mabli@idirect.com

A Different Brand Of Mousse 1

A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Mark Ferrer


Disclaimer: All rights are reserved to their respective owners. Only the
original characters are mine. Don't sue me, please. (I need all my money
for anime!)

Note: I've taken some liberties with some/all of the characters. Sorry, I
couldn't help it. This fic also has small crossovers that usually don't
have any big bearing on the fic.

Thoughts are in <>
Normal dialogue is in quotes (duh)



     It was a rainy day in Nerima. The students in Furinkan High were
cooped up in the school during lunchtime looking out at the never ending
rain. The contractors renovating Ucchan's were taking a break, still
amazed at the damaged it sustained without crumbling to pieces. Soun and
Genma were as usual playing shogi.

     At the Nekohanten, two fighters were squaring off. The lull in
activity had prompted Mousse to try out what his latest training journey
had brought with it. Today was the day, if Mousse won, he could date
Shampoo. If he lost, he would no longer be allowed to ask Shampoo on a
date. He had clearly set it up that he could still be allowed to marry
her. 

     Shampoo was breathing lightly while Mousse was panting hard and his
clothes were in disarray. Shampoo couldn't believe that Mousse was able to
slip in the being able to marry her part. Cologne agreed to the terms
telling Shampoo secretly that it meant he no longer had the privilage of
dating with her. It was a step closer to the day when Mousse fought over
the privilege of marrying her and losing. Mousse couldn't believe he had
gone for a whole half-hour against the one he loved. His training improved
his endurance and he was coming closer and closer to being able to knock
Shampoo unconscious before his instincts took over.

     <He's gotten better...> thought Shampoo. <...but not good enough.>

     She rushed at Mousse with her bonbori. The chinese boy was too tired
to dodge and was knocked out the door, turning into a duck in the pouring
rain. Shampoo looked around at the restaurant and saw that their fight
didn't affect the diner at all.

     <Good. I won't have to get Mousse to clean anything.> she thought. A
ringing phone called her attention and the promise of more customers
called Shampoo to attention and she ran to the phone.

     Mousse got up waddling back into the restaurant. <At least my glasses
weren't broken.> he thought.

     Suddenly, he was grabbed by a hooded blur. He opened his beak to
quack but it was quickly tied up. He tried to fly away but he was placed
in a box. He was slightly relieved that the box had holes in it but he
started thinking the worst. Out of one of the holes, he could see part of
the face of the person who ducknapped him. 

     "You're a hard person to find, Mousse." he said. Mousse saw him place
something into box through one of the holes. He turned in the small box to
see what it was but blacked out at the smoke coming from the object. 

     <This kind of thing doesn't happen to me...> he thought before losing
all consciousness. The hooded man looked to see if anyone was looking and
disappeared.

************************************************************************

     Mousse woke up to the sound of birds chirping. He couldn't hear any
sounds of a city so he jumped up to see where he was. He was in the middle
of a clearing in a forest back in human form. He took a deep breath of the
sweet air. 

     <Hmm,> he thought, <the air's too sweet to be Japan. Could it be
China?>

     "Welcome back to China." a voice behind him said.

     <I guess I was right.> Mousse took out his glasses to see a masked
man approaching him. He dropped into a defensive position and said, "It's
nice to be back but I'd like to return to Japan if you don't mind." 

     The masked man put up his hands and said, "I am not asking for a
fight young man. At least, not yet anyway."

     Mousse lowered his guard. He couldn't believe that he was actually
going to trust the man. "Why did you bring me here?"

     "I want to help you." the masked man answered. "You have been
ignoring your training far too long, you are cursed and you cannot see
without your glasses. I am going to try to solve every one of your
problems."

     Mousse laughed and said, "Why would you want to help me?" Absently,
he was cycling through all the people he knew and tried to match the voice
to a face. <I know that voice!> he screamed mentally.

     "I'm going to help you because you have the potential to be the most
powerful human on earth. Does that sound to your liking?" he asked calmly.

