Crossover Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Path of Chaos: Ascension of Supremacy ❯ Chapter 08d ( Chapter 18 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

PATH OF CHAOS

- By Lord Rance

Disclaimer: Seriously, I don't own any of the anime characters that appear in this entire fanfic, otherwise I'll just make sure you'll know if I do make new characters.

Author Notes: Hmm... probably two to three chapters more, and Arc 1's done.

This chapter will focus on what happened to Ranma's side quest on Planet Zi, as well as introduce a possible companion for him in the future. This is also Ranma's first encounter with some of the Divine Army's soldiers (I just thought up a name for Heaven's foot soldiers... go figure).

This is a Ranma/Teen Titans/Justice League/Valkyrie Profile crossover. Yep, them... those teenagers who owned their own Tower that for me is really architecturally unsound (a giant T atop a small islet in the middle of the water? Come on... one earthquake and down it goes... been wondering for how long Slade's gonna figure THAT one out).

By the way, pardon me if I and my prereaders missed some misspelled words in the fic. I upgraded my OS to WinXP, and sadly I got the no-Office copy, meaning, I have no spell check. I'll try to do a spell check on the edit page of FF dot net instead, but don't get your hopes up too much.

Warning about the bit of violence in some parts. Take note that the violence level would pick up real quick as Ranma gets flung deeper into everything.

I would like to thank Cory D. Rose and St Longinus for pre-reading this stuff. Many thanks to HolyKnight70, Norethfir, Valor Phoenix, SSJ Guyver and Silver Bullet for exchanging ideas with me, as well as semi-prereading. Special thanks to Backslash, who's been my best friend for, heck, years. Anyway, he's a cartoon, comics and anime otaku as much as I am. Kudos to you, my friend!

C. Rose's email is still funky, by the way.

To my significant other, Lady Ayame... this is for us!

Ancient Language (used by gods and goddesses, Ancient Gods): "-Ranma-"

Thoughts: ((Ranma))

Telepathy: "((Ranma))", ""((Ranma))""

English/Chinese/Other languages specified: ""Ranma""

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CHAPTER 8D - HIGHTAILING TO THE HARD LIFE

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Silence allowed anyone to contemplate upon one's life.

That was how Ranma was found, on top of Mount Fuji. He sat cross legged on the thick ice located at the mountain top, his brows furrowed in deep thought. The biting cold never bothered him, since his martial arts training brought his body's performance at peak condition. He was able to tolerate extreme temperatures rather easily.

It has been a few hours earlier, that he found himself in China. The Amazons have been... irritating, to say the least. He took care of them, and he didn't even kill any of them. He just... hurt most of them to the point of incapacitation, but never followed through. It has been a stressful day, not to mention what he had done to Raven.

Speaking of his companions, they were currently with him. He had teleported them out of the Chinese territory, and visualized Mount Fuji as a valid destination point. He was accompanied by Raven and Lenneth.

His yellow pupils darting to one side, Ranma spied upon Raven's huddled body. She was currently in her demonic form, obvious since she wore those black apparel in contrast of her other form's white one. She also had those black bat wings that jutted out of her back. It seemed that she wasn't bothered by the cold as well, since she hasn't shivered even once.

On the other side, their other companion was Lenneth, who was standing as she looked at the scenery beyond with curiosity in her eyes. Ranma wondered why she was still here, since he had already stressed that he will never go back with her to Asgard, or Heaven, or whatever she called their office. No question should be asked if she could tolerate the cold. She has been a divine being since time began, and normal rules never applied to someone like her.

Back to Ranma's dilemma, his current problem sat right beside him. Whatever he did to Raven, it has changed her in such a drastic manner. As he looked at her now, he saw the vulnerability of Raven's visage, even though she was in her demonic form for the moment.

Ranma tried to explain what transpired when he was combining Raven's personalities. It was total chaos, and he opted on combining the emotions before time ran out. He had fired off a miniature black hole in that world, Nevermore, and it slowly ate the entirety of that world.

Raven, on the other hand, was contemplating on her own problems. Her sudden transformation has caused everything she believed in to become so muddled up. She was also quite unsure of herself, since she can now get angry and laugh without expecting something to explode. For more than a decade of her life, she has been used to controlling her emotions at a level where she has to make a world to contain them individually. And because of this one man, one moment... everything in her life has changed drastically.

She still has to ascertain whether her change was for the better or worse. Raven was a bit overwhelmed at her new predicament, since her change was more of a physical transformation melded with her emotional state at the moment. At least, she surmised, that she could only change into two states; one demonic and one angelic.

Currently, she was in her demonic form. She felt a bit more impulsive and brave, as well as a bit cold and pissed off all at once. Her emotions were more of a violent storm right now, and it was reflected by her physical attributes. Her skin was still ashen, but her clothes had changed into black. Her dark purple hair was now longer than before, and a pair of small bat wings were sticking out from her lower back.

But somehow, no matter how much she wanted to blame her... benefactor for this current blunder, she couldn't bring herself to do so. First of all, Ranma managed to destroy Nevermore, true, but it also saved her the trouble of having an excuse to trap her emotions mercilessly. She must now face her problems head-on, and not cower inside Nevermore and wait until the storm of her problems passed by.

For some reason, however, Raven felt that her personality's anchor was more set upon being in her demonic form, where most of her sarcasm and bravery came from. It must've been because the personalities brunched up into her demon form were all of those concerned with more of the darker aspects of Raven. And with that, most of the control was in this form. Although she does transform into her angelic form whenever she was too stressed, or when her guard was down. Where as most of her darker emotions confederated into her demon guise, her angel form housed most of her more... lighter and jolly attitude.

Raven found that the random and sudden changes between demon and angel were a bit of a hassle, but as she thought more about it, in the long run, most of her problems regarding expressing her emotions were solved. Now, she only had to trouble herself with the transformations, but she doesn't have to think about the damage she might do whenever she expressed extreme emotion. Also she has found out, to her utmost delight, that her dreaded link to her demon father Trigon has been severed. It was replaced by a more chaotic form of bond, which she later found to be connected to Ranma himself. She could feel small bouts of compulsion in calling Ranma as her master, but Ranma never asked that of her. She found it to be a bit irritating at times, but it was better than how she was from before.

Her mind right now was a myriad of memories not her own, possibly from her 'savior'. She already knew that Ranma linked her former telepathic connection with her father to himself. Not that it was bad in itself, but for some reason Raven found that Ranma's mind was more complicated than Trigon's. She wouldn't trade it for the universe, but she still has problems grasping the memories she managed to usurp from her benefactor.

She still has no idea what lay beyond the darkness of Ranma's mind, but as much as she was allowed to see, it was already so chaotic.

"Don't think about it too much..." Raven's musings were interrupted when Ranma's voice was heard over the winds of the mountain top. For some reason, the wind seemed to silence itself when Ranma spoke, allowing her to hear him better. His physical changes have been quite tremendous as well, his former black hair now blood red in color. It was also freakishly long, now it reached his lower posterior when he stood. His muscles were now much more defined and taut than before, but it wasn't overly so. His normal carefree expression was replaced by a serious and grim one.

Ranma finally turned to Raven, who was blinking owlishly at him. "You're worrying too much. It will get a lot confusing if you continue thinking about it."

"You have to admit..." Raven began, staring deeply into those yellow orbs Ranma had as pupils, "This is quite a predicament. Not only do I have a strange condition of suddenly suffering a physical change by extreme emotions or stress, but I have a link to someone whose mind is probably the most complicated one in the universe."

The red tailed hybrid nodded morosely, before turning and resuming his watch over the horizon, "I wasn't so sure what happened, but I guess I had no choice in the matter. Our mental link left me no choice, since I can't really destroy a telepathic connection of such age. Maybe there is a way to a remove it, maybe not, but I know I don't have enough experience on it to experiment. So I did the next best thing. The physical transformation was purely by accident. I was about to fully combine your persona when Nevermore totally collapsed on us. I think I wasn't able to fully merge you, but I did succeed in most parts."

Raven grumbled a bit for a moment, before sagging in defeat and started drawing something on the snowy ground. "I'm not really asking for much, but I would have figured that being normal means being a normal emotional girl, and not like this."

"You should be so lucky... you don't change genders. I've acquired a... curse. A water-based curse, where a mere change in water temperature would mean a whole new gender for me." Ranma smiled sadly, earning him a confused gaze from Raven. Ranma pointed towards his seat silently. "You probably didn't notice, because my aura's been blinding hot lately. Probably because of anger, or something... so it's simultaneously melting the snow around me and heating the water up."

Raven blinked when she stared at Ranma's position. He was right, since she really looked at it now, that Ranma's seat on the snow has been melted off, exposing the damp soil underneath. A slight mist emanated from it as well.

"Oh, the curse has its uses..." The boy commented wryly, "I used it to take a few free extra scoops of ice cream, as well as it's a very good disguise. I would've been happy to show you, but as you can see, my aura's still going strong. I can't control it, yet, so I need the limiters to dampen it. Don't worry, once my aunt arrives, I'll give you a show on curses."

Before Raven could comment, Lenneth suddenly spoke, "Ranma-sama... they are coming."

Ranma snapped his head to the horizon, his brow furrowing slightly, "Damn... they're not gonna give me some piece of mind, ne?"

"They...?" Raven asked curiously.

Ranma replied without turning away from his gaze on the horizon, saying, "Those super weirdos I met a while ago, as well as your friends. Judging from their auras, they're not gonna give me any time to explain the situation."

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Just beyond the horizon, a group of extraordinary beings sped across the ocean in haste, eager to face their recent adversary.

Never mind that he's very powerful.

Superman, who's currently taking point, led the group od superheroes towards Japan, where the Watch Tower's computer has detected their target's presence should be. He was a bit eager to face this boy, Ranma, and test his strength against him. Not only does Superman felt a bit of anger seeing a few of his team mates hesitant in this battle, but he felt his pride was being slighted. This Ranma punk ignored him basically most of the time, and he felt he should correct that. Besides, the reports coming in from China firmed his resolve to end this conflict by nipping it at the bud, and Ranma is the bud.

The Martian Manhunter, otherwise known as J'onn J'onzz, flew beside his fellow team member. In truth, he was actually quite reluctant in facing the boy again. But he had to help his team somehow, even if only to save them when they fall. His telepathic mind could ascern a bit of what his team mates felt. Only one felt the same as him.

Wonder Woman, also known as Diana, flew near the Martian Manhunter. She definitely did not want to be there, but she had to at least be there to witness this battle. Her historical heritage firmly believed in respecting the gods, and facing one in such a stature as the Chooser of the Slain, albeit of another pantheon, her feelings about this fight were that of hesitance. She firmly resolved that she would not participate in this pointless drabble, but she would help save the fallen Heroes if they needed it.

The Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman, was the group's benefactor in providing them with funds AND the Watch Tower itself. He's currently in his Bat Plane or something, which was basically a sleek black plane small enough for two passengers. Not surprisingly, it was shaped like a bat, much like most of Batman's weapons. He was a bit infuriated at their quarry, since it was the first time he was baffled over someone. Batman prided himself on being able to read people, as well as providing enough information to choke the living daylights out of anyone. But this Ranma character was an enigma. He found some evidences that he existed in their world, but this one was confirmed dead a few months past.

The Green Lantern, whose real name was Jon Stewart, was currently flying under his own power, rather, his ring's power, much like Superman, Wonder Woman and the Martian Manhunter. He didn't really have anything against this target of theirs, but he's a member of the team. Besides, he was rather curious as to how powerful this boy really was. If Wonder Woman and the Martian Manhunter's reactions were any indication, it would be something else. Besides, he also knew a bit about the powerful Saiyajins. They were quite an unsociable bunch, but were very skilled fighters. Despite their monkey-like appearances, the Saiyajins were highly evolved.

So far, they were the Justice League members who went to meet the source of the world's disturbance. But it wasn't only the Justice League that approached Ranma...

A bit behind the older superheroes, a younger generation of Heroes followed them. The Teen Titans, as they have named themselves, were currently on a slightly different mission. While they were after this Ranma individual as well, their main target was actually their team mate, Raven.

The gothic half-demon girl has adopted the job of guarding Ranma, but she disappeared along with her ward in China. It was then that the Justice League contacted them, and told them of their friend's whereabouts.

Raven was with Ranma, and has suffered a drastic change. At least, according to the visual confirmation from their older counterparts.

Robin, the appointed leader of the Teen Titans, wore a stoic face that would've made his former mentor, Batman, proud. He was currently riding on a giant green Pterodactyl. His mind was currently filled with questions, like why Raven disappeared with Ranma, and also why she hasn't contacted them once when she was with her ward. Robin has surmised that their resident dark girl was brainwashed by Ranma.

The green Pterodactyl was also known as Beast Boy. He had transformed himself into such to accommodate his friends who didn't have the luxury of flight. He, like Robin, was currently worried for Raven's well-being. And also, his frustration was centered mainly on Ranma, since for some reason the red-tailed boy was at the center of everyone's attention right now.

Riding along with Robin on the green flying dinosaur was Cyborg. Just like the others, he was quite worried about the welfare of the dark girl. When they formed the Teen Titans, he has been acting quite like an older brother to the rest of the team when needed. This was especially true for Raven, since most of the time she kept to herself. She needed some sort of support from anyone, particularly from the group. While the others did contribute to her continued patronage of their group, he has been trying to coax the girl to open up more, but usually ended up talking a one-sided conversation most of the time. Nevertheless, he could see in Raven's eyes that somehow, she was grateful for his effort.

Flying alongside this giant green creature was the Tamaranian princess Koriand'r, her more popular name was Starfire. The normally cheerful redhead was currently sporting a frown on her face. She knew of the distasteful reputation the Sai-Yahn left across several star systems, particularly theirs. It has been years back before she was born, when three small spherical pods crashed into their planet. They turned out to be toddlers with monkey tails, and bad attitudes that would've made her guardian Galford cringe. It was only when nighttime came that the carnage began. With their moon having its full face exposed, the Sai-Yahns changed from those small toddlers, into gigantic monkeys. The trio started their rampage, ravaging their lands mercilessly and attacking anyone that tried to stand in their way. Many of her people were killed that time, and it was only after having more than a half of their total population murdered that they were able to subdue and finally kill the beasts.

Starfire absolutely despised the foul creatures, but she had to curb her own lust for its destruction when her friend Raven took the Sai-Yahn under her wing. She tried to warn them before, and now friend Raven was taken by this vile creature as his hostage, just as she had predicted.

Now, the Justice League and the Teen Titans were approaching the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan. The last known location for Ranma was in the vicinity of Mount Fuji, one of the most prominent sights of Japan.

Sure enough, Superman signaled to his companions, as he sighted three unknowns lurking atop the said mountain. Using his enhanced vision, he spied upon the Valkyrie, the Teen Titan member Raven, and finally, the young man called Ranma. He also saw that the three already knew they were coming, and that they were probably awaiting their arrival.

His jaw set, Superman surged on, followed by his fellow Heroes. Together, they will battle their most 'evil' enemy to date.

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The 'great villain' was currently trying not to sulk as he watched the big group of people arriving at his and his companions' position.

Ranma could still feel his blood boiling, screaming for something to fight. He had to stave off the urges, since he felt a bit mortified at what happened with the Amazons. He was also quite disturbed as to how easily he dealt with Genma, and how much he wanted it to happen. He wasn't able to distinguish the difference anymore, between his battle lust and his own feelings.

Everything in his life was so damn complicated.

He shook himself out of those thoughts as he concentrated on what's in front of him. He glanced to his side, and Ranma saw that Lenneth was calm as always. Raven, on the other hand, tensed a lot when he mentioned the incoming 'guests'. Sure enough, the silhouettes from the horizon grew in size, as the group of Heroes approached their position in great speeds.

He did feel the aura of Raven's friends, and he was thinking to himself that she was probably feeling worried about her friends.

Ranma can't have that now, can he?

"I can feel your friends coming..." Ranma commented lightly, solidifying his conclusion earlier as Raven tensed some more, "Don't worry. I won't hurt them..." he finished resolutely. He was thinking that Raven was worried that he might get out of hand with his fights as he did with the Amazons.

Raven shook her head, her now long purple hair swishing against the air, "That's not really what I'm worried about. I'm actually thinking how they'll react to this... to what happened to us. I've known them for quite some time, and I'm sure they're probably thinking that you've brainwashed me or something."

"I would not take it out of consideration if I were you, Ranma-sama..." Lenneth interjected, "As we have seen how the 'Heroes' in this world reacted when I and my fellow Valkyries arrived, it would not be beyond for them to think as much."

Ranma's face hardened, and both his female companions were a bit worried that he might fly into potent rage, but he took a deep breath and relaxed. "If that's the case..." Ranma began, his hand clenched into a fist, "Then friend or no, if they harm any one of you, I will get them back ten fold. I promise."

"Well, I hope it won't come to that..." Raven said dryly, her brow rising at the conviction in Ranma's words. She could feel the bouts of emotions from him very well. As far as she can tell, he's pretty much serious when he said those words.

Oh sure, that's why her agitation grew as the combined forces of the Justice League members and her own team mates, the Teen Titans, rallied just yards away from their position. And with Superman at point, too.

It would seem that the Media has been alerted regarding the Justice League members' sudden mobilization, and followed the entourage via small helicopters that were hovering meters away from the scene. Their cameras were trained on the scene.

Raven eyed the group warily. Ranma had his head bowed, his eyes searching the snow curiously for some reason. Lenneth was on her guard, her hand latched upon her weapon Levantine, ready to attack at the slightest hint of aggression from the group.

The currently demonic girl was looking at her team mates questioningly, her eyes searching theirs for answers. They gave back their own curious looks on her new appearance, causing Raven to wrap her bat wings around her waist in a vain attempt to shrink upon herself.

Robin, as far as Raven saw, was visibly controlling his temper. His brow was raised rather high on his forehead, and Raven knew it was a sure sign that he was rather angered by what he saw. Behind him, Cyborg was alternately glaring at her and Ranma with his one human eye, his right hand pressing something on his left arm. She just knew Cyborg was recalibrating the settings of his arm cannon. Beast Boy was a... large prehistoric bird at the moment, but she could see ins the green skinned bird's eyes that he was angry as well. Starfire was... livid, to put it simply. Her hands clenched into fists, her arms straight at her sides shaking slightly, her eyes burning holes into Ranma's head and were glowing bright green... yep. All the signs of a severely agitated Tamaranian.

It was inevitable, Raven surmised, that a big and pointless battle will be fought here.

""Ranma Saotome!"" Superman's voice boomed across the area in English, shaking some of the snow off the slopes that overlooked Mount Fuji, ""We are here to take you into custody, for that... incident... in China!""

Ranma remained as he was, looking down intently at the snow, and ignored Superman's words. This lack of action was taken badly by the Justice League.

""W-Wait!"" Raven called out, who stood up quickly when she saw the Heroes gathering their powers to attack, ""He didn't do anything wrong! Those people... they attacked him! He was defending himself!!""

""Be silent, friend Raven!"" Starfire shouted at her, causing the dark girl to flinch slightly, ""What has been done to you? You are under this demon's thrall! We will free you!!""

Raven shook her head in denial, looking at the Teen Titan's leader pleadingly, ""N-No... he didn't do anything... he... he helped...""

""Starfire's right, Raven."" Robin intoned grimly, reaching into his belt as he pulled a batarang out of one of its pockets. He continued, ""A lot of people have been hurt. We saw it when Batman sent us the footage. He massacred those people... and he changed you. Look at yourself! He influenced you so bad that he physically changed you!!""

""P-Please... just listen to..."" Raven began, but she was cut off once again.

Cyborg spoke this time, and his tone was by no means angrier than the rest. He growled as his arm transformed into the cannon he has been so proud off, aiming it directly towards Ranma. He said, ""Girl, this is for your own good! Now step back and let us do the work this time, or else...""

The green Pterodactyl screeched loudly as it nodded with its team mates, ready to attack anytime.

Raven was about to plead again, but she was silenced when a metallic hiss brought her to look towards Lenneth. The Valkyrie has pulled out her sword, the expression on her face was serious as her bluish armor materialized all over her body.

The Valkyrie spoke without taking her eyes off the newcomers, saying, ""It will not do any good, Raven. They are bent upon attacking, long before they came here. They will not back down.""

Raven was distressed when she heard those words, squelching the surprised feeling of being able to feel such emotions as of late. Right now, her concerns lay more on the misunderstanding rather than her own troubles. She knew Lenneth was right; she has been a member of the Teen Titans since it began, and she knew how her team mates will react on her current situation. She was hoping that she could convince them to listen and stand down, but things have gone down the drain already. It seemed that they were set on taking Ranma on.

It wasn't really that she was worried about Ranma's welfare... okay, she does. Slightly. But... she was a lot more worried about what Ranma will do to THEM. Raven was able to have a little peek in his chaotic mind, and Ranma was beyond all of them. Well, they could've taken him if his powers weren't reawakened, or probably able to tire him off if his limiters were intact, but now both were moot points anyway. And right now, she could feel Ranma's irritation growing, and she sensed that he might fight back without any remorse once again.

Just like what happened to those Amazons...

Raven had no time to concentrate on her ruminations as a familiar 'click' caused her to swivel her head towards where the Teen Titans were. Quite frankly, she was quite shocked as she heard what her leader, Robin, had said so clearly.

""Titans, GO!"" Robin shouted as he ducked low, allowing Cyborg a free shot on the red-tailed being with semi-transparent wings that ignored them blatantly.

The dark girl felt her heart wrenched, since she knew the scene was SO wrong. She wanted to blast her team mates badly, to defend Ranma from the attack. But somehow, the emanations from Ranma clearly indicated that she should curb her anger and do nothing.

((To HELL with it!!)) Her heart screamed, ignoring what her 'bonded' tried to mentally tell her. Cyborg's cannon was already lit with blue energy, ready to be released towards Ranma. And release he did.

Cyborg prided upon his work. His cybernetic body has been well tuned to perfection, at least in his standards. His prized possession was his main weapon, his joy, his ultimate tool of personal justice to anyone who messed with him, his team, and the world. Right now, he was proud it was going to serve its purpose. This... being in front of them took Raven and brainwashed her. This being also changed her into his own needs, and now he was mentally controlling Raven to garner sympathy from them. The man's outer appearance was that of an angel, but he was more evil than the demons of Hell themselves.

Oh yes... he was really going to enjoy blasting this man and freeing Raven from his clutches! He felt satisfied as his weapon screamed its vengeance, its blue beam traveling a straight path towards the target.

Which was why Cyborg was sufficiently surprised, even shocked to immobility, when he found Raven's body appearing all of the sudden in his beam's path. His heart almost stopped when his beam was directed into Raven's path.

There was no way she could dodge in time.

It wasn't anything really special. But it was enough for Ranma to snap out of his trance.

A loud metallic clang echoed all over the mountain's face, as Lenneth Valkyrie valiantly blocked the half-robot's blast directly with her sword. She saw the reckless actions of her fellow, and opted to do the same as well. She immediately flew in front of the demonic girl and blocked, without thinking about it whatsoever. The Valkyrie commander was very grateful that her sword's special properties made it highly impervious to breakage, and thus she was successful in deflecting the blast.

Ranma was about to take action, but a loud hiss from Raven froze him on the spot.

""Don't fight, Master Ranma..."" Raven implored her bonded, unmindful that she had just called him her 'master' once again. She hated being tied down like that to ANYone, not even her father, but she felt that way towards the man with currently long spiky red hair. She was quite thankful when Ranma finally settled back down on his spot, watching the proceedings with a wary eye.

Back to the group of Heroes, Superman's gaze narrowed as he watched the scene. With Raven and the other woman's reactions, this will not be an easy mission. Still, he doesn't want to hurt the Teen Titan member, but if things went on as they were, he will have no choice but to bring the girl down. Turning to his side, Superman eyed Wonder Woman, his eyes asking for help on this turn of events.

The Amazon Princess looked the Son of Krypton straight in the eye and shook her head. There will be no help coming from her, nor will there be ANY action towards their quarry from her. Darting her eyes to the side, she has seen that even the Martian Manhunter floated stoically as he watched the proceedings. His muscles were relaxed, so there was nothing planned on his mind as well.

Actually, the pupiless eyes of the Martian Manhunter gazed at Raven, trying to dive into her surface thoughts. He did manage to detect something that existed between the demonic looking girl and the man with the red tail, but it was mutual and unforced. Before he can delve deeper into it, he winced when something dark and ominous kicked him out of the fold. Not that the two noticed his subtle attempts to mind-read them, so it seemed that there was an automated mind shield strong enough to repel his probes.

""I will not attack. They have not done any wrong doing..."" Diana, AKA Wonder Woman finally responded vocally, ""And also, fighting in front of a Divine being is somewhat... disrespectful.""

Green Lantern sighed. He was all on capturing this future threat, so that they will not be troubled by it anymore in the long run. ""We need to do this, Diana. Can't you see what he did to that poor girl? She's in his thrall now.""

""I do not detect any 'enslaving' involved..."" J'onn, the Martian Manhunter spoke this time, ""In fact, it's a mutual bond.""

""I don't find it in myself to care about it..."" Batman's cold voice emanated from the external speakers of his Bat Plane, ""No matter how benign you think it is, this Ranma person is still an unknown. And with whatever happened between him and Raven, I'm sorry to say this Robin, but your sorceress has been compromised.""

At the transformed Beast Boy's back, Robin nodded albeit hesitantly, saying, ""I understand.""

Cyborg was quite reluctant, but his organic eye shone in determination, ironically. Starfire was agreeing completely to Batman's assessment, while Beast Boy was... a giant prehistoric flying dinosaur.

Seeing that the Justice League and the Teen Titans were busy discussing something that seemed so important to them, Ranma snorted silently as he watched the members bicker amongst themselves. He wordlessly stood up, ignoring the patronizing looks Raven and Lenneth gave him, and touched them by their shoulders with each hand.

"I won't let you have your fun by letting me sit this fight out, while you enjoy yourselves..." Ranma deadpanned softly in Japanese. Without allowing his companions to reply, he concentrated on one place he knew to be safe from most danger, and focused his being into being transported there.

Before any of the Heroes noticed, Ranma, Raven and Lenneth quickly phased out Mount Fuji's mountain top in bright motes of light.

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"Really, Ranma... you should warn us before you go and teleporting us like that all over the place..." Raven grumbled as she reasserted her firm hold on the center of her body's gravity. The bat wings jutting out of her back still got her balance off, but she was slowly learning.

Lenneth shrugged delicately as she sheathed her sword. She was used to any means of teleportation, one of her advantages as a divine being. Instead of speaking, she took notice of her surroundings, and saw that they had appeared inside someone's house.

Ranma sighed as he shifted his long red hair to one side, allowing the spiky locks to cascade down his back once again. "I didn't have the time to warn you 'bout it. If you haven't noticed, we were in the middle of a tight situation there."

The three stood in the middle of the house, in its living room as it seemed. The presence of the sofa and the flowery arrangements made to entice visitors cemented that fact.

The Chooser of the Slain was quite amazed by the place Ranma has taken them to. The aura of the things around the place were simply peaceful and serene. "Where are we?" she voiced out, still craning her neck for a good long look at the various pictures around them.

Raven was currently busy looking towards something. "Uhm... guys... there's this auburn-haired lady in a... kimono looking at us. She also has this weird object wrapped in blankets in her hands."

"Erk..." Ranma noised, as he stiffened and slowly turned to where Raven was pointing boredly. If the demonic girl's description was correct, then his instincts brought him to one place he knew would be safe for the meantime. And if his memories of his old life was still applicable, then someone should be in the house right now.

Sure enough, a red haired middle aged woman stood at a doorway, which Ranma knew led to the kitchen of the house. How did Ranma know this? Well...

"R-RANMA-CHAN?!" The red haired woman shrieked in a high-pitched tone, her voice cracked with emotion. Then, her dark eyes rolled up, before her body fell to the ground like a puppet cut of its strings. It was a good thing that a pair of strong arms, which belonged to Ranma, caught her or else she would've been hurt badly.

