La Femme Ranma
A Ranma � / La Femme Nikita crossover
Part 3: Recovery.. and Loss..?
By Akraen (S. Metcalf)
[email protected]-=- -=- -=- - * - -=- -=- -=-
"Target is in the area. Remember, people, he can be anywhere and anyone."
The agents spread out after nodding in acknowledgement.
Moments later the first of them reported in. The news was not good. There was a convention going on in the area. There were thousands of people in the area and checking each one for their chameleon would be impossible.
The team leader cursed to himself before alerting headquarters of the situation.
"Keep in place. Just do not let him get past your positions!" Operations ordered.
He then turned to Madeline and queried, "Coincidence?"
"It may be coincidental that a convention occurred, but I think I can say he chose to hide out in it intentionally."
"How long do we have before the tracer quits being operational?"
"It was a mission tracer." Madeline replied calmly.
"Right. How long since the tracer was activated?" he said with a sigh.
"Three hours, 7 minutes, 53 seconds." Madeline replied coolly.
"From now on all missions use full tracers." Operations bit out to Madeline, before changing the orders to the recovery teams, "Situation has changed. All units seek out the target. You have less than a hour. Begin sequencing."
Teams began to infiltrate the crowd. Each team led by an agent with a tracing device tuned to the tracer's frequency.
None found the chameleon in the scene.
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"We are running out of time. You have less than ten minutes to find the target before the mission becomes terminal. Move it, people."
As Michael ordered his team to do a second pass through the crowd he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He twisted around and stared up at the rafters above the arena before calling in, "He's in the rafters."
Hurriedly he moved to intercept along with Nikita who had realized something was up. None of the other agents seemed to understand the situation and continued to do sweeps of crowd.
By the time they got the confirmation from Berkohf, it would be too late. Michael and Nikita were the only ones capable of completing the mission prior to the tracer going dead.
As Michael and Nikita were hurrying to his position, Ranma was staring down at the convention and the agents sifting through the crowd.
'That's _it! _There is _no way_ they could have found me so fast. They must have some way of knowing where I am.' Instantly his mind returned to the point where he had thought a mosquito bit him and he cursed silently to himself, Kuso!
Quickly he dug in with his fingernail and pulled out the small chip, through the pain. As he stared at the little homing device, he felt that familiar tingling feeling and turned around to see the woman and another agent almost upon him, with guns drawn.
'Guess the workman clothes _weren't _so perfect after all.'
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Operations and Madeline were waiting at Recovery station when they arrived.
"Welcome back." Madeline said before turning and walking away.
Ranma was led past the watchful eyes of Operations, but stopped in front of him.
"I know about the tracer now..." he pulled down the collar of his workman's coveralls to reveal the bleeding chunk of missing flesh he had torn to remove it. He turned once again to walk away after handing the tracer to the man.
"Interesting." Operations spoke aloud before turning and walking back to his office.
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Operations looked up and said, "Well?" when he heard Madeline's entrance.
"He has been put into the agent training quarters and the entire wing has been put off limits. The motion sensor system is operational." she calmly replied.
"Good. I trust we won't have a second escape tonight?"
"No. Ranma has assured us that he hasn't planned his second attempt to be any time soon."
"Do you trust him?"
"Yes." Madeline paused then amended, "I think he would lie if he had to..."
"But you trust him not to be lying now?"
"He doesn't feel he has to." she pointed out as she turned to look at the video of him coolly handing the tracer to Operations, which had been playing continuously by the man.
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Three months passed by. Ranma slowly grew to accept the captivity he was now subjected to. He had mixed emotions about the woman whose care he had been placed into, though.
He had learned that her name was Nikita. He had also learned that although she didn't like inflicting pain, that she was very expert at it. The only thing keeping him from hurting her was a bit of his old refusal to hurt a girl, combined with the bit of respect that he had grown toward this strong woman. He wondered sometimes what she was like prior to becoming involved with this place.
He didn't care at all for the training this place was trying to push into him.
The English lessons were boring but considering that everyone in this place spoke it at least as their second language, he felt he had to agree to them.
