Insertion Part 15: New Things... by Sean D'Anna ===== Ranma sat in front of a small computer screen in his room. It was a laptop, and looked relatively normal. The display gave away something more though, it was showing some very advanced plans to some kind of electronic device. "You mean, I can make one?" said Ranma in shock as he stared at it in awe. "Yes," replied the computer with some onscreen text. It had a voice option, but Ranma had turned it off to prevent others from overhearing. "Oh man, this is so cool! Can you, I dunno, put out some simplified instructions?" he said as he leaned forward and smirked. After a moment, his face fell. "Oh boy. This is simplified?" ++++++++++ Akane sat up from where she was lying with a manga in her hands. She blinked and looked down at the watch Ranma had given her in surprise as it gave a small beep. "The Alarm?" she wondered out loud as she pushed the button he had told her too when it happened. "Hey! Akane," said Ranma's voice. She jumped in surprise. "What the?" she gasped in shock. "What? You sound surprised," said the boy with a small chuckle. "I thought you were kidding!" said the girl in shock. "Yeah, well now you know better," replied the boy in an amused tone. "Right..." she muttered to herself. She wondered how much of the rest of what he had told her was more than a joke. Surely the whole mess about having to maybe fight off monsters and senshi was. After all, those were just tabloid stories...right? "Anyway, I'm goin over to see the guys. I got some stuff I want to go over with them," said the boy casually. "Should I come?" she asked nervously. The men were far from ugly, but also made her slightly nervous for some reason she couldn't explain. "If you want, but this is technical stuff. I don't really want to go myself, it's gonna be pretty boring," he said with a small sigh. "Just wanted to test out the watch, and let you know I was going." "Right, I'll stay here then," said the girl with a small sigh. "Okay, back later." +++++++++++++++ "You want me to make some of these?" said Nephrite with a smirk on his face. "You're the techno geek," said Ranma with a shrug. The man frowned at this and simply sat down. "I hate it when you call me that, but I am rather bored." "How long?" asked Ranma with a smirk on his face. "With the equipment we stole? Probably about an hour for one," replied the man with a small shrug of his shoulders. "Great. I want to have a couple for myself and Akane tonight then," said the boy cheerfully. "You can make em for the others whenever you feel like it, but we're going to need them." "Oh? What exactly is it?" said Nephrite as he peered at the screen for a moment. "Memory erasers," said Ranma with a small shrug. "I've never heard of anything like that," replied the man with a frown. "I asked the computer a few questions," replied Ranma with a small shrug. "Is this possible? How could I do it if it is? Can I make it compact, say the size of a pen? You get the idea." "Right," commented Nephrite as he tapped a few keys on his own keyboard. "I take it these are for adjusting the length of the memory you want to erase?" He pointed out several dials along the length of the pen like object. "Basically," said the boy with a small shrug. "I'm more worried about parts than anything else," said Ranma with a small frown. "There's actually nothing too advanced in these things, not by Mercury standards anyway," replied Nephrite with a small shrug. "It's probably just a case of the need for things like this never coming up." "What's with these two piles?" asked Ranma as he noticed that the large dump of equipment was now arranged in two separate areas. They had managed to swipe more than two hundred different objects. "One side is for equipment of kinds," said Nephrite as he pointed at the larger pile. "This is weapons." "Cool," said Ranma cheerfully. He lifted a couple of gun shaped objects in his hands and hefted them. "What are these again?" He fumbled for the memory for a moment and frowned. "Plasma guns," replied Nephrite calmly. "They don't feel like metal," commented the boy with a frown. "They aren't, they were designed to avoid detection. There's nothing in this time that can spot them as far as I know," said the man with a small shrug. "Great, I'll take these then," said Ranma as he put them into his belt and covered them with his shirt. "Good," said Nephrite with a small nod as he began to set up his tools. "Say...this isn't what I think it is...is it?" muttered Ranma as he eyed four long round objects that were lined up together. He lifted one up in his hand, and pushed a button on the side. It emitted a small snap and a blade of light burst from the top. "No way." "Like that do you?" said Nephrite with a small chuckle. Ranma turned it off and put it back down, noticing a particularly long one. "Heh. This one is better. It'll fit in with my new way of fighting better." There was a double snapping sound as the blades on either end came to life, creating a bladed staff of light. "Oh yes, the martial arts thing," said Nephrite coolly as he started to work. "Yup," commented