                                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 didn't have 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 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? **

----------

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 he 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.

----------

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.

----------

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 to struggle
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...

----------

"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 or 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. <Okay, so maybe Jusenkyo WASN'T a good idea. >

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, observing the tournament. There was
something about Ranma 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 had 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. 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. Due to
a chance meeting with a family called Daijkoku, Ranma had a little... chat,
with his good-for-nothing parent.

----------

"Excuse me son, but I had heard that a man named Genma Saotome was in the
area and I was wondering if you know of him and where he might be? Have you
seen this man?" The strange man with the large ears asked as he approached
Ranma and showed him an accurate pencil sketch of Genma. Behind him was a
very attractive girl that was about Ranma's age with long, straight, brown
hair.

"Er, why do you want to find this man?" Ranma became a bit cautious as his
spider-sense began to tingle slightly.

"Well, he and I have some business to settle concerning his son and my
daughter. Due to a promise that he made to me, his son Ranma is to marry my
Kaori."
Ranma frowned slightly as Mr. Daijkoku gave him the details of the
engagement.

----------

Luckily, he had not given his name to them, so they didn't try to press the
issue. Genma had been sweating a lot when Ranma had found out that he had
more than a dozen fiances 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 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 as
they 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.

----------

A little later...

Nabiki was very interested as she watched the television news report of a
bank robbery that had occurred today 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.