The physical attacks were either designed to kill or were things he already either knew or knew an improvement on. He had agreed to learn the killing moves, but he knew he wasn't ever going to use them.
As for the weaponry classes... there was a sticky point there where he had been sure the other reddish-brown haired woman had been close to punishing him when he refused to learn how to use them. His reasons were a combination of his belief that weapons were useless in a real battle, that his father had taught him, and a refusal from his moral code to kill someone simply because they were in the way. The people here had eventually worked out a compromise with him. If he would agree to learn how to fire a gun, they would make sure that all he ever had to fire was ammo designed to knock out rather than kill. The only really annoying thing about these classes is that he was forced to double train, once in each form, in order to keep his skills in whichever form he was in.
The line had been drawn, however, when they had decided to teach him to use his cursed form to complete missions. Oh, he didn't mind the costumes and the blending in. It was the coming onto guys part which bothered him. Whatever body he was in, there was no doubt in Ranma's mind that he was a guy. He didn't want any part with pleasing one. And that was one issue he refused to compromise on.
Ranma hadn't planned on making his second escape attempt this soon, but with all the pressure that had been placed on him, to accept the whole girl thing, he was getting desperate.
This desperation was the only reason that he willingly set out on the current path of destruction.
"Nikita?" Ranma asked the girl who had been remarkably tolerant with him these last few months.
"Yes, Ranma?" Nikita replied. She was curious what the boy wanted as he rarely used only her name to form a question.
"Would it be possible for me to get a pet?" Ranma asked with a longful look on his face.
"A pet...?" Nikita asked aloud. Sure, she had realized that the boy was getting anxious, but his question had been unexpected to say the least.
"Yes. Preferably a c..at. I never had one of my own. My father always kept them away from me." Ranma stated.
If Nikita had known how close to breaking down just the act of saying the word was putting him she might have said 'no' without an argument. Luckily for Ranma, the practice he had put himself through of saying the word without visibly flinching or stuttering had paid off.
"I'll see what I can do..." Nikita quietly replied with a bit of warmth in her voice.
"Thank you..." Ranma whispered in response then blinked and looked away before quietly returning to the weapon simulator, as if he was ashamed for asking.
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"What do you think of his request for a cat?"
"It could mean he's getting used to being with us. It's possible of course that it's just a decoy designed to pull our attention away from something else." Madeline replied after a moment of thought.
"Should we deny his request then?" Operations replied without taking his eyes off of the boy, currently girl, as he trained in the weapon synchronization room.
"No. No, I think we should give him the cat. It would make him more reliant upon us, and I do not see the harm an untrained kitten could do." as if in afterthought she added, "We will of course keep an eye on him and the kitten at all times in case it _is_ a decoy."
"Of course." Operations said with an unreadable smile. "Alright, if Nikita comes to you with the request, grant it. Oh, and Madeline?"
"Yes...?"
"Please be sure to place a tracer on the cat, as well as Ranma himself. There is something about this request which just doesn't feel right. But, as you say, what harm can a cat do?"
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"Ranma?" Nikita's voice stopped the young man mid-leap, and he somehow stopped his momentum and came straight down in a perfect landing.
"Yes, Nikita?" Ranma asked calmly.
"I have some good news. Operations decided to grant your request. You'll find him in your quarters after training is complete." she said with a smile.
"Thank you!" Ranma gushed and hugged her. For once through this 'pet' charade he didn't have to act. He was so glad that he was almost out of this place. Today, Madeline had been particularly determined to convert him into accepting the girl role. She had only stopped after he had sent her two assistants in the task to medical.
Enthused by this news, Ranma went back to training with even more spirit.
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"His productivity has increased since Nikita gave him the news." Madeline noted.
"Yes, perhaps we will finally be accepted. If he accepts his admittance into our organisation, how long will it be before he is ready for his first mission?"
"It depends on whether you want him to go in as a girl or a boy." Madeline admitted with a wince.
"Yes, I heard that you were having problems convincing him in that matter. How are Alex and Lynda?"
"Alex will be in recovery for at least another month. Lynda on the other hand was released almost as soon as she regained consciousness."
