Ryoko is Supergirl by Justin Felder (attitude29018@hotmail.com)

Disclaimer:  Tenchi Masaki and all related characters (Ryoko, Ayeka,
etc.) are from the Anime series "Tenchi Muyo!" created by Masaki
Kajishima and AIC, distributed to the US by Pioneer LDC.  Superman and
all related indicia are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.  An AOL Time
Warner company.  I, Justin Christopher Wesley Felder, do not declare
ownership of these characters, which defers me from all legal suits (I
hope).
Thank you to Thomas "009" Doscher for creating the terminology
"holotop" for Washu's computer thing.  I've heard others, but that
one's my favorite.  Oh, and thanks also for the idea of the process
Washu uses to create simulations.



	With a cheery smile on her face, Ryoko read the Superman comic
(not manga) she'd found while flying through Tokyo earlier in the day.
Before finding this, she'd never heard of such a thing--a superhero.
Fictitious men--and in some case women--wearing spandex and flying
through the air bringing down things twice their size and saving
ordinary humans for danger.  As a space pirate, she'd questioned such a
thing.  She didn't have morals.  What was the use in saving these
people?  In her case, she would have just used her powers to become
their ruler and enslave them.  Or save Tenchi all day long.  That would
be the life.  To live only sit at a desk and stare at Tenchi all day,
keeping his risky butt out of trouble, like Clark Kent does to Lois
Lane.
	Surprisingly, Ryoko's thoughts were interrupted by Ayeka, jumping
on the sofa next to where she sat.  She grabbed Ryoko wearing a big,
wide grin on her face.  "Oh, Ryoko!  How are we today?"
	Ryoko narrowed her yellow cat-like eyes as she stared at an
extremely over-happy Ayeka shake her around.  "Have you forgotten that
I don't like you?"
	"Oh Ryoko, don't be such a mean old bat.  Cheer up!"
	"What's your problem?  Oh no!  Tenchi's made his decision!  He
proposed to you, didn't he?"
	Ryoko quickly jumped up, but was yanked back down onto the couch
by a surprising amount of strength from Ayeka.  "What are you talking
about?  I just think we should start being a little nicer to each
other, that's all!"
	This is _really_ fucked up, Ryoko thought to herself, furrowing
an eyebrow.  Ayeka, being nicer to me?  Something's up.  Ryoko formed a
ball of energy in her hand and put her palm of which it was contained
to Ayeka's face.  Ayeka opened her eyes and gasped.  But the princess
didn't shriek long, as Ryoko [Cross reference: Dragon Ball Z] shouted a
battle cry, setting off a huge blast that caused her head to explode.

	"How did you know that was a robot?" Washu asked, tapping various
keys on her holotop very rapidly in what seemed to be random order.
	"I didn't," Ryoko replied, obviously sarcastic.  "What the hell
is the purpose of that thing anyway?"
	"None.  Believe it or not, the greatest scientist in the universe
has conducted every experiment she knows of, and is now bored."
	"Bored.  Tough break, mom."  Ryoko crossed her legs and resumed
reading her comic book.
	Washu glanced up in the middle of her typing at Ryoko.  She took
a double take and realized something--Ryoko was reading.  A comic book,
but nonetheless delved in a world of fictional adventure and gaining
intellectual content at the same time.  "What are you reading?" she
couldn't help but ask.
	Ryoko quickly closed her comic book and hid it behind her back.
"Um, reading?  What makes you think I'm reading?  A dumb old gal like
me wouldn't be caught dead reading."  She nervously laughed, reaching
for the back of her head.  "A Superman comic I found."
	"Oh, I see.  Have you gained an interest?"
	Ryoko pulled the book back out and stared at the cover, and
handed it to Washu to show it to her.  "Sort of," Ryoko mumbled.  "Oh,
it's the most wonderful thing!  This guy in a cape goes around, saving
people, and he has this secret identity where everyone thinks he's a
regular person, and he works at this newspaper with this girl who can't
stand him.  But she loves the super hero, you know?  Only she doesn't
know that they are the same person!  And based on her reputation as a
hard-hitting reporter, she always ends up getting in some kind of
trouble and is being saved!  Wow, if only Tenchi could do that to
me..."
	"...Or if you could do that to Tenchi," Washu said, skimming
through the book and examining it overall.
	"What are you talking about?"
	"Like I before mentioned, I'm bored.  So I think I'll help you
out.  Remember that thing I did with Tenchi for his birthday [Cross
reference: From Jurai with love by Thomas "009" Doscher]?"
	"Don't I ever," Ryoko replied, looking down at the floor.  She
closed her eyes and balled up a fist, mad as she recollected events.
