Web of Ranma

Disclaimer: Well, here I go again. After a reader had suggested this kind of fusion story, I just couldn’t resist it. As if I had enough stories to worry about. (^_-) This will only be an experiment, so I really don’t have any long-range plans for this, if I ever continue it. As always, Ranma 1/2 and any other characters or concepts mentioned in this story belong to their creators and I’m only using them to create this work of fiction.

< >: Thoughts

[“ ”]: Chinese language

** **: Author’s opinon

Chapter 1

Along Came a Spider...

“Dr. Yamashita, are you certain about this?” The assistant asked as they were about to subject a small, common house spider in a jar to massive amounts of radioactive energy from some isotopes. The rare elements were contained in special, lead-lined cases that were suspended above the jar. The two were behind a protective, transparent barrier that would prevent any harmful radiation from entering the control room.

The entomology expert nodded as he replied to his cohort. “Yes. All my life, I had been fascinated by insects and arachnids and their ability to survive in the most harshest of climates. And, of all of the arthropods, it has been the spiders that has kept my interest the most. Spiders have existed for millions of years, even before the age of dinosaurs. We have found fossilized remains and specimens trapped in amber of gigantic species of spiders that date back to times prior to the Jurassic Period. Though their average sizes have diminished to the few hundred varieties that we know of today, their basic form and ways have not significantly changed over the millennia.” He then began counting off the characteristics of the spider. “They’re revered hunters and one of the few animals besides humans that uses tools to solve problems.”
“Tools?”

“Yes. The best example is the use of the web. They create intricate patterns from pure instinct which not only help catch their prey, but also provide them with shelter. The material they create their webs from may look like silk, but in terms of scale size, it even stronger than steel cable, at least to the spider’s point of view. If you were to have a spider as large as a man, then its webbing would be as strong as steel cable. And they have been known to adapt their ability to produce webbing in variety of ways. The trapdoor spider uses its web to mold soil to produce a hidden trap for camouflage. The diving spider uses its web to create an underwater home. There is a species in which it uses a single line with a drop of adhesive on the end like a fishing line. There is another which uses only a tiny, but elastic net. Several species use their webbing to actually travel on the wind like a parachute. I can go on and on but you get the idea of how the spider can put one tool to many uses.”
“Yes, I suppose so, if you look at it that way.” The assistant said skeptically.

Dr. Yamashita nodded as he continued on. “And their physical abilities are extraordinary on their own. Like the ant, several species of spider can lift things that are many times their own weight. This ability is very useful as it often has to take on prey that are larger than itself. The little fellow in that jar is a prime example as it catches large houseflies, roaches and even beetles. And spiders are extremely agile. They have to be to evade larger predators and navigate harsh terrain. They are excellent climbers and can adhere to virtually any surface. And... I do believe that spiders have some kind of inherent instinct within them which warns them of danger. A kind of sixth sense if you will.”

“A sixth sense?”

“A... spider-sense as I like to call it. Have you ever wondered why a spider always seem to know that you are about to squash it and then darts away quickly? The quickness that a spider can move at when threatened is quite extraordinary and if you compare that in human terms, that’s being able to move at fifty to sixty times faster than even a trained Olympic athlete or a martial artist. A man would be able to easily evade machine gunfire and even lasers if he were to have several split-seconds of warning.”

“I guess that is very interesting, but what does all of this has to do with exposing that spider to those isotopes?”

Yamashita nodded as he gestured to the arachnid in that jar. “I had chosen this variety of spider because this species is known for being quite agile and acrobatic. They are also quite strong. Though it doesn’t have the brute power of say, a tarantula, this species can take down prey and enemies that are three to four times larger and ten times heavier than itself. This particular fellow was wrapping up a large cricket when I collected it.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why you’re doing this.” The assistant said.

Yamashita smiled as he pointed to the isotopes. “I’ve already stated the strengths of spiders and their adaptability, as well as put them in comparison to what they would be like in human terms.”

“Yes, but you did say if a spider were man-sized and...” The scientist’s pupils became small as he suddenly began catching on to Yamashita’s ideas. “Now wait a minute! Are you trying to create some kind of giant spider?” He had a bit of arachnophobia and the thought of a huge monster spider gave him the willies.

“Oh no!” Yamashita chuckled as he began calibrating his instruments. “What would I do with a spider the size of a garage? No, you misunderstand me. I said that I was very interested in their abilities and how they related in human terms.”

“How they related in human terms?”
“Yes, and think of what a man could do if he had the proportionate power of a spider? By my calculations, a person who had the amplified strength of a man-sized spider could lift several tons! His agility and coordination would put any Gold Medal gymnast to shame and could scale any walls and go where no ordinary human could go before.”
The assistant looked at the scientist as if he had gone mad. He actually believed that a person could gain great power from a spider? No doubt about it, he was totally cracked! However, he was being paid top yen and given the most sophisticated equipment that money could buy. He was even provided with rare radioactive isotopes that were probably obtained through illegal channels. Heck, this entire operation was being funded by the some secret organization that was heavily involved with various espionage activities. From the way Yamashita was talking about how a human could benefit from having spider-powers, it was very likely that this research was part of some project to create a kind of super-soldier. It was that age-old dream to develop the ultimate warrior. The Nazis had attempted such an endeavor and had caused the deaths of millions of innocent Jews in their search for the master race. Now Dr. Yamashita was going on about a person with the proportionate power and abilities of a spider!

