Ranma 1/2 used without permission
Spiderman used without permission
C&C is, as always, welcome and appreciated

============================================

	I am Uatu, the Watcher.
	From my sanctum, I have witnessed endless timelines of
countless worlds. Things beyond imagining, horrors and wonders
both ghastly and exhilarating, I have seen.
	And yet I find my attention drawn all too frequently to
your own world, earth.
	In every timeline, every possibility is eventually
addressed, creating the wonder that is the multiverse. It is
simplicity and complexity as one.
	You all know one of the many outcomes of when a man named
Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider. You also likely
know one of the many outcomes of the life of one Hikaru
Gosunkugi, a young man in Japan who spent his entire life
unnoticed, save for a brief moment when his path crossed with
that of Ranma Saotome.
	What if that radioactive spider had been in another place
at another time? What if it had bitten someone other than Peter
Parker? The life of this individual would be irrevocably changed.
	This I know, for I am the Watcher.


======================================

      "Cross your fingers, Kenji."
	"Yes, Dr. Sanzaki."
	Ryo stood before the massive control panel, its pattern
of blinking lights playing across his face in the darkness of the
laboratory. The protective suit he wore itched at his skin, sweat
from the insulated material chafing him.
	His heart thundered in his chest as he stared over at the
machine, his life's work. Everything, from his university
research grant down to his own personal resolve, rested on how
this test went. It had to work. It just had to.
	"Secondary power systems online, Doctor," Kenji said.
	"Neutrino flow steady," Sanzaki replied, eyes now fixed
on the readouts flashing across various monitors. "All systems
green."
	At the end of the machine, which resembled a strange
weapon, an emerald glow began to form. The aura surrounding the
growing point of light began to flare as the energy increased,
its light banishing more and more of the darkness.
	"Radiation output is within tolerable levels," Kenji
stated. "Guess we could have done without the suits, eh?"
	"No need in borrowing trouble," Sanzaki replied with a
chuckle. "Set output logging to ten megahertz and inject power."
	The orb of energy grew to the size of a basketball,
resembling a tiny supernova as the hum of building power filled
the small testing room. The glow now bathed the lead walls in its
sickly light.
	"All systems nominal. Engaging fire control systems and
locking on target."
	"Confirmed. Firing systems are online and target is
acquired. Initiating."
	The orb vanished, replaced by a lance of jade energy that
struck the reinforced lead slab with vicious force. The light
danced around the chamber's space, threatening to pierce even
through the shaded visors of their radiation suits.
	"So far, so good," Ryo Sanzaki breathed as he studied the
readouts. Their attention focused on the control panels, neither
noticed a small spider descending into the path of the blast. It
lingered upside down, basking in the flow of power from the beam
before crawling back up to the ceiling and vanishing into the
myriad of metal beams.
	"Firing sequence disengaged," Kenji stated as the mean
thinned and faded into nothing. "Power levels cycling down."
	"Confirmed. System deactivated."
	Darkness replaced the emerald glow for a moment before
the lab's standard lighting engaged. Soft white light replaced
the shadows as Doctors Ryo Sansaki and Kenji Matsuhara exchanged
looks of triumph.
	"It works!" Kenji exclaimed as he doffed his helmet. "We
did it!"
	"It still has a long way to go," Ryo replied, smiling
himself, "but if we're right, then the genetic recombinator can
lift mankind out of the depths of disease and poverty."
	"You idealistic bastard," Kenji grinned. Ryo turned his
back, not noticing the look of avarice in his colleague's gaze.

================================

        "You shouldn't have run, twerp!" exclaimed the guy
holding Hikaru Gosunkugi up by the collar of his torn uniform.
"This is gonna hurt you more than it's gonna hurt me!"
        A hard punch slammed into Gosunkugi's stomach,
threatening to force up the pop-tarts he had for breakfast. As he
fought to hold his breakfast, more blows landed from the caveman
holding him. After a few moments of pounding, Gosunkugi hit the
floor of the secluded alley.
        Waves of pain rolled through him as he lay on the hard
pavement, unable to resist as the three raided his pockets in
search of his wallet. He simply moaned as the leader removed it,
incapable of fighting back.
        "Three hundred yen!" he shouted, anger in his voice. "All
you got is three hundred yen?"
        "I...don't....have....any more," Gosunkugi gasped, trying
to rise up on all fours. A shoe collided with his midsection,
lifting him off the ground a little before he slammed back down.
        "That," came the angry voice of the leader, "was for
wasting my time, gayboy." The sounds of mindless laughter and
receeding footsteps echoed in Gosunkugi's ears. He lay there a
few minutes more, trying to catch his breath and recalling just
how it all happened.