Ranma as he picked up a few clips and hooked them onto his belt. "Where are the others?" "The bar down the street," said Nephrite. "I was there, but it's pretty boring tonight." "Right," said Ranma cheerfully. "I know you don't want me around while you're working, so I'll go hang out for a few hours then." "When I'm done, I'll leave them on the table for you. I'm getting kind of tired actually. I'm interested enough to stay up and see how this comes out though." Nephrite chuckled a bit and hunched over to really begin. ++++++++++++++++ Ranma was walking home cheerfully, his hands in his pockets as he strolled down the street. His sunglasses were rather unusual looking for as late as it was getting. "Aiya! Destructo!" cried a familiar voice. "Shampoo find you at last!" The Amazon rushed up to grab the boy, and he turned to face her with a smirk on his face. "Hey, look at this for a second would you?" he asked calmly as he held up what appeared to be a large silver pen. It flipped up and she noticed a small red set of crystals on the top half. The girl paused in mid glomp and blinked. "What is talking?" There was a flash of red light, and the pigtailed boy waved his hand in front of her face for a moment before smiling. "Heh. You passed a guy on the street who kind of looked like me, it wasn't really me though, and you just went back to what you were doing." He turned away and started walking again, leaving her standing there dumbly. Shampoo blinked and seemed to jump awake suddenly. "Aiya. Almost thought was Airen..." she muttered as she continued on her way. Ranma chuckled to himself as he heard her. The rather unpleasant gleam in his eyes was hidden away by his shades. +++++++++++++++ "A what?" muttered Akane in shock. "A memory eraser. Look, it works like this." The boy pulled his own out and opened her door, causing Nabiki too fall into the room with a glass in her hand. "I um...was thirsty..." muttered the girl. "Sunglasses," said Ranma calmly. Akane put hers on, and looked at him for a moment in confusion. Ranma flashed the light in Nabiki's face causing her to go blank. "Nabiki, you just overheard us talking about...losing our virginity to each other, without any strings attached." "What!?" cried Akane angrily. "Akane! Don't you dare! I mean...um...I was just passing by...and I heard...you wouldn't would you?" gasped the girl as she clutched her sister's shoulders. The girl simply stared at her in horror. Ranma was behind her back, pointing at his memory eraser with a grin on his face. The young girl nodded, and pointed it at her sister. Another flash of light later the girl was standing dumbly in front of her. "You didn't hear anything interesting at all, and fell through the door when you tried to stand up and tripped," said Akane with a dark frown on her face. She turned her head towards Ranma and stuck her tongue out at him. "Pervert!" "Hiya Nabiki, any in particular reason you came in here?" said the boy cheerfully as he turned to look at the girl. She had a huge blush on her face and turned away. "I just tripped, that's all. Sorry." She shuffled away and left them alone. "Where did you get this?" said the girl as she stared at the strange object in awe. "It's actually called a Neuralizer. Nephrite made it for me, he's good at stuff like that," replied the boy with a shrug. "Oh," said the girl as she sat down on her bed. "So, what time do we leave?" "About two hours," said Ranma cheerfully. "The party only lasts about two hours, it's some private invitation thing. We should be just for show this time. Museum security will take over after it's over." "Oh, okay," said the girl with a small shrug. "I'll be ready then." ++++++++++++++++ "This is it?" muttered Akane as she stared at the mask for a moment. It was in the lobby of the museum, and was encased in glass on a pedestal. "Yeah," muttered Ranma uncomfortably. "Something wrong?" asked the girl as she turned to face him. "It's nothing, I've just seen something like this before. It was bad news," replied the boy calmly. "What? Is it cursed or something?" asked the girl with a small snort. Ranma merely nodded silently as he peered at it. It was simple enough, a flat face made out of wood, with a strip of metal running from the forehead to the tip of the nose. "Don't tell me you believe in stuff like that," said the girl with a small chuckle. "Go get me a glass of water, and I'll show you," said Ranma calmly. Akane blinked and turned to look at the thing for a moment. "I never thought of it that way." "Well, nothing should happen we can't handle during the party. You kind of have to wear it for it to do anything to you as I recall." The pair turned towards the doors as they were opened and guests started to enter. They took their positions and prepared for a long boring stay. +++++++++++++++ "I don't believe it!" said Carrot excitedly. "This is so cool!" "What? It's just some stupid mask," grumbled Ranma. "What's the big deal?" grumbled Dan. "It's the Mask. The Mask." "So?" snorted Ranma. "You don't understand, this thing is really cursed. It turns people into a sort of