     Mousse gave a small nod. <Most powerful in the world? Yeah, right.>

     "First, I want to test your current fighting ability." He seemingly
grabbed two swords out of thin air and slashed them at Mousse.

     <He knows Hidden Weapons...> Mousse thought. He let his chains fly
out from his robes but they were dodged and got lodged deep into the tree
behind the masked man.

     "You've always relied too much on your chains Mousse." the man said
sternly.

     <How does this guy know me? Dammit! I know I've heard that voice
before...> Mousse threw some shurikens at the man then took out two huge
battleaxes. He tried getting as close as possible to do the most damage
but just ended up cleaving both swords in two. The masked man then threw
some shurikens of his own at Mousse. He threw them like he had an endless
supply. 

     <There's something different about his style.> Mousse noted. 

     Mousse ducked, jumped over and batted back as many stars as he could.
He threw both axes at the man. The masked man stood at the perfect
position for both axes to pass by inches past his head. 

     <Love that sound!> the man thought. He snapped out of it just in time
to dodge the potty trainers Mousse threw. "Mousse, try to counter this!"
he said. Again, from thin air, he took out two huge spiked balls and swung
them around his body.

     <How the heck do I get past those?> Mousse thought.

     He experimentally threw another potty trainer at the masked man. The
spiked balls smashed the potty trainer into dust. He threw knives but they
deflected off and almost got him instead. He took out his gas spraying toy
duck but the whirling spiked balls acted like a fan and blew it all back a
Mousse. Mousse fought back the sleep instinct and jumped as high as he
could. He was directly over the masked man when he felt himself being
lifted higher off the ground.

     <Whoa! He's lifting me up with the wind coming from the balls!>
Mousse started to panic. <Damn, I really don't want to this but...> He got
all his weapons ready for the rarely seen... "HIDDEN WEAPONS FINAL ATTACK.
EVERYTHING, INCLUDING THE KITCHEN SINK!!!" he yelled.

     The masked man below saw his view of Mousse blocked by thousands of
objects coming at him. All the weapons rushing at him blocked out the
sunlight in the spot he was in.

     "I win Mousse." he yelled and he spun the balls so fast that all the
weapons lost their momentum and were harmlessly blown off to the side.
Mousse stared in shock as all his weapons missed their mark. He was still
in the air when the masked man said, "You have a lot to learn still." The
man slowed the spinning balls down to let Mousse land on the ground.

     "The problem with that attack is that you really do use all your
weapons." he said thoughtfully. "I will teach you that attacks the will
allow you beat any of your rivals. In a short while, you may be able to
beat Cologne or Happosai." <The perfect bait.> the masked man thought.

     Mousse, still shaken from the fight asked, "This may sound weird but,
could you help me get them all back?"

     The masked man closed his eyes and concentrated. All of Mousse's
weapons seemed to fly up and go into a pile near them. "That is one of the
techniques I will teach you. For now, put all your weapons back, then got
to the hut at the end of the trail." He pointed to a trail going deeper
into the forest and walked to it.

     <Any technique that might help me win Shampoo's hand...> Mousse
thought. He started the long and tedious process of replacing all his
weapons back into his robes. <It'll be a while before I ever use that
attack again...> He looked up at the huge pile of weapons in front of him.
Mousse reviewed the fight and the way the masked man moved. <I know that
guy! I know that style!> his mind screamed. <I wonder if that part about
beating anyone is true?>

************************************************************************

     Mousse made his way to the trail the masked man had pointed to after
about three hours of repacking every weapon he had. Like after every
fight, he felt as if he was missing at least one of his weapons. 

     <I've gotta start cataloguing my weapons,> he thought glumly, <but
then that will probably take at least a week...> He looked up at the sun
and tried guessing where in China he was in but came up empty. <I wonder
if I'm near Jusenkyo?> he thought. At the end of the trail, he came upon a
small hut. Guessing it was the masked man's, he made his way inside.