        Being Sunday, Hikaru Gosunkugi had the whole day to
himself. Both his mother and father worked seven days a week,
meaning he had the house all to himself.
        Having woke to the sound of his alarm clock, he had
stumbled into the kitchen, hoping to maybe find some rice left
for him. Instead of a decent breakfast, however, he had been left
pop-tarts. As always. Not exactly the breakfast of champions.
        Eating a couple anyway, he had retreated back into his
room to gather some books to return to the library. They were a
few days overdue, meaning that a stiff penalty would be incurred.
Gathering his wallet, he had checked the contents.. He had enough
yen for a two-way train ticket to Tokyo, the late fee for the
books, and maybe some cheap bento for lunch. Sighing heavily, he
had showered, dressed, and gathered the books and his wallet.
        The train ride had been uneventful, allowing him to
browse through one of the books he had checked out. "Voodoo For
Dummies" had been the title, and it was humorously written.
However, none of the spells he tried worked. Many of them
required objects or ingredients that he either didn't have, or
couldn't pronounce. Of the three spells he DID have the materials
for, well, he'd never look at Post-It notes and shaved cats the
same way again...
        Yet another failure. Closing the book, he had wondered it
he would EVER become a competent wizard. All he wanted was some
power... something to set him above the rest of his fellow man...
something to get the attention of Akane Tendo...
        The books had been returned, but once outside the
library, things took a nosedive. Outside had been Keiichi, Gan,
and Morita, three of Furinkan's worst thugs. They never messed
with the likes of Ranma, they weren't stupid, but the likes of
Gosunkugi were fair game to them.
        He had hoped to slip away before they could see him. He
got all of three steps before one pointed him out. The chase
ended up in the alley in which he now lay, hurt and broke with
his wallet and his dignity in the hands of three Neanderthals.
Gosunkugi was used to being beaten up by just about everybody...
it seemed his lot in life. Times like that made him think that he
would never be more than a punching bag with legs for the rest of
his life.

        "Ow!" he exclaimed, looking up at his left hand when he
felt the sting. On his hand was a grey spider, fangs sunk into
the flesh. He was momentarily surprised that he would notice the
spider's bite with the beating he had just recieved. Before he
could swat it, though, the spider skittered off of his hand and
into the shadows ahead.
        "Great," he said as he pulled himself to his feet, "now
I've gotta see a doctor!" He couldn't tell if the spider was
poisonous or not, but it was best not to take chances. With his
luck, it probably was.
        He took a step toward the mouth of the alley when the
dizziness set in. Gosunkugi's vision blurred, shifting in and out
of focus. Fire began to burn in his blood as his stomach cramped
and his brain throbbed all at once. He dropped to his knees, a
low moan escaping his lips before he slipped into
unconsciousness.

==========================

        The courtyard of Furinkan High was curiously empty,
Hikaru noticed as he walked across the grounds. It was nearly
lunch, and there should have been several students out enjoying
the sunshine. Instead, nobody was around.
        Meandering around one of the back corners of Furinkan, he
saw Akane Tendo kneeling alone on the grass. Her uniform was
perfect as always, a small bento box in her hand. Gosunkugi
looked left, then right, seeing who else was around. Like the
front, the rear of the yard was empty, save for the two of them.
        Now's my chance! Gosunkugi thought to himself. He had
never felt this confident before, this strong. He casually walked
up to the kneeling girl, opening his mouth for a greeting.
        Akane's gaze fell on him, a look of revulsion and horror
settling on her face. A piercing scream escaped her lips as she
rose from the ground. Before he could wonder what was wrong,
countless more screams joined Akane's.
        The courtyard was suddenly filled with people, all
looking at him in fear and disgust. Many were pointing and
screaming, as though they were looking at some horrible monster.
He finally looked down at himself to see what all the commotion
was about.
        A scream burst forth from his lungs at the sight. His
body was enormous, covered with rippling muscles and coarse black
hair. His hands sported only three fingers, long claws at the
ends. Another pair of hands appeared, and another. Gosunkugi
discovered he had six arms all together, and none of them human.
As he searched for a way out in the crowd, he caught a glimpse of
himself in a window.
        "NOOOOO!" he screamed in a deep roar. His head was large
and misshapen, eight blood-red eyes lined up on each side. A
gaping maw filled with fangs was what passed for his mouth, a
green substance dripping from the teeth. His head was covered in
the same coarse hair, completing his spider-like visage.
        A maelstrom of emotions whirled within him; fear, pain,
rage, confusion, and countless others. Desperate for a way out,
he ran to the nearby wall, hoping to get past it to somewhere
safe.
        Gosunkugi cleared the wall in one bound, only to find a
swirling mass of space beyond it. Looking back, he found that
Furinkan was gone, replaced by the white void. He began to fall
toward the center of the massive vortex, a scream blasting forth
from his chest...

