common with the aforementioned Tatewaki), and had even been described by her
elder sister as a violent maniac, she was *not* a lowgrade moron.
Therefore, while she was quite confident in her fighting skills, after
bouncing off of a roadblock and beginning to yell at it, the recognition of
the identity of that roadblock quickly penetrated and Akane Tendo of the
Tendo School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts very nearly wet her pants.
Scratch that "very nearly" as she noticed the rage on the individual's face.
Said roadblock stood over nine and a half feet tall, weighed over fifteen
hundred pounds, and was composed almost entirely of muscle. Skin, hair,
nails - all being shades of green. Though the hair was a little long, and
the yellow/black bandana was a new addition, Akane Tendo had absolutely no
problem figuring out who this was.
The Incredible Hulk.
Someone whose fist was bigger than her head, and who could reduce her to the
consistency of strawberry jam with less effort than it took her to open a
door.
Someone with a temper *worse* than hers on a day where Kasumi had forgotten
to pick up Midol and her PMS was going off with a vengeance. Someone who
could get pissed and wreak havoc on a scale Godzilla would normally be
required for.
Akane grinned stupidly, trying to come up with some way of placating the
huge creature in such a way that he would leave quietly and not flatten her
so badly that she could use a postage stamp as a burial shroud. She was
vaguely aware of Yuka and Sayuri having turned completely white, down to the
roots of their hair, then shrieking and heading for the school as if that
would save them.
The Hulk growled low and animalistically as he finished turning towards
Akane. A hand reached out with surprising speed to grasp her waist and pull
her close.
Akane saw her life pass before her eyes. She wanted a "do over" as she
catalogued all the things that she hadn't done.
"Where is Furinkan High School?"
Akane blinked, all too aware that the Hulk's reported strength was
sufficient that the hand almost completely encircling her waist could
squeeze her to a literal bloody pulp. Anger began to percolate upwards,
driven by fear and the knowledge that the entire school was watching. "This
*is* Furinkan High School. Let me GO!"
"Furinkan?" The large green fellow blinked and moved slightly towards the
wall, reading slowly the kanji that confirmed it. "I here. At last. Now.
Where Ranma Saotome?"
Akane placed both hands on a thumb and tried to force it away from her
midsection. "I... don't know (urk!) He already left (unnngghh!). He might be
home...(uh oh)." Akane suddenly had an image of her house looking like a
bomb crater. "No no no! I'm sure he's not *there*!"
Ryouga's grip involuntarily tightened in reaction to the thought of
Saotome's lechery, living with this tiny girl. "Ranma Saotome, you will
pay... uh oh."
Akane was now frantically trying to budge the thumb holding her in place.
The grip had tightened from "loose but firm" to something that might
ordinarily crush cars. While she might be inclined to lose an inch or two
from her waistline, this was *not* how she wanted it to happen.
A brick slammed into Ryouga's head from the side, not doing any damage but
attracting the green goliath's attention.
"I hear you're looking for me," said Ranma from atop the school's fence.
Ryouga blinked. "Ranma Saotome?"
"Yeah," answered Ranma. "So who the heck are you?"
Ryouga looked at the tall blond gaijin. "Damn. All this trouble, and is
wrong Ranma Saotome."
----------
Miles away, a boy named Ryu Kumon (who went by the name Ranma Saotome) got
this sudden chill up his spine.
---------
(splash)
Ryouga sniffed the air. "What stinks?"
Akane whimpered. This level of pressure + full bladder + lotsa stress had
been too much.
Ryouga realized what had happened and reflexes bade his next course of
action, he casually flipped the girl away from him with a sound of disgust.
"EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee" (wham bang boom) Akane considered just staying put,
particularly on seeing the broken doors to the science lab, the broken wall,
and the dent she'd put into the wall that had finally held up.
However, wasn't it a basic truth of the School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts
that no challenge could go unanswered? If she didn't answer this call to
battle, how could she call herself the Heir to the Tendo School?
Slowly she made her way to the gaping hole in the school wall.
There was Ranma, looking off to the West.