     "Is anybody home?" Mousse called it, opening the door slowly. 

     "Come in!" he heard, the voice being muffled by the walls. 

     Mousse looked around the strange hut. Everything looked brand new,
except for the hut itself. The hut also seemed a lot bigger than the
outside had led him to believe. As with all masters of Hidden Weapons, the
man's quarters were neatly strewn with weapons of every type. He saw a
chair and sat down in it. Rustling from another room caught his attention
so he turned and a door opened, the masked man exiting from it. He noticed
that the door was flush to the wall and was well hidden. 

     "How do you like it?" the masked man asked. 

     "It's... nice." Mousse said unsurely, looking at the multiple weapons
on all the walls. 

     The masked man pulled up a chair and sat down in it. "It's nice to
see a fellow artist who trains in the Hidden Weapons." Mousse said humbly.
"It's amazing what you did out there. Who taught you?" 

     The masked man seemed to think about it a bit then said, "I was
taught under the same sifu as you. He trained me for a while, then I left
and travelled the world to test my skill. Thinking back, I think forgot to
tell you my name. I guess I was just anxious to meet you. My name is Gel." 

     Mousse nodded and asked, "If you don't mind my asking, how do you
know me?"

     "A valid question, but unfortunately, I don't think I should answer
that for you right now. You'll just have to trust me." Gel said, almost
pleadingly.

     <'You'll just have to trust me.' Famous last words.> Mousse thought.
<I shouldn't trust this guy but there's just something about him...>

     The sound of a kettle boiling interrupted their conversation and Gel
said, "Just wait a sec, I'll be right back." 

     Mousse nodded and stared as Gel opened the door with a well hidden
doorknob. The door swung back shut, becoming one with the wall. <This
place is weird. How the heck is it that the outside is so small the the
inside is so big? And what the heck is with that entertainment system?!>
Mousse thought. He got up and further scrutinized the hut. It looked
around, it looked like a weird type of bachelor pad. In a corner was a
powerful looking entertainment system. <This guy must be pretty rich.>
Walking to the trophy area of the room, he examined some trophies, animal
heads, and ornate weapons. What he couldn't find were photos. There wasn't
a single photo in the house. At least in the living room and dining room
which he was currently in. He walked up to a display case with strange
looking weapons. He carefully scrutinized them with his glasses on. <I
can't believe I can't recognize these weapons.>

     In the kitchen, Gel grabbed two tea kettles and got ready to leave
when, he felt a strong wave of nausea. He managed to save the kettles from
spilling and put them on the counter. He took a couple minutes to get over
it and checked an electronic device on his upper arm. 

     <Damn, not much left.> he thought. Composing himself, Gel came back
in to see Mousse admiring one of his weapons on display. He smiled and
said, "I won that from a secret tournament for more exotic martial arts."

     Mousse admired the sword. It was perfect size and weight for him and
had ornate carvings on the hilt and the blade. Gel went over to the table
and placed two kettles on it. From thin air, he took out two cups. "Would
you like some tea?" he asked.

    Mousse made his way over to the table and sat down. "Sure. I haven't
had any good tea since I left China." he said, taking an offered cup.
Mousse drank some and said, "This is good tea, but I don't think I can
finish to kettles full." 

     Gel smiled and said, "One is for drinking. The other is for something
else..." Gel poured more tea for himself. "Mousse," he said, "I know of
your curse. Would you like to be cured of it?"

     Mousse almost choked on the tea. "Yes!" Mousse said anxiously. Gel
nodded his head and from out of nowhere, he took out another glass and
splashed Mousse with cold water.

     "Quack, quack, quack!" Mousse quacked angrily, nearly making his
glasses fall off.

    "Calm down Mousse. This is how to cure you." Gel soothed. He picked up
the second kettle and dumped its contents onto Mousse. 

     Human Mousse reappeared and said, "Hey, you could have at least
warned me first!"