The others along with herself were subdued and had their mind data
contribute to add familiarity to characters in a James Bond simulation
for Tenchi.  She needed their minds hooked into her computer just like
she needed Tenchi's in order for them to appear, but she didn't tell
Tenchi--or them.  It'd just make him nervous.  Besides, their
personalities were on stand by, so they acted just like who they would
say they were.   In order for the characters to seem real, Washu needed
real people to base their thoughts on.  Otherwise, the characters would
stop being realistic after a few minutes.  The only solution she could
think of was to use the others as important, recurring characters and
simulations for characters who wouldn't get that much screen time.
But the real thing that pisses Ryoko off is the fact that Tsunami
got to be the "Bond girl."  Ryoko was reduced to the mere Moneypenny,
who sits in front of M's office and gives out stupid love puns to set
up Bond for some smart remark.
	"Oh, ok."
	Ryoko's eyes bulged open.  "What?  That's it?  No, 'I plan on
doing the same thing with you'?"
	Washu remained typing on her holotop.  "Nope, that's it.  I just
wondered if you remembered."  Washu was good at lying.  She could put
any expression on her face she wanted, no matter what she was thinking.
	Her face quickly changed from an angered expression to a sad one.
"So you're not going to make a simulation for me like you did for
Tenchi?"
	"Um...nope."
	"But I'm your daughter!" Ryoko sobbed.
	"So?  You don't act like it."
	Ryoko went back to mad again.  "Fine, then.  Washu, I'm disowning
you as a mother!"  She then began to storm away.
	Washu once again never looked up from her holotop.  "Fuck if I
care.  It's not exactly legal or anything."
	Ryoko looked back evilly, and slammed the lab door shut after
walking out.  Washu merely laughed.  "How does such a great genius come
to be such a great liar?" she asked herself, still typing.

	Tenchi walked into the kitchen to find Ryoko leaning back in a
chair, reading a comic book and drinking a liquid in a tall, slim, dark
brown bottle.  He couldn't help but question the situation.
"Uh...Ryoko what are you drinking?" he asked.
	"What's it to you underage minor?" she replied, taking another
swig.  She didn't even look up at Tenchi.
	It took a while for Tenchi to think about what Ryoko said.
"Underage minor...is that sake?"  Tenchi reached for the bottle
angrily.
	But Ryoko was too quick for him as she quickly snatched it away.
"No," she protested, taking another drink.  "It's Bud."
	Tenchi furrowed his eyebrow.  "Bud?  What is Bud?"
	"Bud, silly.  You know, Budweiser?  King of Beers?  Well anyway,
it's an import.  Brewed in the good old US of A [Fact: Budweiser is
available in Japan through a Japanese subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch
known as Kirin]."  Tenchi reached at it again and Ryoko yanked it out
of reach again.  "Sorry kid, can't have any.  You have to be at least
twenty."  She took another drink as Tenchi merely boxed his face up.
	"I don't want any Ryoko, I want you to get rid of it!  Dad will
come home and think I've had some party or something!"
	"Oh.  In that case, you should probably do something about the
three cases Ayeka put in the fridge."
	"What?  Ayeka!"  Tenchi ran off to the living room and stomped up
the stairs.
	Ryoko snickered and went back to her comic.  "Sometimes I even
amaze myself."  But before she could wallow in self-enjoyment, Ayeka
came running down the stairs with Tenchi behind her.  Ryoko spit out
some Budweiser she had just drank and leveled her chair on the floor,
looking oddly at Ayeka.  The Jurai Princess dove at Ryoko and began
choking her.  Tenchi pulled her off almost immediately.
	"How dare you lie on me like that Ryoko?" Ayeka asked, in
restraint of Tenchi.  The only thing he knew to do was hold her in a
full nelson headlock.
	"You lied?" Tenchi asked.  "Gee, I'm surprised."
	"Now wait a minute!  Okay, I lied.  I bought all that Bud.  But
_she_ has Coors Light upstairs in her mini-fridge!"
	"Coors Light [Fact: Coors is exported to Asia]?" Ayeka shouted.
"Why I only drink Beck's [Fact: Beck's is exported to Asia] you hussy!"
	"You drink Ayeka?" Tenchi replied.
	"Every girl needs time off occasionally."
	It wasn't long before Tenchi started shouting at Ayeka for
possession of alcohol in the house.  Ryoko laughed, which caused Ayeka
to shout at her.  Tenchi quit shouting and sighed when he realized he
just started an argument between Ayeka and Ryoko.  Just before things
got physical, the three of them stopped and looked at the front door,
as Sasami came in hauling a pile of comic books, almost up to her pink
eyes.  "What did you say you were going to do with all these books
again?" she moaned, struggling with the weight.
	Washu came in with a pile of comic books herself.