“Let me get this straight, Dr. Yamashita. Are you saying that you want to create some kind of superhuman with the powers... of a spider?”

The scientist nodded as he made the final adjustments to his instruments. “In short, my creation shall be the world’s first... Spider-Man!”

It was then that he threw the switch and the canisters which contained the isotopes opened up, exposing the poor arachnid to the combined radioactive energies contained within the lead cylinders.

Some days later...

Dr. Yamashita smiled as he looked at the data readouts that were appearing on his console. Within the testing chamber, a very large spider was suspended in a transparent, yellow, gel-like substance. A few days ago, that arachnid had grown to more than fifteen times its normal size due to its exposure to the very rare radioactive elements and few injections of growth hormones. It was now about the size of a tarantula, but without the hair. Yamashita had wanted to make certain that the spider produced enough irradiated venom for his research. During the course of the experiment, it had been subjected to increasing doses of radiation and had received a final lethal amount yesterday. It would have died shortly afterwards, had the scientist not placed it in suspended animation by using a substance that was similar to amber. As of now, the spider was still alive, but just barely as its life functions were at minimum. It was then that Dr. Yamashita ordered that the spider be made ready for transport to the main facilities located in Japan. The venom it had stored in its body would be just enough to fill a small syringe, and this would be their only supply. There was no more of the rare isotopes to be had. Once the venom was extracted and fully analyzed, the scientist would then be able to begin experimenting on human subjects.

However, fate had other ideas for the precious cargo of spider venom.

A week later, in the hills of Japan...

Genma Saotome couldn’t believe his luck as he and his six-year-old son approached the wreckage of the transport plane. They had run out of food and supplies a couple of days ago and a plane this large would certainly have some food or some cargo that the greedy martial could eat or sell. After all, it was finders-keepers! Seeing that the plane was empty and looked as it had gone down recently, the fat martial artist assumed that the crew had bailed out and abandoned the aircraft. Therefore, any valuables that the plane had was theirs for the taking! As he started rummaging about the cargo hold, young Ranma decided to check out the broken crates for anything that might be edible. He hadn’t eaten for two days and like his papa told him, he should eat whenever he had the opportunity, for he might not get another chance to do so.

However, as Ranma reached into an open crate to pull out a small, plastic canister that was leaking, he suddenly screamed out as he saw what was in it.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

The hideous spider was huge and moving! Because the seal had been broken, the suspension fluid had been steadily draining out and the creature was just starting to regain consciousness.

Now ordinarily, Ranma wasn’t afraid of bugs like a girl, but a spider that was almost the size of his head was not something he wanted crawling around when he was asleep or even awake. He threw away the canister, which incidentally smashed open in Genma’s face when he turned around at the sounds of Ranma’s scream. He then let out a panicked yelp as he began running around like a chicken with its head cut off . The spider was still a bit dazed as it used its eight legs to clutch at his face. It started to twitch as it began to feel its life slip away. As it was no longer contained in the suspension fluid, the effects of radiation and hormone overdose began to cause it to convulse. Genma wanted no part of it as he clawed at it, then finally managed to pry it loose and throw it away... right back at his son!

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!”

Ranma felt a horrible sting as he raised his arms to block, but in its death throes, the spider had exposed its fangs and penetrated the sleeve of the boy’s gi. The fangs sunk deep within his right arm as Ranma desperately fell to the ground and rolled to his side, crushing the arachnid to a pulp. However, the dead spider’s venom had already reached the young martial artist’s bloodstream and started a mutagenic chain reaction within his body. From this day on, Ranma Saotome’s life had been altered forever.

“Ranma!” Genma shouted as he ran to the boy’s side. His only child had already begun going through a series of convulsions and his body temperature had begun to climb. Genma desperately tried to stop Ranma’s sudden onset of fever, but he knew that the outlook didn’t look good as his son started going into shock. Ranma’s vision began to blur as he felt intense heat within him. Then finally, blessed peace came to him as he lost consciousness.

Three days later...

“Ranma! Thank the kami that you’re all right!” Genma cried out as Ranma finally opened his eyes. He had been looking after the boy ever since he that encounter with that spider. He had been sweating bullets for three days as he hoped and hoped that the boy would pull through. He was after all the heir to the Saotome Anything Goes School of Martial Arts and would one day marry one of Soun Tendo’s daughters. What would Nodoka do to him if she were to find out that he had lost their son to a spider’s bite? He would have lost both his chance for an early, luxurious retirement and his head. Also, the boy was a useful bargaining chip for suckers who would agree to engage their daughters to him for food and supplies. People like the Daijkoku and Kuonji families. Ranma was just too valuable to have died on him this early on.