Akane looked in that direction. Other than a large gap where the school's
outer wall had once stood, she didn't see anything. Realizing what that
meant, she started looking madly around. "Hey, where'd the Hulk go?"
"He just wandered off," said Ranma with a shrug. "It seems I'm not the Ranma
Saotome he's looking for."
"There's MORE of you?" Akane was a little disgusted with the idea. Not so
much that there was more than one Ranma, but did that mean there was more
than one Tatewaki Kuno? The mind boggled.
--------------
The Hulk continued to calm down, triggering the change. Soon, Ryouga Hibiki
once again walked the streets of Nerima...
Ryouga looked up and saw the Tokyo Tower. Okay, correction. Ryouga Hibiki
walked the streets of Azabu Juuban.
Several *very* pretty girls ran by in *very* short skirts ran by. "Come on,
the reports were that the Hulk was *this* way!"
Ryouga pinched his nose, noting that each of the five girls had nice legs.
Not that he had time for those things until he'd gotten even with Ranma.
They were looking for his cursed form? How strange! He didn't need
cheerleaders, he needed vengeance!
---------
"So, koibito," said Nabiki, trying out the new pet name for her fiance, "do
you suppose he was looking for whatever you looked like before you 'got
cursed'?" Nabiki smirked inwardly. She wasn't sure why her fiance continued
with this pretence. It didn't fool anyone.
"Oh man, I missed that," groaned Ranma, covering his face with one hand.
"Why didn't you fight him?" Akane frowned. Wasn't he a member of the
Anything Goes School?
"Too many civilians, and the Hulk ain't exactly no flyweight. You suppose
anything would be left in the area if the Hulk got really pissed?" Ranma
shrugged. "If he was gonna fight me for real, I'd have had to try and get
him away from the school at least."
"Oh," said Akane, seeing his point.
"Uhm, Akane," said Nabiki after getting a couple of quick pictures. "You
might want to go home and change clothes."
Akane glared but nodded.
----------
A gauntleted hand put the game controller (for "Super Romance Dating
Scramble III", a Japanese dating simulator) down after pushing "Pause."
(What, you expected him to be playing Flight Simulator?)
"Iron Man, we have a Hulk sighting!"
Iron Man (the original since his successor had turned up missing) accessed
the commlink by a direct patch to his armor. "Are you sure about that? The
Hulk vanished at about the same time as the majority of those other heroes
vanished." Some had been good friends and Tony Stark couldn't help but feel
a little mournful at this reminder.
"Know anyone else who's 9'6", 1500 pounds, emerald green, and registers
temper tantrums on the Richter scale?"
"The Abomination," replied Iron Man. "Not to mention that time the
Juggernaut was reported as a Hulk sighting, or any number of others."
"Well, that's true, but this *does* tend to make those decryptions of the
Chinese coded messages and reports sound more likely. Neither the
Abomination or Juggernaut make mile-long jumps."
"Thanks, Ed, we'll send someone out to check it out," Tony clicked off the
broadcast, wanting to be alone with his thoughts. Azabu Juuban, eh? Well, a
few of the remaining Avengers had wanted to check out these reports of
superpowered elemental mutants running around.
When a large number of heroes had suddenly turned up missing, the remaining
heroes had shuffled around, and new ones had arisen to fill gaps. Ed, a
minor mutant living in Colorado, didn't have the raw combat potential of any
of those missing heroes, but his ability to "ghost" in the Internet did make
him a valuable resource.
Iron Man checked a few rosters. Who could be spared for a quick trip to
Japan?
----------
"Ranma Saotome," said Tatewaki Kuno. "What foul sorcery doth this gaijin
possess?"
"Sorcery?" Hikaru Gosunkugi listened. Had there been some clue as to strange
Western magic practiced by the tall fellow? Ranma had looked more like one
of those American Football players than a sorcerer.
"He has ensorcelled the fair Akane so that she fails to return my love, and
his summoned ogre shall pay for his manhandling of her."
"Hmmmm," said the spooky goth (known as "Voodoo Spike" Gosunkugi to some,
though more referred to him as "whatshisname"). The Hulk was a summoned
ogre? It *would* explain a few things.