The red haired man chuckled nervously, as he fought the urge to scratch the back of his head. By the looks given to him by his companions, he wasn't about to get away with the innocent look. He sighed, saying, "Well, whaddya know? I accidentally teleported us to my analogue's home. Imagine that?"

Lenneth and Raven shared a look, before turning back to Ranma, saying, "Oh really..."

After a few minutes...

"Your analogue's MOTHER?!" Raven boggled at the latest secret being revealed to her. A little while ago, Ranma has been explaining to her who the woman was, and why her reaction was such to his appearance. Well, aside from the fact that they just appeared out of nowhere...

Lenneth just had to point out, "Do you not think this will lead into many misunderstandings, Ranma-sama? The thoughts of this woman alone when she saw her long lost, dead son alive and well in front of her must be in total disarray."

"Can't help it..." Ranma said dejectedly. He knew it was a serious situation, and could potentially be a paradox of some sort or whatever babble Washuu ingrained into him, but his abilities in teleportation brought him here in the first place. Instincts has brought him here into his analogue's mother's house.

"Anyway... wait... she's coming to..." Raven observed as the red haired woman laying on the tatami mats moaned slightly, before flinching as she began the slow process of 'waking up'.

The woman, obviously, was the Saotome Nodoka of that world. Born out of a different family, her maiden name was Seta. Her family was well known for being a wealthy sort, with its decent samurai heritage which dated back to the first recorded Seta, a certain Seta Soujirou, a few years after the Revolution. Nodoka's forefather was a reformed assassin, who was a member of a group that almost brought about a new era of chaos by burning Kyoto. After the debacle, Seta Soujiro became a wanderer, and has done great deeds in various cities and provinces he managed to pass through. He finally settled down after a few years of travel in the same city he almost had helped burn down, which was Kyoto. There began the growth of the Seta Clan, as well as their reformed prestige of being worthy protectors of the State.

Now, the poor woman's only child was taken from her by her husband a good eleven years ago, give or take. She later found out that her son, Ranma, died in honorable combat. The news was delivered to her by Tendo Akane, Ranma's fiancee. At least, one of them. Nodoka has refrained herself from fully breaking down into tears, managing only a few drops escape from the corners of her eyes. She was a martial artist's wife, and a martial artist herself; she wasn't unfamiliar with the uncertainties of battles, and death was surely one of them.

It was a good thing that the youngest Tendo came to her, since she was able to learn more about her son's life afterwards. The shock of Ranma's death evaporated, only to be replaced by fury, when Nodoka learned of Ranma's 'training mishaps' because of Genma.

It took several people to stop her from going into a rampage and smiting the cowering panda with her katana.

Nodoka was adamant in her appeal for divorce, though. She succeeded with ease, because a lot of people has come to her aid and testified on her former husband's claim of neglect. Therefore, it wouldn't be right to call Saotome Nodoka as such. She was to be called Seto Nodoka.

The fainted woman finally stirred from her impromptu fainting, her memories showing her of an image she had longed to see since she received her son's demise.

Ranma was alive. Somehow. Was it a dream? Nodoka almost choked down a bout of tears as she tried to dispel the damning vision she saw just before she lost her consciousness. She finally sighed and struggled to sit up, and was quite surprised when she was helped up by at least three pair of hands.

When Nodoka's eyes lifted up to see who helped her, she focused on the more masculine of the arms that held her, and saw that his eyes were much MUCH different than she anticipated. Now that she had the chance to look at the young man, his features was EXACTLY like Ranma, except that his hair was blood red in color, and it was in a massive disarray all over his back. He wore an elaborate ensemble, something that she perceived that is of an armor of some sort. His eyes, kami, his eyes were like twin suns rising across a cloudless sky.

She had the sudden urge to faint once again, but it was stifled when the Ranma look-alike spoke, "Are you all right, Saotome-san?"

Nodoka blinked rapidly as she tried to make sure the image before her was real. After at least a minute of waiting in silence, she finally opened her mouth and said, "R-Ranma?"

"Uhmm..." The red haired man chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head in nervousness, "Yyyyyeeeeaaaahh... but... BUT! Before you go completely crazy over the prospect of seeing an image of me once again, I have to tell you something really important. So I need you to be coherent for this one, Saotome-san."

"H-Hai..." Nodoka said in awe.

"W-Well..." Ranma suddenly stammered, his resolve gone as the woman's attention was riveted on him. "Err... that is to say..."

Raven snorted from the side as she watched the proceedings with slight impatience. "Just get on with it, Ranma."

"Right..." The young man deadpanned, "Easy for you to say. Anyway... well, the thing is, I'm Ranma... that's true. But I'm not YOUR Ranma. Before you ask... I'm not from this dimension. I have my own version of you as my mother, technically. I'm sorry to say, but your son of this world, my analogue, has truly passed on."

"I... I see..." Nodoka visibly deflated, her hope extinguished once again. But somehow, she already knew that this Ranma wasn't her son, looks non withstanding. It was the way this Ranma carried himself... that had put him apart from her biological son. Now that her fears were confirmed, she tried not to cry, for she felt this would happen somehow. But she couldn't help herself; it hurts too much for her that her only son was dead. As the memories of her pain and anguish came back to her, her person was on the verge of tears. Before her tears fell, Nodoka felt warm arms embrace her from behind, offering her the much-needed comfort she had longed for.

"Don't cry, Nodoka-mama..." Ranma murmured against the physically older red haired woman, pulling the distraught woman into his arms, "It pains me to see you crying. Though I don't think I have any right to call you such."

Nodoka turned herself in his arms and finally let loose. Her wail was heard all over the neighborhood, while she cried into Ranma's chest. All her pent-up emotions she kept all these months were finally released.

Ranma, on the other hand, just let his analogue's mother cry herself out. It would seem that this has a long time coming, and it was only up until now that Nodoka was able to hold herself up. He wanted to let the woman lay on his lap to rest while she cried, but she never relented in her death grip around him. Her embrace on him grew tighter though, but Ranma endured the torture.

Lenneth looked on the scene with a bit of curiosity, as well as mild jealousy. As a divine being, she didn't have the luxury of having to be taken cared of by parents, and as far as she can remember, she never had one. The only concrete evidence of her past was that of her life under Chaos' tutelage, as well as Hild's.

The former Saotome Matriarch's tears slowly trickled into sniffles, as she hesitantly pulled herself out of the young man's arms. She looked up to his face and saw a longing look that melted her heart.

"Are you all right, young man?" Nodoka asked softly, her heart beating loudly as she gazed at the man who has her son's face. She didn't mind at all, since now that she looked closer at him, she realized that there were a lot of differences with her own son and this 'analogue'.

"Sorry..." Ranma removed his gaze from Nodoka and said, "It's just that... it has been so long since I've seen my surrogate mother. You see, Nodoka-mama of my world wasn't my blood mother, although she was the one who gave birth to me."

Nodoka just nodded solemnly. "I will not ask for any details about how THAT came to be. But... can you tell me about her, though? It might help... with the loneliness."

Ranma smiled slightly, which was mirrored by both Raven and Lenneth. "I'll be glad to, but first... let me introduce my friends. This is Raven, and Lenneth."

Nodoka fixed her posture on the tatami mat quickly and bowed her head to the ground as she said, "Welcome to my humble home, dear guests. It's an honor to meet you."

Lenneth bowed just the same, but not before conveying a look towards Raven saying that she should follow the Valkyrie's lead. The two girls lowered their heads to the tatami mat.

"The pleasure's all ours, Nodoka-sama." Lenneth answered for the both of them, since Raven wasn't too familiar on the customs of the country as of yet.

The seemingly older red haired woman sat upright and faced Ranma eagerly. "Now that the introductions are over, can you tell me what you could about yourself and anything you want me to know? I'm... interested. This is a new experience for me."

"You have no idea." The trio said altogether in unison.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

In the Watch Tower, main base of operations for the Justice League...

It has been seven days since the historical escape of the great super villain Ranma, his brainwashed accomplice Raven formerly of the Teen Titans, and his bodyguard Lenneth. The report has been all over the news, thanks to the lone Media crew that was bold enough to take on the endeavor of filming the whole thing. Although when the people reviewed the whole scene, the term 'super villain' used on Ranma was being questioned.

Batman was currently at the main control console, typing away on the keyboard as he furiously scouted on the Earth's surface. He was trying to find any small indication of Ranma and his companions' presence anywhere on Earth. Seven days have passed... a whole week... and there was still nothing on their scopes. How did this Ranma person manage to disappear like that, as well as hide his accomplices as well?

A few days ago, Gotham's Dark Knight has asked his former sidekick, Robin, of the information they have regarding Ranma. Since the weird young man was first seen by the Teen Titans, they would be the only ones on the planet who knew Ranma better.

((Not that it would matter anyhow...)) Batman thought to himself darkly. He glared at the image of the raven haired pigtailed young man who was supposed to be Ranma. That was before that debacle in China, wherein he emerged as this red haired demon they're fighting now. The first picture was taken from the Teen Titans, from one of their surveillance cameras that littered around their T-Tower.

It was bad enough that the trio had blatantly made fun of the League when they managed to clearly escape them, while the Heroes bickered amongst themselves. Now the Media was questioning the League's intentions to the world since Ranma never tried to fight back, while Raven and that Valkyrie girl moved to protect him. Superman was clearly pissed off at the Houdini act, and Batman surmised that the Kryptonian wanted to fight Ranma by himself.

Shaking his head warily, the Batman eyed an enhanced image of Japan, particularly in a district called Juuban. A large red dot was blinking; this showed the current location of Ranma, Raven and Lenneth. He managed to successfully isolate the intense power that came from the trio apart from the energies surrounding Juuban, and its neighboring town Nerima. Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman were already dispatched to take care of the situation, as well as Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy of the Teen Titans. One of the newer recruits of the League, such as Supergirl, also came with the attack force. The other new upcoming members were currently busy taking care of their own missions around the world, and it was only Supergirl that was free at the time. The Martian Manhunter refused to go into a meaningless battle, and opted to just stay in the Watch Tower to monitor things.

Because of the current situation, the Justice League has decided to accept more members in their elite group. It would seem that some foes were too much even for the original members. There was strength in numbers, after all.

Just as he was about to settle on his seat in front of the console, alarms rang all over the Watch Tower. Batman quickly read the warning message that sprang out of the screen, which said that someone has breached the Watch Tower.

The Green Arrow, one of the recruits, as well as the Martian Manhunter, appeared at the Watch Tower's control room in haste. They quickly looked at the Bat for confirmation of their fears, and their agitation came forth when the dark knight nodded grimly. The computer started beeping as it finally pinpointed the exact location where the breach occurred, as well as the location of the trespasser.

It was in the Watch Tower's Power Core room.

When the three superheroes finally arrived at the core room, they got the biggest surprise of their life. Because struggling to stand just a few feet away from the core was Green Lantern, but his features were a bit off. His body was riddled with bleeding cuts and bruises, and his uniform was torn nearly to bits over his barely clothed body.

""How can this be?"" Batman muttered loudly, carefully walking towards the struggling newcomer with his companions behind him, ""I know Lantern was with the other group that went to Japan. So how did he get here?""

Martian Manhunter said nothing, but he floated past Batman and reached for the Green Lantern's hand. The Arfrican-American hero shot him a look of gratitude as he was helped by the Martian to stand up.

Before anyone else managed to say a word in, the Green Lantern said in a hoarse voice, ""T-Tell me... h-have you already encountered t-the being called... R-Ranma?""

Green Arrow's brow raised behind his mask and asked, ""Ain't 'cha with the other's down on Earth? We're the ones who shoulda been asking that.""

The battered hero sighed deeply as he slumped against the Martian Manhunter and said, ""G-Good... it means I'm n-not too l-late..." and fell unconscious.

Batman, Green Arrow and the Martian Manhunter looked at one another, the questions in their minds very evident.

((What the heck happened here?)) They all thought in unison. Before they could even settle on the thought of having a second Green Lantern in their world though, the alarms of the Watch Tower blared once again.

Batman and the others quickly went to the control room. Lo and behold, the large viewscreen was delivering a message from Planet Oa, the home world for the Green Lantern Corps. There was an emergency on the home world, as they were being attacked by something. When they showed the image of the attacker, Batman grimaced under his mask, and the older Green Lantern whimpered slightly.

""It's... it's that cyborg that Lex Luthor funded its creation so that it may be pitted against the Justice League..."" Batman stated as he stared at the subject. Like a miniature comet, the cyborg plowed all over the wall of Green Lantern operatives. The Lanterns were helpless as the cyborg stopped in midair and gestured at something. The Guardians were about to order another full scale attack when all of the sudden, the planet was overcome with darkness. The last transmission showed a rapidly vanishing Planet Oa, with the image of the golden cyborg floating in the middle of space.

The Martian Manhunter was first to speak, ""I think we need to contact Superman about the developments...""

Nobody refuted that one.

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Juuban...

The Seta summer house was a thing of beauty. The trees around the spacious lot cooled the area, especially during the hot season. The house was a gift to the clan's youngest daughter, Seta Nodoka, before she got married to Saotome Genma. The Seta clan was thoroughly against Nodoka's marriage to a man with a very questionable past, but the girl at the time was in love. Genma was quite the smooth talker when he was young.

The house itself has two floors, but there was a third floor that acted as a storage area for unused things. The koi pond at the east side of the compound was easily twice the size of that from the Tendo Dojo.

At the edge of the pond was a meditating Raven, who remained in her demonic form for most of her stay in the home. Well, actually, she turned into the angel once yesterday because of a certain shocking experience. She finally found out about Ranma's curse, the one her 'bonded' mentioned some time ago.

It was quite a simple thing actually; Nodoka accidentally tipped a glass of cold water on a hapless Ranma, who wasn't near ready to fend off the water. Raven would've freaked out, if it wasn't for the link she could've attacked Ranma without question. Instead, she fainted mercilessly, allowing her other self to go into the forefront. Her angelic persona was more than willing to accept the curse, in fact, she was enthusiastically splashing the poor red-tailed hybrid with different temperatures of water.

Nodoka wasn't surprised at all at Ranma's change as well as Raven's, since her own son was cursed in Jusenkyo. Raven's change wasn't the weirdest thing she has ever seen, after all. There were a lot more mysterious things she has witnessed in the past. The event only cemented the proof that the Ranma in front of her was really an analogue of her deceased son. Lenneth on the other hand was more amused than anything. Of course she knew all about Ranma's predicament, since she was a divine being after all.

Sometime before sleeping in last night, demonic Raven managed to wrest control over the shared body, and maintained it up until now. She was currently in a trance, as she was trying to tally the changes done to her physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

Raven found herself in a weird predicament. She was free from Trigon's control, much to her happiness. Though she was still a bit concerned, since she has been living her life without relying on her emotions. Now that she has the sudden freedom to express them, she was at a loss. Also, her acute multiple personality disorder was apparently cured. Well, better dwindling it down into two personalities than several of them, right? Another fact was that the world within herself, Nevermore, totally vanished once Ranma was finished with it. Speaking of Ranma, he has passed the severed link between Trigon and Raven to himself. He can't destroy that link, since it would be too much of a shock for Raven. In an unconscious effort of consideration of her mental stability, he linked it into himself.

The mental bond between Raven and Ranma was mysterious, to put it mildly. The half-demon was quite rattled by the fact that she can't go beyond a certain point in Ranma's mind. Although the information she has received from Ranma's surface thoughts and memories were more than enough, Raven cannot help but wonder what was beyond the dark void that repelled her prodding. There were millions of slitted eyes that stared on her mind self whenever she tried to breach the darkness, and Raven felt extreme fear when those eyes locked unto her. So, she reluctantly left the area alone.

Once of the greatest mysteries of her situation was the physical change she underwent. Raven assumed that most of her darker visage was concentrated on her demonic form, while her lighter ones became the angelic form. She noticed that she stayed in her demonic form more often, and surmised that since she was normally brooding and dark, it stuck to her even with her emotional freedom. Her changes depended upon her mental fatigue and physical condition, as well as emotional stress.

Her troubles were far from over, as she struggled not to think of how her fellow teammates tried to take her down along with her master. ((Mind control? Come on... Ranma has no such skills...)) she thought to herself.

So deep was the demonic girl into her meditations that she hadn't felt the powerful presence that appeared in the yard. She bit off a scream when she was surprised by a few taps on her shoulder. Raven abruptly faced the trespasser, only recognizing then that it was Ranma in female form. Her hair color had no change whatsoever, and the neo-girl still let her hair down her back. The most surprising thing was that Onna-Ranma was sitting cross-legged in mid-air, and also floated upside down.

Onna-Ranma raised a delicate eyebrow as she stared at Raven's surprised face. The demonic girl looked at her with wide eyes, with her hand clutched at her chest and her other hand poised for a spell. The aquatransexual snorted and said, "You were deep into your meditations."

Raven's breath slowed to a more normal pace as she looked at Ranma in girl form warily. She didn't notice his... err, her presence until she tapped her shoulder. "Anyone will be surprised being tapped on the shoulder by a person who can fly upside down. Anyway... I was busy tallying the changes in my body..." she finally said.

The red haired girl winced. "About that... how are you holding up?"

"Aside from the random changes into that disgustingly sweet angel personality, I'd say I'm okay. I'm still trying to cope with being free of expressing emotions..." Raven sighed as she settled unto her seat on the grass once again as she gazed on the koi pond's surface.

Onna-Ranma shook her head warily. "I'm... sorry if I caused you any troubles... believe me, it wasn't my intention."

"I know..." The demon-like girl nodded without looking at her companion, "I'll get through this, don't worry."

The neo-girl looked at the blue sky wistfully and said in a softer voice, "It's just that... when I saw how screwed up your emotions are like that, I just couldn't help but... feel that I had to do something. Not for the sake of doing it, but because it's the right thing to do, and that nobody should suffer that much emotional strain. That link you had with Trigon... when I encountered it and severed it, I had no idea what to do with it."

Raven nodded once again. "You immediately let it latch to something all on its own, so... now we have a link."

"Yeah..." Onna-Ranma smiled slightly, "I don't really mind. I mean, Rin-Ohki has a link with me as well, so another one won't hurt. Just... don't poke in there too much. It could get... messy. There are some things in there that I don't even wanna see or remember, but I access them when I need the information."

"I noticed that when I tried to look deeper into our link..." Raven drawled out, "I encountered a very strong resistance, so I didn't pursue anymore."

Onna-Ranma grinned. "That's good. Anyway, I'm sorry that you have to get mixed up in my life. As you can see, hardly anything that happens to me can be called 'normal'."

The dark-clad girl shrugged and said, "Don't worry about it. I chose to go with you, and you even helped me without asking for anything in return. In reality, I'm indebted to you far more than you can ever imagine. I'm glad to be rid of my father's influence, even if I have to endure a few minor side-effects out of it."

"That's good... because I---" Onna-Ranma paused in his words as his head snapped towards somewhere into the sky. Raven noticed this and tried to snap her out of it, but she failed.

"Ranma?" Raven called to the unmoving young man beside her, "Ranma... what's wrong?"

Onna-Ranma's lips firmed into a straight line and said, "Some of the Justice League members are coming... and... hmmm there's something really powerful coming from outer space."

The Teen Titan member blinked at the being she bonded with, and asked, "You can feel them?"

The red haired girl shrugged noncommitedly, "Yeah I do. When you go on with your life always being attacked for one reason or another, you'll havta learn how to detect your enemy's presence before they could reach you. The knowledge will give you enough time to decide whether to fight or flee."

"So..." Raven swallowed noisily, as she once again marveled at her companion's calmness in this dire situation they're in, "What do you think we should do?"

Onna-Ranma snorted, slowly rotating her body into the normal sitting position, as normal as she can get it by maintaining her hovering height above ground. "We might have to do something about those super dorks first. No offense, but those guys are too hot-headed for some reason. Which reminds me, Raven-chan, that your group already has 'one strike' in my book. They attacked without provocation from me, and almost hit you if not for Lenneth's intervention. I might not give them up to 'strike three', not when they're attacking anyone who's associated with me."

"But isn't staying here the same? They might attack your analogue's mother needlessly, like they did with us..." Raven pointed out.

The boy turned girl growled softly and said, "They'd better not. Besides, Nodoka-mama is purely innocent, a human. Your friends... they're Heroes aren't they? So they won't attack Nodoka-mama."

"Gah... I hope you're right..." Raven lamented. She stiffened once she finally felt her friends' presences as they approached their current location. Looking beyond the low clouds that hung on sky that day, she saw several dots in the air that might be the 'Heroes' Ranma and she has been talking about.

She just hoped her companion was right about the Heroes. Raven knew that her... friends can become over enthusiastic about something, especially their obsession of reinforcing their own brand of justice upon the villains that plagued their world.

But Ranma was hardly a villain now, isn't he?

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

In the outer vicinities of the Solar System's Asteroid Belt, a small vortex emerged from the inky darkness of space. A large ship, its design and shape similar to that of an Earth mushroom, appeared out of the outer rings of the spatial rift.

This is the Soja, Hakubi Washuu's most prized battleship. Its battle strength was comparable to the Juraians' space trees. But as of the moment, battle was hardly in the minds of those two individuals currently inside the battle ship.

"Washuu-chan... how long before we can finally reach Earth?" Tokimi asked of her sister. Her light brown hair with red highlights on her bangs fluttered gently against the air conditioned cockpit of the ship. Her eyes were similar to those of Ranma's, only, her pupils were on the verge of being black.

The self-proclaimed 'Greatest Scientist in the Universe', Washuu, sighed audibly as she tried to gulp down the acrid bile that threatened to erupt from her mouth. Traveling in that fold dimension gave her the willies, and she was quite surprised how Tokimi could take it. Probably has something to do with the fact that the chaos goddess lived in another dimension.

Shaking her head to stave off the dizziness Washuu felt, she replied ruefully, "Only a good twenty-one minutes Earth time, Tokimi-neesan. Give or take, at least..."

"Hurry up... will you?" Tokimi implored hesitantly, "I feel something amiss, and it involves my son..."

Washuu was about to comment that this Ranma was technically NOT her son, but decided against saying anything. She still wanted to live, after all.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Near Mount Olympus...

"The players have gathered, my brother..." A tall bronze skinned man with red eyes and long red hair commented to his companion. He was dressed in an enchanted silver breastplate, forged by Hephaestus himself. His girdle was forged after Thor's own, and he wore a thick red belt made out of the hides of a Gargoyle's snake hair skins. He was Phobos, son of Ares.

His companion nodded empathically. "We shall wait for the right time to strike at him..." The young man said darkly. He has short black hair, and has the same red eyes the first man had. He was a bit smaller than his companion, and dressed in the same enchanted silver breastplate. His girdle was of the same design, and his belt was made of the same substance... but it was black in color. He was Deimos, another son of Ares.

Phobos chuckled, "We will gain the favor of the Alfadur, and bring much recognition to our family."

Deimos agreed, "Yes, our time has come to outshine all the others."

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Back on Earth, specifically in Juuban, an encounter occurred. The Japanese Media was already alerted by the commotion, and was now broadcasting the bizarre events in a rather lustrous house near the edge of Juuban. The home was owned by one of the most important clans in Japan, the Seta Clan, and it was now surrounded by several powerful 'superheroes'. One of the news crews pointed out though, as to why there was no Asian superhero member in the group.

Currently, the group of Superman, Supergirl, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman was floating just above the Seta Clan's estate. Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg had alighted just inside the premises, right in the open space behind the huge house.

Raven and Lenneth were standing near the house, their arms crossed across their chests. Onna-Ranma was sitting on the veranda with a curious Nodoka beside her, watching the spectacle in the yard. They have a tea set with them. While in the outside she was calm, Onna-Ranma was inwardly alert at any complications that might happen. She was quite happy that there were fewer attackers this time around, but she was quickly incensed when she figured that the group has their strongest members judging by their aura. Oh, and those Teenie Titan dudes were also present as well.

Ranma, in his girl form, currently sipped warm tea with Nodoka as they watched the proceedings with interest. So far, the two groups (more like one big group against two women) were at a deadlock, which meant that nobody moved an inch since they met half an hour ago. As for why Onna-Ranma was being neglected... well, she was in female form. While she garnered a few skeptical glances from the 'Heroes', they dismissed her just as quickly. They did not know Ranma's curse, so she was safe for the moment.

Finally, the deadlock was broken when Superman landed in front of the Teen Titans, followed by the rest of the Justice League members who were present.

""Where is Ranma Saotome?!"" Superman demanded to the irritated Raven and Lenneth.

Raven scowled mightily, which caused the Teen Titan members to cringe. ""I don't have to answer you..."" she spat out angrily, which made her 'future former' team members gape at the open emotions the usually emotionally suppressed girl. She was having second thoughts about the sanity of the Teen Titans, for allowing this travesty and blatant attacks on innocents to continue. They even participated in it!

This time, it was Robin who stepped into the limelight as he implored, ""Please, Raven! We just want to talk about this...""

The demonic girl growled at him, which caused the leader of the Teen Titans to back away slightly, ""Yeah... 'talk'... like what you did to him a few days ago? I don't believe you!""

""It doesn't matter what you think, girl..."" Green Lantern commented calmly. His greenish eyes were glancing in every direction, trying to spy upon the familiar features of their current target. So far, the girl on the porch has an uncanny resemblance with their quarry, but he knew that their target was a boy. Clearly, the person sitting beside the older red haired Japanese woman was a girl.

Lenneth scoffed haughtily. ""Oh, so is that it? This is the great League of Heroes who should be protecting the innocents? You are mistaken in so many ways if you believe what you have just said.""

""Uhm... guys? Will you just chill out?"" Supergirl started nervously, as she glanced at the hovering helicopters around the compound. The multitudes of media crews who were circling the area were broadcasting the whole thing, and it wouldn't do if something drastic happened.

Superman took a menacing step forwards, glaring angrily at the impudent demonic girl that hid the bane of his life. ""Why are you hiding him?! He caused needless injuries in China, broke a lot of important international treaties while he's at it and also crippled a man for life! This is it, it's either you're with us, or against us, girl.""

""Okay, that's enough. Now BACK OFF."" A low but very audible voice said menacingly. Everyone turned to the source, and saw that the red haired girl on the house's veranda was gone. However, Ranma was now standing behind Raven and Lenneth, giving the Heroes a disgusted look.

""Damn... he's kinda cute..."" Supergirl commented absently. She blushed when she realized she has said it out loud, and received strange stares from her friends.

The reincarnated Chaos, the one called Ranma was now standing in front of them. The peevish look on his face proved to be disconcerting to anyone who was witnessing the exchange. He stood with his arms across his chest, his red tail swaying right behind him. His wings were not out at the moment, but his long hair was still dark red.

Raven and Lenneth quickly went to his side, trying hard not to smack him senseless.

""Why the hell are you here? Didn't we tell you not to show yourself?"" Raven hissed as she strode to Ranma's side. Lenneth nodded on Ranma's other side in agreement with Raven's question.

""Got bored..."" Was Ranma's curt reply. He stretched his back to realign his bones as he continued, ""Besides, they're after me. And you should know that I'll never let anything happen to the both of you.""

Superman smirked slightly. ""So, you finally showed up.""

The red-tailed man snorted. ""You didn't leave me any other choice.""

Green Lantern sighed as he stepped forward. ""You ARE going to surrender now, right?""

Ranma shrugged dismissively. ""I can't surrender for a crime I knew I never committed.""

""You know what you did!!"" Superman roared, the ground underneath his feet cracked as he ground his boot into it, ""You mercilessly hurt those people in China! You even crippled someone severely! You also brainwashed a young girl to use as your shield against us, since you knew we'd avoid hurting her!""

""HEY! I'm right here ya know!"" Raven shouted indignantly.

""Uhm, first of all..."" Ranma began, stepping away from the two women who wanted to protect him as he paced around the group of Heroes, eyeing their movements warily, ""I was being forced to MARRY into their tribe. And for what? To reinforce their people's genes using mine. Even if I'm an analogue of their long DEAD Ranma..."" he shot Nodoka an apologetic look from afar, which was received gladly with a short nod, ""They still wanted me to replace him. The old lady of that tribe said, 'After all, a Ranma IS a Ranma...', how wrong is THAT?""