** For those of you who believe that Genma truly cares for his son’s well being and not just using him as a piece of property to be bartered off for his own personal gain, oh come on now! He SOLD his son for a fish, rice and pickles and later on would let him take the fall for his countless mistakes and crimes! Genma has never been a favorite of mine and I would say that though some may say that he truly loves his son, I for one think that Ranma would be truly better off without him. But then again, that has been my opinion for all my stories, right? **

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A week later after the incident...

Ranma had been feeling a bit strange ever since that encounter with that yucky spider. For some time now, he had been getting some kind of weird buzzing in his head. It would come and go every time his father would go to a deep pit that he had just dug and dump something in it. When the boy had first asked what his parent was doing, Genma had smiled and said that he was preparing to train Ranma in a new technique that would make him an invincible fighter. Always eager to learn new martial arts moves, Ranma waited for the day in which he would undergo the training. However, something at the back of his head kept on nagging at his subconscious that something bad was going to happen very soon.

The sensation was like hearing a very muffled smoke alarm in his head. At first, Ranma thought he had a headache, but it wasn’t anything painful and it would disappear whenever he moved away from the pit. The lid that covered the pit was shut tight and Ranma could not determine what his father had been dumping into it for that last few days. Whenever he approached the pit, that buzzing sensation would return. The young boy wondered just what was going on, and finally decided that it was just his nerves acting up. He would find out just what kind of training his father was going to put him through.

A couple of days later...

Genma was so excited as he wrapped his son up in links of Japanese fish sausage and nudged him toward the pit. Today was the day that Ranma would learn the Cat Fist! He had spent almost a week preparing the pit and filling it with cats. The felines had not eaten in several days and were ravenous enough to start devouring each other. He then took a stoic air as he said to his son, “Ranma, today is the day that you learn the technique that will make you an invincible fighter... the Dreaded Cat Fist!” He then opened the lid and shoved his son into the pit, quickly sealing up the hole.

<Soon, the Dreaded Cat Fist will be ours! > The fat martial artist chuckled as he listened intently with his ear to the lid.

----------

Ranma dropped to the floor of the pit, but easily turned in his fall to land on his feet. He had been training for over a year now and had learned to roll and tumble to avoid injury from a fall. However, something was a bit... odd with this landing. For one thing, he twisted in the air almost too casually and then landed lightly on not only his feet, but also on the tips of his hands. He made nary a sound and found himself crouching on the floor in some kind of stance with both arms positioned forward and his legs spread out. It was then that buzzing in his head started up again, this time at a much more intense volume. And then it happened.

The cats caught the scent of food in an instant and began yowling and screeching as they swarmed at him like a school of sharks. Ranma’s reflexes reacted faster than he could think as he suddenly leapt up fifteen feet and out of the reach of the starving felines. He found himself looking down at the teeming masses of cats below and his nose scrunched up at the putrid odor of waste below. The animals had accumulated quite a mess after being starved for nearly a week. The cats were still looking up at him and trying to get at him , but with Ranma clinging to the lid that covered the pit, there was no way that they could reach him.

Clinging to the lid? Ranma was quite shocked at this revelation as he looked at his fingers. At first he thought that he was using the Saotome ‘Cling to the Ceiling and Hope Your Enemies Don’t Look Up’ technique, but there were two problems with that hypothesis. First of all, his father had yet to teach him that technique and secondly, there was nothing to hold onto. His fingertips and his bare feet were adhering to the smooth underside of the lid, supporting his entire weight. He carefully removed one hand and then placed it on another spot. He was amazed to see that the stickiness that his fingers had would disappear and then reappear whenever he moved his hands. He then began testing out his feet as well and repositioning himself in several areas on the lid.

<Cool! I’m sticking to the lid and I can move as easily as I can walk. > He then began wondering... had he learned the Cat Fist? He looked back down at the yowling and starving mass of felines below and saw them begin a maddened frenzy. Several cats started clawing at each other as they tried to reach the source of food that was just above them. A few made some desperate jumps, but they fell just short of their goal as Ranma was suspended on the lid like some human insect.

It was then that Ranma realized something. He hadn’t learned the Cat Fist. He had been told by his father that in addition to enhanced speed and agility, Cat Fist fighters also developed their chi into claws. The thing was that he wasn’t digging into the lid’s surface with claws. Furthermore, cats usually don’t hang upside-down like they do in cartoons. He was just sticking to the lid like some kind of giant fly... or spider. Ranma’s eyes widened as he remembered back to the time that he was bitten by that huge spider. Could that be it? Could he have somehow gained the powers of a spider?