Sensing if not really paying attention to the fact that he had an audience,
and playing to them, Tatewaki Kuno continued his diatribe. "No one can
defeat the paragon of nobility that is the Blue Thunder, much less dispute
the superiority of the Japanese over base foreigners. This is further
evidence of the inferiority of these foreigners - for no Japanese would sink
so low as to use foul sorceries against the virtuous Tatewaki Kuno."
"Yeah, right," said Nabiki, passing by this crowd. "Kuno, you amaze me."
"The Blue Thunder accepts such praise as his due," said the kendoist.
"So who was praising you?" Nabiki's smirk was visible from over her shoulder
as she entered the school.
Kuno briefly considered yelling back at the mercenary that he despised her.
Ah, but the fair Akane had left the school grounds to return soon. He should
wait for her and thereby have a moment or two alone with the beauteous
tigress so that she may bespeak her affections.
Akane, already at home, felt a chill but decided she needed to hurry. She
would likely be late anyway, but didn't really think anyone who had
witnessed that scene this morning would object.
------------
Ranma Saotome sat at his too small desk and tried to focus on the teacher.
Why did they have to drone like that? Certainly they had to repeat this
material a lot, but the students picked up on things like a lack of
enthusiasm for the subject.
Already Chihiro had propped her book up and was slurping noodles from behind
its shelter. That weird kid in the back was making voodoo dolls? Then there
was Hiroshi and Daisuke, who were apparently looking over hentai magazines
again. Yuka and Sayuri were gossipping. Weren't there any *normal* people in
this class?
"The answer, Mister Saotome?"
"Admiral Yamamoto, sensei."
"Very good, Mister Saotome."
Ranma wondered how he had known that.
---------------
Kasumi finished cleaning the shield or, as she currently thought of it, the
Shield. The straps had been old and well worn leather, which hadn't fared
well, so she had had to replace them. Leather was difficult for her to
budget, though she understood the need for a tough and lightweight material.
After some time thinking of what would be suitable, Kasumi had come up with
the idea of quilted silk but disregarded it due to the problems keeping such
material clean.
What the domestically inclined Tendo sister had come up with was reinforcing
some material from one of Akane's old gi. It might not be perfect, but it
would do until she could find something stronger. After all, if it could
stand up to repeated washings, as well as Akane's workouts for so many
years, it had to be fairly tough material.
She was aware of Mister Saotome asking if there was anything for lunch, and
had nodded and replied that she would get that right away. Naturally, she
wasn't finished with the Shield, so she took it with her.
Which was when Kasumi became aware of how Mister Saotome was eyeing the
Shield.
----------
Genma was concerned. That shield that Ranma had found looked sort of
familiar, but he hadn't been able to sell it. Ranma had chosen to be willful
and obstinate when the subject had come up.
The Anything Goes School eschewed weapon use. Using a weapon caused one to
rely on it.
That didn't mean that practitioners of Anything Goes wouldn't use a weapon.
Hypocrisy was a basic tenet of the school as well.
Ranma had practiced a few times with the shield while going through China.
It seemed a silly weapon, an overgrown frisbee. Still, there had been
*something* about how Ranma practiced with the weapon. Not only had it
seemed to click as "natural" somehow, it had even tickled some memory as
being familiar in some odd fashion.
Genma knew he could trick Kasumi into handing over the shield. There were
places in Tokyo he could sell it for that would pay him at least enough to
get a quick bottle of sake or two. Maybe a full meal.
The problem was that the *old* Ranma might have griped or complained about
it, but would have given in eventually. The *new* Ranma was less certain to
say the least. He could be pushed, but you got the feeling that he was
continually weighing everything that happened as if against some internal
checklist. The old pre-Jusenkyo Ranma was easily led. The new blonde Ranma
wasn't easily led or fooled.
Well, maybe he'd get the chance to sell it, then he'd explain to the boy how
it was all for the best. Just looking out for the boy's interest, after
all.