Ranma made a small hop and twirled easily in the air, his tail swirled around him as he went, ""Secondly, that man who was... crippled by me was my analogue's father. A man I sadly loved as well as despised in my own universe. He trained me how to fight, after all, and believe me when I say that his training methods are beyond inhumane. I know, I was there. But I'm getting sidetracked... as to why he was hurt badly, he tried to fire off an attack that he himself declared forbidden. Never to be used under any circumstances, yet he broke his own vow, just like I thought he would, just to get me to follow his wishes and live off of my fame in fighting and drink until he dies. I wanted to stop him from releasing that attack, but in the process he got into my own attack's way. So he got burned.""

""And lastly..."" Ranma mumbled loudly as he continued his cycle around the group. He was around more than a quarter of the rough circle that would've enclosed the whole group in, and was now walking leisurely backwards, ""I never brain-washed anyone. I did find some weird demon thing in there, and it tried to kill me! So I retaliated. Just what I'm about to be forced to do with you if you do attack so needlessly.""

The blonde-haired, light green eyed girl called Supergirl commented, ""He's got a point, you know.""

""Quiet, Supergirl..."" Green Lantern hushed at the blond-haired female as he spied upon Superman's brow that twitched in irritation.

Raven appeared beside Ranma in a flash of black magic. She grabbed his arm in protest and said, ""Ranma... please, just let us handle this.""

The red haired alien hybrid was shaking his head sadly and grasped at the hand that held him back, ""I don't think the situation's going to be any easier if you handled it. Not that I doubt if you can handle yourselves... it's just that the situation's beyond reasoning now. Even your team mates are convinced you're mind-controlled, just to remind you.""

Ranma gently shook his arm off of Raven's death grip and faced the superhero group. They all readied themselves for any forthcoming attacks, as to which Ranma just scoffed in irritation.

He turned to the 'leader' of the Heroes, Superman, and spoke, ""If you're gonna attack me, it wouldn't do to do battle here. I love this place..."" Ranma's eyes strayed from the red and blue clad superhero as he glanced at the big house, ""Even though this isn't my universe, technically, I still feel the atmosphere...""

""Well then!!"" Ranma suddenly said. Before the startled group's eyes, the hybrid alien's form wavered and disappeared in motes of light. Shouts of dismay and anger filled the compound, as well as the furious helicopter rotors overworking themselves to search for the errant 'villain'.

Their search was rendered moot point when Ranma's voice echoed from above, ""Watcha looking down there for?""

""There he is!!"" Robin pointed to the right of one Media helicopter as Ranma floated a few yards away from it, his arms crossed across his chest. His red tail waved left and right behind him, as he sported an infuriating grin on his face.

Then, something unbelievable has happened. After being pointed out by the leader of the Teen Titans, every eye on the area turned to the floating form of one Saotome Ranma. The Media crews around were having a field day with the proceedings, especially with the special coverage of the weirdest villain they have ever seen in the span of their careers. It was then that Ranma, after he tired of being stared at by everyone, suddenly turned his back to the Justice League members present as well as to the Teen Titans, bent his waist a little and froze his red tail that pointed ramrod straight upwards. With a deliberate slowness, Ranma patted his bottom loudly, his hand smacking at his black body armor covered bottom as he slightly turned his upper body to the side, if only to show his amused face to the shocked faces of his pursuers. With great exaggeration, he pulled down an eyelid and stuck his tongue out at everyone.

Ranma has just given the combined forces of the Heroes one of the greatest insults of all time.

""Nyah nyah! Wanna fight me? Ya better catch me first!!"" Not allowing anyone to recover, Ranma's aura suddenly burst forth out of his body. He gave the gaping Raven and Lenneth a sly wink, before he shot off into the sky quickly. Ranma's form disappeared in the horizon easily.

A tense silence followed Ranma's abrupt exit.

"Oh my..." A soft female voice broke the silence, who spoke in her own native language of Japanese. Everyone absent-mindedly turned to the still-seated Seta Nodoka and saw that she was looking at the trail of energy from where her son's analogue has sped off, "He's quite the prankster, isn't he?"

Raven almost face-faulted, but she caught herself before she let her face plant on the ground. She snorted, "Auntie... Ranma just gave the world as well as the Justice League and the Teen Titans the slip, but not without throwing them an insult along the way. That's beyond a prank..."

Yes, Raven has been taken into calling Nodoka 'Auntie' after a short time of 'convincing' from the Seta clanswoman. A glare from the woman could make anyone grovel in fear from her wrath. Such is the power of the Japanese housewife.

Lenneth stifled a laugh as she commented in the same language, "I have to admit, it was rather amusing to see the faces of everyone. It only shows how devastating to the morale it was for him to show such a thing. If you think about it clearly, Ranma is a tactical genius. Right now, I am assured that everyone will give chase in anger."

Sure enough, several growls of fury were heard in the yard, before the assorted super heroes gathered in the Seta compound blasted into the skies in their own ways. This was to hurry after the infuriating boy, who managed to shock them long enough to escape their many numbers.

Such humiliation will never be forgiven.

And of course, the helicopters which contained the Media gave chase as well. It was the story of the century, and they were also rather curious as to how this drama will end.

A huge dust cloud emerged from the Seta compound as Raven and Lenneth were left standing near the house. Nodoka calmly sipped her tea, a small smile played on her face.

"Uhm, maybe we should go after Ranma..." Raven began lamely. her bat wings twitched behind her. She has her own tail to think off, as it wriggled agitatedly all over her back.

Lenneth nodded. "It would be best if we do. Who knows what may happen to those Heroes of this world, after all?"

"Exactly my point..." The demonic girl agreed.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Between the planet Mars and the Earth's natural satellite, the Soja was currently soaring at great speeds.

"ETA of arrival, Washuu?"

"Ten minutes, Tokimi."

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Coming from a different route taken by the Soja, another streak flashed across the space of Mars' orbital path and the asteroids on the other side of the Soja's path.

The golden glow was actually in the shape of a humanoid, and it wasn't alien from Earth. It originated from the Solar System's third planet, created for the original purpose of destroying the Justice League.

Now, it has returned.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Near Mount Olympus in the Heavenly Plane...

"How long for the spell to actually take effect, Phobos?"

"In a few minutes, Deimos."

Two gods stood in a glowing magical circle, who concentrated their energies in the power up of the teleportation spell.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Across the Pacific Ocean, a silver streak of energy cut on the shallows of the water. The silver blur was actually Ranma, who was laughing maniacally as he remembered the gaping faces of those who wanted to fight him. It has been quite a long time since he had this much fun, and he wasn't about to pass the opportunity to have fun.

Not that he really wanted to fight, but those guys were pretty much serious at giving his person some bodily harm. His happy demeanor darkened a bit as he remembered how one of Raven's own team members almost blasted her with that pretty powerful beam. Luckily, Lenneth was able to deflect it on time.

Ranma's real reason for running away like that was actually to lead the whole superhero team out into an open area. It wouldn't do if his mother's house, or Japan for that matter, would get caught in the crossfire if ever a fight managed to break out. He loved Japan; it was the place where he was born after all. He reckoned that those people after him wouldn't think twice of damaging the country, just for the sake of bringing him down.

As soon as he saw the last islands of Japan disappear from the horizon, he stopped his flight. Ranma remained floating in mid-air, his hands across his chest. He might've not realized it, but he was near the Marianas Trench, the deepest of the holes that dug into the Earth. He bobbed effortlessly in the air as he hummed a cheerful tune. He watched the calm sea all over him, which served to calm his slightly excited nerves as well.

""Chakushin kare no NANBA yumemi gochi... tomodachi no tomodachi kara..."" Ranma sang softly, as he remembered a song he has heard from Vanilla. She was singing it in the Nirvana's central garden, and he got curious enough to have her teach him the song, ""Kyuu sekkin imishin SHINEMA-CHIKETTO futari kiri? Tsuki made tsuredashite hoshii...""

""Honki MO-DO moudou omo mo chou Very KYUNKYUN DOKIDOKI..."" Ranma rapped this part as he skipped his boots at the ocean's surface.

""Genkai RANDEBU himitsu no AKUSESU fuwafuwa MERENGE mitai tokimeki A-RA-MO-DO..."" He continued singing as he lifted his feet as the waves tried to catch them.

Ranma floated higher and quickly spun as the waves intersected from where he was floating on a while ago. ""HA-TO ni Kiss kobore souna Jelly Beans... iro to ridori no kimochi dakishimeteru! CHU-N ha Pop mogitate no kodou ga... karamawari shiteru BAKUHATSU-ENAJI...""

""Tachimachi ENDO-RO-RU uwa no sora... anata made 15 SENCHI it's so far! GIKUSHAKU hikaeme Talk fushime gachi... anoko no wadai ha yamete..."" He smiled as a small fountain of water erupted from the contact point.

He switched into a rap tone as he sang, ""Ukaremakutte tsumazuichatte... chou VeryBad Bad ZUKIZUKI..."" Ranma dodged a series of higher waves that would've splashed on him, which would have surely turned him into female.

Ranma shifted into the song's melody once again, ""Yokubari FANTAJI CHIKUCHIKU AIRONI... SHIRIASU ni natte mo ii? Kakehiki SUKURANBURU..."" He floated a few feet in the air out of the waves' reach and angled his body horizontally parallel to the ocean itself. He stared at the cloud-filled skies and sighed.

""SHU-RU na Kiss abare dashita Jelly Beans... modokashikute setsunai PASUTERU iro... TAITO na Hip donkan na senaka ni... fukigen wo ageru junjou DAINAMAITO..."" Ranma smiled slightly to himself as he heard some squeaking noises below him. It would seem that even the dolphins were singing with him. ""ORENJI... PAPAIYA... MINTO... RAZUBERI... GURANBERI...""

He felt the cool wind blowing against his face, his unbound dark red hair hanging down his head. He switched into a rap, ""Nande kana? OK SAIN miokutte Strike hanatsu PI-N BO-RU ataranai Beans kono mamaja KO-RUDO? otoshiyori O-RUDO yuusen zaseki ha yuzurimashou...""

""A-RA-MO-DO..."" He sang once again, ""HA-TO ni Kiss kobore souna Jelly Beans... iro to ridori no kimochi dakishimeteru... CHU-N ha Pop mogitate no kodou ga... karamawari shiteru BAKUHATSU-ENAJI...""

""Junjou DAINAMAITO!"" He finished his song, and he felt satisfied at the moment. His senses suddenly piqued as he distinctively felt several powerful energy signatures that came towards his position from the horizon.

"They're here..." Ranma muttered. He still continued his carefree attitude and remained laying stationary in mid-air as the Heroes drew closer to him.

Just a few kilometers off the coast of a Japanese island...

The entourage of the most powerful beings of that universe flew in formation. Their purpose burned clear in most of their minds, and that was to capture the errant red-tailed boy that had the gall to insult them in front of the whole world. The Media crews followed them without restraint, no doubt thinking of how much their careers would be boosted if they managed to get this coverage.

Somehow, they managed to capture Ranma's energy signature because of Cyborg's quick thinking. The half-robot quickly recorded Ranma's energy emissions into his internal computer before he disappeared after insulting them. It was now being used to track Ranma's movements, which mysteriously paused just inside the Marianas Trench's area of vicinity right smack in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii was near the area as well.

Cyborg rode with Robin on Beast Boy's back, who remained in his Pterodactyl form. He was quite overwhelmed by the weight of his importance now, since even the Justice League depended on his directions for guidance towards their quarry.

""I can see him..."" Superman suddenly spoke up against the wind, which caused everyone to stiffen in alertness. His ire however grew to great heights as he saw his enemy, with his enhanced vision, 'lounging around' in mid-air.

""Well I'll be damned..."" Green Lantern snorted, ""He's lying down in mid-air, without a care in the world. It's as if we're no threat to him.""

Supergirl cracked her knuckles as she flew alongside of Superman, and said, ""It's too bad, really. Cute, but he just had to do... THAT... back in Japan. And now this...""

Wonder Woman shook her head on Superman's other side. She was still uncertain about this attack on the boy, but given the circumstances, she felt that her own Amazonian pride has been slighted. She just had to fight this boy now, if only to prove her own worth against him. She knew, oh she knew very well, how that boy must be VERY important, for him to have the Chooser of the Slain as a companion. She wasn't looking forward to their confrontation, oh not at all, but she had to.

Robin and Cyborg gaped at the audacity of the floating red haired man across the ocean, Robin through his portable scope and Cyborg with his cybernetic eye. Beast Boy settled on just seeing the dot that was Ranma in front of him. Starfire was visibly agitated, since her greenish aura grew in proportion. Not that she needed any excuse to get angrier; the thought of the Sai-Yahn present on Earth brought her both fear and an overwhelming need to dispose of the threat.

They all slowed down their approach as they neared the red-tailed hybrid, who still floated above the water with nary a thought of their presence. The Media crews that followed the Heroes into the area hovered a distance from the screen. They knew how damaging the battles of the Justice League can get when they started.

The whole group finally halted, as they were just a few yards from the young man. They wondered if Ranma didn't notice their arrival at all, and if they had the upper hand just this once. But it was all moot point when Ranma's hand shot upwards, and waved at them lazily as they paused in their approach. They all tensed when Ranma's body re-aligned itself upright in the air. The red haired man sighed calmly as he faced them.

""Took ya long enough..."" Ranma pointed out plainly, his arms crossed across his chest in outright nonchalance on their appearance. It was blaringly obvious that he wasn't all that worried about them.

Superman grunted, ""Well, now that you're done running...""

""Running?"" Ranma gave them a confused look, his golden pupils gleamed slightly. The multicolored gems on his forehead shone though, as the Heroes' eyes widened at the sight. They hadn't notice those gems before, since it would seem that there was some sort of field that kept them from noticing them.

Ranma continued though, as the shine of those gems on his forehead dimmed, ""Whoever said I was running away from you? I was leading you away from Japan, after all, I love the country where I was born in.""

""Man, the ego on this guy!"" Green Lantern remarked, which earned a few guffaws from his team mates. Not that Ranma noticed it, or even reacted at least a bit on his comment.

Ranma, however, just ignored the pun from the green and black-suited African American hero as he stared calmly at them. ""My ego is well-earned. Meaning, I can back it up. How about you? For all this talk of you being Heroes, I still don't think you're Heroes at all..."" He raised his hand to forestall the angry retorts that were about to be unleashed, ""Think about it. For some reason, you've been attacking me relentlessly, and you still haven't given me a good reason enough for the attacks. While you already gave me enough reason to beat you all up.""

""Huh?"" Robin asked, confused, ""What do you mean? We didn't do anything...""

""Really..."" Ranma deadpanned, and speared Cyborg with a slight glare, ""As I remember it, you tried to attack Raven with that blast from the half-metal guy. I should blast you back for that, you know. But I don't... which leads to the question, why? Don't think about it too much. I just don't believe in unnecessary violence.""

Supergirl asked, ""But what about those people you hurt in China? I heard from the others how you almost massacred them...""

Ranma rolled his eyes. ""I don't intend to go into another tirade about that. They were forcing me to marry into their tribe for my genes. They attacked me just to prove I'm a weak male. I proved them wrong by fighting back. I won't take crap from anyone like that.""

""Enough!"" Starfire growled out, her eyes flamed emerald as she gathered green jade energies into her hands, ""Sai-Yahns are evil! They destroy worlds without remorse! Before you could even think of doing that to our world, we will stop you!""

""Again, with the 'Ranma is so evil' spiel... it's getting old..."" Ranma muttered loud enough to be heard by everyone. He shook his head sadly, and continued, ""Since there's probably no way to negotiate a truce from this..." He opened his arms readily, in a gesture of invitation for everyone, ""Attack me then... to your hearts' content..."

A green bolt of energy flashed in front of Ranma, which caused him to dodge to the side. He saw that the red haired girl who screamed darkly at him a while ago flew towards him at top speed, as her hands threw those green balls of energy mercilessly at him.

This action spurred the others on, some of them screamed battle cries as they threw their own attacks into the fray. Ranma flitted in and out of focus as he teleported easily out of the attacks. Superman fired his heat vision as he flew in while Supergirl created a heat vision duet with her older predecessor. Robin threw his batarangs filled with explosives as Cyborg fired his sonic cannon along with Starfire's trademark 'Starbolt' attacks. Green Lantern fired off green lances of energy from his ring created from the Guardians of Oa's technology, and Wonder Woman has yet to land a blow on Ranma himself.

Saotome Ranma was in turmoil actually, as he idly put half of his mind on the battle. Actually, he was fighting with his instincts at the moment, while half of his own mind contemplated on choices that he seldom thought of when he was younger... a whole lot younger. He wanted out of this fight, since he really didn't want to fight at all. Not out of disrespect, but it was more of a domino thing. He knew that if he fought back against these people, things would probably escalate to a point where he has to retaliate with lethal force.

As much force as the ones being used against him by his pursuers right now.

He felt another of those heat visions from the red and blue garbed guy graze at his shoulder armor. He was quite thankful that his Aunt Washuu was hyper enough to give him her best armor to date, since the deep gouges on the shoulder pads of his armor were already mending themselves as he dodged another starbolt from Starfire.

Ranma bit back a curse when his thoughts became the better of him, as a green hammer, ironically, slammed unto his unguarded back, which caused him to stagger in mid air and get caught by the bright blue wave of energy from Cyborg's arm cannon into his chest.

He was blown back quite violently, the beam pushed him back towards the ocean's surface. He let the beam carry his body a few yards from the ocean, before he finally expended some of his ki to push back against it. His fast descent slowly crept into a halt, with the beam still drilling into his chest. Ranma concentrated momentarily, willing his body to another place. After a familiar blurring of his vision, it refocused again. He saw himself in another side of the battle field, but Ranma was quite surprised when those green globes of Tamaranian energy from Starfire slammed into him repeatedly, which caused him to cover his face with his arms needlessly.

His lack of movement was taken advantaged of by his opponents, as twin pairs of heat vision beam blasted on his upper shoulder and abdomen, and a few negligent explosives smacked to his crossed arms. The combined attacks were concluded by a huge green fist, which gave the currently immobile Ranma a devastating uppercut. The red haired hybrid flew back a few feet from the force, before he managed to control his levitation and stopped himself in mid air again, clutching at his abdomen. Ranma's front armor was smoking from the attacks, but was already mending the damages as he rested a bit.

With the sudden pause in the battle, Superman, as well as the other members of their strike force, smirked at Ranma's slightly heaving form.

""Are you ready to give up?"" Superman asked casually.

Green Lantern joined Superman's smirk with his own, as he said, ""Look man, we can just save you the trouble of getting beaten up if you'll just surrender. Don't worry, we won't hurt you... too much.""

Their mocking grins slowly eased off their faces though, as right before their eyes, Ranma's breathing slowly eased off into calm ones. The red-tailed individual's hunched stance slowly straightened, before finally he stood proudly once again.

It was now Ranma's turn to give them a degrading grin. ""Surrender? You have got to be kidding."" He cracked his knew loudly, before the grin on his face melted into a straight line.

Ranma slowly rotated his body and looked at the assembled Heroes circling him. ""Surrender is not an option for me, because..."" he said, as his body slid into a slight stance that most of the Heroes recognized as a martial arts stance, ""... because Ranma Saotome never loses. Not when it counts.""

An explosion of power caused every hero around the red haired young man to back away, as the waves of silver energy pushed them back. Ranma growled loudly as more of his energy erupted from his body, which flooded his senses into the same state of mind he had when he was with those annoying Amazons. He really did not want to fight, but being forced to make a decision... he wasn't going to allow himself to die.

Too many people relied on his return... visions of Raven, Lenneth, Vanilla, Emeralda, Lea, Ryoko, and finally... that woman in his dreams, Hild... they were all counting on his return. He didn't know how he knew this, but somehow, his instincts screamed for his survival. And Ranma knew his instincts haven't failed him yet.

He will survive. He had to... and he wanted to. If not for himself, but for those people who wanted to see him again, as well as the people HE himself wanted to see again.

""I WILL SURVIVE!!!"" Ranma finally screamed, as the most powerful surge of energy he expended since he started his power-up exploded from him, which made the Heroes to scramble backwards as the wave slammed from all directions. The waters underneath Ranma's floating form parted because of his energy.

The surge finally calmed, the silver energy filtered into Ranma's form once again. The red-tailed otherworlder's body glowed bright silver. His golden eyes shone fiercely, against their background of blue-gray within his eye sockets, and his tri-colored gems of gold, silver and deep purple near black blazed in anger. His long dark red hair fluttered against the wind, along with his red tail that twitched agitatedly down his backside. His armor responded to his emotions, as it was quickly recovered and reformed around him, sans the helmet around his head and some of the golden bands around his wrists and his neck.

""Now..."" Ranma's rumbling voice echoed in all directions, which caught the Heroes as well as the Media that covered the battle's attention, ""The battle has just... begun.""

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Just a few kilometers off the Japanese mainland, Raven and Lenneth flew at their top speed. They were a bit frantic inwardly, as they thought of how their mutual companion was currently doing.

All of the sudden, Raven's flight was jolted into a stop. The demonic girl gasped as her head was barraged by a series of lightning pains, which caused her to almost crumble in mid air. She barely caught herself as she tried desperately to hold unto her flight. She failed, as she felt her control over her own levitation failed, only to be caught by a slightly worried Lenneth Valkyrie.

"What seems to be the matter?" Lenneth asked, as she gave the shivering girl in her arms a good look over.

Raven shook her head to stave off the pain as she struggled to reply, "I... Ranma... he... he's releasing an awful lot of power. His thoughts... they were screaming... images... of women... and us... we... ugh!"

"Be at ease, Raven..." Lenneth said gently, but she had to tighten her grip on the girl as a wave of power washed over them. She snapped her head to the horizon, where she felt the energy came from.

"Ranma..." Raven said weakly, who glanced at the same direction as Lenneth, "He's... he's become serious. He... he's been screaming... that he will... survive..."

Lenneth sighed audibly. "I... I am Valkyrie. I am a glorious warrior of the Divine. What am I doing? Why am I here? But... I... I am... this was not in my mission protocols. I... am I doing the right thing? Why am I having these doubts in my soul...?"

Raven felt her headache abate slightly as it became a dull pain. She regained some strength to look up to her carrier as she asked, "W-What was you m-mission?"

"At first..." The Chooser of the Slain responded, as she glanced off to the side, "I was to subdue and bring Ranma Saotome back with me into Asgard. He... he is a wanted man, a declared Heretic, a proclamation made by the Almighty Himself. I, and my fellow warriors and other divine beings in Heaven, were to comply. It was either subdue... or kill."

"What happened?" Raven's voice grew stronger, her curiosity gave her some comfort off the pain she felt earlier, "Why this? What changed?"

"Everything..." Lenneth intoned calmly, "Warriors learn about their enemies from the first strike itself. What I learned from my encounter with Ranma-sama was... indescribable. After that, I cannot bring myself to swing my blade against his person. For I had loved Chaos-sama for so long, even after his glorious sacrifice. He was my Mentor, my Guide... he gave me the whole premise of my Existence. And Ranma-sama IS Chaos-sama, in most form..."

"So... it's true? All those stories you told us before..." Raven bit her bottom lip, as she struggled her way out of Lenneth's arms. The Valkyrie gave her a gentle look as she gave the older woman a smile of appreciation.

Lenneth frowned slightly. "They were no mere stories. They were all facts..."

"Sorry..." Raven apologized, "It's not that I'm degrading your history. It's probably normal for a half-mortal like me to question these things. Anyway, what are you going to do now? What will happen... now that you did this?"

The Valkyrie's blue eyes glittered slightly, her long, braided, light blue hair swayed down her back. "I... I am unsure. I surmise that this incident has already reached Odin's ears, and he has probably took this in counsel with the Almighty. It is safe to conclude that I may be declared a Heretic as well. Even if it was untrue, I... I feel that I have a lot of doubts already in my soul to ever return to what I was."

Lenneth's blue eyes suddenly focused into Raven's purple ones, and said seriously, "Make no mistake. I do not regret my Decision."

Raven's equally serious face met Lenneth's. "That's good. It's nice to know you're on my side. Well, let's go to where Ranma is, then."

The blue haired woman nodded grimly. "That is very much acceptable."

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Up high in the Earth's stratosphere, just above the Atlantic Ocean, a lone spaceship of a sleek black design sped towards a specified location. It was a ship that has descended from the Watch Tower.

Inside the ship, Batman manned the piloting of the craft, with the Martian Manhunter on the navigation, and the Green Arrow in the weapons control. Behind the trio in the main cockpit area, the bandaged form of the future Green Lantern slumped on his seat. The older Lantern was treated a while ago by the Martian, but the wielder of the Oa ring waved away any more of the green alien's ministrations. Speaking of his ring, he was currently holding his so-called ring, which was now in halves inside his fist.

A short while ago after the Green Lantern's arrival from his time flux, the ring fell of his finger, broken into two halves. The Guardians form where he came from has warned him of this, so he wasn't really THAT surprised. But he was a bit dismayed that the ring never did manage to survive that long for him to even use it for emergency use later.

Well, so much for that idea.

The future Green Lantern relayed some of the doomed history of the future he was from during the trip.

""Are you serious?"" Batman asked urgently.

Green Lantern nodded tiredly, ""Very much so. It was terrible. Everything was sucked up in a black hole. Nothing escaped...""

This Green Lantern was from three months in the future. He was the only one lucky enough to escape from the onslaught of the spatial distortion that destroyed most of the west and north quadrant of the universe. Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman... all of them were totally annihilated by the rampaging form of one Ranma Saotome.

It began the same way as it did in this current universe he came out on, in fact, this was HIS supposed past. But now that he changed the Past, he's essentially killing himself. At least, the last powers of his ring managed to bestow upon him some sort of temporal shield that would last at least three hours at best, just enough for him to warn his fellow heroes of the folly of their reckless actions, which has caused the whole devastation to begin in the first place.

The incident was one big stupid mistake, an errant super concentrated heat vision blast from Superman's own revised version of his eye beams managed to tag the unguarded back of Tokimi.

Who was Tokimi? She appeared along with that huge ship... roughly half the size of the Watch Tower... together with a red haired woman. She was a regal and tall woman, her ageless beauty reflected in her actions and manner of speaking. And her eyes... they were almost the same with Ranma's. Those were the initial indications as to who the woman was, and seconded by the fact that she locked stares with the semi-pissed form of Ranma and called him her son.

The red haired companion of Tokimi was Washuu, sister to the taller woman. Both of them floated in the air effortlessly, and they had appeared in the most opportune of times: in the middle of the battle itself. Their presence confused Ranma long enough to let him power down though. The snarl on his face melted into shock, though, when Washuu introduced Tokimi to Ranma as his blood mother.

Tokimi was about to embrace her son gleefully, when an over enthusiastic Superman uncharacteristically fired off his on-the-spot revision of the Heat Vision. So much was she in her emotions that Tokimi failed to stave off the manic red blast, which engulfed most of her back.

Green Lantern remembered vividly, the way Tokimi's face twisted in shock as her body staggered forward, which was fortunately caught in Ranma's arms. It was understandable that the look of horror etched in the red haired young man's face as he watched his newly introduced mother got blasted in the back while she was enthusiastically trying to get to him.

This was the exact moment, when everything shot straight to Hell.

Before anyone could do anything, the cry of pain and anger from Ranma's lips reverberated all over the world, somehow echoed by his large power that exploded out of his body. Silver lightning arched all over his form as he hugged the sagged form of Tokimi in his arms.

Ranma suddenly disappeared, but had reappeared at Washuu's side before anyone could blink. Casually, he handed off his mother into the red haired woman's arms gently and muttered some words only audible to them. They saw how Washuu's eyes widened and finally, she quickly leapt back and called out to her ship for teleportation, which was quickly granted.