     Gel chuckled and said, "Sorry, it's just been a while since I've seen
anyone change with a Jusenkyo curse. Forgive me."

     Mousse looked down at himself. He still couldn't explain it but
sometimes, when he turned back, he was naked and other times he had his
clothes on. This time being one of the latter. "Am I really cured?" Mousse
asked.

     Gel threw the remains of the cold water at him and then finished his
tea. Mousse stood stunned, not only at the ice cold water, but the fact
that he was no longer a duck.

     "This is amazing!" he said, dancing around in joy. He yelled at the
top of his lungs, danced the Macarena. He pretty much acted like a
complete idiot. Meanwhile, Gel continued drinking tea.

     After a good five minutes of the craziness, Mousse finally calmed
down and asked, "Gel, can you tell me how to cure others? I need to cure
my beloved Shampoo."

     Gel put his cup down slowly. The new course of the conversation
seemed to lower his spirits. "The cure for each Jusenkyo curse is
different. It took me a long time to learn of just the cure for you."

     Mousse slumped his shoulders at the fact that he couldn't give
Shampoo the cure.

     "Don't worry, you'll find a cure for Shampoo." Gel got up and said,
"Let's start with your first lesson." He walked, not waiting for Mousse
and stopped just in front of the house. He waited until Mousse was beside
him.

     "Look closely at what a true master of the Hidden Weapons technique
can do." Mousse instinctively stepped back. Gel spread his arms and a
black hole formed before him. Mousse had no idea what was going to happen
next.

     "Unlike you, I do not keep my weapons in my clothes. I keep them in
this, a dimensional closet if you will. It's been called The Void or the
Black Hole technique in places around the world." Gel lectured. "Come with
me Mousse." Gel said, stepping into the hole. Mousse cautiously stepped in
behind him.

     On the other side of the black hole was a warehouse looking building.
"That is where I keep my weapons." Gel pointed. "But look around."

     Mousse saw that they were standing in an open field. It look
untouched by humans. In the sky, he saw three moons. 

     "In the void, you are like a god, you can create almost anything you
desire. Some of the more complex things require you to know exactly how it
operates." Gel paused when he saw Mousse's confused look.

     "Please observe." Gel closed his eyes and in front of him formed a
TV. "Another limitation is that to make energy in here, you need to know
how to generate energy. Maybe with a hydro-electric dam or something. I
myself do not know enough to make a TV. If you open it up, you'll see that
it's empty. I just know what it's like on the outside." Mousse picked up
the TV and opened it up with a sharp tap. There was nothing in it.

     "This is all amazing but how do you make your own black hole?" Mousse
asked.

     "That's what the spell is for." Gel said, taking out an ancient
looking manuscript and giving it to Mousse. "Come back outside, you can't
make a black hole in another black hole." Gel said, leaving Mousse again. 

     Mousse looked over the piece of paper as he walked back through the
hole. He couldn't even to begin to decipher what it said. <Can a human
have possibly written this?> he thought. 

     He gave it back to Gel and asked, "How do you make it?"

     "Simple." Gel said, reading over the ancient manuscript. "You stand
perfectly still and keep your mind clear of all thoughts while I read the
incantation. Concentrating on what I say will also help." Mousse nodded
and sat down.

     Gel read quietly and smoothly, walking around Mousse in a wide
circle.

     <What the heck is he saying?> Mousse thought.

     "Keep your mind clear." Gel whispered before continuing his chanting.
Mousse mind cleared as he listened to Gel chanting softly. The words
seemed to evoke strange memories to him but put them aside, remembering to
keep his mind clear. He felt as if he was in the darkness, floating around
aimlessly at the sound of Gel's words.

     "Mousse. It's done" Gel said, tapping him on the shoulder.

     Mousse opened his eyes to see a swirling black hole in front of him.
He blinked his eyes, unsure if he had just seen a flash of lightning deep
within the hole. 