invincible demon thing, but it isn't really evil. It bases what it does to you on your deepest desires. Some people would become a superhero, others would become a sort of monster. It's pretty cool, but I don't think it would be good to have it running around." "I think you've read too many comics," snorted Dan irritably. "I think it's kind of pretty," said Pissant. "That cruddy old thing?" snorted Dan. "Well, in an oldish kinda way," said the voice sheepishly. "I wonder what it would do to us?" said Ranma. "We'd probably short it out or something, there's too many of us," said Carrot with a small chuckle. "Anyway, things are looking good so far," said Dan as he peered at the crowd. "Not near as many as that diamond." "Well, who want's to play charades?" asked Carrot. "You dope, we can't see each other!" snapped Ranma. "Twenty questions?" offered Pissant. "How about the quiet game?" said Dan irritably. "Hey! That sounds fun!" cheered Pissant. "What the heck is that?" muttered Ranma. "We see who can shut up for the longest. First one to talk loses," said Dan. Carrot said nothing, and resisted the urge to hang their head in shame as Ranma and Pissant instantly agreed to the game. ++++++++++++++++++ Ranma and Akane walked out of the museum, the job completed. "Well, that's that," said the girl with as she walked down to the taxi waiting for them below. "Somehow, I doubt it," said Ranma with a frown on his face. He looked back at the doors and started after her. ++++++++++++++++ "Ranma! How dare you take my little girl on such a dangerous job!" cried Soun angrily as he appeared in front of the boy. Ranma frowned and picked up the man's keys from a small table by the door. He reached over and put them into his pocket. "What are you doing son?" snapped Soun angrily. The boy then raised his neuralizer and flashed the man in his face. "You were looking for your keys to go somewhere, but can't find them." "Are you sure that's okay?" said Akane as she stepped by her father. "Relax," said Ranma as he strolled up to his room. After a moment, Soun was moving through the home, muttering about not being able to find something. "Daddy? What are you doing?" said Nabiki as she walked down the stairs to find him rummaging through a pile of magazines. "Looking for my keys, I can't find them," said the man irritably. "What do you need them for?" she said as she arched her eyebrow slightly. "I was going to go somewhere...but..." "Go somewhere?" she said as she looked up at the clock. It was after midnight. "If only I could remember where I was going!" said Soun angrily as he continued his search. ++++++++++++++++++ "Stop right there!" cried one of the security guards. The dark clad figure was standing over the broken remains of the glass case used to house the mask. It was firmly in his grip, and he spun around. "Shit! I didn't expect them to be so fast!" grumbled the man as he rushed towards the front doors. They were locked, but also made of glass. He burst into the street and started running. Unfortunately, he never saw the truck that was speeding down the road. "Huh?" It was all he managed to get out before it slammed into him. The mask sailed from his dead hand, and into a nearby drainage ditch. It floated away, bobbing up and down in the water as it went. ++++++++++++++++++ "He's been like this all night?" muttered Akane as she stared at her father in shock. Soun was scouring the floor under the table, in search of his elusive keys. His eyes were bloodshot, and tears were running down his face. The entire living room was destroyed by his mad search. Ranma stood just behind her. "I never thought he'd take it this far," he grumbled irritably. "This is your fault!" snapped the girl as she spun around to face him. "Calm down! I'm sorry!" he said with a small frown. "Look, it's not like he's got a job to go to, or classes to teach. He can go to sleep anytime he needs too. I didn't mean for this too happen, but getting mad about it won't fix anything. We'll just have to be more careful in the future." Akane stomped away from him and he sighed. "Great." Soun sat down at the table, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "Um, hi," said Ranma as he sat down next to him. Kasumi was setting out breakfast, and Nabiki was simply staring at her father in fascination. "Good morning Ranma. Tell me, have you seen my keys?" "They aren't in the dojo either, Tendo," said Genma as he walked back into the room and frowned. "I've got no idea where they might be." Ranma began to sweat nervously as Akane gave him an angry glare. "Um? Mr. Tendo? Did you check your pocket? I do that sometimes with stuff." Soun blinked at him and then frowned. "What are you saying? I'm not that absent..." He reached into his pocket and came up with the missing keys. Everyone stared at him for a moment, and he hung his head for a moment, and then lifted his head into the air and screamed before he passed out. "He took that rather well," said Kasumi sweetly. Ranma was looking rather uncomfortable under Akane's harsh glare. "Sorry," he muttered again. "Don't be, he'd have kept looking for