Those who were left had no idea what to say about the sudden turn of events, but whatever they tried to say were thrown to moot point anyway, as Ranma reached to his ankles and snapped off the golden bands that decorated his boots. Ranma let them fall into the ocean, which created a large gout of water as they hit the surface. They were visibly VERY heavy.

But the horror of the act was about to be seen after that, as Ranma's body expelled more and more energy, his aura filled up at least five kilometers in diameter. The depression it made on the ocean's surface below was very deep, which further proved the amount of power being exerted here.

Superman tried to be undaunted though, as he shot towards Ranma with his fist cocked into a tight fist. The Kryptonian plowed into the red haired... no... what was the color... Green Lantern forgot... but the hair color changed yet again... anyway... Superman plowed into Ranma's aura, and got into the boy's face. With the strength that managed to stagger even the near invincible Darkseid, Superman unleashed his devastating punch, but it was nothing to Ranma. The pissed young man just caught Superman's fist into his own, and easily crushed the Kryptonian's hand. As Superman's scream became audible over the roar of power from the boy, Ranma's fist flashed and smacked into Superman's face, the meaty thump of its collision was heard even from their position. Superman's face clearly caved into itself as he was flung away from the boy in supersonic speeds. The proverbial leader of the Justice League was later found several kilometers deep in a hole into the Earth in Spain's territory, almost dead.

The others suffered nearly the same fate, and the Green Lantern was about to get his own treatment as well, but a last ditch effort from the Martian Manhunter's distraction allowed him the time to escape. Not that he wanted to; he was ordered mentally by the Martian to call for reinforcements.

The Guardians of Oa were the only ones the Green Lantern could ever think of, so he went back there. It was after his arrival on Oa when he learned about Earth, rather, eighty-six percent of the total area of the Milky Way has been devoured by an unusual black hole.

The Guardians were alarmed when their Terran Green Lantern described Ranma's form, especially the gems on his forehead.

The design was copied by the Kryptonians; the trio of gems in an inverted triangular pattern was a symbol of power used by an ancient race of immortals of long past. They were so long ago that they were considered to be just that, stories. Those of planet Krypton decided to adopt the symbol for their own, as a sign of their own species. Braniac loved using the design, since it depicted such a higher stature of evolution for any race who had the gall to use it.

They wasted no time on the history of it all, though, since their time was of the essence. During that time, the black hole was growing larger and larger by the minute, devouring more and more of the universe as they spoke.

The forbidden technique was to be used. Time travel... the Guardians were terrified enough of the phenomena that they allowed the use of it. But it has a catch though: it was a one-way trip. They also stressed that if there was a version of the Green Lantern in that Universe, the traveler's ring will be destroyed automatically. A failsafe installed by the Guardians to avoid paradox and catastrophe.

And here he was, continuing his suicide mission to save this universe from total destruction.

The slightly older Green Lantern blinked wearily as he heard Batman noised something close to amusement over something.

""I finally managed to hack into Cyborg's cybernetic mainframe..."" Batman smirked triumphantly, ""Switching to his auditory nerves... adjusting visual resolution... ah! There we go..."" he fell silent as the grainy picture shown on the ship's viewscreen cleared up.

[""Damn... we can't even get to him!""] Cyborg's irritated voice boomed into the ship's speakers. The viewscreen showed the image of Ranma, who held Superman's limp form with his right hand. The red haired boy nonchalantly slammed Superman's face again and again to his knee. Blood flowed from Superman's nostrils, as his head was bashed repeatedly into the bent knee.

[""Cyborg, try to distract him again a sonic blast... he might be able to let go of Superman by then...""] Robin's frantic voice was heard. A couple of batarangs flew towards Ranma, who waved his hand negligently on the incoming projectiles. Because of the wind pressure from the young man's mid air swipe, the batarangs veered off course and missed Ranma completely.

A stream of bright blue energy erupted from the lower part of the screen, its path directly towards the floating form of the red-tailed warrior. Batman, the future Green Lantern, Green Arrow and the Martian Manhunter watched, entranced, as Ranma idly brought his free hand up and caught Cyborg's beam. The sonic blast parted on Ranma's hand, forming an umbrella that flowed around Ranma's form.

[""Didn't work, Rob! How's Starfire?""] Cyborg's dismayed voice asked.

Those in the ship heard Robin hiss.

[""She's in a pretty bad shape, Cy... she's been hit pretty hard by those energy balls of his...""] Robin intoned bitterly.

[""Green Lantern's down too, somewhere in the ocean...""] Cyborg said grimly, [""I think I can see Supergirl floating belly up over there. Damn, what a mess!""]

[""I think Wonder Woman's gonna try her luck...""] Robin pointed out. A finger on the viewscreen gestured to the Amazon's flying form, a few feet from Ranma's own.

""She's gonna lose..."" The older Green Lantern in the ship groused.

Batman growled out, ""Four more minutes before we can reach that place...""

The future Lantern shook his head, ""It wouldn't matter.""

[""Are you going to fight me?""] Batman and the rest of the people in the ship faced the viewscreen, and saw Ranma conversing with Wonder Woman.

They saw Wonder Woman sigh. [""In truth, I don't want to fight you at all. There was no point... that is, until you insulted us back in Japan.""]

Ranma's brow narrowed. [""You expect me to welcome you with open arms, after you try to kill me without any valid reason whatsoever? You presume too much, woman.""]

[""This doesn't have anything to do with my companions' reasons for attacking you.""] Wonder Woman scowled as well, probably from the insulting tone he made with the word 'woman' towards her. [""This is about my Pride and Honor.""]

Ranma grunted. He glanced at Superman's limp form still clutched by the face in his hand and said, [""So, all this for Pride and Honor of your being an Amazon? A pathetic excuse if you ask me. You remind me of those pesky Chinese Amazons and their stupid rules. Beat them as a woman and they'll kill you, and win against them as a guy gets you an Amazon bride. How stupid is that?""]

[""My Honor and Pride are of no laughing matter, boy...""] Wonder Woman bristled.

[""Don't you have a mind of your own?""] Ranma asked, before he waved his hand against Wonder Woman's reply, [""Nah, suddenly I don't wanna know. Frankly, I think you're just a drone... a slave for your people's rules. Do you really think this is right? Attacking someone without any reason... you never listened to me. Of course I will be prone to retaliate against any hostile action towards me. I have the right to insult all of you.""]

[""Enough talk...""] Ranma snapped at the Amazon, cutting off whatever reply she had in mind, [""I used to have the same thoughts as you do, but then I realized how stupid it is of me to follow other people's thoughts pertaining Honor. I set out to find my own definition of Honor, and that's what I'm following right now. It's simple actually, attack me and I retaliate. Attack my friends, and I fire back tenfold. Attack my loved ones... let's just say, you don't want to do that last one. Well then! You're an Amazon, so you're just another one of those prissy girls who follow their outdated rules mindlessly. I have no need to listen to such weak excuses. I've heard about them for a million times already.""]

The camera's point of view changed, as Cyborg's eyes turned to the stoic Robin at his side.

[""What do we do?""] Cyborg asked. A female shriek emanated from the speakers, which caused the half-robot's point of view to swivel towards the fight once again.

Ranma now had BOTH Superman and Wonder Woman by the faces, but the Amazon was struggling against his grasp. She tried to remove Ranma's grip on her face, but it was futile.

The heroes inside the speeding ship stared as Ranma opened his mouth to say something, when a large shadow encompassed the area. Ranma looked upwards, which caused Cyborg's POV to look up as well. A gasp was heard form the speakers as a large mushroom shaped ship descended slowly from above. What's worse is that Cyborg's transmissions was slowly riddled with static and normal view alternately, before it became total static.

""It seems that the transmission was scrambled by something..."" Batman commented gravely, as he silently willed the viewscreen to burst into life once again. But it was to no avail.

Those in the shape were filled with hope though, when Martian Manhunter's voice intoned, ""I can see the alien ship, as well as some people right in front of us. It would seem that we have arrived.""

When they all looked at the viewscreen, they now saw clearly what has arrived. They were sure it was alien in nature, but weren't sure if it was violent or not.

The first clue of its identity came from the future Green Lantern, who gasped as he struggled to stand and approach the screen, ""The Soja... Lady Washuu's battleship..."" he murmured reverently.

""Jon... do you know what this is?"" Martian Manhunter asked the battered Lantern, who nodded at his question.

""Yeah... it's the ship carrying the one who will change the tides of this fight..."" Future Green Lantern pointed out, ""Lady Tokimi, sister to the owner of that ship, Lady Washuu. Goddesses, literally... don't ask. You'll learn about it later.""

Batman retorted, ""Then it wouldn't do us any good if we allow them to team up with this Ranma, isn't it? Shouldn't we do something about that?""

Green Lantern's now black pupils, it's greenish hue lost because of his power ring's power loss, bored at Batman's masked eyes. ""On the contrary, Bruce..."" he said lowly, ""They're the only ones who can make Ranma stop, if ever he goes berserk.""

A tense silence followed, as Batman and the older Green Lantern drew glared into each other. This was stopped by Green Arrow's voice.

""We're here, people.""

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Back in the main battle itself, Ranma looked at the large ship that loomed above him curiously. He felt something very familiar from the inside of the vessel.

Various cries of dismay that came from those who were left of his enemies were ignored by him, as Ranma continued to stare at the massive mushroom like ship above him. It has stopped its descent, and was now levitating stationary in mid air. The dull hum of its engines can be heard in the background.

Suddenly, recognition flashed into Ranma's yellow eyes, as they widened slightly. Why hadn't he noticed it before? It was the Soja! Washuu must be there!

Ranma's brow quirked up slightly. ((Washuu must be real close to be able to reach me as quickly as she did...)) he thought to himself. He still held Superman and Wonder Woman's faces in his hands. The Amazon has long stopped struggling after the ship has appeared above them. Those other Teen Titans have regrouped themselves successfully. Robin and Cyborg, Ranma noticed, have been glaring at him most of the time, with Robin tending to that very hot tempered girl that attacked him first a while ago.

Another ship, this time something more of a Terran design, arrived from his left side. Ranma felt the familiar aura of that Batman fellow, as well as the same tugging feeling at the back of his mind. Probably that Martian guy who tried to probe his head a while ago. And new one... human, from the strength of the aura... trained in a few martial arts if his slightly higher than normal aura strength indicated. And... that Green Lantern guy? But this was one totally weaker than the one he fought earlier. Ranma glanced down, and saw that the Green Lantern was floating face up on the ocean. He shook his head in confusion.

""Gotta get him later... along with that Supergirl... girl. Whatever..."" Ranma muttered to himself. He practically forgot that he had Superman and Wonder Woman in his grasp, but so far he has no future thoughts of letting them go somehow.

Another pair of familiar auras filled Ranma's senses, as his head snapped to the right of the area. A couple of dots appeared in the horizon, which were rapidly growing larger every second.

""Raven and Lenneth..."" Ranma had to smile on that. They were quite a pair, even though they wouldn't admit it. He still owed Raven something despite what she said earlier, and Ranma felt she was his responsibility. Her condition was there because of his inexperience in handling the matter, but he went through with it anyway.

His senses pinged with another energy signature, but this one's from space. And it was approaching at a pretty fast pace.

((Gotta watch out for that too...)) Ranma mused to himself.

Before he could go any deeper with his thoughts, a loud hiss emanated from the battleship that hovered above the area. Something had opened somewhere from the Soja.

Sure enough, Ranma felt the presence of his somewhat favorite aunt, Washuu. She came out of the Soja, along with another familiar aura, but he can't quite place it yet.

Robin and Cyborg frowned in dismay when they saw the mushroom-like ship that has arrived from somewhere. They were quite elated though, when they saw that one of the ships the Justice League used as a transport vehicle arrived a few seconds after the massive battleship above them did.

[""Robin, are you there?""] Batman's voice cackled through Robin's communications device. It was garbled and hard to understand, but Robin was happy hearing Batman's voice anyway.

[""Yeah, I'm here. Where were you? We were being slapped around here, you know.""] Robin had to speak louder for Batman to understand, especially with the engines of the Soja rumbling loudly over them.

Batman's voice came back, his voice distorted by the noise of the radio, [""I know. I saw. Look, there isn't much time. Radio communications and videos only work at short range, and it's garbled at best. Now listen well... do not do anything. I repeat, do not do anything. Let the boy and whoever comes out of the ship do whatever they want to do.""]

Robin blinked under his own mask. Was that a bit of reluctance in Batman's voice just now? He shook his head, and thought that it was probably only the noise that caused him to hallucinate about it.

[""I read you, Batman. But I had to ask, why not do anything? Ranma still has Superman and Wonder Woman in his mercy, you know.""] Robin groused.

This time, it was the Martian Manhunter's voice that answered him. [""Superman and Wonder Woman are strong. They will survive. As for the order not to attack, there is a big reason for this. We will tell you later, but for now, we have to watch what happens. And also, we have another immediate problem...""]

[""Another powerful being is coming... it's the cyborg that Lex Luthor had created a while ago...""] Batman continued, [""It left a few months back, after it absorbed Martian Manhunter's powers of telekinesis and managed to read Luthor's mind. It rebelled and left Earth, to seek its own reasons for existence. It's back, and it just destroyed the Oa Home world.""]

Martian Manhunter's voice came once again, [""It's arriving in less than 3 minutes, at the least.""]

Cyborg whined, ""Great... just what we need! Another psycho!""

Back to the impending meeting, Ranma stared at Washuu and her companion, who were descending from the Soja via a pink beam. ((Pink?)) Ranma snorted to himself. The pair of women stopped when they floated around Ranma's level of levitation. Ranma wasn't really surprised that both had the power to float by their own power.

Washuu was currently in her adult mode, her physical age was around mid-20's. Her hair was the same as ever, as red as Onna-Ranma's hair, but it was tied up on the back of her head that made it look like a crab out of water. Her green eyes were amused as she looked at him, and her clothes were of that Ranma only saw her wear twice back in his universe of origin. Her own modified Juraian robes were open in front, and it looked like one large cape around her shoulders.

The other woman who floated a bit in the back was dressed much more sophisticated that Washuu. She wore her own robes, but it was darker in color. She has light brown hair, with auburn streaked bangs that was held by a golden clip on her forehead. Her majestic form fitting dark red body suit molded to her skin, held by two huge golden buttons across her chest. Her shoulders were wrapped in a loose white satin sheet that was circled across her back. Her belt was floating on her waist, and was also golden. It met in the middle of her abdomen, not quite closed. Her hands were gloved in black and instead of fingers, he found claws with them. Another golden band floated in front of her neck, that met with two blue sapphires near her throat. A huge red crystal adorned the middle of her chest, just above the two buttons that held her dress. Her face had these leaves that stretched from her neck to the area above the cheeks. It was her eyes, though, that drew most of Ranma's attention. It has the same bearing as his, blue-gray in most of her eyes surface, and seemingly pupiless. But when Ranma looked a bit harder, he could see her black pupils almost meshed with the blue-gray.

Washuu smirked at the confused Ranma. "Well well... such a fine specimen you are... care to go back with me to the ship for a sample?" she asked in Japanese.

""No freaking way..."" Ranma groused in English, as he took his eyes away from the taller woman beside Washuu, ""You're... ugh... never mind. By the way, can you speak in English? It's so that everyone can understand."" He unconsciously glanced at his hands, and grimaced when he saw that he still held the two hapless heroes by the face.

""Wait for a bit..."" Ranma muttered loudly. Washuu blinked as she watched Ranma's form shimmer and vanish in front of her eyes.

""Washuu, wasn't that a Masu skill? Who was that boy?"" Washuu's companion asked curiously in English. It was easy for her to use the language; she was a goddess, after all, and she accessed the Yggdrasil and downloaded the 'language pack' she needed to understand English.

The red haired scientist nodded with a grin. ""It is grand, isn't it? Such a sight to behold, those creatures. And to answer your question... it's a secret for now.""

Washuu and her companion both spied on Ranma, who reappeared just beside the hovering green Pterodactyl with a raven-haired masked boy, an unconscious red haired girl, and a half-machine being on its back. The predatory flying dinosaur, the masked boy and the half-machine was shocked and afraid when Ranma appeared near them.

Ranma ignored the looks thrown at him and tossed Superman and Wonder Woman to Cyborg and Robin, who caught the two Heroes. The green dinosaur they were perched on squawked in protest at the additional weight, but still maintained its hovering albeit more wobbly now. With that done, the red tailed hybrid vanished into motes of light again. He reappeared near the two newcomers once again.

""Now that that's done with..."" Ranma prodded on, ""Washuu... I need..."" he vaguely gestured to his wrists, which were devoid of their usual bracers.

Washuu waved her hand dismissively in the air, ""I know, I know. But before that... aren't you curious as to who my companion is?""

"Uhmm..." Ranma stammered, as he tried to bolster all the intelligence he could muster in his brain. He did not want to make a mistake about this. Anyone associated with Washuu was uber-powerful, or crazy... one way or another. He shivered at the last thought.

The other woman frowned slightly. ""Let us just get on with this, Washuu. I still have a son to meet.""

Ranma's back stiffened as he heard it. ((Her son...)) his mind wrapped around the idea, but he squashed the flare of hope inside of him. What were the odds of it happening, anyway? That scene he wanted for so long, since he separated from his surrogate mother Nodoka?

If it was possible, the red haired scientist's grin grew larger. Washuu can't help herself anymore as she chuckled loudly, before it fell into a loud belly laugh. Her companion slowly brought her hands across her chest, a superior scowl etched in her slightly pale face. Her dark lipstick reflected a bit of the daylight, as it fell into a straight line.

The light brown haired woman was about to chastise her companion, when Washuu stopped laughing and looked at her with a wide smile.

""Heh... sister... meet your 'son'. Ranma, I'd like you to meet your mother, Tokimi... goddess of chaos and ya-dah ya-dah..."" Washuu's face almost split with the smile on her face.

Tokimi and Ranma froze, as they stood in front of each other. The both of them stared solemnly at one another, as they tried to assimilate the deluge of information thrown at them by Washuu. As they continued gazing at the other, they finally saw the semblance between them. Their mannerisms, their way of handling things, the way they want things done, their eyes...

""M-Mother?"" Ranma whispered thickly, her gaze still locked with Tokimi's.

""S-Son..."" Tokimi whispered just as thickly, her face wracked with emotions after such a long time.

As they were about to leap into each other's arms, a bright flash erupted in the area. A loud explosion rocked the Soja, and something just bored into the left-most side of it. Another explosion later, and something came out of the bottom side of the ship, flying straight at them. The golden meteor has just created a huge hole on the Soja, which caused the massive ship to teeter to one side, before it started to fall into the ocean to one side.

Several things happened at once after that.

""My ship!!!"" Washuu screamed in dismay.

""It's here!"" A simultaneous shout came from Robin and Cyborg.

""Damn!!"" Batman cursed from inside their own ship.

""I will go out and try to assess the situation..."" The Martian Manhunter intoned as he turned translucent. He quickly sank into the floor.

""I have to go out there!"" The future Green Lantern rasped out loud, as he clutched at his side. The pain his body felt was indescribable, but he had to endure a bit longer before he can finally rest. He struggled to his feet, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder from the Green Arrow.

""You shouldn't try to move too much..."" Green Arrow said, as he gestured at the injuries on the body of the person from the future.

""Let him go..."" Batman said, which caused the Green Arrow to look at him in surprise, ""He went through hell just to go back, let's at least respect what he wants to do.""

""Thank you..."" Green Lantern muttered, before he mustered his own internal energies... just like how the Guardians taught him in the event that his ring lost power... and bled it out to the broken ring. The two halves glowed slightly, before it sparked and flared a pale green glow.

((Half an hour, maybe less...)) Future Jon Stewart thought to himself grimly, ((I need to hurry with this...))

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

The being known only as the cyborg has arrived on Earth, with all its golden glory. It has evolved from being of silver color when he departed all those months ago. He learned and assimilated a lot of powers out there, but somehow he still felt incomplete. After several months of space trekking, it decided to return to Earth. It wanted to find out why it was created in the first place.

It was passing by that planet of some weird fuzzy creatures when it felt an enormous wave of power that washed all over it. The cyborg felt itself being drawn back to Earth, as it felt something...

Desire... the desire to battle the owner of this power it felt.

The cyborg, in all its power, still lacked the drive to continue on living. Sure, it felt the need to defend itself from those who seek to destroy it, but its purpose for survival was trivial. Now, couple with that fact of finding its own destiny, it was on its way to its creator to ask for the reason why it was created in the first place.

What should it do?

But first...

Now, it entered the atmosphere, and it has become a miniature comet. It wasn't harassed by those in that gigantic man-made satellite floating just above the Earth's atmosphere. The home for the world's elite heroes, the Justice League, whom were among the first powers it has absorbed.

Maybe there's nobody home?

Still, its mission was clear. Earth was crawling with powerful beings now, but it concentrated on the most powerful one so far.

... was this a massive mushroom ship blocking its way towards that power? It seemed too sophisticated to be of Terran design. No matter, it will just bore right through it.

And bore into the ship it did, and it left quite a bit of damage on the ship itself. It ignored the massive ship's rapid descent as it spotted the power it felt.

So... the power was supposed to be three now? It thought it was only one, but in truth the power was actually three in number, but they were too close to each other to distinguish from afar.

And the male one was the main power right now.

And now, it headed straight for Him. That is, until this brown haired female, taller than most it saw on Earth, hurriedly hovered in front of its quarry.

Again, it was no matter. Nothing could stop its Desire now...

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Ranma's thoughts were too much of a confused mesh of things right now.

First of all, his mother... his REAL mother... has just appeared right in front of him. It was Washuu, of all people, who reunited them. Sure, this version of his mother was just an analogue, who probably doesn't even have a real son of her own.

But she was his mother. His mother...

On another note, the massive power source he felt earlier was now on Earth. It surprised him, quite frankly, how it escaped his senses. Was he that emotional, now that he has met his mother, for him to ignore anything else around him?

Okay, not only that it has entered the Earth's atmosphere without him detecting it, but now it's practically right in front of him!

Whatever it was, it was heading straight right at HIM!

Not that he really worried about it, but whatever he wanted to think at the moment didn't matter the least, since he's too confused to do anything else. Ranma watched, entranced, as the golden comet bored through the Soja (Washuu's gonna freak -Ranma's thoughts) and was now only a few meters away from his position. He blinked, though, when a tall female form blocked the golden view form his sights.

It was for a few precious milliseconds that he recognized his newly-discovered mother's form right before his eyes, who suddenly threw herself haphazardly in front of him. An automatic response of a mother, perhaps? He doesn't really know. Ranma wasn't used to such things, since he wasn't really put much in this place before in Nerima; so his surrogate mother never had to put herself on the line like this.

Before Ranma could even begin to move in order to protect his biological mother, a pale green glow encompassed him, Washuu, and Tokimi. He blinked as he watched the golden comet slammed into the green shield, which momentarily flickered dangerously as shockwaves of the collision filled the area. Waves formed out of the formerly calm waters of the ocean below them.

The golden comet was blown back a bit, and the fires of its reentry in the Earth's atmosphere finally dissipated. The flames finally receded into a humanoid form, whose built was quite larger than the normal Terran. It seemed to be dressed in a golden colored full body suit though, even the head, and the only opening that could be seen was one narrow horizontal slit for an eyehole.

Ranma's attention was caught by another newcomer, whose heaving form was in front of Tokimi, and held his right arm in front of him with his other arm. His right hand was in a tight ball of fist though, and it was glowing the same color as the shield wall that managed to stave off the human comet from before. Ranma was actually quite surprised when he recognized the man that saved his mother from the painful collision... it was the Green Lantern. His gaze momentarily flicked to the side, and spied on ANOTHER Green Lantern form the sea, which was currently being hauled from the water by that other newly arrived ship.

Ranma blinked in confusion. That was rather weird.

""Ranma-sama!!""

""Ranma!!""

And Ranma blinked some more, as twin shrill voices called out to him. He quickly glanced to the upper right, and saw two forms rapidly which rapidly approached his position. As the twin dots grew recognizable, he saw that they were Raven and Lenneth. Somehow, he felt a bit elated at seeing them, if not to remove the slight awkward silence that seemed to have fallen the battle field.

Raven and Lenneth quickly recognized Ranma's form above the sea, along with several other people. What confused them was one of the Heroes, the one called Green Lantern, was poised in front of them while he held a green barrier in front of the small group.

Raven spied upon her fellow Titans, and saw that they were relatively okay. At least Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy were still intact, while Starfire was only unconscious on Robin's lap. They were currently throwing their attacks towards the golden humanoid trying to ram itself through the Lantern's shield, which were totally ignored by it.

Wonder Woman and Superman were being carried on the Pterodactyl-transformed Beast Boy as well, but they were clearly out of it. She saw the ship Justice League members used as their main mode of transport, which hauled an unconscious Supergirl and, surprisingly, Green Lantern, out of the water.

Her ruminations were cut short when she and her companion finally reached Ranma's side, who looked around him in a very dazed manner.

Confused won't even begin to describe the expression on Ranma's face at the moment.

Raven got to his side first, carefully ignoring the women in front of her Bonded. She did notice, though, that the red haired woman looked vaguely familiar, but she shrugged it off for more important things first, like why the hell does Ranma look like he'd seen a pink elephant flying across the ocean a while ago?

""You okay in there, Ranma?"" Raven said roughly, but it belayed the deep concern she felt at the moment. She was pretty much worried that he was hurt in any way, small or not, by the Heroes that had vowed to take him down. Well, she was also kind of worried about the others... okay, just a tiny bit.

Ranma finally snapped out of his daze, having felt the spike of deep worry in Raven's otherwise bland expression on her face. She apparently forgot that while she can read some of his surface thoughts, he could read her emotions just as well. And right now... Raven's worry over his situation was quite... powerful. He felt somewhat guilty.

""Yeah... well... kinda..."" Ranma had the urge to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment, but the surreal situation he was in right now was not lost to him. Speaking of situations...

""Ranma-sama... it would be best if you take notice of what's in front of you..."" Lenneth gritted her teeth, as she poured more energy on the barrier she had erected around them.

It would seem that while Raven was tending to a confused Ranma, Lenneth took stock of the situation, and surmised that the shield held by the future Green Lantern was failing. She shrugged off the question in her voice, as to why this Green Lantern was expelling a lot of temporal waves, since the gold humanoid thing in front of them reared back again and again as it tried to break through the green wall. Without saying much, Lenneth erected her own barrier, reinforcing the one erected by the time traveler.

The future Green Lantern, upon seeing that someone finally got the wits to throw in their power to help him repel the monster being that threatened to thrash everyone behind him, sagged as his ring's power finally fizzled out of commission. As his power left him, Jon Stewart's eyes turned back to its original black from green, and the glow around his body receded into nothing. He fell, having nothing left to allow him to hover in the air. He was caught, however, by a pair of arms that belonged to the brown haired goddess that he had shielded earlier.

""Rest easy, member of the Guardians' Corps. We will handle the rest... and for what you did, you have my eternal gratitude..."" Tokimi intoned to him.

Jon Stewart chuckled weakly, as blood started to leak out of the corner of his mouth, ""I am honored, Goddess of Chaos. Though what I did was just repayment for the sins of my past, against your blood.""

Before Tokimi could ask any more from him, Jon Stewart sighed as he fell unconscious.

Tokimi quickly turned to her still-ranting red haired sister, ""Washuu! You have a patient!""

The redhead stopped ranting abruptly, and spied on the battered form of the former Lantern. ""Alright!"" she quickly replied, as she floated towards Tokimi and the downed Hero.

Meanwhile, Ranma's dazed look sobered as he took stock of the situation. A moment of revelation graced his face as he said loudly, ""That... that guy just tried to... hurt my mother...""

The cyborg declined to reply, as he was busy ramming his body on the barrier Lenneth has erected.

""My mother..."" Everyone sans Lenneth glanced back at a shaking Ranma, who has his knuckles bunched up into tight fists at his side. Everyone dreaded what was going through Ranma's mind at the moment.