Well, if that was true, he was quite grateful that he did as he looked back down at the hunger-maddened felines below. He shivered at the thought of being mauled by those cats, but then began to feel sorry for them. He decided to give them what they wanted. He then carefully moved one hand off the lid, making certain that his remaining hand and feet still supported him. He then carefully unwrapped the links of fish sausage and threw them down to the hungry cats. The yowling then came back with a vengeance as the grateful felines tore into the food like piranha. It was then that the lid began to tremble. Ranma winced as he realized that his father was going to open the lid and check on him. He didn’t want his father to know that he had shirked his duty to learn the Cat Fist, but there was nothing he could do as he shut his eyes and waited for the lid to open.

However, unknown to the little boy, the lid was quite heavy as Genma had selected it to prevent Ranma or the cats from escaping. It had taken him quite some effort to open it, then close it after throwing his son into the pit. Now, with Ranma clinging to it, his added weight made the lid even heavier. Also, unknown to the boy as he huddled close to the surface was that in his nervous state, he was subconsciously extending his adhering power to the lid, thereby causing it to stick to the edges of the pit. Genma began pounding, stomping, (and though he knew it wouldn’t do any good), cursed at the lid. This only made Ranma even more nervous as he feared the punishment he would receive when Genma found out that he had not learned the Cat Fist. As a result, the boy unconsciously willed the lid to remain even more stuck to the roof of the pit.

Finally, after a few more minutes, the yowling below stopped as the dozen of cats were appeased of their hunger. No longer a threat to the boy that was hanging above them, many of the cats decided to move off to the corners of the pit for a cat nap. When Ranma saw this, he decided that there was no point in delaying the inevitable. Genma was going to find out that he had not learned the Cat Fist so he may as well face the music and dropped down toward the floor of the pit, easily landing as he did before. He then stood up and took a deep breath as the lid was then yanked open.

----------

Genma was disgusted as he grumbled in his sleep that night. All that work and that worthless son of his didn’t learn the Cat Fist. He didn’t know how the boy had done it, but Ranma had somehow managed to unwrap the sausages and feed those starving cats before they could tear into him. The manual itself said that in order for the trainee to master the Cat Fist, he would have to be mauled by those felines and the technique would be ingrained into him. However, Ranma had nary a scratch on him and the cats wouldn’t attack him as they had eaten up all the sausage.

Genma had tested the boy, but he only fought back with very little ferocity and had a moderate increase in reflexes, nowhere near enough to impress his father. The stupid martial artist assumed that he got that increase in speed in dodging those cats. Well, there was nothing he could do now except start all over again. That meant that he would have to starve those cats again and make certain that Ranma wouldn’t be able to move as those cats tore into him.

----------

A few hundred yards away from the campsite, Ranma stood alone in the forest as he contemplated what had happened to him in that pit. Just how had he accomplished it? He had leapt up to a height of over fifteen feet! His father was a trained martial artist with a lifetime of experience and he could accomplish thirty-foot leaps, easily reaching the tops of roofs. He had done so on many occasions whenever they were running from the law. However, Ranma was only six with just over a year in training and he had managed to jump half the maximum that his father could attain.

Then there was that bit with sticking to the lid. That was something that Genma certainly couldn’t accomplish without some kind of handhold, especially with his girth. So how had he done it? His thoughts then went back to when he was bitten by that spider. Could that be the reason that he could cling to the lid?

After he had been hauled from the pit, his father had decided to test Ranma by sparring with him. It was at that time that Ranma noticed something else as Genma punched and kicked at him. His parent seemed to be... slower than usual and Ranma had to hold back to catch each of his father’s movements. He was dodging with more ease than he ever had and each time a punch or kick flew at him, a slight buzzing noise would be heard in his head like some kind of early warning system. Ranma became distracted as he tried to evade and tune out the noise in his head. That was when Genma’s fist impacted with the side of his head.

Now usually, that would have knocked the boy silly, but the thing was... Ranma had hardly felt it. The boy absently stroked the side in which his father had struck him and wondered as stared into the forest. Just what was happening to him? How had he done all those things? Had it just been a fluke or that... adrenal... adrenal... whatever you called that stuff that made you do feats of incredible strength and agility when scared? And the big question was... could he do it again? Well, there was only one way to find out. Ranma ran toward a tall tree and then leapt up. With a sudden grace that rivaled even the most proficient of martial artists, he did a neat flip and then stuck to the trunk of the tree, twenty-five feet above the ground!

Ranma looked down at how high he had jumped then looked at his fingers. Once again, he wasn’t digging into the surface for handholds, but rather just pressing the fingertips to the trunk and letting them adhere to it. He smiled as he scaled the tree to a large branch. It was then that he made another discovery as he began walking the limb with ease. His sense of balance had greatly improved. Recently, his father had been making him walk along the edges of fences whenever they were in a city. So far, he had been falling more often than actually keeping his balance. However, he found himself easily traversing a limb that was no more than six inches wide without disturbing a single leaf. As the branch grew narrower, Ranma’s sense of balance and coordination grew even more fine-tuned. He became more daring as he then began performing acrobatic feats that would have taken him months to perfect. A double flip was then followed with a triple, ending up a one-handed handstand. He then saw another tree that was nearby and made a running leap toward it. The boy sailed gracefully toward it in a arc that was more than twenty feet wide, and easily landed on another branch. He then began to increase his pace as he neatly darted about among the treetops like Tarzan if he were hopped up on drugs. At the tender age of six, Ranma’s agility, hand-to-eye coordination and leaping ability was more than double that of a trained martial artist a decade older than he was.