"He's still going softer on women? I thought we would have cured him of that?" Operations said in surprise.
"I'm afraid I doubt we ever will. However, at least he's willing to disable them if he has to now. It is good enough I suppose."
"Good. And on that other matter?"
"I'm afraid we may have to forget about using him in that matter. If we push any harder he may refuse to help us at all. And unlike most operatives, his skills are enough that I'm afraid we must allow some compromise."
"Agreed. Very well, after Ranma has gotten acquainted with his new pet ask him once more to do it, and if he still refuses... accept him as he is. Even without this one bit of training he'll make an excellent addition to our operations."
-=- -=- -=- - * - -=- -=- -=-
Ranma steeled himself not to react until after he was inside the room and the door was closed and locked.
_Then_ he began to breakdown as the cat purred and yowled as it rubbed up against his legs.
Operations and Madeline had realized something was wrong, when they saw him suddenly cringe away from the cat and begin to shake as he tried to get away from the cat.
"Security! Get to Ranma's room, _now!_" Operations yelled out as he witnessed what was going on inside.
They watched on the monitors as their security team raced to the room and began pounding away at the door.
That's when it occurred. Ranma's demeanor suddenly changed as he suddenly 'yowled' and swatted his hand at the door where the men were pounding at it.
The two in the office stared in mutual shock as the steel reinforced door was shredded in seconds.
"I think we just found out what harm a cat can do." Operations quietly spoke.
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[ALL OPERATIVES! ALERT! HOSTILE IS RANMA! SEAL ALL EXITS AND _AVOID_ CONTACT!] a computer recording voice repeated every so often as alarms sounded and lights flashed.
Operatives ran about the section headquarters in the chaos of the strange escape. Operations, Madeline, Michael, Berkohf, and the others currently in the main control station stared at the monitors showing the escapee's progress through the corridors that snaked through the structure.
Repeatedly they had tried to block the currently female martial artist only to stare in shock as even the strongest of doors designed to stop the harshest of attacks failed to hold up to the claws of energy unleashed upon them. At first an attempt had been made to confront the strangely acting Ranma. That thought had been dumped when the first team witnessed a steel reinforced cement wall turned into powder and metallic shreddings the size of toothpicks.
All agents which had not been in the field had been called in to help contain the situation. That included Nikita who had still yet to arrive.
"Michael, when Nikita arrives I want you, Nikita, and your team to take him down. Unharmed if at all possible. I needn't remind you that he is worth more to section than the lives of your team."
Michael stared back emotionlessly as he calmly replied, "It will be done."
Operations nodded once coolly.
Michael started to leave but turned around and asked, "Is that all, sir?"
"Yes, Michael. Begin assembling your team." the other man replied after a moment, then returned to watching the monitors without any further attention to his most senior field agent.
"Nikita's entered, sir!" a voice shouted out.
"Why are you bothering me about a single agent! We have a crisis on our hands!" Operations snapped at the hapless agent.
"S-sir! She's entered right around the corner from where R-ranma is!" the man stuttered out as he watched the two sight one another.
"Michael! Get down there _now!_"
Operations turned his attention to the monitors and watched as the strange encounter played itself out...
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Nikita was frustrated. It had been a hard time for her of late. She was pulling double time having to help train their newest agent along with her regular fieldwork and she had been paying for it by a loss of sleep hours. She had been looking forward to the downtime to catch some of it up, but no sooner had she lay down on the bed than her phone rang and she heard that all too familiar greeting, "'Josephine'"
As she had returned to the base she had one thought repeating itself within her mind 'I don't know what the emergency was but whichever target had raised its head and caused her call-in was going to pay for it.'
Needless to say it was a complete surprise to enter and see her pupil racing about on all four legs. She was about to call out to him, or her in this case, when the message which had been continually playing itself was repeated to her distress, [ALL OPERATIVES! ALERT! HOSTILE IS RANMA! SEAL ALL EXITS AND _AVOID_ CONTACT!]
She looked at the boy she was starting to look at as a younger brother and spoke just two words, "Ranma... _why_?" as feelings of betrayal flashed through her mind.