=========================

        Gosunkugi awoke with a start, gasping for breath as he
stifled a scream. He lay on the floor of the alley, taking in
deep breaths as his heart begn to slow. The adrenaline that raced
through his veins began to thin after a few moments, leaving him
somewhat drained.
        "What a nightmare," Gosunkugi said as he rose to his
feet. The shadows in the alley had lengthened considerably since
he had passed out, meaning that he had lost a few hours at least.
Looking up, he saw the sky had a reddish-gold tint.
        Great! He mentaly cursed, it’s almost sunset! The train's
already gone by now! Still cursing, he began to make his way to
the mouth of the alley.
        As he walked, Gosunkugi noticed that something felt odd.
The pain from the beating he'd received earlier was completely
gone. In fact, it was almost as if he'd never been jumped at all.
There was something else strange as well, though he couldn't
quite pinpoint it. He felt almost as if his balance was better
somehow, improved. He felt... stronger.
        While he was pondering these strange things, he stepped
blindly into the street. He didn't notice his mistake until the
blaring horn of a car pierced his ears. Looking up, he saw a
Daimler-Benz bearing down on him.
        "SHIT!" he yelled as he jumped backward out of the
speeding car's path. The leap took him clear of the car, and the
curb, even the sidewalk. He watched the car speed off into the
distance, wondering what his problem was. Once the shock wore
off, however, he noticed that the view he had was quite wrong.
        Looking down, his heart caught in his throat when he saw
the sidewalk several feet below him. Stunned, Gosunkugi looked
around, wondering what was holding him up. After a few moments,
he realized that he was, in fact, adhered to the wall.
        His legs were in a kneeling position, the bottom of his
feet touching the rough stone surface of the building behind him.
Curious, he touched the wall with his hands. He felt them stick
to the surface, adhering snugly to the wall. He pulled his right
hand away, the appendage coming off easily. He repeated the
procedure with the other hand with the same result.
        What is going on, here? Gosunkugi asked himself as he
crouched on the wall like a human spider. Looking down, he saw
some people moving about below him. It appeared that they hadn't
noticed him yet. Gosunkugi decided to keep it that way, turning
effortlessly to climb upward.
        Arms and legs moving quickly, Gosunkugi scaled the side
of the building without any effort. His hands and feet never
slipped, sticking to the surface securely as he made his way up.
        As he climbed, a window opened next to him. Stopping for
a second, he saw a woman in a cleaning outfit lean out, a
cigarette in her mouth. Her face froze for a second, head turning
toward him.
        "Uh... Lovely weather, huh?" Gosunkugi said lamely as the
cigarette dropped form the woman's mouth. A scream followed a
second later, threatening to split Gosunkugi's ears. Grimacing,
he propelled himself to the side, clearing the alley he once lay
in and landing on the side of another building. he launched
himself sideways again, performing a quick somersault before
sticking to the surface a third time. Wasting no time, Gosunkugi
crawled to the top of the building.
        "What the hell happened to me?" he asked as he crouched
on the ledge several stories above the pavement below. He felt as
though he had gained a whole new equilibrium. Crawling up the
buildings and leaping the way he did felt almost natural, as
though he had been doing it all his life.
        Maybe when that spider bit me, he thought, could it
be...? Curious, he stepped onto the roof, searching for something
to test his strength out on. Stumbling across a likely section of
pipe, Gosunkugi picked it up. It was a little longer than his
forearm, and almost as thick. The lead length bent easily once he
exerted pressure on the ends.
        Hikaru Gosunkugi stared into the sunset, wondering what
gift had been bestowed on him by the Kami.

================================

	Kenji replaced the phone in its cradle, staring directly
ahead at nothing. He licked his lips in greed, the thought of
what Leung would pay dancing in his mind. All he wanted was one
little thing, after all. And what he wanted was very easy for him
to obtain.
	Pasting a calm expression on his face, Kenji Matsuhara
exited the small office he shared with Ryo Sanzaki. Of course his
esteemed colleague would be upset, but he failed to realize just
what potential for profit the recombinator technology held.