------------
He was the Incredible Hulk. He was darn near invulnerable, could lift 100
tons, punch through battleships, and leap well over a mile.
He was lost.
He had also discovered that while he wasn't actually injured by a lot of
stuff, it could still sting a lot.
"Mars Fire.... Damn it, he's running too fast for me to get a bead on him!"
"Do you think Jupiter's going to be okay?"
"Sailor Moon, she was knocked down and run over by the Hulk! Still I think
her transformation protected her. Mostly." Sailor Mercury frowned as she ran
and adjusted her visor at the same time, something that would have made
Sailor Moon herself take a painful fall if she'd tried it. "This is very
odd. I'm reading several magical signatures on the Hulk, but he's supposed
to be non-magical in nature."
At this point, knowing full well that those fire blasts *stung*, and that
if that girl in the orange skirt tried to flying kick him in the face again
with that short skirt he'd have a terminal nosebleed, Ryouga/Hulk remembered
he could leap tall buildings with a single bound.
"Crescent beam, SMASH!" Sailor Venus fired off her quickest attack, noting
that for such a big fellow, the Hulk moved extremely quickly.
*SPING!* The blast managed to cut a bandana off the Hulk's head. Oddly
enough there was another one underneath it.
Feeling the burn, Ryouga leapt up. "Ranma Saotome! This all your fault!"
Sailor Moon blinked. "Ranma Saotome?!"
"Ranma Saotome?!" Sailor Venus puzzled, picking up the bandana.
"Ranma Saotome," mumurred Sailor Mercury, already accessing a websearch on
her computer.
-----------
A long day of school. In a desk designed for someone not nearly as massive
as himself. Where people regarded him as being gaijin and at least some were
actively hostile as a result. Long hours of tedium.
Then the final bell rings.
Ranma had achieved a routine, even though it was only his second day at
Furinkan Senior High School.
"Yipeee!"
This routine was started by an acrobatic flip outside the third story
window, followed by lightly landing on the concrete below, then a graceful
hurdle of the school's outer wall. By the time some of the students of his
class had reached the bottom of the stairs, he was already home.
He casually swatted his father into the pavement, caught the shield before
it could land, and was off to the next stop. The kitchen. He was hungry
after all.
"Oh, Ranma," said Kasumi cheerfully, then blinked in surprise. She could
have *sworn* she'd just had three cheeseburgers on that tray.
Ranma finished licking a bit of melted cheese off his hands. "Yes, Kasumi?"
"I cleaned your shield," said Kasumi, trying to sound Ranma out on this and
confirm what she thought she already knew.
"Yeah, thanks. Try to keep my Pop off of it though. What can I say, he's a
moron." Ranma abruptly realized he'd fitted the shield into place on his
arm. It was amazing how natural it felt there.
Kasumi noticed how well the shield fit into place, but that hadn't been what
she was leading into. "Do you practice with that?"
"Yeah, some," admitted Ranma. "I was just gonna go do that, in fact." He'd
spotted one of those vacant lots that construction companies used to
temporarily store things while working in the area and it had struck him as
darn near *perfect* for practicing a couple of techniques he'd thought up.
"Do you mind if I watch?" Kasumi had a fairly good idea of what to expect if
her theory was true.
Ranma puzzled over this for a few moments. He couldn't see a problem, per
se, it just struck him as a strange request. "Uhm, I guess not."
----------
Nabiki was incensed, again. First her iinazuke goes off and flirts with her
*dear* younger sister the very first day he attended school. Then he went
off back home without so much as a "by your leave" or "would you like me to
take you home" or even just a nod of the head.
A few sly innuendos to Akane about perverted Americans and what "everybody
knows" about their nonstop sex drives and cruder sensibilities, and Nabiki
was fairly sure that anything budding between Akane and Ranma had been
effectively derailed.
Pictures of a naked Ranma, taken from a carefully placed hole in a wall
overlooking the boy's shower, hadn't sold as well as could be expected.
Though there was some curiosity, it was mainly detracted from by his newness
and gaijin status. The mercenary Tendo thought it likely that as Ranma
became more familiar, and the opportunity came for more secretive purchase,
the sales would go up slightly.