     "The next step is for you to learn to control the void. That is done
by you stepping into it and commanding it to follow you." Gel read off the
sheet. He looked up and said, "This part is completely up to you. If you
succeed in controlling it, you'll have full control. If you fail, you
disappear forever. There is no halfways. Only true masters of Hidden
Weapons can fully control it. Think of this as another test." Mousse took
a deep breath and stepped in.

************************************************************************

     Time seemed to stand still as Mousse floated in his new toy. He had
no idea which way was down. He was weightless. He was in complete darkness
and unsure of what to do next. 

     <How the heck do I do this?> Mousse thought. Seeing no other
alternatives, he decided to copy what Gel showed him with the TV. He
thought of a flat, grassy plain like he saw in Gel's world. He was
buffeted by high winds. He felt his glasses slip off in account of the
tremendous wind. The wind blasted him around for a few more seconds then
he suddenly found himself face to face with the ground. 

     He got up and looked around. It was still dark but he felt something
solid underneath him. He promptly emptied the contents of his stomach onto
it. Getting up, he wiped his mouth with a tissue from his robes and took
out another set of glasses.

     <Now for the light.> He remembered the sun Gel had and it appeared in
the sky. It was so hot and so bright that Mousse immediately made it
disappear. He concentrated on making it exactly like the sun. 

     Eventually, the temperature got comfortable and the brightness
practically the same as the sun. He looked back at his surroundings and
saw that they were in black and white. There was nothing around for 50
meters. He was on a circular spot of ground covered with grass. He
concentrated again, thinking of the mountains and valleys of his homeland
and the circular spot became larger and spread out onto the horizon,
becoming hills and valleys as it went. Colour came to his surroundings and
Mousse took a good look around. At his feet were the glasses he had lost
while floating around. He placed it in his robes and took another look at
his world. It now looked exactly like Gel's world's rolling hills and
valleys except for Gel's changes. 

     "All in a day's work." Mousse said to the wind. He looked back to the
opening and stepped outside. <I can make it better later. I've got to
figure out who this guy is.>

************************************************************************

     When he stepped outside, he noticed that he sun had set, a second
later, fell over in agony, the pain causing his eyes to water. He tried
thinking what could have caused it but nothing came to mind. He felt
strong arms carry him up and towards Gel's hut before he lost
consciousness.

************************************************************************

     Mousse awoke to the smell of food cooking. It smelled like a dish
from the Nekohanten. 

     Gel came in and said, "Congratulations, you were able to make your
own new world."

     Mousse nodded and tried to speak but nothing came out. 

     "You can't say anything for a little while. After making your world,
you lost touch with this one and coming back after the first time may mess
you up a bit. I guess it's the price of receiving such power." Gel said,
looking Mousse over like a doctor. 

     "The Black Hole can be used by anyone, but only people who have the
power of telekinesis can utilize it fully." 

     Mousse eyebrow twitched in question.

     "I know that you have latent telekinetic powers. The fact that you're
so good at Hidden Weapons proves that. I want you to try and do what I
do."

     Gel took out a throwing knife and threw it at a wall where it stuck
in halfway to the hilt. Gel raised his hand and it snapped out of the wall
and into his hand handle first. "I'm a natural at this. I have a good
feeling that you're a natural too." he commented. He put it back into his
void and said, "Let me go get dinner."

     Mousse looked at the hole caused by Gel's knife. He took out his own
knife and threw it onto the wall. 

     <If he can do it, I can too.> He concentrated and tried making it
come to his hands. It didn't budge. Remembering what he did in his world,
he tried a different approach. The knife twitched and fell to the floor.
<C'mon, come to my hand.> he thought, reaching his hand out slightly.
Instead of jumping up to his hand, the knife merely slid on the floor and
stopped on the spot his hand was over. <Well didn't that suck.> Mousse
thought sadly.

************************************************************************

     Dinner was full of talk about the new techniques Mousse was learning.
He found out that when you combine well controlled telekinesis and the use
of the black void, you would become a very formidable opponent.