The boy who was currently a girl cocked her head sideways before a feral almost gleeful look crossed over the face framed by the bright red hair. And then the martial artist leapt at the blond operative as a voice rang out, "NO-o! Nikita!" and then the body was upon her and contact had been made.
-=- -=- -=- - * - -=- -=- -=-
Those in the control room could only stare at the events occurring elsewhere in the base. They watched as the two currently female agents met. They saw Michael racing through the corridors with a haunted look upon his usually emotionless face, and knew his arrival would come too late. They were silent witness to the boy-girl's animalistic lunge toward one of section's best operatives. They viewed the screen and saw Michael's horrified face and heard his shout of anguish. They saw the clenching of his fists as he stopped dead in his tracks, sure that the woman he loved would be cut down before his very eyes.
Then they gaped in shock as in the next instant they were witness to a red-haired girl purring contentedly in the larger blond woman's lap like a gentle pet housecat.
"Someone tell me what just happened?" Operations said as calmly as he could manage.
Silence greeted his words before finally Madeline broke off of her staring at the behaviour of section's newest recruit, who was currently rubbing 'her' head against Nikita's hand, "I think we just contained the escape."
-=- -=- -=- - * - -=- -=- -=-
Ranma had slowly come to and tried to stretch only to find his currently female form restrained very heavily. He opened an eye and saw that 'Madeline' was standing a few feet away as she silently stared at him.
Ranma groaned a little at the implication. He had made a promise to only attempt escape twice. Now he had to either live up to it or break his word.
Madeline finally spoke after she heard the groan, "We would like to thank you. We thought there was no harm in such a simple request. We now know better."
Ranma winced then quickly asked something that always plagued his mind after an attack of his neko-ken, "Was anyone hurt?"
"No. As it happens we didn't even suffer minor injuries. The structural damage, however was intense..." she stated while staring at the once again captive.
Ranma flushed slightly and said, "I'm sorry about that, I really didn't want to try this..." he trailed off.
"Why did you then?" Madeline calmly asked in an attempt to understand how the martial art prodigy thought.
Ranma's temper blew up at her words, "I told you I was a guy! You kept pushing me, but I won't do it!" he fairly screamed. "I would rather die than do th-that!" he snarled in a fury as he thrashed angrily in his restrictions.
Madeline continued to stare at the currently female form, before she finally nodded once and walked out.
Ranma continued to angrily shake and heave as he tried to control his temper long after the door was closed leaving him to his solitary confinement.
-=- -=- -=- - * - -=- -=- -=-
"Well?" Operations asked when he saw Madeline return.
"We were right about his unwillingness to the other request we've made of him or should I say her." Madeline replied.
"You mean that was the reason for his escape?"
"It would appear so." Madeline replied calmly.
Operations squinted his eyes and began rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Alright. What are our options now?"
"We could attempt to break him of his resistance, but this would probably also decrease his performance at best and at worst cause a full rebellion within his mind. We could cancel him, but then we would lose his abilities and the chance of ever having his training passed on to our other agents; not to mention how hard it would be to do so. We could transfer him out of section, but the result would be the same for us as cancelling him. And finally we could give in to his demand and accept what he will allow us, but of course this could lead into rebellion by the other operatives and make our position seem weaker. All of our options at this point are going to be less than satisfactory, but of them all we will have the greatest possibility of overall gain by accepting him as he is."
"It looks like we don't have much of a choice, do we?" Operations spoke with a wry smile on his face. "Alright, return Ranma to the field operatives program and put him on the same team as Michael and Nikita. If anyone can handle him it will be those two."
Madeline nodded in reply and walked away leaving Operations to stare at the monitor of the holding room where Ranma was being kept. He nodded to himself as he saw Ranma being led out of the room.
Suddenly, Operations barked out into the silence of the empty room, "Maintenance! Holding Cell One is in need of repair. I want those restraints replaced and strengthened."
He turned away from the monitor and closed his eyes. 'This is either the biggest mistake I have ever made or the saviour of this Section. Which are you, Ranma...'
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