As for the rest of the school day, it was mainly a waste of time. Nabiki
kept a solid week ahead of the class, that way she could deal with any
situations that could increase her financial standing immediately. A few
rumors, mostly dealing with the Hulk's presence had graced the halls of
Furinkan: the Hulk was here to enroll, the Hulk was here to promote some
upcoming movie, the Hulk had shown up to kill Ranma for stealing Nabiki's
heart, the big green fellow hadn't been the Hulk after all - just an actor,
and finally (Nabiki's favorite) - the Hulk had shown up specifically to
challenge Akane due to Tatewaki Kuno's rule and was now going to take her
off on a date.
There was much teasing possibility in this last. Even Tatewaki Kuno, in his
own bizarre disassociated manner, realized that attacking the Hulk to
dispute his date with Akane was not a particularly healthy move. Akane, of
course, didn't care for this rumor at all. Which merely meant that Nabiki
found plenty of room for some light teasing.
This was beside the point, however. Ranma had ignored her for the most part
over the past two days.
Nabiki slowed as a random thought percolated up through the layers of her
mind. She knew from her father's description that Ranma had spent most of
his life on the road and his social skills reeked as a result.
Maybe he didn't have a clear idea what being engaged involved, other than as
a precursor for marriage?
Nabiki frowned thoughtfully, which sent some sophomores scurrying away
clutching their wallets. She'd have to investigate this further.
-------
Akane had been pleasantly surprised. Very little teasing had occurred from
her unfortunate accident of the morning. Perhaps it was that most people
faced with being pulped by the Hulk would have had similar reactions,
perhaps it was Akane's own temper and reputation for casual violence,
perhaps it was the dearth of other things to talk about. Whatever the cause,
the result was that few people commented on Akane losing bladder control
while in the grip of the Hulk.
Akane was still sore from the Hulk's grip on her, and from being thrown
through one wall, a closed door, and finding herself imbedded in that second
wall. She wasn't exactly a delicate flower, but that had been pushing her
limits.
Though it *had* gotten her some additional respect. Anyone who could still
walk after that sort of attack was worth respecting, in the opinions of
many.
She stepped over the slightly flattened figure of Genma on her way into her
house. "Tadaima!" No one answered though. Not so unusual for her father, but
Kasumi not being here was slightly more unusual.
Her danger sense went off as Genma attacked. "Mister Saotome, I hurt too
much to practice now, can we try again tomorrow?"
Genma paid attention to the limp and the way Akane was carrying herself.
"Try a hot soak, student. We'll make up for this lapse in training tomorrow
morning."
"Oh joy," said Akane, though the thought of soaking in the furo *did* sound
quite appealing.
----------
Kasumi was sitting demurely on a concrete pipe, watching the practice and
comparing memories of news clips to what she was watching now. She hadn't
trained in the martial arts since her mother's death, and she'd trained
almost exclusively in the Tendo Naginata-ryuu prior to that. She *did*,
however, know something about various martial arts styles.
The blurring boy was better than she was, which wasn't surprising, but was
also better than she *could* have been. Everyone, she felt, had a certain
limits within them. She had discovered that while she could have dedicated
herself to the martial arts, she wasn't as good with unarmed styles as she
was with the naginata, and her potential within the domestic arts like
cooking were far greater than either. Time and energy limits what we can
dedicate ourselves to, and so Kasumi had eventually chosen to pursue solely
the domestic arts.
Ranma was fast. Much faster than someone would expect of such a big gaijin.
Also had incredible control and precision, and showed every sign of being a
skilled martial artist.
Kasumi compared a split instant of stance with another image from an old
news report about Captain America fighting someone with the unlikely name of
"Red Skull" in New York. Match up: 97%.
Another image compared to memory. Another match up that was almost exact.
Again and again.
Ranma started practicing with the Shield, and Kasumi nodded. Even greater
resemblence, verging on 99%. It was enough to decide.
All talk of Jusenkyo curses to the side, it was obvious now, at least to
Kasumi.