Ranma was almost convulsing in rage. ((How dare that... that... ugh!!!)) he thought angrily, which caused Raven to wince a bit. Ranma's power spiked, which created a silver aura around his body once again. The trio of multi-colored gems on his forehead flashed angrily. He raised his right hand in the air and bellowed, ""That JERK!!""

All the people in the area, alien or not, had to do a mass blink when the red haired hybrid with the red tail vanished from his position, only to reappear a few inches off the side of the golden being that was trying to breach the barrier.

The golden cyborg has no time to ruminate on its situation, though, as it was launched back into space, its chin crunched inwards.

But this time, the cyborg wasn't alone. For just below it, Ranma sped after the cyborg, an indescribable rage etched on his face.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Everyone still conscious from the battle site was silent as they watched twin comets 'leaving' Earth's atmosphere. Actually, it happened pretty fast... only a few people was able to follow it.

Washuu's beloved ship, the Soja, has already achieved her crash-land just off to the side, which accidentally created a few medium-sized tsunamis that may or may not reach mainland anywhere.

The red haired universal genius has stopped crying a long time ago, as she opted to just glare at the aforementioned Heroes that have indirectly caused her most prized possession to crash. Well, all the hard work she did was supposed to be paid back in full by reuniting the analogue mother and son, but things got weird. It would seem that the information on the data her analogue of this Ranma's immediate dimension of origin was correct in her assumption that her nephew's effects in spatial stability was infinitely confusing.

It would seem that, as long as Ranma's presence was there, Fate and Destiny were to be ignored.

Tokimi, on the other hand, has her right arm outstretched in front of her, and clutched in her right hand was the Green Lantern's crumpled form. Okay, the older Green Lantern. His uniform was gone, replaced by tattered civilian clothes, comprised of normal dark blue jeans and a black muscle shirt.

The silence was broken by Robin, who looked at the scene with so much confusion that anyone who paid attention would've pitied him. ""What the heck just happened?"" he asked a bit timidly. He felt inadequate here, with so many superheroes that surrounded him and his other fellow Teen Titans, they were severely outgunned. Not to mention, these newcomers who seemed to be in cahoots with that Ranma guy.

Speaking of that guy, Ranma has gone after whatever just thrashed the red haired newcomer's ship. Apparently she owned it.

The red haired scientist, Washuu, smirked as her jade-colored eyes twinkled in glee, ""Well, apparently... you were attacking Ranma for some weird reason that I won't even ask anything about it. Probably something stupid. My sister's been all bitchy wanting to meet the analogue of a son she didn't have in this universe, but somehow she had Ranma in another one. This totally fascinating being came bursting out of the Soja's hull, my ship actually, after it punched a hole right through it. The guinea pig factor would've covered the irritation I felt at my pretty ship's crash, but then it just had to try and ram Tokimi too while it came after Ranma. Good thing this young man pushed her off the line of fire, or else there would be a Reckoning.""

Robin just swallowed nervously, inwardly repentant that he even asked anything.

The craft that carried the other Justice League members hovered nearby, its open hangar doors out front displayed the forms of Batman, Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter, as they pulled the 'other' Green Lantern and Supergirl out of the water. Robin and Cyborg, along with the unconscious forms of Superman, Starfire and Wonder Woman, rode along the Pterodactyl form of Beast Boy as they flew towards the Justice League's ship. They were all accommodated in the open hangar bay, with Batman and the others who welcomed them inside.

Washuu ignored them, basically, and concentrated on the young black african american, the one that managed to save Tokimi from a world of hurt. The blow that would've connected shouldn't have hurt Tokimi all that much, but it would still hurt. Also, the fact that the temporal waves that flowed around the form of the man was out of whack. He was probably a few months from the future. Joy!

And the Ring in his hand, rather, the remains of the Power Ring of Oa, one of those Washuu helped those Guardians built for their space police corps of some sort, was severely shorted out. As per rule of the existence of one particular ring in a specific universe at a time, this one imploded earlier than expected. Probably used up all its energies... which would mean that the man was about to disappear as well.

Washuu DID see the same face of the Green Lantern from that other guy picked up by those other people on that primitive Terran ship with the green Martian guy...

Ah, paradox. Such mysteries in the universe cannot be fully explained. The effects varied, and Ranma was proof of that.

A bleep made Washuu blink in confusion, until she remembered that her computer has been monitoring her ship for a while now. It would seem that the Soja's self-repair systems have activated. Just in time too.

But damn, the older Green Lantern held up by Tokimi needed medical attention now, no matter how trivial it will be. Temporal wounds were like that... no amount of medicine could cure them. But still... Washuu was still obligated, as her duty as a doctor, to treat anyone fairly.

After deliberating about it for less than thirty seconds in real time, Washuu finally decided and summoned a warp hole to her Laboratory. Her pride and joy... her ultimate creation... a large facility made entirely inside a pocket universe.

The former goddess of Knowledge gestured towards her sister, who acknowledged the signal with an inclined head as Tokimi went through the black swirly portal that had appeared a bit earlier. The goddess of Chaos has the older Green Lantern held with one hand.

Washuu was quite surprised when she spied upon the young girl with demonic physical attributes... bat wings, sharp tail and all... and a much taller girl with platinum blue hair. The latter she recognized, as she has been hanging around Heaven before, after all. Lenneth Valkyrie, the Choose of the Slain, rumored to be a cold bitch that would destroy anyone who'd manage to irritate her without a second thought. The Valkyrie was Odin's confidant, as well as the leader of a large-scale army of dead Heroes who will participate in Ragnarok. The duo has been silent all these time, and it would seem they wanted to get out of this awkward situation as much as she does. Also, the demonic-looking girl was looking at the Lantern weirdly, as if she never expected to see him there. So she offered the same courtesy as she did with her sister towards the two, since they were his nephew's allies after all.

Lenneth nodded at Washuu gratefully, and grabbed Raven's limp hand in passing and went into the portal, the same one where Tokimi had disappeared into earlier.

The redhead still hasn't entered the portal, as to which those inside the Justice League ship were curious of. Washuu turned to their direction, and with an amplified voice that somewhat carried to their position, she said, ""What about you? Aren't you coming?""

Inside their ship, the still-conscious Heroes looked toward one another.

It was Green Arrow who ended the impasse, as he said to the others, ""You go ahead, I ain't gonna go with you. She might say something valuable. 'Sides, you need to keep an eye on them, especially the other Green Lantern in their care.""

""Speaking of that..."" Cyborg eyed the unconscious younger Green Lantern in the ship's med bay, who lay among the other Heroes who were knocked out in the fight earlier.

Beast Boy shook his head comically, his eyes swirling in confusion, ""Dude... I saw double GL's...""

""Right..."" Batman dismissed the questions, ""Those can be answered later. Right now, we have to go into their territory."" The Dark Knight turned to the Teen Titans, and said, ""The other Green Lantern has warned us not to instigate any form of hostility towards those two. The reason will be given to you once we get there. As of now, restrain yourselves from throwing your attacks.""

Robin snorted and grumbled, ""Wasn't it you who fired off a while ago first...?""

Batman pointedly ignored his former apprentice, and favored the green Martian, J'onn J'onzz with a nod, ""Fly the ship near the portal entrance, and open the side doors. You will come with us, as well as Robin, Cyborg, and myself. As for the others, Green Arrow will return to the Watch Tower and have them treated there.""

""I don't want to be there when all this shit hits the fan..."" Green Arrow groused, as he eyed Superman and Supergirl with a small hint of jealousy behind his masked face, ""That guy you tried to take down just took all your firepower and hit back. I ain't gonna survive in a fight like that.""

With that settled, Martian Manhunter proceeded to let the ship hover by the portal entrance, where the red haired woman was currently floating beside of.

It was probably the sixtieth time in the same hour, where J'onn has been asking himself, if they have just bitten more than they could chew.

Unknown to him, the others felt the same way.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

((I'm going to rip him apart!!)) Ranma's thoughts were solid and true. They all led to visions of him ripping this guy in different ways possible.

The irate red haired hybrid shot straight up of the Earth's atmosphere, and watched as his view slowly darkened into the emptiness of space. The stars were very much visible there, and it would've awed him if he wasn't so concentrated on breaking the other humanoid that flew a few meters above him into space.

Their one way 'chase' was halted, when the golden-skinned android finally regained its bearings, as it used its tedious control over the cosmic waves around it in space. It slowed its travel to a halt, in the space between the Moon and the red planet Mars. It was quite surprised that it managed to travel THIS far, but it had no time to wonder about it as it was almost decapitated by blazing fist. Good thing its reflexes were quick to respond, or it would've been headless, again.

Ranma cursed as he missed his target, who managed to swerve a bit to the left and allowed his ki-encrusted fist to miss. He quickly swerved and stopped his drifting, only a few feet away from the android.

Both combatants finally met each other eye to eye. Their gazes met, as they assessed each other's strengths and weaknesses.

The red haired hybrid was actually quite interested at the android, since it reminded him somewhat of Cell. Was this that green android's analogue in this universe or something? Whatever... the outcome still remained the same. He will crush this idiot to bits for endangering his mother.

The android, still unnamed after all those months he scurried around various parts of the galaxy, was quite enamored at the amount of power it can sense from this being. The punch it has received from Ranma was powerful enough to knock it well outside Earth's gravitational pull. Such a feat that even Superman would be hard pressed to duplicate.

""((I do understand, that you are the source of the Power I have felt from afar...))"" The android's eyes glowed faintly against the black backdrop of space. It took Ranma at least five seconds to figure that the robot spoke through their minds, since space has no air for sound waves to travel unto.

""((Who the hell cares?))"" Ranma retorted ever so eloquently, ""((What I do understand, though, is that you almost beheaded my mother with that stunt of yours...))"" The red haired young man gestured rudely to the android with his finger, as he invited it to attack, ""((Whatever you wanna say won't excuse you for attacking my mother. You will be destroyed.))""

The android's eyes glowed dimly, ""((So be it. A reason to exist... to fight someone as powerful as you...))""

The android jerked back as a blazing fist smashed into its face. When the golden figure stabilized itself, it turned its angry eyes towards Ranma, who still had his hand outstretched into a punch.

""((I don't care what you say...))"" Ranma mentally growled out to the cyborg, ""((What you need to do is defend yourself...))"

The alien hybrid's form flickered and vanished, which caused the android to immediately rely on its other senses. It managed to catch a few glimpses of Ranma's fluctuating power here and there, but no concrete evidence as to where his exact position was.

It was too late, though, when a powerful blow rocked the android's right side. Another hit came out of nowhere, which slammed on its left upper shoulder.

If it were able to curse, the android would've done so, but it can't do anything but stumble back into the fight. Finally, after a few more potshots from its opponent, the robot seemed to have a steady groove going.

Ranma had a small sense of deja vu as the android started to match his blows with lightning fast dodges. It would seem that it was a fast-learning machine, and he saw himself superimposed on its image. Not that the cyborg's learning curve was as quick as his, but it was quite impressive for a machine.

He has already noticed that it was only a cybernetic organism, quite similar to Emeralda, if he recalled right. The android's aura was absent, but its strength was there. Also, Ranma could identify various fighting styles present, ones that he has encountered a bit earlier. Weird.

Ranma paid for his lapse in concentration, as the android managed to smash a double handed backhand into his face, which rocketed the hybrid a few kilometers back.

((Okaaay... that wasn't nice...)) Ranma mused as he caressed his slightly swollen cheek. This was a rare occasion that someone managed to hit him this hard since he recovered his powers. ((Hmmm... right. Time to get serious...))

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Back in Washuu's Laboratory (no pun intended)...

The two members of the Justice League who volunteered themselves into accepting the unknown factors' invitation into their lair. A weird thing, it was... a portal led into it. Batman and the Martian Manhunter were being flanked by the three Teen Titans left conscious. Robin looked at the swirling oval-shaped portal wryly, while Cyborg goggled at the technological prowess of the one who managed to create a pocket universe. Beast Boy was, as usual, confused.

Once they entered the spatial rift, they were treated in a long hallway of swirling colors, with a light at the end of the path.

""Took you long enough..."" Washuu snorted slightly, as she cocked her eyebrow at the five people who staggered into her personal space. ""I am Washuu Hakubi. I am your guide for today.""

""Damn..."" Cyborg whistled as his head crooned, his cybernetic eye lit up in glee, ""Who made this stuff?! I'm have to meet him, and I'm gonna worship him!!""

""Her..."" The red haired scientist corrected the half-organic with a chuckle, as she gestured for her bedazzled audience to follow her deeper into the lab, ""No worship needed, I'm afraid. I gave all that up when I retired as the Goddess of Knowledge you know.""

The statement left Cyborg gaping like a fish, who was now being towed deeper into the facility by his fellow Titans Robin and Beast Boy.

Upon reaching the main area of the lab, the small group quickly tensed when they saw the forms of a rather small demonic girl, dressed in a dark leotard. Her head was free from a hood, and her long purple hair cascade down to her upper back. She has a pair of miniature bat wings jutting out of her back, and a thin tail with an arrow tip wriggled from her upper behind. The other woman was a lot taller, with long platinum blue hair that glistened every now and then. Her battle armor was still in place, as her massive shoulder guards floated a few inches off her shoulders. Her sword was strapped around her waist.

Both women had their backs on the new arrivals, since they seemed to be preoccupied with the form that lay on the medical bed in the middle of the room.

Beyond the pair, though, loomed the danger the newcomers felt. A tall and regal woman, with short light brown hair with red highlights on her bangs. Her battle regalia she wore earlier was now off her body, and instead a tight dark red and black body suit encompassed her body, which showed off her VERY impressive curves. There was a large oval-shaped red gem on her chest, as well as a gold one on her forehead. A gold band seemed to float around her waist, since it doesn't touch her flesh itself. Her eyes vividly reminded them of Ranma, as the normal whites found on human eyes were dark blue to her own.

As the Heroes finally reoriented themselves, they noticed the wholeness of the room at last. They saw several monitors that displayed the battle between Ranma and the android, shown in different camera angles. There was also a screen that showed only numbers, with the names of Ranma and Unknown tabulated with them.

Adjacent to Ranma's name was number that varied constantly, but the last number they saw was around 630,000,000. The other one, the Unknown, has the number 590,000,000.

""Tokimi... we have guests..."" Washuu called out from behind the group as she walked past them while they remained stationary.

Tokimi looked up to her red haired sister with a quirked eyebrow and commented, ""Apparently..."" Gesturing to the whole room in general, she continued, ""Now that all most representatives of the players are here... isn't it time for you to make the introductions?""

There was an unvoiced signal, where all of the participants gathered at the small clearing of the room, where the monitors as well as the apparatus surrounded it. Batman and the Martian Manhunter were followed closely by Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy. The green elfish member of the Teen Titans was 'tempted' to touch one of the shiny things in the lab, but he felt a thousand eyes trained on him, which made him feel wary of doing anything.

Raven glanced briefly into her team mates eyes one at a time, before she floated carelessly towards a free area, trailed by Lenneth who traveled by foot.

Lastly, Tokimi took one last look at the machines that surrounded the injured Green Lantern's bed, before she joined her sister Washuu as the duo calmly walked to the same clearing everyone went to.

""Alright... we're all here..."" Washuu began, as she eyed the two groups in front of her. The two girls were exotic enough, and one was demonic in looks, but judging from their inherent aura, they were pretty much docile most of the time. The other group was a mystery though, but it seemed that they were a batch of superheroes of some sort, probably sworn to protect the planet against invaders of all kind.

Washuu shook her head mentally as she spoke loudly, ""Well, let's all begin by introducing ourselves, shall we? I know it sounds pretty childish, but believe me, children have the weirdest ideas that actually work most of the time. So... let's begin. I am Washuu Hakubi, the greatest scientist in the universe..."" she stifled her laugh at their bewildered looks as two robotic puppets suddenly appeared on her shoulders, as the two showered her with confetti and stuff, while they praised her name in earnest.

Tokimi sighed in slight frustration. ""My sister is an egomaniac, but she does back up her claim... anyway. I am Tokimi, goddess of chaos. At least, that's what they call me. I don't care.""

The redhead just rolled her eyes in response to her sister's antics, which wasn't lost to everyone in the room except Tokimi herself. Weirdly enough, without even the slightest indication of communication, Tokimi and Washuu both turned towards the demonic girl in skimpy clothes and the totally bored-out-of-her-mind Valkyrie on Earth.

""I recognize you..."" Tokimi gestured at the Valkyrie, who bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment, ""Lenneth Valkyrie, celestial bastion of Odin and champion of the Valkyries. Dubbed as Chooser of the Slain, because they ferry the souls of valiant heroes and heroines into the halls of Valhalla, the place for fallen heroes. That is in preparation for the End of Everything, Ragnarok, as foreseen by the Norns...""

Lenneth smiled grimly, ""That is correct, my lady Tokimi.""

Washuu raised an eyebrow at the silent demon-like girl, who tried to remain inconspicuous but failed rather badly. ""What about you?"" The scientist asked her curiously.

The girl shot an unreadable glance towards Robin, before she answered curtly, ""I am Raven, born in the world of Azarath.""

""Trigon..."" Washuu snorted in irritation, as she recognized the demon's name rather easily. Raven almost freaked at this predicament, but the scientist's bolster of self-confidence was contagious.

""I heard of him before..."" Washuu continued as the silence swept their conversation once again, ""He's a ruthless high demon with very high goals. Classification of Trigon's place in the Universe placed him as a First Class Demon, Unlimited. He did TRY to take over Nifelheim once, but there was always someone stronger... Lady Hild, the counterpart of God in Hell, massacred him into submission. When he was finally subdued, he was punished into exile by Lady Hild herself, and threw him into another dimension. I guess he found a way to access some of his powers and managed to still do some damage on our realm.""

Tokimi eyed Raven with her unearthly orbs, which caused the smaller girl to shiver slightly. ""Ah... is that why she's half demon then?"" Tokimi then smiled at her warmly, as she ignored the gasps that came from the Heroes' side, ""It must have been hard for you, to be persecuted like that. You cannot fit in any world, neither demon nor of humans.""

""He was trying to use me..."" Raven growled softly, ""To... to free himself. He raped my mother... in order to produce the child of his prophecy that would be his instrument of freedom from his exile. And that child, is Me.""

""Raven..."" Robin wanted to go to the girl and comfort her, but she has heard his voice that called out to her and answered it with a harsh glare.

""I still don't understand... why you have to attack Ranma like that..."" Raven's eyes flared red for a moment, before they resumed their normal purple pupils, ""He did nothing wrong.""

""He was CONTROLLING you..."" Batman stressed the word, as he tried to ignore the sudden temperature change as Tokimi and Washuu shot him a frosty glare.

Cyborg cleared his throat, ""Raven, girl, you have to understand... you just suddenly up and disappeared. We don't know where you went, and all of the sudden, we hear you're in China, doing NOTHING when monkey boy decimated those people.""

""And yet you chose to attack so adamantly, even when you do not understand the true nature of the problem?"" Lenneth asked without sympathy at all, ""You do not require some sort of assurance as to what drove Lord Ranma to retaliate in such a manner?""

""He hurt people... that's enough reason for me to drive him out..."" Batman said adamantly.

""This is pointless..."" Raven deadpanned, as she turned her nose on the Heroes she used to go with. Before, she understood just as much as Robin in terms of crime fighting. Bad guys should be thrashed without mercy. But now... they encountered someone that was torn between the definition of being a good guy and a bad guy.

Ranma attacked humans, that much was true, but he was attacked first. A retaliatory act, which was greatly misunderstood by everyone.

Suddenly, the dark girl's attention was caught by one of the screens that flashed all over Washuu's laboratory, which displayed a news segment that featured the battle a while ago. This was also caught by Tokimi and Washuu, who turned towards the screen as well.

""Apparently, we're not the only ones who are vouching for Ranma-chan's innocence..."" Washuu commented wryly, as she pointed at the news. She even took the initiative of enlarging the image screen.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

The screen showed the news station with an anchorwoman dutifully explaining a certain uprising in some countries in Asia. Her long light brown hair cascaded down her back, and her bright dark-green eyes remained cheerful despite some of the darker reports she was trying to convey to the people.

""... and that was the latest news regarding the situation in the Asian Nations. Which brings us to the highlight news of the day, as our correspondent managed to capture this raw footage from the Justice League's battle a short moment ago. Come in, Janet...""

The screen faded into a scene which can only be described as somewhere from the inside of a helicopter. A short black-haired woman stared for a moment to the camera before she began excitedly, ""You wouldn't believe what I just saw, Lorna! Our very own superheroes, the Justice League, were soundly defeated by only one man! Yes, you heard me right! I have this footage that showed the battle a while ago...""

Various scenes from the battle flashed into the screen, from the Justice League ordering Ranma to surrender in his backyard up to the point when the Soja was taken down by the golden android...

The black-haired reporter continued, ""There's also a complication, Lorna... one of the Teen Titan members, the ever-enigmatic Raven, was seen at the side of the so-called villain.""

The anchorwoman named Lorna asked, ""Maybe it was mind control?""

""I'm not really sure..."" The reporter shrugged slightly, before her face slowly melted into confusion, ""But it was really strange, since not once did I see this villain instigate the battle. In fact, if I heard it correctly, he was trying to negotiate. But it was deftly ignored by the Justice League. As we have seen a while ago, this person was accompanied by Raven and another weirdly dressed woman. Not only that, a huge spaceship appeared and seemed to side with the young man as well.""

""We get that all the time..."" Anchorwoman Lorna said simply.

The reporter shook her head, ""I really don't know... but I feel there's something really weird about the situation. As you've seen in the footage, Raven tried to explain something to the assembled heroes, but was almost blasted by her teammate Cyborg's firepower. She was saved by that other woman, who was dressed in an old European Style armor. When the young man tried to stand and probably defend themselves, both of the women stopped him from doing anything. Even when the new arrivals came, there was no willing retaliation. Now I wonder why that is... and why did the Justice League ignore the more peaceful solution to this problem?""

The anchorwoman and the reporter both lapsed into a tense silence after that, neither one knew what the answers to their questions were.

""Anyway..."" The reporter coughed lightly as the silence almost became too suffocating, ""This is Janet Smith, reporting from over the Pacific, CNN News Asia.""

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Meanwhile, in the weird central called Nerima...

A handful of weary travelers managed to come home after their debacle in China, along with the severely incapacitated and injured Saotome Genma.

The man's best friend, Tendo Soun, cried upon seeing his youngest daughter alive and well. But it was nothing compared to his tears when his sights came upon Genma.

It has been a grueling few days, and they managed to settle down into a routine that was quite somber than normal. News of Ranma's appearance, even though it was stressed that he was no where near similar to his dead counterpart of this world, shook them to their very core. That, and the fact that Genma was still in the hospital being treated from his recent massive blood loss, and not to forget about his lost limbs as well.

Imagine the whole of Nerima's surprise when they got wind of their long dead local town hero fighting the world's mightiest team of professional superheroes, the Justice League, in mortal combat. Not only was Ranma able to keep up with all those super powered beings who tried to take him down, but he managed to stave them off easily as well.

In the local hospital, Genma was in a full body cast... watching the news with wide eyes. He still felt the massive chills that encompassed his body. He felt very lucky... that he wasn't killed. He never thought that this Ranma was THAT powerful...

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Back to Washuu's Subspace Laboratory...

"..."

Silence was a wonderful thing, really. But too much of it sometimes hurt the ears. Like at the moment, the whole entourage of people inside of Washuu's little side of the subspace universe remained rooted on their positions, their eyes still riveted upon the already finished news segment that featured the battle they had earlier...

Well, that is, until Washuu's snort echoed across the area.

""Some 'Heroes' you are... yes indeed..."" The redhead's smug and superbly sarcastic tone cut a deep wound in the prides of those male superheroes present.

Before anyone could comment on that, Raven's sharp gasp caused them to look at the demonic girl curiously. The gothic girl suddenly fell to her knees, as her arms hugged her own body tightly.

""Raven!!"" Robin tried to go to her, but Raven raised her hand up to stop his advance.

""Stay back!!"" Raven hissed angrily. She brought her hand back around her, as she felt her insides shift once again. ((This feeling... oh... that again...)) she surmised to herself as her mind blanked out.

""What's happening?"" Cyborg asked in alarm, as he watched his friend and team mate when she slumped to the ground. He was about to go to her and ignore her warning from before, but a sudden flash of light blinded them momentarily.

When the light faded, they were quite shocked to see another person in place of Raven a while ago. No... not another person... this new being has the same purple hair that their Raven had earlier on. The main difference was that, her chakra gem was blue instead of dark red, and her cloak was white. Oh, and her batwings seemed to have disappeared, only to be replaced by a pair of small feathery wings. The arrowhead-tipped of the tail that decorated her back a moment ago was replaced by a heart-shaped tipped tail.

Washuu calmly sidled up to the morphic being's side as she checked on her vital signs. She nodded gleefully when they were all normal, which meant that the change was part of her system now. ""Interesting..."" she murmured.

""What the hell happened?!"" Cyborg's angry voice thundered inside the laboratory, which caused Lenneth, Tokimi and Washuu to wince slightly.

Batman growled, ""So... this is how that boy managed to control Raven...""

Robin shook his head in denial, ""B-But... how? I mean... she's an angel now... a while ago she was a demon...""

""Dude..."" Beast Boy breathed in awe as he stared at Raven's inert form with slight hunger in his eyes, ""She's beautiful...""

""Don't be deceived by physical looks, boy..."" Batman's warning voice cut into the green-skinned boy's infatuation of the angel, ""She may look like an angel, but it doesn't mean she is one.""

""Why are you so hard on the poor girl?"" Tokimi glared at the Heroes in irritation.

""It's all this Ranma's fault!"" Cyborg ranted loudly.

""No... actually, it's not..."" A high-pitched voice interrupted them. They all turned to the source, and found that the being that still resembled Raven has awakened amidst their bickering. She looked at them with soulful purple eyes, the same eyes that reflected the hard glint when she was in her demonic form.

Washuu helped the angelic girl up, mindful of her constitution that was still unused to the change. The red haired scientist knew what the girl was going through, since a long time ago she used to change into a younger form herself, but now it was unnecessary. She has already accepted the hard past she was exposed to, and found that turning into a young prepubescent form will never heal the hurt she felt all those years ago, when she lost her only son.

The angelic Raven shook her head, her feathery wings fluttered behind her in attempts to remove the kinks in the joints. She looked at the assembled Heroes carefully, especially to Cyborg. His unwarranted attack a few hours ago wasn't forgotten even with the change. She was still Raven, only with a few different compulsions.

""Lord Ranma.... he never did anything to hurt me..."" The angel began, as she gave the red haired scientist who helped her a grateful glance, ""The truth of the matter, is that he saved me. You do know about my father, Trigon, am I right, Cyborg, Beast Boy?""

The half-machine and the green-skinned changeling nodded reluctantly, still a bit wary of the new Raven in their presence. She was infinitely different from the original Raven they got used to.

Raven nodded to herself, unconsciously trying to hide behind Washuu's back because of her shyness, ""That being was just a representation of my father's link to me. He was trying to make me weaker emotionally, by controlling my Anger. That was why he controlled Anger... because it is the easiest emotion to fall into the darkness. He knew that my Anger will be my downfall, and he took advantage of that fact. Because I am half demon.""

Beast Boy thumped his chest with his fist, as he exclaimed, ""But we beat the jerk the last time we were there, right? Ask Cyborg... we kicked his butt!""

""You only managed to halt his advance, but you never 'destroyed' him..."" Raven informed them, ""As I've said earlier, it's only a representation of Trigon's link in my mind. The one you actually fought was only Anger, who got changed because of my father's influence. Because if you managed to miraculously beat him, I would've had free reign of my emotions already. But I didn't. That is, until now.""

""Lord Ranma, in an accident, got sucked into the portal of my mind as you both did..."" Raven continued, ""And just the same as you two, he encountered Anger in Trigon form. The only difference, is that he managed not only to beat it, but he defeated Anger so badly that she reverted back to her original form and STAYED that way. And to further fix my psyche, Lord Ranma tried to put all my emotions back together. Well, being inexperienced, he only managed to put them back half-way...""