As the boy gleefully leapt from tree to tree, he began getting that buzzing noise in his head again as he made his way toward a very densely foliated area. It became even more insistent as Ranma began to near the place. It was at that moment that the boy finally acknowledged the sound in his head. Ranma stopped on a branch and wondered just why that noise always did that whenever something was about to happen. It buzzed when he was thrown into the pit and also sounded off every time his father had thrown a punch at him. Could that mean that something was in that foliage? Something dangerous...?

Ranma’s silent question was answered as a huge predatory cat suddenly burst out from its hiding place and pounced on him. Ranma’s enhanced reflexes went into overdrive and he leapt away to escape.

Normally, tigers were not native to this area of Japan, but this female had recently escaped from a zoo and had been using the forest as its new home. Now it was intent on making a midnight snack out of the boy. However, there was just one problem. Her prey was far more agile than she had expected as he suddenly leapt up thirty feet and was already some eight trees away after her initial pounce.

----------

Ranma was panting hard after successfully evading his pursuer. He and the tigress had caused quite a ruckus in the forest as she tried her level best to catch him. However, Ranma had outmaneuvered her and eventually, the big cat gave up. Ranma then made his way back to the campsite and was relieved to find that Genma had not awakened. Then again, with his father snoring like a buzzsaw, it would take something akin to a nuclear blast to rouse him.

As the little boy clambered into his own sleeping bag, he silently decided not to tell his father of what he was really capable of, as he wasn’t 100% sure of exactly what the full extent of his abilities were. And he was still in a state of disbelief that is was all due to one bite from a spider.

----------

Genma huffed in disgust as he turned in for the night. It had been several weeks since he had first tried to teach his son the Cat Fist, and his repeated attempts had been no better. The second time he had tried, he had bound Ranma’s hands and feet with ropes before adding the fish sausages. However, the same thing happened as before as the lid suddenly became stuck for a few minutes and when it finally came loose, Ranma was again standing in the middle of the pit, unscathed with broken ropes at his feet and the cats well-fed. The boy was then tested and Genma was unsatisfied with the lack of progress he showed. Oh there was a small improvement in speed and reflexes, but not enough to satisfy him. The third try was supposed to be the charm, but it proved to be an unlucky charm for the frustrated martial artist as Ranma had somehow escaped from the chains and weights and fed the cats again. After several more tries and failures, Genma said to heck with it all and gave up. That was when he finally noticed that the manual had an extra page and gulped as he read the consequences of teaching anyone the Cat Fist.

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Ranma smiled as he prepared to go through his nightly, but secret training routine to improve on his newfound spider-powers. He had been holding back much of his abilities whenever he sparred with his father, only showing him a modest amount of improvement each time. If Genma really knew what his son was capable of, he’d probably put him through some more of his insane training methods. After that Cat Fist business, Ranma had decided that he was better off nurturing his powers on his own. In any case, Genma’s training regimen had become way too easy, especially with the fact that Ranma had discovered he had superhuman strength.

Ranma approached a large boulder that looked to be around six hundred pounds. However, the boy simply applied his adhering fingertips to the surface to get a good grip, then lifted the rock over his head with one hand as easily as he was picking up a plastic tub toy.

After setting down the boulder, Ranma then leapt up to the trees to begin his agility exercises and it felt good to at last cut loose and go full out. As he darted about he absently scratched at his forearms. He had been getting slight itch on both arms and wondered if he was developing a rash. He shrugged it off as he continued to leap from tree to tree. On one particularly long jump, he suddenly heard that familiar tingle in his head, just as his feet were about to make contact with another branch. He knew by now that sensation was some kind of early-warning system but it was too late for him to change his trajectory. As his feet touched the branch, Ranma heard a snapping sound and realized that the branch was rotten and wouldn’t hold his weight. The boy plummeted to the ground and braced himself as he dropped twenty-five feet. However, a strange sound was heard, followed by a sudden jerk to the underside of his right arm, making his hand reflexively clench onto something.

THWIP!

Ranma’s descend was halted suddenly as the boy found himself suspended a few feet off the ground. He looked up and saw that he was holding on to some kind of string that was coming out of a small hole near his wrist. The other end was attached to a branch above the one that had snapped beneath him. The sight caused Ranma to let go and he lightly landed on the ground. He looked back up at the string that had broken his fall then down at his arm. It was then that he noticed that he had a slight, elongated swelling on each of his arms, near the wrist with tiny pores at one end near the palms. He looked carefully at the holes and saw that they instantly sealed themselves up. He then looked back at the string that was dangling above him.