As far as Kasumi was concerned, Ranma Saotome was the son of Captain
America.
Though Ichi-bei, the relations between Japan and America, was often strained
by either America's Japan-bashing or the reactions of those within her own
country, Kasumi had grown up in a time when the United States was considered
sort of a bratty and slightly immature older brother. Captain America, on
the other hand, was considered somewhat of a heroic role model. In some ways
he had exemplified certain aspects of bushido, or European chivalry. In some
ways he represented an ideal America, one that didn't whine as much or have
the greatest concentration of litigation attorneys on the planet.
Captain America's exploits had been reproduced in manga form, going from
historical records, back in the mid 60s. It was occasionally reprinted,
though the dojinshi involving the Captain had been best forgotten. The
Americans tended to not care for *that* sort of depiction of their icon, and
there were quite a few Japanese who had felt similarly.
Captain America had been a brash youth in WWII, and had made a number of
comments and actions that he'd later expressed regret over. He'd been
present at odd times during the Reconstruction, or so it was said. The
pictures of the Captain of that time had always struck Kasumi as being a
little "off". Then he'd reappeared a few times during the seventies. Now
here it was 1992, and the Captain's Son was ready to take up the mantle.
Kasumi watched the skill that Ranma used in ricocheting the shield off
several objects to land in his hand again. Yes, Ranma would eventually be
the noble successor to the title. What had happened to the original? Or was
it something that changed hands every twenty years? Passed from father to
son to their son and now to Ranma?
How would Nabiki handle being the fiancee of a world famous superhero?
Probably not well. Kasumi decided to have a long talk with Nabiki about
responsibilities. Did Nabiki really understand what being a fiancee
entailed? Probably not.
How would Akane handle this when it came out. Hmmm. Kasumi considered
something else. The Captain had originally had a sidekick, "Bucky" - a term
meaning "Buck Private" as she recalled. Maybe he could use a new sidekick?
One who could represent Ichi-Bei, a hero for *Japan* working alongside the
Avengers and other groups.
Kasumi smiled a little more. Akane was a violent maniac, but she was also a
nice girl. This could be just the sort of thing to help her get over some of
that aggression. She'd need a costume though. Perhaps something in yellow...
Akane looked good in yellow.
-----------
"Arrrgghhh, where is Ranma Saotome?!"
Ryu Kumon put down his ramen bowl. "I'm Ranma Saotome. What's *your* beef?!"
He turned, confident smirk on his lips to regard what fool might be looking
for him, or maybe this was a clue to where he could find the Umisenken
Scroll.
There was a big green wall blocking his view. How curious.
Ryouga/Hulk looked down at the little fellow. Size = about right. Coloration
= about right. Japanese? Yes. "At last! Ryouga SMASH!"
Ryu Kumon suddenly realized *what* he was looking at. He jumped back in
order to get some fighting room and unleash his secret techniques. Seeing
the Hulk there, he paused for a moment, then grinned. Taking down the Hulk
using the Yamasenken would prove the effectiveness of the techniques!
-----------
Shampoo yawned while looking for her husband. Upon hearing what sounded like
an explosion, she decided to investigate. Her airen might be there.
Or at least some allies she could get.
==========
Ryu Kumon vs Incredible Hulk?!
Akane, superhero sidekick in training?
Ranma, reluctant Captain America?
Shampoo respects strength, what will she think of the Hulk?
OMAKE -----
Old heroes gone, others have risen to fill the ranks of existing ones. Some
do not stand side-by-side with the "superhero teams" but fulfill other
functions now.
(Note: other than the cameo of Ed in this chapter i have no plan to actually
utilize any of these, it's just intended as a fun little bit.)
Ghostspider (Ed Becerra)
Type: Mutant (?)
Affiliation: Avengers
Base Of Operations: Colorado (Worldwide)
Mutant Power: Machine Ghost (can astrally project into electronic systems,
primarily the internet). Has Good control over machines within line of
sight, Unearthly for those he's in physical contact with.
Occupation: Researcher
Reputation: Unknown to all but but a few members of the Avengers and
Professor X. Part of his ability allows him to mask himself from cybernetic
systems, including Sentinels.