Tokimi sighed audibly, ""He tried to do something he never had the experience of doing, right? So he tried to merge all your fragmented emotions into one, but something must have interrupted him...""

Raven nodded wearily, ""He miscalculated the amount of damage he made in Nevermore, which ended in its destruction. He managed to patch me up mostly, but as you can see, there are still some problems.""

""So..."" Cyborg said after some time of contemplation, ""It IS Ranma's fault.""

Raven sighed timidly, ""In your eyes, that's probably the case. But I really don't see it that way. Better be this way than be socially inexperienced and become a tool for my father sooner or later. I am actually quite grateful that Lord Ranma did succeed in eliminating my father's mental link with me. Now, I don't have to worry being called an unsocial goth..."" she looked down to herself and smiled wryly, ""Uhm, with the new look notwithstanding.""

When she saw that none of her so-called friends believed her, Raven suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow and sadness from her chest, which caused her eyes to water. ""Look... I'm so sorry if I'm like this now, okay?"" Raven's voice cracked in a high pitched tone as she sniffled, ""I mean... is it so bad to hope for a solution to my dilemma... ANY solution? This is far better than how I've felt when my father was still inside my head...""

""But... what... I mean..."" Robin stammered helplessly, torn between going crazy over the recent shocks to his system, or just remain catatonic.

Washuu huffed, ""Look, you can bolster all you want, but what's done is done. Just be thankful that there aren't any more side effects. Besides... I'm more worried about what Ranma-chan's facing right now.""

Everyone turned to the screens previously ignored by them, which showcased the fight between the golden android and Ranma in space.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

By now, several major asteroids have been turned into dust. Ranma and the android sported a lot of gashes all over their bodies, but so far none has taken the 'lead' of after the flurry they had earlier.

The red haired alien hybrid gazed at his opponent coolly, impressed that it was able to stand against his attacks well. It was quite an exchange of blows, but he can do better. A lot better. He was currently clutching at his left side, since the android got several lucky shots in on that area. Already, he felt the torn skin healing as the precious seconds of reprieve passed by.

Besides, Ranma wasn't going to let himself lose in this fight. Just like what he was thinking back when he was fighting those people on Earth earlier, he wanted to return to some important people who were probably worried sick about his condition. He really needed to finish this fight and help Washuu find a way to take him back, or maybe... Washuu already found a way. Nevertheless, nothing can be gained as long as this android stood in his way.

""((You fight well...))"" Ranma suddenly heard the android's deep voice inside his head once again, ""((One has to wonder though, what drives someone like you to continue on fighting with such weak odds? You will lose... since I already copied most of your techniques into myself. It would be pointless for you to continue on this meaningless endeavor...))""

""((You'll never be able to understand...))"" Ranma 'replied' from his mind, ""((As much as I wanted you to understand my reasoning, I have no intention of teaching you the ways of life. It's a waste of time. Besides, the main thing here is that you almost killed my mother with your stupid act. And for what? To take me out because I'm powerful? Such a weak excuse doesn't deserve to be listened on by me.))""

The android crossed its hands across its chest, as the lacerations that spread all over its body sewed themselves back together, ""((They are in my way, so they have to be removed. And you... you MAY become a hindrance to my purpose in the near future, so I have decided to remove you as well.))""

Ranma growled mentally as his form vanished in motes of bright lights, which caused the android to quickly become alert of its surroundings. It also knew how to teleport, but the problem was that it has no way of knowing where Ranma would appear. A split second later, it was almost decapitated when a strong right hook swished passed the back of its head, as Ranma appeared just to its back right. The only saving grace for the android was its sensors that blared the warning of the sudden appearance of a powerful energy signature behind it. The android quickly danced away from the blow, but it was forced to swerve here and there as Ranma continued to rain blows all over the place.

""((You do NOT just attack other people randomly just because they're in your way!!))"" Ranma's speed punches increased as his body started glowing in a silver light. The android became hard pressed at dodging, but it was proven futile.

Here became evident of the differences between the organic and the inorganic. The android was a powerful being, capable of copying the tricks of its opponents. It was able to master the move just as how the move's original owner managed to master it. While Ranma was basically the same, his assimilation of techniques was quite different from the way the robot did.

Ranma dissected the moves he managed to be interested into, and tried to understand the logic behind it. From there, Ranma will be able to redefine the technique and refine it, and revised the whole thing into a few more branches off of the original move into three or more modified and probably more powerful moves from it. He will train on them, until he mastered the moves he has created within his mind and develop the muscle memory needed to produce such moves.

The android just copied the moves directly from its originator. It might be a nice upset in the beginnings of the fight, but in the long run, the moves become redundant and predictable. It would be child's play for someone as good as Ranma to be able to catch the certain limitation of the android's copy routine and employ counter attacks against them.

The android was able to duplicate the moves exactly, but that was it. No other variations were employed because it cannot really compute fast enough or even comprehend how to do so.

Hell, the android was even having a hard time understanding its purpose, let alone learn how to variate moves from the original.

The power output of the android has a limit as well, since its body has its own limitations as well. Ranma has yet to learn his limits still...

So here was where the deadlock was broken. The android was able to execute moves such as teleportation like Ranma did earlier, but it lacked the control and finesse Ranma has when he does it. With its power glaring constantly all over the place, Ranma was able to discern the approximate place where the android might appear next in the form of power spikes.

The android was also able to duplicate Ranma's speed punch techniques, but when they both executed it against each other at the same time, the android felt more blows hit its body while Ranma escaped the encounter without a scratch. The cyborg has none of the sixth or seventh senses Ranma used to detect power surge changes around him.

Which was why the android was now being pummeled by several hundred blows, as another barrage of speed punches from Ranma managed to break into its guard. It copied most of Ranma's moves perfectly, but lacked the muscle memory to execute the moves properly. With a devastating last punch, Ranma managed to smash the android's face in and made it fly back only to hit an asteroid that appeared in its trajectory.

The android shook the cobwebs out of its reforming head as it pulled itself off of the massive space rock that stopped its flight trajectory. Its eyes glowed red as it 'glared' at Ranma, but it was for naught since the red haired hybrid appeared in its face once again, and threw a devastating roundhouse kick that managed to smash the android back into the asteroid, totally wrecking the rock into smaller bits of space debris.

Ranma watched impassively as the smashed android's body suddenly vanished into teleportation once again amidst the destroyed asteroid. He felt a slight tug of energy to his right, which caused him to swing his fist off to the same direction. A golden projectile of energy was easily smacked away from him by this action, only to duck as the android's fist passed by a few inches above his head. Ranma let loose a snap kick which was evaded by the android with a simple twist off to the side. Ranma allowed his kick's momentum to make him do a simple somersault and allowed his other foot to follow the first kick, and this time it hit the android's side rather painfully. The android was flung back like a rag doll as it twisted uncontrollably in space for a few moments, before it got its bearings and managed to stop its unwanted momentum continued.

""((You are growing too dangerous... it is time to finish this encounter...))"" The android mentally told Ranma, who didn't react the slightest. Its body was engulfed in a bright golden aura. ""((As much as you are stronger than most of the opponents I've faced, you're still organic. You will tire out soon. According to my calculations, you are already feeling the strain---))""

""((Which is why you're never going to win against me...))"" Ranma's own mental voice cut the android off, his red tail swung agitatedly behind him, ""((You're the one who has limitations. Organics can develop their strengths infinitely... if only they knew how. But then again, we agree on one thing though... it's time to finish this...))"" And with that, Ranma's multi-colored gems flared up together with the silver aura that blossomed from his body, and encompassed most in the area with a bright light with arcs of silver lightning.

It was quite a sight to behold, as Ranma's back exploded with silver translucent feathers. The re-forged Light Hawk Wings flapped once within the windless space, and wrapped around the red haired alien hybrid like a protective silver cocoon.

To the android, it was like a star was born.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Inside Washuu's Laboratory...

The spectators of the ongoing fight outside of the Earth's spherical territory gaped at the scene. The amount of power was obvious; the battle reminded them of Superman's fights against REALLY strong opponents, like Darkseid. But somehow, they seemed to pale in comparison with this one...

""What are those numbers that kept on changing?"" The Martian Manhunter asked curiously, as he pointed at the series of numbers that constantly changed during the fight. They were being shown on another screen, which had the images of both the android and Ranma with each of the numbers to the sides of each image.

The Unknown, which was now discerned as the gold android, has the numbers 710,000,000 indicated just beside its figure. Ranma's image has 850,000,000... and it was still rising rapidly.

Washuu grinned slightly, and tossed her red hair to the side as she sidled up to the screen the Martian pointed at, ""Well... they basically monitor the energy outputs of the individuals I targeted. The physical manifestations of their internal energies are being measured based on the standard of the one used by the Galactic Police, as well as some other governments that scattered across the universe.""

""Uhm, hello? Why are you using it anyway?"" Beast Boy asked.

Washuu raised an auburn eyebrow at the green-skinned human, as she squelched the urge to take the little munchkin and make him a guinea pig. ""Well, for one thing..."" she explained, ""I wanted to know just how powerful Ranma was, even if the sensors were just mere estimates. Besides, others like the soldiers from the Cold Empire far to the South Quadrant of the Galaxy 250-012, they have the same system. But theirs was more mobile in the form of a visor. They call them 'Scouters', and they can detect various life signs from the planets they're trying to conquer.""

Beast Boy's eyes widened marginally, ""Oh..."" he finished lamely.

""Yes. Oh."" Washuu said in amusement as she turned, only to be faced by a seemingly catatonic angelic Raven who stared at nothing in particular. After waving her hands in front of the angel, Washuu turned to Raven's companion, who remained silent all through-out the tirade.

""What's wrong with her?"" Washuu asked Lenneth, as she gestured at the still-immobile Raven that stood ramrod straight in her place, ""Is she broken?""

Lenneth rolled her ice blue eyes and shrugged, ""Raven shares a bond with the person who's becoming more and more powerful as he battles against one of this universe's most powerful beings. I think she is excused if she feels a bit out of the weather because of it.""

Tokimi's voice broke the slightly embarrassed chuckle Washuu gave out from Lenneth's semi-sarcastic reply, ""Washuu? Is this really normal? The readings on Ranma's power levels are raising much more rapidly that we anticipated.""

""Lord Ranma... so angry..."" Raven muttered mainly to herself, but everyone heard her anyway. She ignored their stares as she continued staring at nothing. ""Hurt mother... must destroy who stands in his way... must go back to them... ugh... so much... power...""

""No, it's not..."" Washuu responded to Tokimi's question, deftly ignoring Raven's ramblings as she stared at the results pouring into her viewscreen, ""Then again, Ranma's not really normal now, is he?""

""Lord Ranma is anything BUT normal..."" A raspy voice interjected into the conversation, which caused the Justice League members, the Teen Titan members, along with Tokimi, Washuu and Lenneth (Raven was still catatonic) to glance at the almost forgotten patient who was initially brought into the laboratory first. It was the 'other' Jon Stewart, AKA, the Green Lantern.

""Jon?"" Batman asked seriously, his mask's eyeholes turning into slits as he stared at the man's disheveled appearance.

The future Green Lantern chuckled slightly, but he winced as the pain his body felt registered in his brain momentarily. ""Uhg... hurts. N-Nice to see you too, B-Bats...""

""Bats?"" Robin and Cyborg both muttered to themselves, while Beast Boy was glued to the screen showing the magnificent battle between the now-angelic Ranma and the golden android Doctor Ivo created for Lex Luthor.

Bats... err, Batman ignored the almost inaudible snickers that escaped the impertinent duo of Teen Titan members listening in the conversation. ""Why are you here? How will this affect the timeline? Do you have information that may help us capture this Ranma person?"" he fired question after question on the hapless Green Lantern.

Jon Stewart was used to the brooding caped crusader's way of asking information, so he took everything in stride. ""I'm here coz I'm here to stop you from doing anything that would ensure the future I was from. It took a great deal of power, and a lot of lives, to get me here. As to how it will affect the timeline... don't worry. The original Green Lantern will not disappear or something, rather, I'm the one who will disappear. As I've said earlier, there has been a lot of sacrifices for this chance. I'll disappear soon to balance out the timeline. As for the last question... nope. I'm not going to help you capture Ranma. Refer to the answer to your first question.""

Batman fumed.

""Why?"" Martian Manhunter asked, deftly avoiding a confrontation between the dark knight and the ailing Lantern.

Jon Stewart's now black eyes bored into the Martian's orange orbs, and said, ""You tell me, J'onn. You're an educated alien, one who's well-versed in lore and myth. From the first time you saw him, you already knew who Lord Ranma was. I know, because in my timeline, it was you who was in my place... trying to stop us from attacking him. You and Diana.""

""What are you two---"" Batman began, but was rudely cut off.

""I thought as much..."" J'onn J'onzz's face was graced with a pained expression, ""All the facts point only to one direction. Those gems on his forehead was just but one indication as to who he really was. I think that the Justice League has been so used to fighting that we had forgotten to stop and ask questions first, before attacking. He could've easily wiped us all out but he didn't... a testament to his merciful heart.""

The future Green Lantern sighed, as he settled himself down on the medical bed he was on, ""Well, that merciful heart can easily be turned into cold and vicious... especially if we tried to attack the wrong person..."" his glance quickly went towards Tokimi, before going back to the black recesses of the laboratory's ceiling, ""In my timeline, it was one of us that managed to hit Lady Tokimi. I think it was Superman, but it didn't really matter in the end. Lady Tokimi in my timeline was severely injured by the unwarranted attack, since she was so unprepared for it. It was then that we experienced the power of a Central God... the main power of the Trinity Gods.""

Batman growled out, ""Can anyone just tell me what the hell are you talking about?""

The Martian Manhunter's eyes glowed softly, and bored themselves into Batman's masked ones, ""What he means, my friend, is that we were WAY over our heads when we tried taking the Lord Ranma down like we did. It was a stupid decision, one that we should've deliberated a lot longer than we had.""

""It was awful, Bruce..."" The Green Lantern gasped out, as he convulsed slightly when his temporal wounds reasserted themselves, ""The future of our world is dead... not only our world, but several other galaxies because of our impertinence. We forgot that there are some forces into which we shouldn't delve into... and we got so cocky. Our universe literally went into a black hole because of our stupid mistake! It was all our fault!""

""Easy there, big guy..."" Washuu muttered in concern as she glanced at the vital signs her patient was exhibiting in the machines where his broken body was hooked up with.

Green Lantern huffed as he clutched at his sides painfully. ""Damn it... I don't have much time..."" he muttered, as he glanced to the side and saw the red haired scientist giving him a sad look of resignation. He expected this when he went through the portal, that his own body will slowly disintegrate because of the temporal damages he received from using the forbidden art of time travel. The Guardians of Oa have reiterated that thought to him, that they weren't by no means gods, and using the forbidden technique has dire consequences. One that he's experiencing now...

""Look, I don't have much time before I disappear..."" Jon Stewart glared at Batman, ""I just wanted to save this universe's future. Mine by now would be lost, and even if there was a remote chance of getting back there, there's nothing left for me. We made a mistake, and we're going to pay dearly if we don't think of the consequences of our actions.""

Batman's jaw clenched. ""This Ranma broke the Law...""

The Green Lantern snorted, ""We're not the police. And we have no right to judge a person like that. Or have you forgotten that little fact, Bruce? When stripped off of the glamour and the prestige, we 'Superheroes' are nothing more than a group of vigilantes. We break laws as well. But we have a reason... and Lord Ranma has his own reasons for attacking those people in China...""

""Those female Amazons are trying to get him in the sack, literally..."" he continued grimly, ""He asked them not to pursue, but they did. So the battle lines were drawn. And the man severely injured, was a known felon who tortured his own son in the guise of training.""

Green Lantern stared at Batman seriously, ""That man, was Ranma's analogue's father. Simply put, it was only justice served, since that man has been wanted by the Japanese authority for thousands of cases concerning break ins and thefts, as well as conniving people off their money using his own son as the collateral. Not to mention the severe child abuse cases...""

""Wait..."" Robin cut into the conversation, which caused everyone to look at his direction, ""You're not saying... he's Genma Saotome's son?!""

Cyborg grunted as his lone organic eye widened, ""No way... that guy? I read the file... damn that guy matches Slade's perversity.""

""Precisely..."" Green Lantern shot the former partner of Batman a small but pained smile, ""Things are not what it seemed to be. Especially now... this Ranma is no ordinary being.""

""Why can't anyone just go around those pretty stories and just say it up straight?"" Batman groused.

""If you'll just keep quiet and listen, then you'll finally get what we've been trying to tell you, Bruce..."" The Martian Manhunter sighed.

""Central Gods are just THAT, Bruce..."" The African American said simply, ""They are a trio of ultimate GODS. The Trinity of Gods... each prominent in their jurisdictions. There was the Order, the Nightmare, and the Chaos. There were recounts of some of the oldest races, that there's also another faction of gods. The Ancient Gods, who ruled even before the Trinity. There was much confusion as to WHY the Trinity came about since, nobody really recorded it. But as things turned out, the Ancient Gods were really... bad... at running the universe. So whatever gave birth to the Universe presented it with the Trinity, who waged a war that ended all wars at that time. They won of course.""

The Martian Manhunter gave a nod, ""The Trinity took over the Universal ruling, and the universe was given new hope as it bloomed into the setting we see today. The gems on Ranma's forehead... it was a symbol of the Trinity. The Kryptonians adopted the symbol when one of the local researchers of their planet managed to stumble upon the legends of the Trinity and its exploits. Although... the Trinity wasn't much of a trinity anymore, since one of them sacrificed his life to save Existence.""

""Chaos... legends say that Chaos took it upon himself to banish the Elder Gods into the place where Existence began, the Alpha Prime Point of Existence..."" Green Lantern interjected, ""It was supposed to be located in the middle of the universe, but due to the splintering of timelines by the minute, the place was rumored to have been sealed in another dimension.""

Washuu spoke up, her eyes showed that she was reliving some of her past memories, which were forcefully unlocked a few years ago, ""The Trinity was kind of like the Central Goddesses ancestors. We were a stand in, a forefront figurehead to show a personified version of gods. I was the representative of Knowledge, Tokimi was for Chaos and Darkness, while our other sister, Tsunami, was for Life and Light. When Chaos disappeared, his essence was spread all over the multiverse. That's why there's only a handful of chosen individuals who have certain chaotic auras within them. They must have received the residual chaos energies expelled after the original Chaos' energy dispersal.""

""With Chaos successfully banishing the Elder Gods, the whole of Existence needed a new ruling order..."" Tokimi continued from where Washuu has stopped her narration, ""With Order and Nightmare left, they chose to split the ruling order amongst themselves. Order became who you know as the Grand God, or Alfadur, creator of all things. Nightmare became the Grand Demon, who rules the Underworld and everything related to dark. Order was usually associated with everything that is Good, while Nightmare was usually connected to anything Evil. But that's totally wrong..."" She glared at the slight smug smirk that blossomed on Batman's lips.

Washuu shook her head, ""That's true. There was never a 'Right' or a 'Wrong'... it was always about Free Will. The main problem with the Elder Gods' rule was that they controlled everything mortal under their powers and manipulated them like puppets. That was why the Great Abyss, the Ultimate Source of All, created the Trinity with the last visages of Its powers as the counterbalance. The Trinity, especially Chaos, destroyed the false belief on Fate and Destiny. But with Chaos' disappearance, it wasn't long that those left to rule Existence started committing the same mistake the Elder Gods did. Fate and Destiny seemed to have appeared once again, and the right of Free Will to choose a mortal's path in life has been challenged.""

""But that's over, now..."" The future Green Lantern said resolutely, as he glanced at the curious looks given to him by everyone in the laboratory, ""Lady Tokimi, Lady Washuu... the Guardians of Oa from my timeline told me something before they sent me back. They seem to believe that Chaos, the original Chaos, is back. Of course, with you being You, you've known that all along.""

Tokimi grinned slightly, ""Oh, I know about that. Being somewhat a Divine, I'm still connected with my other selves in the multiverse. I got some glimpses of their thoughts... and one in particular. The strongest one of us all... the Tokimi of where Ranma was from.""

""Also..."" Washuu cut into the conversation, ""My counterpart from the last universe Ranma was from warned us about the strange residual energies coming from Ranma. His chaos factor, something that was supposed to be present in everything in the universe as a given, exceeds even those of the ones you call 'gods' and 'demons'. In fact, his whole being, believe it or not, is made up mostly of chaotic energy.""

""In other words..."" Martian Manhunter said in slight awe, his red-orange eyes glowed slightly as they widened, ""Ranma is...""

""The revived Chaos..."" Tokimi and Washuu said simultaneously, which caused the Justice League members, as well as the Teen Titans, to gasp loudly.

Lenneth Valkyrie stifled a laugh at the dumbfounded faces. ""It would seem that it took you long enough to realize the fact. Why we called him Lord Ranma when we first met him, or why I easily submitted to his bidding. I felt it... the original Chaos... within his soul. Most of the residual energies of Chaos in the universe gathers around him, which causes him to affect everything in a major manner.""

Raven's posture seemed to straighten, as her back snap ramrod straight in her position. The wings behind her quivered as her body glowed silver. ""Master..."" she sighed longingly.

""What's happening with her?"" Robin asked in slight confusion.

The future Green Lantern strained as he pointed towards the screen, which featured Ranma and Doctor Ivo's android's fight, ""The battle is about to be concluded.""

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Back in outer space...

The battle took a tremendous toll on the surroundings, but nothing compared to the damages done to the personage of Ranma and the android. Too bad though, that Ranma's power still seemed to climb even when the fight dragged on. The android on the other hand...

It seemed to have seen better days, and after their latest squirmish, it lost a chuck of its shoulder, plus its right knee has a large part of it dented dangerously. Its head was distorted in a bad way, as one of its eyes was caved into it. Even though it lost most of its machine parts in favor of its cosmic energy, the damages done to its body was too extensive for it to begin healing itself. It seemed to reserve its power for attacking Ranma...

It has been a few months ago when the android encountered a race of semi-organic beings. It was reminiscent to those of the beings called Borgs, but they have developed their bodies way better than the Borg's used. The half-organic, half machine parts were fused together and were held by a massive jolt of cosmic power. The godly power was the same energy that changed most of the android's body into its current state, which is why it is now of color gold, symbolizing its change from the original metallic gray.

The nanotech within the android's body was now infused with cosmic energy, and the term 'android' was now a loosely used term to name it.

But even with the drastic change its body withstood within these months, everything still failed when it has encountered this force of nature in front of it as of this moment.

It still couldn't understand the true purpose of this red haired being, who suddenly changed form a moment ago. At first, it managed to match the tenacity of its enemy's attacks blow per blow, but with the sudden increase in power output, it felt inadequate all of the sudden. It could always imitate the wings Ranma has right now, but it felt that it wasn't really necessary for it, since it was the essence that was important.

The android realizes its own limitations when assimilating a technique. Somehow, it felt that whatever generated those wings, the energy needed to make those was unique. It knew it can create wings, but not THOSE kinds of wings.

As it floated a bit farther away from the red haired alien hybrid, the android pondered on its remaining options. There was no way it would try to run, since it was its choice to pursue this fight. Besides, it still hadn't understood the reasoning behind Ranma's existence. Being a powerful creature in its own right, the android felt that Ranma could answer its questions. But as the fight wore on, instead of answers to its queries... more questions were raised.

Ranma, on the other hand, has only one thing in mind: To defeat this nuisance and get on with his life. He methodically attacked each part of the android with great efficiency, and took note of its fast healing capabilities. Though he knew that there was a limit to its regeneration, much like everything has a limit. The great power Ranma felt from the android earlier was now dwindling down, and it was only a matter of time before this fight will be over.

((Finally!)) The red-tailed hybrid thought to himself, ((I can see my mother's analogue after this...))

Ranma wasted no time mentally conversing with the android, as he unfurled his wings behind his back dramatically, which spread quite a few numbers of ki-feathers in space. And then... he vanished.

The android looked around warily, its energies were now being spent trying to repair most of the damages in its body. But somehow it's slower now, having sustained a whole lot more damage than it was used to. But its ruminations on its opponent's location was for naught, because it lacked a certain trait most organics have: Instinct.

The android never had the chance to develop on this trait, since it only changed recently. Besides, its thought processes were a bit more primitive than most, being a computer and all. Nothing can match the brain of an organic when it comes to thoughts... and computers lacked Instinct.

Because of this disability, it failed to have an organic's Danger Sense. Most of the skills it acquired were all assimilations, and were limited as such. It never knew how to develop those techniques it acquired.

So it failed to notice that its target was now behind it. Ranma's arms were outstretched, his hands cupped in front of his body. At the tip of his hands was a silver ball, which grew in intensity and size by the second. The android discovered a little too late, as it turned only when it noticed that a light source glowed behind it. When it turned, all it saw was the trio of dark purple, gold and silver glow in an inverted triangle that glowed along with the twin orbs of yellow eyes located just below them, but they were offset by the other source of light. Somehow, its remaining eyes widened dramatically when it saw the source, since the small ball that Ranma began with was now the size roughly half of its body. And it was still growing...

Well, Doctor Ivo's creation had no time to ponder any more than that, as the silver ball of energy doubled quickly, and suddenly engulfed half of its body. The android did panic a few moments, as it tried to pry itself loose of whatever grabbed its person into the ball. But the silver energy held fast, and with its weakened state, the android was trapped inside the growing silver sphere. It wasn't long before its whole body was entrapped inside the spheroid, where countless jolts of massive energy bombardments battered the android's immobile form inside it.

Ranma held fast on the energy ball that was roughly thrice his body size in diameter, where the android was now trapped and was being tortured inside. He based off this attack from the massive fireball Saffron has created when they fought. Ranma wondered what would happen if one would get trapped in such a ball. He therefore fired off a normal ki-blast, but instead of letting it loose like he was supposed to, he encompassed the blast inside a tight ball of hollow ki to hold it in place. The energy seemed to create a powerful vortex inside, but was confined within the ball he had created.

Sensing that the test was a success, Ranma released his hold on the energy ball and backed away as it exploded fantastically in place. It almost injured Ranma as well, but his innate energy barrier snapped into place. The explosion was soundless in space, nevertheless the damage was apparent. As the light show vanished, the battered form of the android was revealed.

Needless to say, the android was one big mess, since by now half of its body was severed up to the torso. Half of its right arm was gone as well, only most of its left arm was intact, as well as its damaged head. The red light that glowed from its eyes was dim. Pieces of its former body lay wasted around it, as they floated aimlessly in space.

""((Well, this is unpleasant...))"" The android's voice echoed within Ranma's mind, ""((It would seem that I am defeated. Is this my Fate?))""

Ranma shook his head, his wings wrapped around him like a silver cloak, ""((You chose it for yourself, when you attacked my mother.))""

The android tentatively calculated the amount of time it needed to repair itself, and discerned that it would take some time to do so. ""((My only regret was not being able to discover why I was created.))""

""((Only you can answer that...))"" Ranma sent to the android thoughtfully, ""((Since when you became Aware, you should've taken your own existence and shaped it on your own. Enough of this... time to end the battle...))"" Ranma angled his body with his right side favored towards the android and opened his right wing. He lifted his hand and trained his open palm towards the hapless android. ""((For trying to kill my mother... there is no escape...))""

Ranma's right hand flared with ki, in-sync with the flash of the gems on his forehead. Just as he was about to throw the gathered concentrated ki towards the offending android that irritated him a while ago, an Egyptian symbol of some sort flashed into being just beside the battered droid. A golden full-face masked man, who wore dark blue tights that was wrapped with a golden cloak, materialized into being from the Egyptian symbol. Without doing anything else, the unknown man grabbed Doctor Ivo's android by one of its broken arms, and flashed the symbol behind them once again.

Both the android and the golden cloaked man disappeared along with the glowing Egyptian symbol.

The red haired young man awkwardly dropped his right arm, its energy discharge dissipated as he stared at the blank space that occupied the almost destroyed android a while ago.