<Did I do that? That one piece of thread held up my entire weight? > Ranma decided to experiment as he held out one arm and aimed it as another branch. He then imagined a line being drawn toward it and...

THWIP!

Ranma gasped in amazement as he discovered that even a human spider needed a web.

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Ten years later, in China...

“Here sirs, we come to famous Training Ground of Cursed Springs, Jusenkyo!” The guide said as he gestured to the visitors.

Ranma frowned as his spider-sense began a faint tingle. Something about this place was dangerous and he wasn’t about to ignore his arachnid instincts now. Over the last decade, Ranma had been secretly pretending of struggling through Genma’s training regimen though in actuality, it was mere child’s play. This of course, disappointed Genma and he would often curse at the heavens at having such a worthless son. He had been expecting the boy to be some kind of super-martial artist by now, but Ranma only maintained normal levels, at least on the surface. He had begun to believe that the great potential he had seen in the boy had been nothing but a pipe dream.

However, it was all part of the boy’s plan. After being with Genma for over a decade, Ranma knew that his greedy parent would exploit his spider powers for his own personal gain if he were to know of them. Ranma was more than ten times the martial artist that he could have been and could now jump up to heights of eighty to ninety feet. A normal martial artist could attain only about thirty to thirty-five feet, but a martial artist with the proportionate strength of a spider was capable of much more.

He now wore loose bracers on his wrists, as he had to hide the fact that his arms had developed spinnerets, which produced a very strong webbing. He later discovered that he could shoot it out as a strong web line, a very sticky mass of adhesive goop, or as a fine wide spray, depending on how he manipulated the spinnerets. For some unknown reason, the webbing would not stick to him, no matter how adhesive he made it.

“Ranma! Follow me!” Genma said as he leapt up to one of the poles.

Ranma became even more tense as his spider-sense continued to buzz in the back of his head. He was about to turn to the guide and ask him about the place when his father made a crack about him being like some scared girl. That got Ranma’s attention as he easily leapt up to join his father. It was then that Genma decided to start things off with a flying kick. That was when the guide started to frantically wave his arms at them and shouting out warnings.

The fight lasted only an instant as Genma was sent plummeting toward one of the springs. In the heat of the moment, Ranma momentarily gave his father a glimpse of his full potential as he reacted far faster than his parent could ever hope to move. He easily dodged the kick and sent Genma into a spring with a counter kick. Unfortunately, with his spider-strength, the teen hit his father a lot harder than he expected and the impact Genma made almost made the all the waters of the spring splash out of the depression. There was a minute of silence as the martial artist disappeared beneath the waters.

<Damn! I hit him too hard! > “Hey Pop! Are we done already?”

It was then that Ranma’s spider-sense went off at full volume. At that moment, something erupted from the spring and went flying at him. However, Ranma leapt up and did the splits and the transformed Genma went sailing underneath him. He impacted head first into one of the rocky ledges of the valley. He then slid down with a huge lump on his furry head and became unconscious.

Furry?

Ranma looked down at the giant panda that had attacked him and noted that it was wearing Genma’s gi top and glasses. Below him, the Guide was babbling something about a Spring of Drowned Panda...

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“Serves ya right Pop!” Ranma muttered as he, his transformed father and the Guide were trudging down a path toward a nearby village for some food. “You should have asked the Guide why it was called a ‘cursed training ground!’ Then again, if you had bothered to learn to read of speak Chinese in the first place, then we wouldn’t have ended up there and you wouldn’t be cursed in the first place!”

“Growf!” The panda muttered. After being told that hot water would reverse his curse, but only until the next time he was splashed with cold water, Genma thought that he could live with it. However, he had also become a magnet for water and he got splashed again when they passed a nearby waterfall. Ranma was lucky as he had not gotten cursed and he would always rub it in.

Ranma smiled smugly as he mentally thanked that spider. If it weren’t for his spider-sense and increased agility, he too would have cursed. He shuddered at the thought of transforming into something with cold water. A little black pig, a duck, a cat or even... (shudder) a girl!

----------

Cologne was quite interested as she watched the boy and his pet panda sit on the bench near the first prize, watching the tournament. There was something about him that made him stand out from everyone else. She was certain that the stranger had some kind of hidden power within. He was quite aware of his surroundings and even turned to wave at her. She had been quietly approaching the bench to get a better look at him, using all the stealth skills she had at her disposal, but before she could get within twenty-five feet of the boy, he then turned around and smiled at her. He gave her a friendly wave before turning back to watch the two Amazons as they battled on the Challenge Log.

This stopped the old matriarch in her tracks. In all her three hundred years, no one had ever picked her up when she was sneaking up on someone. The fact that the boy seemed to know that she was actually observing him made her even more intrigued. She smiled as she began to consider this lad as an addition to the tribe and perhaps someone for her great-granddaughter Shampoo, who was just polishing off her opponent on the Challenge Log.