Tora (Rupert Chaynie)
Type: Werelynx
Affiliation: none
Base Of Operations: Australia
Werepowers: Regenerates from wounds that are not inflicted by silver, magic,
or other werecreatures when in hybrid or animal form. Can transform to
werelynx hybrid form, human, or animal form.
Occupation: artist
Reputation: Not well known. Tried out for Heroes For Hire local branch, and
was told they'd keep his resume on file.
Zen Zen (Zen?)
Type: Mutant (?)
Affiliation: None
Base Of Operations: Atlanta
Mutant Powers: can charge metal objects, making them nearly indestructible
and lightweight. Charge lasts for only two minutes.
Occupation: programmer
Reputation: Unknown. His only appearance was during an Avengers recruiting
drive. After flirting with all the female Avengers and candidates, he was
ruled too un-PC for a group that has a Federal status.
Shade (?)
Type: Mystic
Affiliation: None
Base Of Operations: mobile
Mystic Powers: song mage. As it can take five minutes or more for him to get
off a spell, he has not had much success as a superhero.
Occupation: musician
Reputation: Shade enjoys some success as a musician, though he is completely
unknown as a superhero.
Transit (Hung Nguyen)
Type: Mutant (?)
Affiliation: none
Base Of Operations: mobile
Mutant Powers: ability to "pop a stitch in spacetime" in any open doorway or
window and connect the space he's currently occupying with another space,
somewhere within a 10,000 mile range. These gateways can be as large as a
typical garage door or as small as the hole in a pencil sharpener. Opening a
gateway requires a great deal of effort, keeping it open is merely a matter
of slight effort, and closing it simply requires he take his mind off
keeping the gate open for a moment.
Occupation: travel agent
Reputation: well known among the rich and famous, as well as a few superhero
groups. The last supervillain group to try and blackmail him discovered that
he could link the barrels of their guns using his power. It is known that he
charges more for impolite people.
Hound (Gregg Sharp)
Type: Esper
Affiliation: FBI
Base Of Operations: mobile
Esper Powers: Psychometry. By handling an object, Hound can get psychic
impressions of the owner and lock on to the "psychic scent" of that user to
track them.
Occupation: Forensic "special talent"
Reputation: well known within the FBI and some LEO circles, called in when
more traditional methods have come to a dead end.
Dragonbard (unknown)
Type: Mage
Affiliation: none
Base Of Operations: mobile
Mage Powers: Spellsinger, manifests spells via music.
Occupation: rock singer
Reputation: not very well known
Artisan (Andrew Lemly)
Type: mystic
Affiliation: none
Base Of Operations: owns a small island
Mage Powers: sketch art. Can conjure any number of people or items by
creating a sketch of that thing. As it can take over a day to do a proper
sketch and bring it to reality, it is a very slow and laborious process. As
the items remain after being sketched, Andrew has drawn his own island,
mansion, and a number of other items and has adopted the attitude of "don't
bother me and I won't bother you." Unfortunately he only seems able to
maintain an even dozen items at any single time. He is currently trying to
work out a way around this limitation.
Occupation: supreme ruler of Lemon Island
Reputation: don't bother his island or you'll regret it.
Phant (Phantasm) (real name unknown)
Type: Mutant?
Affiliation: none
Base Of Operations: Beverly Hills, CA
Mutant(?) Abilities: puts out a continual "vermindeath" field. Small
insects, fungi, and spores within 60 feet of Phant immediately shrivel up
and perish.
Occupation: exterminator
Reputation: very well known, very well paid. Vacations in Japan frequently
for massive shopping trips involving Manga No Mori and Animate stores. Has
been featured in "Lifestyles of the Rich & Paranormal."
Wanda the Magnificent (Ana Wagner)
Type: Mystic Focus?
Affiliation: none
Base Of Operations: Hogwarts Academy, somewhere in England
Mage Abilities: Student Teacher at a school for wizards, specialty in wand
use and abjuration spells
Occupation: Student teacher
Reputation: hardly known at all, except to the students at Hogwarts.