     "You could move the void wherever you want, meaning that if you
stepped inside and made it move somewhere else, you had the power to
teleport. It can also be made invisible to the untrained eye. With
telekinesis, you could form a barrier to shield yourself from attacks. A
counter to ki attacks or projectiles is letting it go into your void and
turn it around so that it comes back towards the person who launched it."
Gel had said.

      Mousse asked about being able to beat people up using telekinesis
alone. When Gel answered yes, Mousse immediately thought of the
possibilities that were being opened to him. He could easily take on Ranma
and anyone else he wanted to beat.

     <A good test would be fighting Cologne or Happosai.> he thought.

     Gel meanwhile looked at his excited student. <Mousse... you are my
only hope.>

************************************************************************

     Back at the Nekohanten, Shampoo slumped tiredly in her chair. She and
Cologne had just closed down the Nekohanten after a record breaking sales
rush. The thunderstorm was only the calm before the storm. As soon as it
had stopped, customers flooded in like a tsunami. Maybe the fact that
Ucchan's was closed for temporary renovations had also helped up that
record. Her whole body ached after waiting tables, cooking and making
deliveries all day. She couldn't understand why Mousse wasn't there,
leaving her and Cologne to work during one of the Nekohanten's busiest
days. If she wasn't as fit as she was, she would have probably fainted
from exhaustion hours ago. 

     <Mousse is dead when he comes back.> she thought fiercely.

************************************************************************

     Mousse lie awake in Gel's sofa-bed wondering what to do with his new
powers. He was well on his way to mastering his new techniques. In less
than a week's time, he felt would be able to return to Japan again to win
his love. Tomorrow brought the more advanced techniques of using the Black
hole and telekinesis. Why is Gel so confident about my abilities? Who is
he? How does he know so much about me and my situation? were just some of
the questions he had in his head. 

     He took out a watch and found that it was nearing midnight. Seeing
that he couldn't sleep, he decided to plan out his next moves, as he
always tried to do. As soon as he got back to Japan, he would challenge
Ranma. He would send out invitations to the fight to everyone he knew in
Japan so that everyone can see his final victory. 

     <It was going to be great. When I get Shampoo, I'll return to the
village and we'll get married. I'll be her husband and then...> He was
stunned at what he had finally realized. If he went back, he would be
treated like a lower form of being. He would lose all the standing he had
in Japan. In Japan, he found that both genders were guaranteed equal
rights. He had a say in the matter. His words could have some impact in
the conversation. 

     <What am I thinking? Of course I want to go home...> He couldn't
believe what he was thinking. Still Japan exposed him to other cultures
and opened his eyes to how large the world really was. Thinking back to
his life in the village, it seemed so confining compared to Japan. He
remembered that when he wasn't chasing Shampoo, he was treated like an
outcast. He could feel people staring at him as if he didn't belong there.
People grew quiet when he came around. He could still remember the time he
challenged Shampoo and got knocked into the trash.


     **<Ohh, that hurt> Mousse thought. His world was spinning so he lay
still in the garbage heap. He was extremely lucky to land in a heap that
didn't smell too bad. He tried recollecting his thoughts to what happened.
<Cologne must have taught that move to Shampoo.>

     "Hey, did you hear? The 'blind bat' challenged Shampoo again."

     <That voice!> Mousse thought. <It could only be Blush and Soap.>

     Mousse kept quiet as the voices approached.

     "That fool tried to win Shampoo again? How long did it take for her
to beat him up again?" Blush asked.

     "Only about 10 seconds." Soap answered. "Poor Shampoo. She has to
deal with that guy almost everyday."

     "I hear ya." Blush agreed. "Hey, you ever wonder why he's still
here?"

     "Cologne instructed everyone to be quiet about it. I wonder why she
did it." Soap trailed off. The two girls turned the corner and their
voices became indistinct.