"Um...reading," she replied.  "I've found a new interest in the
adventures of Superman.  It's an American thing, so don't ask."  She
and Sasami both went into her lab and were yet to be seen from again.
	"Superman?" Ayeka and Tenchi said at the same time.
	By then, Ryoko was back to drinking.  She took a swig, made the
peace sign (two fingers), closed her eyes, and smiled.  "Whassup?!" she
shouted.
	Ayeka and Tenchi looked at each other and furrowed their eyebrows
respectively.

	The next morning, Tenchi woke up and found no one next to him in
his bed.  He thought the worst and figured something must've happened
to Ryoko.  That was the only possible explanation since he would always
wake up to find her in the bed with him.  He didn't like it, but he
knew the only way she was still around was if she woke up as if they
just had sex or something.  For some reason, she likes to give that
impression...
	Washu appeared at Tenchi's door.  "Washu!  Do you know where
Ryoko is?"
	"Sure I do," she said.  "Come, Tenchi.  This way."  Washu walked
Tenchi downstairs and sat him at the kitchen table.  "I know it's not
your birthday, but remember that James Bond thing I did?"
	Tenchi looked at Washu, concerned.  "Yeah, I do."
	"That's good.  Have you ever heard of Superman, Tenchi?"
	Tenchi's eyes became wide open.  "You mean I get to be Superman?"
he asked.
	Washu pulled out a gun.  "Um...no."  Then she shot Tenchi with a
tranquilizer dart.  He passed out instantly.

	"Masaki!  Masaki!  Tenchi Masaki!"
	"I'm up, I'm up," Tenchi replied, slowly waking up from sleeping
on a desk.  He looked up to find an angry woman staring down at him.
"Kiyone?" he asked, still incoherent.
	"That's my name, don't wear it out!  Instead, I'd rather you get
back to that story!"
	Tenchi looked down at the computer monitor on the desk he was
sitting at.  It was a blank word processing document except for the
words "Daily Planet."  Those words sound familiar, he thought to
himself.
	"Now are you going to get back to work or do I have to watch you
and make sure you don't doze off?"
	"No, that's okay."  Tenchi rubbed his face, trying to comprehend
everything going on around him.  "I'll...get back to work."
	"Good."  Kiyone walked off to her office.  Tenchi couldn't help
but watch her backside switch back and forth under a skirt that was a
tad too short and another tad too tight.
	Tenchi thought for a second.  "The last thing I remember, Washu
shot me with something.  Now, I'm sitting here, working at the Daily
Planet.  Washu!!!!"
	Everyone looked up at Tenchi, as if he was crazy.  Her nervously
laughed, and scratched the back of his head.  When everyone resumed
working, he picked up a pen and threw it back down on  the desk.
Within a few seconds, Washu appeared out of nowhere, right next to
Tenchi, surprising him.  He jumped out of his seat.  "Goodness you
scared me!"
	"Sorry," Washu replied.  "Didn't mean to surprise you.  You're
probably wondering where you are."
	"You mean this isn't the simulation?"
	"Oh, it is, I probably should explain it to you.  Come over here.
You don't want to sound crazy."
	"What are you talking about?"
	"No one else can see me except you."
	Tenchi looked around.  Another group of crazy looks verified
this.  "Oh."  He followed Washu into a broom closet.  Tenchi did look
kind of silly going inside, but he didn't think about it until once he
was inside.  "What's going on?"
	"This is a simulation, just like the James Bond thing I did on
your birthday.  Only it isn't about James Bond, it's Superman.  Only
you can't be Superman."
	"You mean I'm not Superman?"
	"Nope."
	"Well if I'm not Superman, then who am I?"
	"Tenchi Masaki."
	Tenchi became angered.  "I know that, but what Superman character
am I related to?"
	"Lois Lane.  You know, the hard-hitting reporter who goes out and
gets herself in danger and is saved by Superman.  Only you aren't
female."
	"Lois Lane!?  Then who is Superman?"
	Washu walked through the door of the closet.  Tenchi opened the
door and walked out.  He got a few people looking at him again.  This
time he told them to mind their own business.  Washu giggled, and
walked across the newsroom.  She beckoned Tenchi.  He followed.  He
eyed the staff, typing at their desks and walking around handing papers
to each others.  Washu leaned closer to Tenchi, until she was in
whispering range.  "It's a secret," she whispered.
	"What do you mean it's a secret?"
	"Well, Lois Lane doesn't know who Superman is.  Why should you
know who Supergirl is?"
	"Girl?"
	"Yeah, girl.  You didn't expect to be saved by a man, did you?
Unless, you go that way.  Then that might explain why you won't go out
with any of us girls..."
	"I am _not_ gay!"
	"Okay, sorry.  But you can't know who Supergirl is.  That'll ruin
the story."