----------

“Pop! What are you doing?” Ranma said as he saw that panda stuff himself with the First Prize Feast that was laid out for the winner. Ranma had considered partaking of it himself but that was when his spider-sense went off, telling him that the food represented a potential danger. This feeling was intensified as a heavy mace came flying at him and his Pop.

CRASH!

Ranma deftly avoid the projectile, but Genma was knocked out. It was then that Ranma looked up to a very attractive, but furious Amazon.

[“You there, stranger! How dare you let your pet panda eat my prize?”] Shampoo angrily demanded in Mandarin.

Cologne smiled as she saw this as a grand opportunity to get the boy into the tribe. She pogoed on her staff toward the boy and helpfully translated her relative’s words.

“Hello there young warrior. My great-granddaughter is quite displeased that your pet panda had devoured the prize after she had just won the tournament.”

Ranma was relieved that someone spoke Japanese, but found himself in a tight spot. Pop was of no help as he was in la-la land. And with this many hostile people surrounding him, his chances weren’t very good, even with martial arts and spider powers. And he was very reluctant to show others of what he could really do. Luckily, (or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it), Cologne offered him a way out.

“Well now sonny-boy, how are you going to pay for what your panda ate?”

Ranma hemmed a bit before answering. “Well, I’m sorry but I ain’t got much money and...”
“Heh. Money doesn't mean much to us, boy. Strength and skill are what matters and since this is a tournament and that was the prize, how about this arrangement? My great-grandchild had defeated all of her opponents to become the village champion. Shampoo’s honor was stained when your panda ate the prize. If you defeat her, then the prize will be yours to do as you see fit and honor would be satisfied. If you lose, then you shall become her slave to work off the debt that your panda incurred when he ate the feast.”

“Well... I guess I don’t have much of a choice, now do I?” Ranma was reluctant to fight against a girl, but he didn’t see any alternative. He would have to be extra careful not to hurt her as his spider-strength had increased greatly over the years.

----------

Shampoo was confident that this outsider male didn’t stand a chance against her as they faced off on the Challenge Log. However, as the referee gave the signal for the fight to begin, the young Amazon girl found out that hitting Ranma was like trying to hit the wind.

Cologne’s eyes widened as she saw the boy dodge each of her great-granddaughter's strikes with ease. She could tell that the boy was holding back and estimated just by how much, which was a LOT! The way he moved, it was if he knew when and where Shampoo would attack and each of her bonbori kept on missing her intended target.

After several minutes of intense attacks, Shampoo began to feel the effects of exhaustion. She had been fighting hard all day and now going up against an extremely agile and nimble fighter was taking its toll. Why won’t this boy just hold still?

As Ranma noted that his opponent was getting sloppy in her attacks, he decided to end it in the gentlest way he could. He gave her a casual swat with one hand and nudged her off the log. Unfortunately, he had put a little too much force into the blow and Shampoo was sent flying off. She landed into the crowds a dozen feet from the log with a slightly dazed look in her eyes. The spectators became deathly silent.

Cologne was more than impressed. If the lad was that strong with just a slap, then think of what he was capable of if he exerted full strength! Oh yes, he was definitely prime breeding stock material!

Ranma nimbly hopped down to the ground and nodded as he saw that Shampoo was all right and now he and his father could leave. He addressed Cologne and gave her a polite bow. “It was a good fight, though I think it was a little unfair for her since she was probably tired from fighting all day. I’ll just pick up my fa... I mean, panda and go now.”

“Not so fast, sonny boy.” Cologne interjected. “You can’t just walk away after defeating Shampoo like that, now can you?”

“Why not?” Ranma said as he hefted the heavy panda over his shoulder. The fact that Genma outmassed his son by more than quadruple was not lost on the people watching him. Ranma silently winced as he realized that he had picked up Genma too easily.

“I’m sorry that we can’t let you go now... Son-In-Law.”

Ranma became agitated as Shampoo came up to him, looped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips. She then snuggled against him.

“Wode Airen.”

----------

Ranma ran fast, very fast as he employed the Saotome Final Attack of the Anything Goes. As soon as he got out of sight of the village, he leapt up and began hopping trees at an astounding rate, still with his unconscious father slung over his shoulder. The Amazons that were pursuing him were hot on his trail but could not keep up with him for very long. The only person that still had him in sight was Cologne and even she had push it. She wasn’t too worried about him getting away as his current path was going to lead him to the base of a sheer cliff, more than one hundred feet high. There would be no way out for him!

However, as she pulled ahead of the rest of the group, she saw something shocking as Ranma reached the base of the cliff and jumped straight up!

Despite being weighed down with a giant panda, the boy managed an astounding seventy-foot high jump and then some kind of rope shot out from an outstretched arm to snag the top of the cliff. Ranma then used a swinging motion to propel him to the top in a graceful arc and was gone from sight as he disappeared over the edge.

When the rest of the pursuit party joined her, they found Cologne standing with her mouth agape.

----------

A month later in Japan...