((Well... this sucks...)) Ranma thought lamely, as he scratched the back of his head. He slowly turned himself back to the Earth's direction, and vanished in motes of light once again.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Back in Washuu's Laboratory...

The Superheroes stared at the now blank screen with various states of shock in their faces.

""T-That's... Doctor Fate, right?"" Cyborg asked hesitantly, unable to believe just what he had witnessed. He knew from the Teen Titan's databanks that the android Doctor Ivo created was state of the art. It has defeated the League many months ago and copied most of their powers. To see it defeated in such a manner...

""I believe Doctor Fate has some other plans with regards to the android..."" Martian Manhunter intoned.

Batman sighed softly, ""Everything's going way out of hand. I don't understand much of what's going on...""

""It's not fun if you know the outcome of any situation..."" Tokimi said calmly, ""The future is supposed to depend on the actions of today, hence nobody actually knows the exact future..."" She glanced off to the side, towards the heavily-breathing form of the future Green Lantern, ""Well, except for some cases...""

""I GOT HIM!!"" Washuu suddenly squealed in glee, which caused everyone to jump in surprise at the sudden outburst. A black portal appeared above their heads, and everyone was forced to give space to whatever may come out.

Sure enough, the screaming form of the red haired, red tailed Ranma fell from the hole. But the young man proved to be agile, as he immediately reoriented himself and stopped his fast descent a good two feet above ground.

Ranma cursed to himself as he breathed in relief when he stopped himself from crashing into the floor of where ever he was sucked into. He just reappeared in the space where the earlier fight with the Superheroes happened, before a portal happened to open just beside him and sucked his body into it. He found himself inside a pocket universe, quite similar to the one he had created from the other universe's Washuu's instructions. Whereas Washuu preferred her pocket universe to house her laboratory and various equipment, Ranma used his as a warehouse of some sort.

Gently pushing himself into an upright position, he took stock as to where he was now. Ranma patted imaginary dust out of his black body suit, as well as his body armor. He immediately winced and rolled his eyes when he spotted several familiar faces, particularly the glaring faces of Batman, Robin and Cyborg. Martian Manhunter and Beast Boy just looked at him curiously, not that Ranma knew their proper names in the first place.

It was when he whirled to his right that he spotted those he wanted to see. Washuu was looking at him smugly, probably because she was the one who generated the rift to pull him into her laboratory. Lenneth just smirked at him as she stood in her full battle regalia, her arms crossed across her chest. There was an African American man lying on a medical bed, and it was obvious that he was hurt bad. Ranma was a bit concerned at that. Raven was still quite out of it, but the one he wanted to see was... Tokimi...

Ranma was about to open his mouth and say something significant when Raven suddenly snapped her purple-eyed gaze towards him. With a loud cry of joy, she made a fantastic flying leap and tackled the shocked Ranma off his feet, which caused the pair to fall down on the lab's flooring with Raven on top of Ranma. Not that it matters as Ranma struggled vainly underneath her, for Raven snuggled quite happily against his chest, unmindful of the eyes that looked at them currently.

""The hell... Raven?"" Ranma gasped, trying to suck in unneeded air as he gazed at the cuddling form of a white leotard-clad Raven on his chest, ""Err... you're...""

Raven paused her ministrations of rubbing her face into Ranma's black body suit-clad chest and looked up to her 'bonded' with big doeful purple eyes, and said, ""Master Ranma? Is there something wrong?""

""Stop calling me THAT!"" Ranma said urgently, trying to keep his voice down in order to prevent making Raven think he's angry at her. He nervously glanced around, especially to those guys he fought earlier. Sure enough, they were either glaring at him in anger, or there's that green-skinned boy who was staring at him stupidly, as if he can't believe the sight. Not that he really could blame the boy but... oh hell.

Now that Ranma's gaze went to his erstwhile parallel 'relatives' and the normally stoic Valkyrie, Washuu was smirking at him victoriously, while his analogue mother...

Tokimi has this maternal sparkly-eyes look going on in her face. Her normally scary flat blue-grey eyes were now gazing at him in full shiny glory. It was ten times much worse compared to the look Ranma's Nodoka-mama's 'My son is sooo MANLY' gaze back in his home dimension.

Lenneth was trying not to laugh. Not that it really showed in her face, but her cheeks were all puffy and red, sure-fire signs of someone stopping their laughter.

""Well..."" Washuu groused happily, ""Would you look at that? Such a sweet sight, really! I feel the love!""

""Indeed..."" Lenneth agreed with the red haired scientist readily, ""I reckon that Raven has been waiting a long time to do something like this in her whole life.""

A small whimper brought their attention to Tokimi, who has her hands clasped in front of her chest, as she bent down and stared at the sight in a joyous and blissful expression on her face. Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy surmised that Tokimi's expression of glee overshadowed Starfire's enthusiasm when the Tamaranian discovered something new.

""My wonderful little Ranma..."" Everyone waited in baited breath as they hung unto Tokimi's soft but clear words, ""My little Ranma... is SO MANLY!!!"" she finally squealed in the end. She carefully held back, obviously, since she didn't want the spell to end. Tokimi didn't want to break the wonderful moment for her potential future daughter-in-law (ignoring the fact that this Ranma wasn't native to their world).

"Ma... MAMA?!"" Ranma squeaked in protest as he felt Raven's arms hugging him tighter.

""ENOUGH!!"" Everyone except Raven and Ranma jumped at Batman's shout, ""We still have to deal with...""

""Oh PIPE DOWN, Bat-BOY!"" Washuu growled out at Batman, ""If you don't, you're gonna regret it!!""

""Oh REALLY..."" Batman crossed his arms across his chest, and ignored Martian Manhunter's telepathic message of ""((Watch what you say, Bruce...))"" and glared at the red haired woman, ""What are you going to do, kill me?""

Washuu grinned nastily, ""Oh no... you're not going to get out of MY punishment that easily..."" She laughed out loud, which caused everyone except Batman (probably doesn't know any better) to shiver slightly at the evil undertones supplied by the laughs. Washuu waved her hand in the air and a semi-transparent keyboard appeared in front of her. She quickly typed something on it, waved it away, and stared at Batman with an expectant look. "Just a slight modification to your genetic make-up... and five... four...""

Martian Manhunter blinked when the young man called Ranma waved at his direction frantically, as if warning him of something. The red haired man was signaling him to keep away from Batman... oh. J'onn J'onzz quickly stepped away from the dark crusader warily.

Batman blinked as he noticed his companions were shying away from him. He was about to ask why, when a bright beam of light from somewhere above captured his form. He hasn't have the time to scream, when he felt his body shrink and change abruptly. He brought his hands in front of his face, and saw that they became webbed and... green?

Martian Manhunter and the Teen Titan members stared as they watched Batman shrunk into a two-foot creature. The mask slipped off his head because of the sudden size shift, and exposed the bald spot on top of his head, which was surrounded by a small circle of hair jutting out of the shiny bald top. Batman's mouth sharpened and became beak-like, and his hands and feet became stubby and webbed in between the fingers and toes. His skin also became scaly and... green.

Robin pointed at the newly-transformed Batman and shouted, ""Ah! Batman! You... you're...!!!""

""I do not want to be him right now... whatever he is..."" Cyborg said as he shook his head.

""Ewww... GROSS!!! What is that?!"" Beast Boy commented eloquently. ""I can transform into a lot of animals... but I've NEVER seen THAT!""

Martian Manhunter stared at... IT... sympathetically. Somewhat. Okay, not so much... but it was the thought that counts.

""A Japanese mythical Water Beast called the Kappa..."" Lenneth informed them.

""... told you not to aggravate them..."" The future Green Lantern mumbled on the medical table.

""Washuu... you still have that nasty device with you?!"" Tokimi admonished her sister, who didn't have the slightest remorse over her actions whatsoever.

Washuu just gave Tokimi a toothy grin.

Ranma groaned. ""The Kappa Transformation Beam...""

Raven ignored the phenomenon in favor of Ranma's manly chest.

Batman just screamed.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Still in Washuu's laboratory, approximately one and a half hours later...

Ranma was now in Tokimi's lap, in child form, being engulfed by a huge embrace from his analogue blood mother that would've shamed the Amazon Glomp.

After Raven was coaxed off of Chibi-Ranma an hour ago, Washuu has presented Ranma his new limiters. They're 'somewhat' like his old one, although you never know with Washuu. Not that the red haired scientist would tell anyone anyway. So here he was, his hair back into its original raven-black color and was re-tied into a pigtail. Weird though, that when the limiters were snapped into his wrists, his long red hair lost its redness, as well as its long length. It seemed to have been sucked back into his head.

Oh, and his power surge into an unknowing Super form caused him to deplete most of his energies, which reverted him to his eight year old form when the limiters snapped back in place. Not that he really minded, actually. It was the fact that Tokimi quickly swooped in and grabbed poor Chibi-Ranma into a massive hug that took him by surprise.

As of the moment Chibi-Ranma was indeed on his mother's lap, smothered in her arms while Raven clutched at his arm. Both women gave the other a sharp gaze as they tugged on the authority of monopolizing Chibi-Ranma.

Ah, the pains of being cute and cuddly...

Well, KAPPAman (formerly known as Batman) was currently being held at bay by the Martian Manhunter. The transformation still has at least five and a half hours left, wherein his original DNA code will reassert its original form and force him back into human form. Robin and Beast Boy was trying hard not to offend the scary red haired scientist, who was currently in a tense conversation with the inquisitive Cyborg. The half-man, half-machine was quite interested at the technological knowledge Washuu has, and it was the same curiosity that quelled some of his hesitance in conversing with her. Lenneth drank her tea calmly on a table and chair provided graciously by Washuu. She removed her battle armor a while ago, and favored a simple light blue blouse with black slacks that she saw in something called a 'commercial' once when she watched the picture tube in Nodoka's home.

Washuu was currently monitoring the machines that measured the future Green Lantern's vital stats in check, which has gotten her pretty much worried. The signs were visibly dropping steadily, and there was nothing she could do about it. She knew that the African American knew of the incurable temporal wounds he received from the Forbidden Technique that allowed him to be taken back through time, but she didn't like feeling helpless.

The red haired woman sighed wearily as she turned to her 'guests', and caught their attention by coughing lightly into her hand. When she was sure that she had everyone listening to her, she said, ""I have bad news, ladies and gentlemen.""

The two Justice League members and the Teen Titans quickly went near where Washuu was, and formed a semi-circle around the medical bed where Green Lantern was. Lenneth stood from her seat and went to Washuu's side, while Tokimi carried a sleepy Chibi-Ranma towards Washuu's other side. Raven was still clutched to the child Ranma's arm, so she went along with the ride.

Everyone nodded at Washuu to continue, which prompted her to do so.

""As we all know, the Green Lantern here is from the future, right?"" Washuu asked, and noted that she got another round of nods from the group, ""Okay... well... temporal mechanics was never a stable thing to begin with, especially to mortals. Well, Green Lantern took a grave risk in getting back to the past, as he once mentioned in his narrative a while ago, and knew that this was a one-way trip.""

""He is going to die, isn't he?"" Martian Manhunter asked in monotone, which got a few gasps from the kappa-fied Batman and the Teen Titan members.

""I knew the risks..."" Green Lantern spoke up from his deathbed without opening his eyes, ""I decided that it was my atonement for my sins... for allowing that disaster to happen."" He groaned as a spasm went through his body.

When it subsided, he continued, ""You don't WANT that future, believe me. There is NO future. I knew that going back to the past spelled doom for me, but I still went for it. I wanted you to have a chance...""

Green Lantern struggled to turn his head to the side, and gazed directly into the eyes of Batman, ""We became too arrogant in the future, and believed that we were supposed to be superior to any other race in the universe. At least, that's the impression I got. We became obsessed with dispensing Justice, but forgot why we do so and for whom we lived to serve and protect. We became caught up in the situation..."" A coughing fit forced him to pause in his monologue, and the people assembled around him saw the blood that splattered on the white sheets of the medical bed he was on.

""Not every alien that arrives on Earth is an enemy, Bruce..."" Green Lantern said tiredly, ""And not everyone who doesn't want to follow our own code of law is an enemy. We are not gods to force our own beliefs on other beings..."" His glance strayed towards Chibi-Ranma's sleeping form, who was being carried by the tall brown haired woman called Tokimi.

Not that he was rude or anything, but Chibi-Ranma was quite tired from spending several days of burning so much ki. Even though his body was used to expending just as much energy as he did, he was still quite weary of the fights he had. Hence, he literally fell asleep right off in his mother's arms, and the people around him didn't take offense on him about it.

Regardless, the dying Green Lantern continued to gaze at him, part of him feared the little boy, part of him respected him a great deal. This was the same being who managed to single-handedly annihilate everything in his world, but the Green Lantern can't fault him. Ranma was only defending his mother, which showed that the young man's principles and honor were stronger than most people he knew.

Ranma showed everyone just how much he cared for those who got close to him, and how much he was willing to sacrifice to keep them safe. That thought terrified the Green Lantern to the core of his soul.

To hell with the Universe. You hurt my mother.

Those were the last words he heard before the Earth was destroyed by the black hole Ranma generated with his power. Ranma was... IS... the Chaos of the old. The Chaos of legends, which were thought to be figments of myths created to amuse the people of the old.

Legends, yeah right... he has first hand experience on how true those legends were.

And the Green Lantern knew... he KNEW that he was dying right now. He could feel his body slowly fading, his molecules unable to hold itself within this dimension. He may be revered as a hero to those who will carry on in the Justice League, but he felt he didn't deserve such honor. Jon Stewart was quite selfish in his reasons for doing this, after all.

To squelch that overwhelming guilt of destroying the future.

Jon Stewart gasped once again, as pain literally gnawed on his right leg. He knew, especially since the bump that signified the solid leg under the sheets that covered his lower body has flattened. His right leg has been officially disintegrated by the temporal illness he has...

So starts his death...

The people around the time-traveling man watched in morbid fascination as they watched Green Lantern's body slowly fade in and out of focus. They saw how the leg disappeared under the sheets.

The other leg followed shortly.

""My time's up..."" Green Lantern muttered as he directed his gaze upwards, to avoid watching his own disappearance. ""J'onn... remember this: Recruit more members. There are other beings on planet Earth worthy of bearing the name Justice League. It will also act as a control for our own growing arrogance. Being many in numbers, there's bound to be different kinds of ideas regarding justice. Learn them, and assimilate them into our own Code. Besides, there's always safety in numbers, my friend...""

Martian Manhunter nodded solemnly, ""I will do as you ask, Jon Stewart.""

By now, Green Lantern's lower extremities followed his leg's disappearance.

""Lady Tokimi..."" Green Lantern mumbled, ""Please... I ask for your forgiveness again. I should've listened... to Diana. She knew... and she tried to warn us. But our arrogance got the better of us, and disaster struck upon our future. Your son... was just doing what his heart tells him to. He... he did nothing wrong... but to defend his loved ones.""

Tokimi replied, ""I accept your apologies, brave warrior.""

Half of his chest and arms were now gone.

""I have to say goodbye here, my friends..."" Jon Stewart said absently, and glanced at the younger generation, the Teen Titans. ""Be more open minded, younger generation. Don't commit the same mistake we did. Don't forget... you must... you must fight in order to protect the innocents, whoever they are.""

The sheet that covered his body depressed totally. By now, only his head and a bit of his neck were visible.

""This is it..."" Green Lantern sighed as he closed his eyes, ""I have fulfilled my purpose... even though I was selfishly thinking of absolving my own guilt. I... I'm truly sorry... L-Lord R-Ranma...""

Finally, the poor guilt-ridden man faded silently and totally, his presence in this timeline disappeared in finality.

""He... he's really gone..."" Beast Boy choked on his words, as he turned his back from the empty medical bed and shed his tears.

Robin bravely stood at the bed's side, still staring at the spot where the future Green Lantern used to be. ""He knew the risks... and he still went back. A true hero...""

Cyborg stayed silent.

""He gave us a second chance..."" Martian Manhunter said seriously, and gave the Kappa-fied Batman near him a direct gaze, ""We shall not waste this chance he sacrificed his life for.""

""Here..."" Washuu called out as she plucked something from... somewhere... and threw it towards Batman. The transformed hero caught the object with little difficulty even with his new and somewhat temporary hands, tantamount to his training. When he opened his webbed fist, he saw that it was a small disk.

""I recorded the Green Lantern's last words... everything..."" Washuu informed them, ""If you need to have some visual aids in explaining things to your... League.""

Seeing that Batman was still preoccupied on staring at the disk curiously, Martian Manhunter opted to bow and said, ""We appreciate the gesture, Lady Washuu... this would prove very useful to us.""

Washuu smiled at the polite, albeit green, man and said, ""I know. Now..."" she turned her eye to the sleeping Ranma, who STILL kept on sleeping, ""How to deal with Ranma-chan...""

Tokimi sighed longingly. ""We have to get him back, don't we?"" she asked hesitantly, unconsciously tightening her hold on her analogue son.

The red haired scientist pouted cutely, ""Yeah, sadly... we have to.""

Raven spoke up from her place beside Tokimi, as she grasped at Ranma's arm tighter, ""I... if we send him back... I will never see Master Ranma again, won't I?""

Washuu just grimaced slightly as she nodded. ""Well... actually, I already have the machine ready, but... the bad news is that it's only good for one trip."" She raised her hand to stave off the expected questions from her audience, ""Tampering with dimensions is tricky. I only have enough juice to power up the precise dimensional targeting system of the device for only one shot, and it would take me another three thousand years to gather enough energy for another chance. By that time, this universe may not exist anymore anyway.""

""WHAT?!"" More than one person in the room shouted. They immediately quieted down when Chibi-Ranma whimpered in Tokimi's arms as he stirred, before he settled down and continued his slumber.

""Well, Green Lantern demonstrated to us what happens when one tries to break some of the temporal rules..."" Washuu explained, ""The Power Ring and the power he possessed disallows him to exist on other dimensions where his analogue exists. But there are some exemptions, like the gods themselves intervening, or that a special type of device some god blessed to use as a conduit to go back and forth through time. Ranma-chan is different. VERY different, from what my other self in the dimension he was from has sent me in her message...""

""Go on, Washuu..."" Tokimi prodded when the scientist paused in her explanation.

Washuu blinked, ""Ah, right... anyway. Ranma-chan is no ordinary being. Far from it. It was already mentioned a while ago... he is Chaos himself, or reincarnated Chaos. Nevertheless, he is Chaos. And because of this, he affects EVERYTHING in the world he comes in contact with. Fate and Destiny gets screwed up so bad that Ranma's mere presence can affect a LOT of things in that dimension. People who were supposed to die, DON'T. Events that were supposed to happen fail to do so. But there's a downside... he can't stay TOO long in a certain dimension without affecting it too drastically.""

""In other words..."" The red haired woman continued, ""He should go back to his home dimension. The world he's in, if it's not his original one, will surely be destroyed in a cataclysmic event. WAIT! Before you babble your nonsense again, let me finish! Ahem... anyway, the whole of Existence is one BIG line that should've been maintained since the beginning of time, but due to a thing called Free Will, various universes branched out of the original line. This is where the Parallel Worlds, as well as different futures are created. Well, the Trinity is an exemption of the Parallel World rules, since they don't have analogues in another world. Which meant that... Chaos is constant.""

Washuu sipped from a glass of... something that she pulled out of... nowhere again, and continued, ""Ranma is established as Chaos revived, so he should be constant. But this affects the stability of certain timelines and parallel worlds, since they will be forced to pull themselves into each other and combine. What I want to say now, is that if Ranma-chan stays here any longer, this universe will become so unstable that it will collapse as it collides with another universe probably parallel to this one. Yes... utter destruction.""

Tokimi spoke up, ""For how long?""

Washuu shrugged, ""It depends on the world stability, actually. Some may last for thousands of years until they get affected. Some in the instant he steps foot into it. Well, for our universe, it's somewhere around twenty five years or so. Therefore, we should make this one and only shot of sending him home count.""

Everyone remained silent afterwards...

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

""Huh? Wassat?"" Chibi-Ranma muttered irritably as he was rudely shaken awake from his sleep. He didn't mean to sleep in the middle of... whatever that was earlier, but he was just so tired...

Anyway, Ranma in child form blinked as he struggled awake. He recognized Washuu, who woke him up from his rest. He saw the blurry form of the young boy with his hair done up in a spike, and wore a red, yellow and green costume. There was this green-skinned kid with elfin ears and small fangs jutting out of his lower lip beside the first boy. Beside the green dude was the half-human, half-machine who tried to blast Raven earlier.

It would seem that the Teen Titan members voted to stay inside the interesting laboratory to wait for Raven even when Batman, who by that time has reverted back to his human form, protested loudly about this. Despite the fact that the experience with the pigtailed boy changed Raven dramatically, she's still their friend, and they wouldn't abandon her just like that.

Raven was looking at Ranma as if he was going to die and still in her angel-like form, and Lenneth was back to her mostly impassive self.

His mother, Tokimi, still has him in her embrace.

Chibi-Ranma didn't see that one guy who was dressed mostly in black and the one with green skin wrapped in a blue-green cloak.

""You awake, Ranma-chan?"" Washuu asked softly, her gaze turning tender as she saw the cuteness of the drowsy child.

Chibi-Ranma nodded sleepily. ""I was just napping..."" he murmured.

Washuu grinned at him, ""We know... but you might be happy to know that I can send you back to your dimension now.""

THAT perked Chibi-Ranma up really fast. He sat upright from Tokimi's lap and exclaimed, ""Really?! I can go home? Well... not really home but... back to the dimension I was from?!""

""Yup..."" Washuu gave him a 'thumbs up', ""You're talking to the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe!! Muahahahahahahahahaha!!!""

As Ranma expected, two puppets popped out of Washuu's shoulders, which showered confetti and praises to the cackling red haired scientist.

""Right..."" Chibi-Ranma drawled out, ""Anyway, so how can I get home?""

Washuu shook her head with a snort and wagged her finger in front of his face in admonishment, ""So excited to be rid of us, huh? Nevermind... I have the machine ready already. The mechanics are long and boring, and according to my other self, you bore easily.""

Chibi-Ranma ducked his head in embarrassment, ""It's not that I wanted to go home this soon, but... I know about my time limit and all. You've been lecturing me about that for a long time.""

""Such a nice boy..."" Tokimi gushed as she squeezed the hapless child Ranma, who squeaked slightly in protest.

""Well..."" Washuu continued, ""I can send you home now... just lemme activate the machine. Let's go to the other room...""

""Right..."" Ranma nodded as he struggled to get up, but it was not needed since Tokimi gleefully carried him all throughout with a glaring Raven hot on their heels.

A sliding door suddenly appeared near the edge of the laboratory... which was slid open by Washuu herself. The red haired woman gestured for everyone to enter first, which allowed Tokimi, Ranma, Raven, Lenneth, Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy to enter the laboratory.

The entourage came upon a much larger room, which had a massive machine in the middle. The room was circular in appearance, and it housed the machine perfectly within its confines. The machine reminded Ranma of those things he saw while watching Sci-Fi shows in TV. There was a computer console off to the right side from the door, wherein Washuu was now headed straight for.

""Well... it has no name yet, and it's untested, but I KNOW it works by theory..."" Washuu commented lightly as she reached the console. She pressed a few buttons, before the machine hummed and lit up as it started working.

Tokimi felt Ranma flinch in her arms, which caused her to automatically glare at her sister, ""What do you mean, 'By Theory'?""

Washuu sighed and replied, ""Just that. I haven't tested it yet, since I don't have the juice to fire it up again after the test run. But I've checked the mathematics behind it, and I'm quite assured that it would work.""

The machinery's hum became more urgent, as a ball of light appeared in the middle of the enclosed structure. Arcs of electricity flowed all over the place, barely avoiding the group as the machine charged energy within its power cells.

""Before you go, though..."" The red haired scientist muttered innocently as she hefted a small pistol-like apparatus that she hid behind her, ""I have something for you. I know you'll find this very useful.""

Ranma eyed the woman curiously, internally he's quite terrified. He wanted to run and hide, but Tokimi held fast to him. His visions of his aunt being THIS innocent looking got him into her lab. Those prodding tools of hers were COLD!

Washuu gave him a toothy smile that seemed to catch the poor boy flat-footed. As Ranma was dumbfounded at the smile, Washuu quickly shot forward and grabbed the boy's arm, stuck the thing she had in her hand (which turned out to be a pistol injection) and fired. Before anyone could scream outrage at the action, the deed has been done.

While Washuu pulled back the syringe gun from Ranma's skin, the boy quickly brought his hand up to the site of entry and eyed the scientist with a small amount of betrayed expression on his face.

""Relax..."" Washuu reassured everyone, as she pocketed the device, ""I gave you a dose of my special Translator Microbes I developed especially for your immune system. I made these sometime around sixty to seventy thousand years ago... I was still the Goddess of Knowledge back then. This will help you in your travels, especially in outer space. As the name implies, they translate alien languages fairly quickly. Most of the more advanced beings in the universe has them, and they're not dangerous in any way. In fact, they're quite helpful.""

Ranma groaned as he felt disoriented for a moment, ""Well... better warn me next time!""

Washuu gave him another dazzling smile. ""Now where's the fun in that? Now... back to our original plan..."" she turned to the growing bright light in the middle of the huge machine she developed, and pointed at the swirling mass. ""There's your way home, Ranma-chan.""

""Home..."" Ranma parroted, eyeing the swirling portal with no small amount of nervousness. He felt his mother's hug grow tighter around him.

""I will miss you. Even though you're not my actual son, I could feel my connection with you, somehow."" Tokimi said sadly, resting her chin atop Ranma's head. It was true, somehow, that like how Nodoka felt her connection with Ranma, she felt her own maternal instincts grow rampant around the boy. Which is why she carried him with such joy and happiness, something she hadn't felt for EONS.

""I won't say goodbye to you, mama..."" Ranma murmured softly, as he clutched at the arms that embraced him, ""I will meet you again.""

Tokimi nodded. ""I know, son...""

""Ranma-chan..."" Mother and son looked up to the expectant Washuu, who looked at them with a small amount of sadness, ""It's time for you to go. I can't hold the portal much longer.""

Ranma inclined his head at her, as Tokimi brought him back down to the ground. He quickly turned and hugged the tall brown haired woman around her legs.

""I will meet you again, mama."" He repeated. Ranma felt Tokimi's warm hand over his head, ruffling his head gently.

""That we will, my son."" Tokimi intoned as a promise.

Ranma reluctantly pulled back from his mother, and was suddenly face to face with Lenneth and a slightly agitated Raven.

The Valkyrie bowed to her waist with a hand over her chest, a sign of respect towards Ranma, ""We will see each other, Lord Ranma.""

The pigtailed boy's tail wriggled behind him as he looked at the woman with a small grin, ""Yeah, I know.""

As Ranma turned to Raven, he felt a huge pang of sadness and regret coming from the girl. She was still in her angelic form, and it brought out some sort of... fondness... from Ranma. He liked the girl somewhat, and he could feel their link. The situation had Ranma at a loss, since he really didn't know what will happen to the girl once he exits this world.

""Master Ranma..."" Raven called to him, which brought his wandering thoughts back to the present. He shook his head slightly, trying to stave off the bout of regret coming from his soul. It was all just the bond, right? It wasn't his feelings, right?

Raven approached the confused boy with dread in her heart. She knew this would come someday, but not this soon! Her heart clenched at the thought of him leaving her, but she has always been alone. What's so different now? A lot of people have left her for less reasons, like Malchior, so what's keeping her from getting on with her life from this one? She realized that she was already hugging the boy tightly in her arms, afraid of letting him go lest he disappears. She found herself wishing for more time... more time... to decide...

""It's going to be okay, I think..."" Ranma began worriedly, when Raven held him at arms' length. Tears fell down from her beautiful and expressive purple eyes as she stared at him longingly. ""I... I wish that...""

""Shh..."" Raven's finger shut the boy up. ""I understand, Master.""

Not trusting himself to say the right things, Ranma kept quiet as he endured being gazed at by the forlorn Azarath girl.