     <What was that all about?> Mousse asked himself.**


     <I still haven't found out about what they were talking about.>
Mousse thought. He got up and walked over to the open window. <This is
nice...> he commented, looking at the stars feeling the wind gently blow
into the hut.

************************************************************************

     Gel walked into the living room where Mousse was sleeping on the sofa
bed. He hefted the water filled bucket he was carrying and splashed the
sleeping boy. Mousse was awakened instantly and tried jumping off the bed
to face his attacker. Unfortunately, he fell off, landing on his head,
making a big bump on his head.

     "Time for more lessons." Gel announced in a loud voice and walked
outside.

     Mousse dressed up as quickly as a half-awake person could and walked
outside. "Is that how you wake all your students?" he asked, his eyes
still not completely open.

     "Actually, you're my first student." Gel admitted. He motioned to a
large tree and they sat down underneath it. "This isn't going to be a
physical lesson as much as a spiritual lesson." he said, looking at Mousse
as if he was transparent.

     "Your eyesight is what causes you most problems, correct?" Mousse
nodded.

     "There's a way to overcome that weakness but it will involve some
pain. Would you still like to continue?" Gel asked.

     "What would you have to do?" Mousse asked, slightly concerned.

     "I will have to make our minds join for a little while. It is
necessary to give you the Mind's eye to cure your problem." he said, his
eyes not quite focused on Mousse.

     "Mind's eye?" Mousse asked, completely confused.

     "Very few people have that power. It allows you to see better than
anyone in the world. It allows you to see more than a normal person's
eyes. With it, you could be watching something happening on the other side
of the world as if you were really there." Gel said.

     "That kinda sounds a lot like what TV's are for." Mousse said,
getting even more confused than before.

     "It's better than TV, I assure you. No installation fee or rental fee
for the box." Gel joked.

     Mousse didn't laugh, he was still confused. 

     "Would you like a demonstration?" Gel asked.

     Mousse nodded.

     "You might want to take your glasses off." said Gel.

     Once Mousse took off his glasses, Gel moved closer and touched his
hand to Mousse' face in something like a Vulcan Mind Meld. Mousse jumped
back instinctively at what he saw. He saw images of things happening
around the world and beyond. He saw Ranma getting booted into the koi
pond, Shampoo on her delivery, American astronauts in a space shuttle,
people fighting in a war, a family having a picnic, people in dark rooms
making multi-billion dollar deals, aliens conversing in an alien language,
the latest Playboy photo shoot...

     Gel sat back and looked as Mousse sat, trying to understand what had
just happened. "So, with this power, you can see everything?"

     "Practically." Gel said, eyes focused on Mousse for the first time
that day.

     Mousse silently thought of the possibilities of it all.

     Gel broke the silence by asking, "Do you want me to give it to you?"

     Mousse nodded but asked, "You mean you can't learn it?"

     Gel sighed and said, "Unfortunately, no. It must be given to you. It
has only once happened that a person was born with it. When I give it to
you, I will lose the power. Would you still like to continue?"

     Mousse nodded and said, "Why are you doing this for me?"

     Silence followed for a minute before Gel finally said, "For a better
future." Gel quickly place his hands on Mousse's temples and closed his
eyes. Mousse couldn't even get a startled gasp when the pain flew through
his body. It felt like his head was being pounded by sledgehammers at
amaguriken speed. The pain subsided and he saw Gel slumped over him,
breathing hard. He moved to put Gel back in his seat when Gel's mask fell
off revealing the man behind the mask.

End Part 1

C&C? Send 'em to mabli@idirect.com

Author's Notes: Mousse is probably my favourite character and I think it's
about time for him to have a couple adventures. 
I know it seems as if he's learning these powers without any price at all
but remember Uncle Ben's favourite words, "With great power comes great
responsibility." 
But then of course, you should also remember the quote, "Power corrupts,
but absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Tim Taylor, "MORE POWER!!!!!"