“Stupid old man! Bad enough that he caused so much trouble in China and getting me involved with those Amazons, but now he had to pull this crap about some stupid promise he had made to an old friend! It really sucks that he expects me to marry some girl I never even met!”

Ranma muttered a bit more as he trudged through the light drizzle. As soon as he and his father had gotten back to Japan, Genma had decided to spring some surprising news on his son about a certain pact he had made to Soun Tendo to unite the schools of the Anything Goes. Ranma’s reaction to this was predictable as he retorted to Genma’s surprise with a flying kick, then turned his back to him in disgust. Genma had gotten back up to try and knock Ranma out with a stop sign. However, with Ranma's spider sense, the martial artist easily evaded the swing and then sent Genma into la-la land with his makeshift weapon. He had since abandoned his father to go and cool off.

<Damn that old man! This isn’t the first time that he’s royally screwed things up for me!> During their journey back to Japan, Ranma had recently discovered that many people were after them because of some certain promises that Genma had made to them, using his own son as a bargaining chip. Genma had been sweating a lot when Ranma had found out that he had more than a dozen fiancées and such. Genma had maintained that it was a matter of honor that he uphold the Tendo pact above all others, but if that was his idea of honor, then Ranma thought that he might be better off without him.

As his spider-powers continued to grow, Ranma had often considered just leaving his poor excuse for a parent. It wasn’t as if Genma could stop his son. Ranma was now strong enough to lift a fully loaded transit bus now and was far faster than Genma could ever hope to be. So what was stopping him?

It was then that his spider-sense went off and he heard gunshots in the distance. He decided that this was the perfect opportunity to take his mind off his current problems.

----------

The bank robbers were keeping the police pinned down with machine-gunfire edged toward their getaway car. It seemed that the bad guys were about to get away. That is until a certain, super-powered teenager and martial artist arrived on the scene.

Ranma was on the roof of a nearby building when he saw the crime unfold below. As a dedicated martial artist, it was his duty to protect the weak, but the hoodlums being armed with guns made the situation more tricky. It was then that Ranma decided to put his spider-powers to full use. However, he needed a way to use them without being recognized. He then put down his backpack and began rummaging around for some kind of disguise. He found a large, red kerchief that could cover his head. He quickly took out a pair of scissors and cut out a couple of eyeholes. He then wrapped the makeshift mask and looked at his reflection in a nearby window. Satisfied that he wouldn’t be recognized, he then leapt down toward the streets.

----------

The hoodlums were laughing as they kept the two police officers pinned behind their patrol car. The three bank robbers edged their way toward the open doors of their car and freedom. Nothing could stop them now!

THWIP!

One of the hoodlums let off a yelp of surprise as something grabbed hold of his weapon and pulled it out of his hands. He then looked up and his eyes widened as he saw someone who was standing on the side of the wall! In his hands, was the machine gun, which was promptly crushed like newspaper. Then the person extended his hands and shot out some kind of sticky spray at him. In less than an instant, the criminal was pinned to the bank wall in what appeared to be... a giant spider web?

The other robbers saw that their buddy was trapped and looked up to gasp at the same sight. The stranger in the red mask leapt down and then charged at the second hood. The hood opened up on full automatic, but the stranger moved with unbelievable speed, dodging every one of the shots with uncanny precision and agility. Before the robber knew what hit him, Ranma was upon him and with a very light tap, his foe dropped unconscious like a sack of cement.

The last bank robber decided to make a break for it and he got into his car and gunned the engine. However, before the car could move an inch, Ranma grabbed hold of one side and upended it! The criminal found himself upside-down and his wheels were spinning aimlessly. Then the door to the driver’s side was torn completely off its hinges as the hood was hauled out of the vehicle and tossed to the pavement. Then he too found himself enveloped in a sticky netting as Ranma webbed him up.

The police officers could only gape in amazement after seeing such a display. It was at that moment that Ranma decided to leave the scene as he leapt to the top of a building and then used the roof to springboard himself to a taller building. As he reached the apex of his jump, he then shot out a web line to swing him out of sight.

----------

Nabiki was very interested as she watched the television news report of a bank robbery that had occurred toady and how it had been stopped my a mysterious youth with strange powers that mimicked a spider. She smiled as she heard the news people dub him as... Spider-Man.

It was then that her father called for her and her sisters to discuss an important family matter.

At that moment, Ranma had decided to meet with the Tendos after all and was currently dragging his still unconscious father toward the dojo. He wasn’t at all too keen with this arranged marriage stuff, but he figured that it wouldn’t hurt to meet with them. At the very least, it would give him a chance to get out of the drizzling rain.

To be continued?

Author’s Final Notes

As you may have surmised, this is a fusion between Spider-Man and Ranma with Ranma being the one that had been bitten by a radioactive spider. Now I suppose I could cross this over with several other Marvel Universe Heroes as well as some anime like the Sailor Senshi. But like I said before, this was only an experiment and I have way too many stories to deal with now. Still, it IS a possibility.