A silent communication passed between the two of them, as they nodded at one another before they let go of their contact. Ranma glanced off to his side and spied upon Robin eyeing him with some degree of irritation and jealousy, as well as a huge amount of relief. Probably because he was leaving. Cyborg was stoic, as his arms were crossed across his chest. But he was looking at Raven with trepidation, as if he was wary of the girl. That was nothing compared to the jaw-on-the-floor look Beast Boy has as he stared at the normally unflappable dark girl.

Ranma slowly walked on the catwalk towards the portal, and kept his gaze unto the hole that will get him home. Not necessarily home, but back where he was needed. He didn't know for sure how much time has passed, since temporal mechanics are experimental at best, but he WILL go back. He stopped in the middle of the catwalk and glanced over his shoulder once again, as he gave the group he was with for some time a last look of serene happiness and gratitude.

Just as Ranma was about to take his final steps to the main portal, twin pillars of light erupted on the machine's catwalk to the center, effectively barring Ranma access on the only path towards the generated gateway. When the pillars finally solidified, a pair of men stood in Ranma's way.

The tall bronze skinned man to the left has red eyes and long red hair. He was dressed in an enchanted silver breastplate, forged by Hephaestus himself. His girdle was forged after Thor's own, and he wore a thick red belt made out of the hides of a Gargoyle's snake hair skins.

The man on the right has short black hair, and has the same red eyes with bronze complexion the first man had. He was a bit smaller than his companion, and dressed in the same enchanted silver breastplate. His girdle was of the same design, and his belt was made of the same substance, but it was black in color.

Before anyone could speak though, Lenneth has stepped in front of Ranma, and eyed the two beings in front of her warily. ""Phobos..."" she nodded to the man on the left side, ""And Deimos..."" she inclined her head to the man on the right, ""I had the feeling some of the gods would come sooner or later...""

The taller red haired man glanced at the Valkyrie and grinned nastily as he commented, ""Well well... if it isn't the traitorous Valkyrie. Odin will be so displeased on your... behavior. Even though he's not of my brother and mine's pantheon, we deeply sympathize with Him.""

""I agree..."" The one on the right said afterwards, ""Your pantheon's almighty Odin gave you a simple job, and yet you failed miserably. Not only did you not bring the mortal Ranma Saotome dead or alive in front of Odin, but you've helped him during his stay in this dimension. Such a sad turn of events, indeed.""

""It cannot be helped..."" Phobos mused loudly, ""Lenneth did have this enormous hero worship on Chaos. But still...""

Deimos chuckled, ""Ranma Saotome cannot remember her, and yet she perseveres by his side...""

Without saying anything, Lenneth drew the Levantine from her side. She has already summoned her holy armor for battle, and stood in a defensive stance as she eyed the newcomers with no small amount of anger and hatred.

Ranma was about to force his ki into his body to change his physical appearance once again in preparation for battle, but a soft hand gripped his shoulder urgently. He glanced up, and saw Raven's frowning face looking down at him.

""Master Ranma... we have to get you through the portal now."" Raven said seriously. The expression was all wrong for her, since she's in her angelic form, which proved that the situation was critical.

""Phobos... Deimos..."" Tokimi hissed as she stepped forwards, her battle robes summoned unto her body as black tendrils of power exploded from her fists.

Her presence gave the two gods some pause.

Phobos scoffed. ""Hah. As if some old goddess with weakened powers will be enough to distract us from our goal."" He was forced to dodge to the side as a black bolt of energy cackled on the spot where he was on before.

Tokimi held her charged hand up, as she glared at the offending beings that wanted to hurt her son. ""I suggest you go back to where you came from, whiny brats. While I may still be limited to what I'm allowed to do in this dimension, I can still handle two prattling younglings such as yourselves.""

Deimos growled as he charged his own fist, and threw a fireball at Tokimi. Luckily, Tokimi's barrier blocked its progress. ""We do not follow orders from traitors like you!""

Before anyone could launch an effective offensive attack though, a black pillar of light erupted between the combatants, which halted the impending battle.

When the black light dissipated, a figure of a woman emerged from the smoke. She wore a seemingly formal outfit, a form-fitting dark blue and pink skirt that was parted in the middle up to her upper leg that exposed the woman's perfect curves. Her skin was dark and exotic, and her eyes were almond-shaped. Her long flowing platinum silvery blond hair flowed out from the dark blue headband she wore on top of her head. Her eyes were like shining sapphires in the night, constantly changing their colors as they twinkle in merry delight. She has a starburst symbol on her forehead, and a pair of five-pointed stars on both sides of her cheeks. She has a pair of golden armlets wrapped around her wrists, as well as a pair of gold anklets around her lower legs. All of her fingers had rings around them. Some strands of her hair were tied with a pair of golden bells, and her ears had a pair of complicated-looking earrings on them. Her gait was that of a pin-up model from a magazine, which caused Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy to feel a little beat of heat come up to their loins.

To the two gods, though, it was of an opposite effect. They felt a bit of dread, since this was an unexpected turn of events for them.

""Amazing..."" The Teen Titans immediately turned their heads to the awed voice of Tokimi, who stared at the woman with a small amount of nervousness, ""Lady Hild... one of the Original Trinity... the Nightmare of Existence. But... why?"" Her gaze went to his son, and she immediately understood. ""I see...""

Silence reigned the whole laboratory, as only the loud clacks of the newcomer woman's white high heeled shoes echoed all over the place. She went to the position where Ranma was on. Raven wanted to step in front of her bonded to protect him, but in some way she was totally paralyzed in place.

It's not that anyone didn't want to move, it's just that they CAN'T move. They were somehow rendered immobilized by this woman's powerful presence, even a normal human like Robin could feel the enormous pressure of her aura against his own.

Immortals and mortals alike felt their own mortality in the presence of this incredibly beautiful and exotic woman.

""Brother..."" Deimos asked to his companion worriedly, who has gone rigid in his place beside him.

Phobos shook off his nervousness as he shifted his stance, but it was obvious that he was still worried, ""Why is the High Demoness Hild here? Unless...""

Deimos nodded empathically, ""She came for Lord Chaos. This is not a good situation for us, brother.""

""Has She stated Her side?"" Phobos asked to no one in particular, ""Why? Why does She choose to betray the Alfadur?""

""Phobos... Deimos... such hot-headed gods you are..."" The woman's voice has a hypnotic melody in it, ""But... how dare you attack... Him..."" she turned her gaze to the immobile young pigtailed boy, who stared at her in mixed confusion and slowly growing familiarity.

Ranma has dreamt of her in the past. One of the earlier memories he has received from his original personality. She was... she was...

""Hild..."" The boy breathed softly, but his voice carried over the silence that hung over the laboratory. The woman, Hild, smiled flirtatiously at Ranma as she brought her hands around him in a welcoming embrace. Ranma took it graciously, his golden eyes flickering slightly.

""Dearest Hild..."" Ranma repeated, this time with a bit more intensity, ""The Existence...""

Hild sighed as she hugged him tighter to her bosom, which brought thrills that ran up and down her spine, ""You saved it, dearest...""

""I..."" The gems on Ranma's forehead glowed softly.

""Now is not the time, love. Our fateful reunion is to be postponed. But it has been so long, and I cannot resist... so just let me hold you like this for a little while longer. You are needed elsewhere, and I still have some things to take care of. But after that... I'll be with you my love..."" Hild murmured into his ear, in a tone that brooked no protests coming from him. She drew out of her self-induced embrace, and glanced at Washuu.

""Anytime now, Washuu..."" Hild raised an eyebrow at the red haired woman, who gasped and went back to her computer.

""THERE!!!"" Washuu shouted in joy, and pressed a final button in her translucent computer. Phobos and Deimos were shocked immobile when they felt their forms dissipating from the subspace zone.

Everyone turned to Washuu.

""I just kicked them out from my laboratory..."" The red haired scientist said grimly, ""We need to distract them!""

""I will do it..."" Lenneth said without hesitance as she disappeared from the laboratory.

Tokimi sighed and commented, ""Very much Valkyrie-like. Always charging into battle. I'll go too..."" She turned to Ranma, ""Be well, my son..."" and without waiting for a response, her form vanished in motes of light as well, but not without throwing a cursory glance at Hild's direction.

The Nightmare, or Hild as she called herself, shrugged as she said, ""I'll be damage control. Who knows how much damage those kids do?"" She eyed Ranma hungrily, which caused the boy to shiver slightly, ""I will be seeing you again SOON, Chaos dear..."" And with that, she disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

Robin was about to shout his commands to his teammates, when Washuu turned to them with a serious expression on her face, ""You will stay here. This is no ordinary fight you will try to get involved with.""

""I'm with her!!"" Beast Boy crowed, but immediately ducked his head as the glares of his teammates threatened to burn him into a crisp.

""Wait! I'll help too!!"" Ranma shouted, but he was held back by Raven.

""You need to go to the portal NOW! We don't have much time, Master Ranma!"" Raven said firmly, as she dragged the protesting boy towards the portal.

Raven stopped pulling on the boy when she felt him go willingly, but she hasn't let go of his hand yet. When they were a few inches off the portal, Raven turned to Ranma with tears in her eyes.

""So... this is it..."" The angelic woman said softly, gazing at the hand she was held on to, ""Now go Master Ranma! Don't let their distraction go to waste!""

Ranma sighed sadly. ""Alright..."" he muttered, and faced the portal. A sudden impulse made him turn back to Raven, grabbed her hand and forcefully pull her down to him.

Raven was too surprised on the boy's move that she had no time to respond when she felt her lips collide with Ranma's. The kiss, albeit urgent, was sweet and loving. Raven hadn't felt anything like this, EVER. Her insides went haywire, but her powers hadn't gone insane like it should have. It was a new experience for her... and she loved it.

((Oh my.... he's kissing me?! Master Ranma's kissing me?!)) Raven thought to herself as her eyes drew close on their own. She ignored the screaming protest of the Teen Titan members as well as Washuu's cackle of triumph in the background. All she wanted to concentrate on was the feeling on her lips... his lips... their lips...

And then it was over. Ranma pulled back reluctantly from the dazed girl, and gave Raven an impish grin. Without another word, Ranma jumped into the portal willingly.

Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy ran up to their dazed teammate, who was still staring at the portal in shock.

""Raven!!"" Robin shouted urgently, as he grabbed the poor girl by the shoulders and shook her, ""Are you all right? Raven!""

Cyborg grunted as he looked into the portal angrily. ""Damn that punk! Stealing a kiss like that...""

""It should've been my lips on Raven!"" Beast Boy said indignantly, but was smacked back by a magically produced white fist that appeared in mid air.

Robin and Cyborg stared as the angelic-looking Raven's body was encompassed with a white aura, her eyes glowed dark red, which matched the white garb she had on her body. Her small feathery wings quivered on her back, as her heart-tipped tail twitched violently. The dark blue chakra on her forehead blazed a blinding light.

""A kiss from my Master Ranma..."" Raven whispered, her voice progressively got louder, ""That... that..."" The white aura winked out and turned into a black one as her form shuddered for a moment, before it morphed back into her demonic form. The white leotard and cloak she wore earlier melted into black. Her black leathery bat wings flapped once, as her now arrow-tipped tail lashed from behind her. Her blue chakra gem shifted into dark purple. If anyone looked closely, her ears were a bit pointed and elfin-like, if not for the longer purple hair she sported for the moment. Her purple eyes flashed angrily. ""That JERK!!!"" she screamed loudly, her sharp voice echoed all over the area.

Her aura ablaze, she shook Robin's hands off her shoulders and turned to the portal, ""How DARE you, you jerk!!"" Raven took no notice of her transformation as she shook her fist against the portal.

The next statement brought a huge amount of dread from her teammates.

""If you think you can kiss me and run like that, you have another thing coming!!!"" The now-demonic Raven shouted as she jumped into the portal without preamble. As she passed through, these words can be heard from the dull roar of the doorway, ""You're not going to just kiss me and ride off the sunset like that, you jerk!""

The white spatial rift closed into itself with a pop.

""Oh no... RAVEN!!"" Robin shouted as he stared at the now-vacant area in shock.

Beast Boy shook his head in denial, ""What the heck just happened? I mean she... I... we... Raven followed the guy!""

""Dammit!!"" Cyborg punched his fist down to the floor.

""I KNEW it!!!"" Washuu pumped her fist into the air in happiness, ""She's got the hots for Ranma-chan! My nephew is so manly!!!"" she cackled evilly.

""WHAAAAT?!"" The rest of the Teen Titan members screamed inside the laboratory.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Six days after the events...

It has been near a week since Raven disappeared.

The Justice League, true to their word on their promise to the last words of the future Green Lantern, opened their group to other super powered beings across the Earth. They were surprised and quite pleased to find that there are other capable heroes worthy enough to be inducted into their team.

The disk of the future Jon Stewart's final words was kept in the archives, to serve as a reminder to the League about their true mission in life. The present Green Lantern was quite disturbed at the revelations revealed by that disk, but he was elated that his other self was able to do the job right in the end.

Superman was mortified at the events described by the time traveling Green Lantern. He vowed not to become too irrational when it comes to newcomers on their planet.

For almost a week, the Media has been showing the historic battle of the joint venture of the Justice League and Teen Titans against the lone individual, who managed to fend off their attacks without killing anyone. The Media crews tried to find out more about the certain person, but they all failed. They also caught footages of the fight between Lenneth and Tokimi versus Phobos and Deimos, not that they really knew who they were in the first place. The battle didn't last long, especially when the brothers felt Ranma's aura vanish from this universe. They found it useless to fight when Ranma's presence disappeared from their world.

Lenneth Valkyrie disappeared from the mortal realm, but refused to go back into the Heavenly Realm. None of the Teen Titans or anyone else on Earth knew about this, but she disappeared from Heaven along with several groups of rogue Valkyries. She disappeared along with another woman, who was introduced to the Teen Titans as Hild. Nothing much was known about her... except that she seemed to be involved with Ranma somehow...

Tokimi and Washuu vanished from their world as well when the red haired scientist finished her repairs on the mushroom like ship called the Soja. It amazed Cyborg, actually, at the speed Washuu has on repairing the ship that size. It only took the red haired scientist a good one day and a half to repair the Soja. The sisters blasted off-world after that.

As of the moment, the Teen Titans... what's left of them anyway, rested on their T-Tower base. There was a bit of excitement when Starfire woke up, but it has calmed down after a few days. She wanted to fight the 'Sai-Yahn' again, and they showed her a copy of the disk which contained the last words of the future Green Lantern. She quieted down after that, probably contemplating upon her actions during the fiasco.

They were relaxing inside their game room, where most of their movie nights and gaming hours were spent. They were watching a rather cool sci-fi movie chosen by Cyborg (it was his week) when their tower sensors acted up.

Starfire floated up in the air as she looked around in askance. ""The alarms... my friends, we are under attack!""

""What is that?!"" Robin jumped to his feet, immediately going to the nearby console and tapped a few keys. His eyes widened when he discovered the cause.

""A spatial anomaly?"" Cyborg queried curiously as he looked over their leader's shoulder.

Robin nodded. ""Yeah... and it's going to appear right... here.""

""Here?!"" Beast Boy squawked, his mouth turned into a beak and his arms turned into chicken wings as he ran around the room in panic.

Sure enough, a bright flash of light erupted from the spot in between them and their TV, and a ball of light materialized.

Robin brought out a couple of his batarangs. Starfire floated down next to him as she readied her glowing fists. Beast Boy stood a little behind Robin, ready to transform once whatever was coming out of the portal gets out of it. Cyborg charged his sonic cannon as he aimed for the spot where the portal was appearing.

The portal grew into at least three feet in diameter before stopping its growth. Strong gusts of wind caused the equipment near the contact point to fly out in disarray, which irritated Beast Boy no end (his turn to clean this week). All of the sudden, the portal spat out something... or someONE... who yelped in surprise as it fell unto the red carpet of the tower flooring butt-first. The portal closed with a pop.

"Owie.... that hurts!" The person whined in a language only Cyborg and Robin could decipher at the moment. Robin because he studied the language in his private tutoring back in Gotham, while Cyborg used his auto-translation program. The person was obviously female, and spoke Japanese. She wore a dark blue cloak around her body, which covered the black leotard she had underneath. Her face was covered with a cowl, but a pair of purple eyes can be seen. She has light gray skin all over her body. She struggled to stand up, while holding her bum that hit the ground first.

"When I get back, I'm gonna have to speak with mother about pushing me into portals when they're being conjured. I mean, I know I did something really naughty, but still..." she muttered, but caught herself as she found out that she was surrounded by some teenagers. ""Well, hello..."" she switched to the English language.

""R-Raven?"" Beast Boy asked stupidly. He stepped forwards a bit while he tried to look intently at the girl. Sure enough, those same purple eyes that held so much contempt for life stared back at him. ""IT IS YOU!!"" he screamed, launching himself into the air to hug their lost friend.

A hug which the girl sidestepped easily. The poor boy pass by her and wind-milled his arms as his uncontrollable flight led him to the various equipment situated behind the girl's position. If Beast Boy paid attention, he would've heard the words 'Hentai!' coming out of 'Raven's' mouth.

'Raven' ignored the crash behind her as she stared at the wary group nervously, and mustered enough monotone voice to bring her point across.

""So... what's up, guys?""

""Friend Raven!!!"" Starfire squealed as she seemingly teleported in front of the poor newcomer, who got herself engulfed in a tight Tamaranian hug.

Cyborg looked confused. ""But... how? I mean... we were told there was no way you can get back...""

""L-Long... story... ack... StarfireINeedAir!"" 'Raven' gasped out as she struggled to break free from the embrace.

That night though, after a few rounds of explanations and the welcome back party, 'Raven' was finally alone in her room. She stood amidst the darkness of the dark dwelling.

"Mom has a weird sense of interior decorating..." The girl said hesitantly in Japanese as she glanced at the scary atmosphere the room generated. "Mom's pretty weird after all. But compared to her friends, she seems to be the most normal. I didn't think they'll swallow the story mother has manufactured for me."

The girl sighed. "Oh well, she did warn me about it. Hmm... so... I should help these kids in their battles as my... punishment... for my naughtiness..." she blushed darkly under her cowl, "To be caught by my own mother... but no matter how much he denies it, father got a kick out of our little... tryst..."

She quickly removed her cloak, and a few of appendages emerged from her back. Her wings were not a matching set, as on one side it was feathery white like that of an angel, but on the other it was black as midnight. She also has a tail, a long leathery tail that has an arrow tip at the end. The girl brought a finger to her eye, and poked her purple pupils gently. A small plastic circular purple object popped into her fingertips. As she brought her hand down from her eye, a blue-gray pupil exposed itself to the world.

'Raven' smiled to herself and whispered, "Well, Dizzy... I wonder what you've gotten yourself into. Mom said I should help these people in their fights but... I'm a lover, not a fighter. As dad experienced it..."

A small giggle escaped her lips, which she quickly stifled. After all, 'Raven' was supposed to be cold and unemotional.

Donna Zephyr Gray Chuushin Saotome AKA DZ, or Dizzy, has arrived to start her own training journey, as per instructed by her mother...

May the kami have mercy on the souls of those in the dimension.

"I hope I make a lot of friends here! But... if some pervert tries to get fresh with me... POW! Right to the kisser!" Dizzy gestured to the heavens with a fist, but she blushed when she realized what she was doing.

"Oh my... I hope no one saw that. It's so embarrassing..."

Really, may the kami have mercy on that dimension.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

To Be Continued...

O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O

NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW:

Hmmm preview... oh yeah!

Ranma goes back to the Vandread Universe with a pissed off Raven in tow. Planet Zi is... oh dear. Rin-Ohki's been a bad cabbit.

The Nirvana finally reaches their home system, but gets attacked by the Earth Harvester Fleet. The BIG one.

Rin-Ohki and the Anima Seraphim did something really strange. But it was a good thing.

The battle between Ranma and the Kagato-clone. Who will win?

And why and how did Ranma crash land on THAT planet?

What? Amnesia?!

Ranma's second and third times of copulation?! (First time was with Ryoko...)

Another history-changing save?! Someone tries copying the Masamune?!

The second member of the reincarnated Trinity?!

Meet the renewed Nightmare... the most unexpected one of all. Oh my.

Heheh.

AUTHOR RANTS:

By the way, if anyone wants to see what Ranma looks like now... well... see my profile here: profiles dot yahoo dot com / lord_rance

Big chapter? Damn right it is.

Heh. Got nothing much to say. Hild appeared. Ranma and Raven disappeared.

Really... nothing too important happened.

The kiss? Oh... that'll be explained in the next chapter. Count on it.

Oh... someone might ask, why does Dizzy have a long name? Well... Gray Chuushin Saotome is the combined surname, each of them used by Ranma at a certain point of their travels. So I just combined them to avoid confusion later on, as well as a small preview of how many times Ranma would change his name...

Why does Hild have changing eye color? Fashion sense, I guess. She can change its color by magic glamour, so nailing its correct color is useless.

Why is Washuu-chan in her adult form? She grew out of her past grief. A few thousand years is long enough for grieving.

Why is Tokimi so loving? The power of maternal instincts, my friends.

Why did Phobos and Deimos arrive late? Just to show that when you plan too hard, it's bound to fail in some way. Besides, it serves to aggravate the two into attacking Ranma sometime again, as well as mustering enough followers to help them.

Why did I punish Batman too much? I kinda feel that he's becoming too obsessed in his sense of justice. Sure, he's kinda cool since he's only human amidst the super powered people in Justice League, but he's also one of the most egoistic. The sooner he learns, the sooner he can lecture Superman about the Kryptonian's own ego.

Why are there some hints of Justice League: Unlimited in the fic? Because... it's there. It's kinda like a preview thing... and Supergirl with Green Arrow were called in early was to prove that.

The History is all wrong, why does the cyborg reappear too early? Again, a preview, as well as to prove a point. Ranma's appearance CHANGES Fate and Destiny to a sickening degree that it warps the whole dimension into an unrecognizable pulp. The cyborg had no plans in returning to Earth at that time, but it felt the compelling pull of Ranma's energy.

Where's Slade? Nursing his broken jaw, probably. I thought I oughta kill him, but where's the fun in that? Besides, Dizzy's gonna have loads of fun with him when he tries the whole 'Prophecy' thing with the original Raven. He then realizes that this wasn't the TRUE Raven, and that Dizzy's a bit more... sunny... than her mother (she's too innocent most of the time to even corrupt).

Why does Starfire hate Saiyajins too much? Dunno, ask her. She's the one with the beef with Saiyajins. Ask her guardians too... they're the ones teaching the kid how to act.

Why does Robin act so wimpy? Again, look at the Batman thing reason. He's the only human in the group, and facing an enemy full of power, he'll cower (not in an obvious manner of course). Unlike Batman, Robin knows of his limitations, that's why he's with a team. Well, except those times when he goes real obsessed about Slade.

Will we see Hild again? Hell yeah. She's not gonna let her husband get away that easily. They're probably the first official couple in the history of Existence. Deus is gonna have a hernia for this one. Heh.

So, Urd is Ranma's daughter? No comment. If you don't know by now, then you haven't read the past chapters. Read them first. A hint though... Hild is chasing Ranma/Chaos. There.

Where's Rin-Ohki and the other girls? Obviously not here. They'll reappear next chapter.

Is that Dizzy of Guilty Gear? Yup. It is. Uncanny isn't it?

Is Ryoko pregnant? Where the heck did this come from? Just to satisfy the curiosity... yes, she is. This is Ranma's driving force to return to Ryoko instinctively. Meaning, Ranma doesn't know about the baby yet, but he feels in his heart that he should return to her. They did the hanky panky in background scenes not mentioned in the story. What? I can't explain everything, ya know. 'Sides... the ratings ain't good for a lemon.

By the way, as a side note... Washuu's true age is Unknown. The 20,000 years old bit is measured in her MORTAL years, although she spent quite some time as the Goddess of Knowledge before that. It's impossible that she's just around that age, because someone from the Tenchi Muyo universe is around 40,000 years old. That demoness girl... hmmm... I forgot her name. Ah! Yugi! That's right... from Shin Tenchi Muyo. So, she's actually more than 20,000 years old. But you never heard that from me. Washuu-chan's gonna kill me!

Heh.

To those interested, the crossovers for this chapter are:

- Ranma 1/2 (Of course! Ranma is always there!)
- Teen Titans the animated series
- Justice League the animated series
- Tenchi Muyo: Rin-Ohki!
- Ah! My Goddess!
- Valkyrie Profile
- Guilty Gear X/XX (A short preview of what's to come)

Again, someone asked me for this. I hope this will help some who had trouble understanding where is where and when is when.

1. HOME DIMENSION

The Universe where Ranma came from. Volume 1 - 38 of the manga happened. It's a sort of continuation from the Canon, but of course some information has been revealed into light to suit my needs.

2. FUTURE HOME DIMENSION

Ranma reached this dimension when Happosai threw the artifact at him during the prologue. This is approximately 700 years ahead of the Home Dimension timeline. Earth has experienced a death and rebirth, via Evangelion's plot. Dragonball Z Universe emerged in the end, where Ranma has finally popped out. This was where Ranma's true heritage reawakened. This is the timeline that went on AFTER Ranma disappeared, but since he appeared, everything in the Home Dimension's future splintered. Sailor Pluto, eat your heart out!

3. PAST HOME DIMENSION - DIMENSION B

This Universe was reached when Ranma used the splintered Nanban Mirror. This WAS the past of the Home Dimension, until Ranma got into it. Upon appearing into the timeline, it has veered off its course towards the intended Home Dimension Timeline, creating a new path in itself. This will give Sailor Pluto all the migraine she needs. This was supposed to be approximately 500 years into the past, during the time of Yosho's time on Earth (Tenchi Muyo) and the time of the youkai, Sengoku Jidai (Inuyasha).

4. FUTURE DIMENSION B

An accident caused by Washuu's invention entrapped Ranma in a null vortex, which acted somewhat like 'cold sleep', except that Ranma's sense of time inside the vortex slowed to approximately 97.35 percent of 'real time'. Normally, nothing survives inside the null vortex, but Ranma is Ranma. Ryoko, in her throes of despair, had herself locked in her own Cold Sleep after 10 years of searching for Ranma all over the universe. The incident catapulted Ranma approximately 5000 years into the future of Dimension B, the splintered timeline. Earth suffered into its deterioration, with constant strife and war battering the planet. It turns out that the Earth was under the siege of Kagato, who was under the guise of one of the bigwigs in the Earth's government. He manipulated events to totally dominate the world. Ayeka, Tenchi and Yosho were killed, their essences entrapped inside a special container that was later developed into an effective power source. Sasami fled, to parts unknown to anyone. Without Ryoko to help Tenchi defend Earth, the Juraians were easily beaten. Ryoko, still in cold sleep, was easily taken and converted into 'energy' by Kagato, and was transformed into a power source similar to the fates of the Juraians.

The Planet Zi, Planet Terra-Two, Solaris Planet (tentative name made by the Solarians when they took control of the land) are few of the worlds Ranma encountered in this dimension. And certainly not the last.

5. SLAYERS UNIVERSE

Mentioned a few times, here resides one of those who bore the gems of Higher Power, but still doesn't know about it. Go figure.

But as time went on, it was revealed that another one who bore the gems of power was Luna Inverse.

6. DC UNIVERSE

An offshoot from the Future Dimension B, when Ranma visited one of the planets inside a magnetic storm in order to search for Hibiki Tokai. The planet he landed on was Planet Zi, and he was unwittingly submitted into a war that he didn't want. When he neared the Zoid Eve, a power source for Planet Zi's Zoids, he was pulled out from Dimension B into THIS dimension. Later on, Ranma found out that it wasn't the Zoid Eve's fault, but a failed summoning experiment of the Universe's resident villain, Slade.

There ya go! Enjoy!

Ja ne.

- Lord Rance

In case you need my email for some reason at all, here: lord_rance at yahoo dot com

For those who will send flames, well, I'll just douse it with my trusty bucket of cold water!

"I swear!! This ain't what it looks like!!!" - Ranma Saotome