those keys for days. This isn't the first time this has happened," commented Nabiki as she started to eat. Everyone looked at her, the three Tendo sisters looked rather embarrassed. Ranma and Genma merely looked confused. "I guess it wasn't as bad as I'd thought," said Ranma with a shrug as he started to eat as well. +++++++++++++++++ "Give us your lunch money punk!" screamed one of the trio of masked boys standing around Hikaru Gosunkugi. "But, then I won't be able to buy lunch!" whined the boy pathetically. "So you're hungry are you?" said one of the masked boys arrogantly. "Well, not at the moment," said Hikaru as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well then, you can eat my shoe!" cried another one of the boys as he kicked the rather pathetic boy in his gut. "No! Don't hit me again! You can have it! I probably won't get hungry anyway!" "Too late for that! I think you need a drink to go with that!" snapped the lead gang member. "Huh?" muttered Hikaru dumbly as he found himself lifted into the air by the trio. They tossed him over the fence, and into the drainage ditch, laughing crudely as he floundered about in the water. Hikaru stumbled back to his feet, finding himself knee deep in water. He clenched his fists and cried. He tried to stop, but it was just too much. He smirked a bit as he looked down at his school bag. "At least I've still got my lunch money." He paused as something struck him on the leg. A quick glance down revealed a small wooden mask. It was floating against his leg, staying in place as the water flowed on behind him. "What the?" He lifted it up and shook some of the water off, peering at it in confusion. "What's this? Some old mask?" He was about to toss it over his shoulder, when something stopped him. Not certain why, he put the mask into his bag, and started to climb out of the ditch. ++++++++++ A short time later, a bit further down the road. "Hey little girl, goin to school?" "Y-yes..." "Did daddy give you any lunch money?" "A little...why?" "I think you should give it to us." "But..." "Come on, be a good little girl and give us you're money." "What the heck is she doin?" "Look kid. You'd better give it up, or else my friends and I are gonna have to get mean. We're nice guy's see..." The mask wearing bully made the mistake of grabbing Hotaru by her collar. "Let go," she said quietly as she put her arm between his and snagged his wrist. With a simple twist, he was pulled down to the ground and held firmly in place. "Haw! Getting beat up by a little shrimp!" cried another of the bullies. He poked at her with his finger. Hotaru wasted no time, she released her first victim and snagged him before he could react, pulling down with her hand, and tapping his wrist, dislocating the finger. "Ouch! You little shit!" screamed the boy angrily. "Get her you idiots!" snapped the lead gang member. The trio rushed forward on full assault. Hotaru merely stepped back, her hand flew out and she snagged one of the outstretched punches, redirecting the momentum so that it slammed into one of his friends. "Little..." That was as far as he got. Hotaru snagged his wrist and spun around fluidly, twisting her own weight and flipping him over almost casually. There was a snapping sound as the boy's wrist broke, causing him to scream in pain. The first boy was back on his feet, he pulled a knife out and glared at her. "Now I'm gonna have to cut ya ta teach ya a lesson!" Hotaru narrowed her eyes as he dove for her. She shifted back, extending her leg out into his solar plexus, and grabbed his arm. In a single fluid motion, she cause him to stab his own leg and rolled under him as he fell. The trio was lying on the ground, groaning in pain as she strolled away towards her school calmly. Her face was a mask of complete ice as she left them there. After a moment, she seemed to snap out of it and gasped for breath. "Saotome-sensei was right. I'm going to have to work harder, I'm really tired," she moved over to a small set of stairs on an apartment building and sat down for a moment to catch her breath. ++++++++++++ On a distant world, far away from the Earth... "Where the hell am I?" snarled Ryoga as he continued to walk through the wilderness. A hissing noise caught his attention, and he turned to glare at the things that were following him. "Don't you ever give up?" he snarled. The things hissed at him, there were about a dozen of them. They were eight feet tall, with black skin and no eyes. One of them opened its jaws, revealing another set inside that slid outward threateningly. Ryoga snorted and put up his fists. "I don't have all day you know." The things charged him in a swarm, and he screamed in rage as he met them. A moment later, a loud chorus of screeching noises sounded, and the things scurried away in terror. Ryoga was standing unharmed and glaring at them as they ran. "Don't come back this time!" he called after them as he shook his fist in the air. "Stupid things, like giant ants or something." He continued on his way, trying to find his way into Nerima once again. ++++++++++++ TBC... Next Time: Senshi vs. MIB?