Chapter 2
I own nothing but the plot after this and that will be done by me personally. I got a few reviews complaining that I gave Ranma too much power too quickly. I agree that if he doesn't have a weakness, then it gets really cheap. But have no fear, Ranma will have at least one major weakness; don't ask me what because I won't tell you. It'll come out later in the story. And I'm sorry, all you die-hard Teen Titan comic fans, I'm using CN's Teen Titans because it's simpler and it's all I know. The first part of this chapter is a flashback/dream sequence thingy. If anything doesn't seem right, tell me and I'll try to fix it. That is, unless it's an integral part of my plot.
The Green Stallion
Ranma was training with a Master of Ninjitsu in northern Japan, when he saw a foreign man standing near by with a young boy about two years younger than him. As he was distracted by the two guests, the Master took the opportunity to knock him on his butt.
"Ranma, you must stay focused at all times!" he told Ranma harshly but with an ounce of concern. "I could have easily killed you while you were distracted."
"I'm sorry, Master. It won't happen again," Ranma said with his head bowed in shame.
The Master sighed as he looked at Ranma's sad face.
"Why don't you go show our young guest to the guest room next to yours? I need to talk to Bruce," the Master told him.
Ranma nodded and walked over to the two guests, walking as he was taught so he wouldn't leave any footprints on the soft dirt.
"Come with me, I'll show you where to stay," Ranma told the boy in Japanese.
At his puzzled look, Ranma though about it and tried again, this time in English.
"You come with me, I show where you stay," he told him in broken but passable English. Being on the road a lot made him pick up quite a few thing. Not everyone spoke Japanese but almost everyone spoke some English.
The boy nodded as he moved to follow Ranma, stopping to wave to the older man before jogging to catch up with his guide and hopefully future friend.
"I'm glad that you could make it," said the Master as the older man walked over to him.
"I take it that is the boy you wrote me about?" asked the man as he knelt down next to the Master.
"You always had a gift for figuring things out, Bruce. How is Gotham these days?" replied the Master uninterested but looking for something to ease into regular conversation.
"As chaotic as usual, Master." He said shaking his head. "Why did you ask me to come here?" Bruce asked, not beating around the bush and getting straight to the point.
The old man sighed as he looked out at where Ranma was showing the guest room to the young man; Bruce said his name was Dick Grayson in his letters. They had started a conversation on the way down and were starting to become friends already. The Master smiled at this. Ranma needed some friends his own age.
"I have the feeling that young Ranma is going to need your help in the years to come. Perhaps not soon, maybe not for many years, but he is. I feel it best for you to gain his trust while he still has some left in him. He will not be here for very much longer as there isn't much left for me to teach him," the Master told Bruce, shocking him with that last statement.
"You can't be serious," he told the Master unbelievingly. "It took me ten years to complete your training. He's been here, what, four months?"
"Five actually, but that isn't the point." He said scratching under his chin and looking up at the ceiling. "The point is that this child has the fastest learning curve I have ever witnessed. Just last week, I showed him one of my special techniques and in three days he had it down, not perfect, but down solid,"
Bruce whistled in admiration. He knew just how difficult the Master's special techniques were to get down and this boy did it in three days. That was something to earn his respect.
"What do you want me to do with him?" asked Bruce.
"I want you to help me train him, teach him some of the moves and techniques you have developed as Batman," the Master told him, looking him straight in the eye. Neither blinked as he mentioned Bruce was Batman.
Bruce sat back and thought about this. Even he could tell that the boy had potential, and his Master was never wrong about these sorts of things. He turned to face the Master with a serious look on his face.
"I'll do it." He said in an equally serious voice.
Two Months Later
"Are you sure that you want to do this, Ranma?" Bruce asked him carefully. "Dick and I would be happy to take you back to Gotham with us. We could always use someone of your talents cleaning up Gotham."
"I'm sure, Bruce," Ranma told him as his father motioned for him to hurry up. Ranma rolled his eyes at that.
Bruce sighed as he reached into his jacket. He didn't like this, but it was Ranma's choice to go with his father.
"Here, take this," Bruce told him, handing him a card. "You can contact me with the number on the card. It would help if you memorized the number, just in case," Bruce whispered the last part in case Genma either heard about or saw the card.
Ranma nodded, knowing his father, he'd destroy the card as soon as he found it. He slipped the card into his pocket and shook Bruce's hand before turning to Dick. They had gotten to be best friends while Bruce helped with his training. They were practically brothers.
"I'll miss you, man," Dick told Ranma in English as they shook hands.
"No worry. I see friend again someday and we fight. Ok?," said Ranma in English as well. Dick had tries to teach Ranma a little more English but little got through. He then shouldered his backpack and headed after his father.
Ranma was snapped out of his daydreams by the Guardians contacting him. He was currently practicing in the newly restored Dojo. Nabiki was tired of having it destroyed so Ranma offered to fix it up to save on construction. He quickly looked around, went outside, and jumped onto the roof. There, he lay down and meditated to establish a link.
"Hello, Ranma," said a new voice. This voice sounded of an elderly man, like a grandfather.