Tangent (Alex White)
Type: Werefox
Affiliation: none
Base Of Operations :somewhere near Pittsburgh
Werefox: ability to change into a hybrid or normal-looking fox. Regenerates
from normal wounds in either fox or hybrid forms.
Occupation: Apprentice Mage
Reputation: Not very well known, except in sorcerous circles.
Rikard (Richard Robinson)
Type: Empowered
Affiliation: none
Base Of Operations: Seattle
Power: Rikard has come into the possession of a bracer with four "materia"
(one of four such materia users) - which allow him to summon certain spirits
for specific tasks. Detox cleans air, land, or water. Shiva freezes things.
Solarr allows him to project beams and domes of sunlight. Feather allows him
to float as if weightless.
Occupation: hired by the city of Seattle for waste management and special
functions.
Reputation: well known in Seattle, though he is thought to be using
technology instead of magic and Shiva is his alien partner.
White (Jared Ornstead)
Type: Psychic/Mage
Affiliation: church based
Base Of Operations: Salt Lake City?/mobile
Power: Psychic Healing. White can use psi talents to heal wounds, cure
diseases, and correct disorders, so long as he can "lay hands" to establish
a connection. The greater the injury or complication, the more of his own
energy reserves this requires.
Occupation: healer/missionary
Reputation: known as having a "gift", which is sufficient for most people.
Obsidian (Morgan Wright)
Type: Mystic Warrior
Affiliation: none (Silver Millenium)
Base Of Operations: Los Angeles, CA
Powers: Reborn warrior of an ancient magical moon kingdom. The Knight Of
Fear is constantly radiating a fear aura of Good strength, this affects
everyone the Knight does not recognize as an ally. Fighting Skills:
Excellent, street brawler of good talent and strength. Has the ability to
charge knives with chi, bringing their damage level up. Has been known to
summon a serrated, spiked, two-handed, enchanted axe named "Finality".
Occupation: street fighter
Reputation: known as being a really nasty vicious street fighter.
D&D Character:
Sailor Pocky ("Poci Styx")
Drow Elf female, level 5 Monk, hp:28, AC:15, Strength: 18, Dexterity:
18, Constitution: 11, Wisdom: 10, Charisma: 17. Saves: reflex 8, fort 4,
will 4, Init 4. Melee 7, Ranged 7. Feats: Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Improved
Unarmed Strike. Height: 5'1", 100 pounds, 112 years old, Move: 40ft
SKILLS: Balance 10, Climb 8, Hide 8, Jump 8, Listen 5, Move Silent 8,
Swim 6, Tumble 9.
Racial Traits: +2 Dex, -2 Con, Immune to Magic Sleep, +2 Save Vs
Enchantment, Low Light Vision, Proficient With Swords & Bows, +2 on Search
Checks, +2 on Spot Checks, +2 on Listen Checks, Special Search
Class Features: Unarmed Strike, Stunning Attack, Evasion, Deflect Arrows,
Still Mind, Slow Fall (20ft) Purity Of Body, Monk Weapon Proficiencies, Fast
Movement, Flurry Of Blows, AC Bonus.
Special Equipment: Sailor Suit (no magical qualities, though it is
acidproof, tear proof, and is composed of stainproof high tech materials
used for making combat marionette tendons.)
History: Sailor Pocky is an enthusiastic and optimistic girl who is
similar to a human teenager. She comes from a universe where a fair number
of other drow girls developed through mongrel cloning and grew up watching
old tapes of "Sailor Moon" and similar series.
Sailor Pocky is best used for comedic effect and to effect last moment
rescues and the like, embarassing the heck out of her colleagues.
-----------
"Where is Furinkan High School... oh dear." Ryoga
Hibiki backed away. He liked danger as much as the
next crazed ridiculously powerful martial artist. He knew
from just a look though, this black clad guy not only
wasn't on the same page as him, he was in a whole
different section of the library. The section that had
all the dark shadows and books whose titles seemed
to squirm around in their leather bindings.
-Ryoga Hibiki meets Obsidian, A Soldier's Duty
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