"Huh? Who are you? I don't recognize your voice," Ranma told him confused.
"I am one of the Guardian Elders. The group that found you was just one of many searching the universe. When they found you, they told the rest of us back on Oa before resuming watching you," the Elder told him.
"Ok, so what's up?" Ranma asked him.
"Straight to the point I see." Ranma practically 'saw' the small smile in his mind. "We have decided that you should seek training from your sector's current Green Lantern. His name is John Stewart and he's part of the Justice League of America. He is a very capable fighter, though he does lack imagination in the use of his powers," said the Elder thoughtfully.
"Ok, so how do I find him?" Ranma asked as he filed away the guy's name for future reference.
"That is for you to do on your own, Young Champion. Farewell," the Elder told him before leaving Ranma alone.
"Son of a…" Ranma muttered as he stood up. "The least he could have done was told me where to find this 'John' guy. Oh well. Guess it can't be helped now."
Ranma hopped down to the ground and headed in, grabbing his bath stuff. He check the bathroom for signs of occupation, such as a sign, steam, or voices. Seeing none, he went inside.
While Ranma was soaking in the furo, he thought of a way to find 'John' fairly easily. He smiled as he remembered something. He got out and changed before heading to his room. There, he pulled out his backpack and started to pull things that would have made any magician nod his head in appreciation. After a minute or so he pulled out a card from one of the side pockets. He smiled as he read the card.
"Wayne Enterprises."
"Hello?" Bruce asked as he answered his cell phone, just after a JLA meeting. Next to him, John stiffened as he received a telepathic message from the Guardians.
"Hey, Bruce. It's Ranma," said Ranma in English over the phone.
"Ranma, it's been awhile since we talked. What's up?" asked Bruce marginally surprised by his fluency in English. Then again he was a bright boy back then.
"I need your help," Ranma told him seriously. "I need to find a guy named John Stewart."
Bruce looked over at John and let a smirk form on his face. Batman was finding this amusing and he didn't even now what was going on.
"I think I can handle that. Why do you need to find him?" Bruce a.k.a. Batman asked with amusement in voice without a small amount of curiosity.
"I can trust you, right?" Ranma asked carefully. The past two years had taught him to be cautious with everything and everybody.
Bruce became even more curious at this question. Ranma had always trusted him. What on Earth could cause him to question that trust.
"Ranma, you can always trust me," Bruce told him seriously.
"Bruce, I've been chosen by a race known as the Guardians to be their Champion." Ranma said not trying to impress him in the slightest, merely informing Bruce Wayne. "I'm a Green Lantern," said Ranma finally.
Bruce took a quick look over at John and saw that he was conversing with one of the Guardians through his ring. Apparently, he was slightly surprised at the information he was being given.
"Ranma, I just got out of a meeting with the JLA. John is one of the members of the group," Bruce told him.
"That's right! You're Batman, I'd forgotten completely. I never thought that you'd join a group though," Ranma exclaimed. Ranma had forgotten in the two years he had been there. What with the rivals, the kidnappings, and the gods facing him in mortal combat one should forgive him for forgetting minor things like that.
"I'll explain things later, now where are you?" Bruce told Ranma.
"Why do you need to know that?" asked a curious and confused Ranma.
"It's so that the League's teleporters can pick you up and bring you here," Bruce explained.
"Ok, I've been staying at the Tendo Dojo in Nerima…."
As Bruce hung up, he was approached by two men, John Stewart and a man known only as the Question.
"Let me guess, that was my new trainee," John said to Bruce with an eyebrow raised.
"Yes, John." Batman said putting away his phone. "His name is Ranma Saotome and he has had a tough life," Bruce told them seriously. He was slightly curious as to why the Question was here, but he brushed that thought off as there were more important things to worry about.
"What can you tell me about him, Bruce?" John asked as Bruce started heading towards the teleporters.
"Where to begin?" wondered Bruce. "Well, I first meet Ranma when my old Master wrote me a letter asking me to come visit him. It seemed he had a student with enormous potential. Well, I took Dick with me and…."
After telling them everything he knew about Ranma, Bruce settled down for the wait.
"A man that young and has been through things like that becoming a champion of the Green Lantern Corps? May I watch you train him? He sounds intriguing," asked the Question with serious curiosity.
"Sure thing, just don't do anything to disrupt his training," warned John.
"Very well, as you wish," replied the Question nodding his head.
Bruce just shook his head. He should have known that the Question would find Ranma interesting. Oh well.
Ranma sighed as he packed the last of his things into his bag. As he looked around the room, he realized for the first time, just how many memories he had here. He had spent the last two years here, the longest he had ever spent in one place since he was six. Ranma shouldered his pack, intending to leave with only a note to say good-bye. He hopped out his window, catching the overhang of the roof, and flipping up there. He sat down and waited for something to happen. Suddenly, a light surrounded him and he was gone from the planet.
ALL RIGHT!! Got Chapter 2 out already. Man, from here on out it's all me doin' this people. Good, bad? It's yer decision. See ya!