	"If you say so.  Jeez, Washu, you could've told us  about this
simulation stuff first."
	"I did.  Everyone knows about it.  I told them it would be fun."
	"You didn't tell me!"
	"Well, you know now, don't you?"  Washu laughed.  Tenchi frowned.
"Oh, better get back to work.  A certain someone is going to ask you to
help them investigate a story with her on Kiyone's orders.  Act
natural."
	"Wait a minute!" was all Tenchi could get out before Washu
disappeared.  Before he could think over his predicament, someone
tapped him on the shoulder.  "What is it," he muttered.
	"Oh, sorry to bother you," a woman said.  Her voice sounded sexy
and seductive, yet she made an effort to sound normal.
	This voice was familiar to Tenchi as he turned around.  He jumped
in surprise.  "Ryoko!" he shouted.
	Ryoko quickly clenched on to Tenchi with a tight hug.  "Tenchi!"
she cried with great relief, her facial expression the exact opposite
of Tenchi's.  She closed her eyes and rested on his chest.  "I didn't
think I'd find you so soon!"
	"Wait a minute," Tenchi said, trying his hardest to pry Ryoko
off.  He could already feel his nose beginning to bleed as she grabbed
his hand and placed it on her thigh, halfway up her knee-length skirt.
"You know what's going on?"
	"Yeah.  This was my idea in the first place."  Ryoko looked up at
Tenchi.  "It's everyone else whose personalities on standby."
	"Like Kiyone?"
	"Yup."  She closed her eyes again, caressing Tenchi's chest.
	"And who else?"
	"You know...everyone else."
	"Never mind.  So who's the super hero?"
	"Beats me," Ryoko replied, sounding innocent.
	"Yeah, right.  Hey!"  All of a sudden, a person collided into
Tenchi, breaking Ryoko's hug.  She crossed her arms and pouted as she
hit the floor.
	Tenchi found himself sprawled all over a young woman wearing a
yellow cardigan sweater and a short (anybody sense a pattern here?),
black leather skirt.  "Oh, sorry," he was first to say.
	"No," she replied, "It's all my fault.  I'm sort of a klutz."
	Tenchi got up off the woman and began to help her gather up the
papers she was holding.  She continued to babble on about the history
of her clumsiness--from learning how to walk at a later than normal
age, to screwing up a job at the Metropolis police department so bad,
she was the first person ever to be fired within 24 hours of being
hired.  Exhibiting another example of clumsiness, she accidentally
bumped heads with Tenchi.  She apologized, still looking at the floor.
Tenchi, on the other hand, looked up, wondering exactly what this klutz
looked like.  He laughed when it realized it was none other than
Mihoshi.
	Mihoshi stopped and looked up at Tenchi.  "What's so funny?" she
asked.
	"Oh, nothing," Tenchi replied, "Same old Mihoshi."
	It was a rare but horrid sight to see Mihoshi's big, cute blue
eyes become mean, narrowed ones.  "What do you mean 'Same old
Mihoshi?'"
	Yet Tenchi had seen it before.  "Nothing," he said, stepping
back.  "I didn't mean anything."
	"I don't believe that!  I believe you were interpreting that I'm
a klutz!"  Mihoshi dropped the papers she held and went to choke
Tenchi.
	"What are you doing?" Ryoko asked.  In the real world, Ryoko
cared for Tenchi more than anything, and she ended up letting her
actions get the better of her rather than follow through the simulation
normally.  She grabbed Mihoshi with one hand and threw her across the
newsroom.  When she hit the wall on the other side, Ryoko went for
Tenchi, and held him in her arms as if he were on his deathbed.  He
coughed a little, but he was going to be okay.  "Are you all right?"
she asked, all the same.
	"Yeah, I'm..." Tenchi let the sentence trail off as he stared at
an unconscious Mihoshi all the way on the other side of the newsroom.
He hyperventilated, then slowly looked at Ryoko.  "What?" she asked.
	"Oh God," Tenchi said.  Then he began to giggle, which slowly
grew into laughter.  "Oh my God, you?  Of all people, you?"
	Ryoko frowned.  "Hey, what's so funny?"
	"Nothing."  Tenchi covered his mouth as his laughter began to
subside.  Then it started up again.  He rolled over on the floor,
hanging on to his stomach.
	"What do you mean of all people.  Are you saying a I can't be--"
Ryoko stopped.  She didn't want to say anything in front of all these
people.  "What the hell is so funny?"  Tenchi didn't answer, he only
continued to laugh.  Angered, Ryoko pouted and dragged him to the
elevator.  She pressed the button and waited for it to come up.
Meanwhile, she was ogled by everyone in the room.  "Shouldn't someone
be calling 119 [Fact:"119" is the emergency number for an ambulance in
Japan]?"
	When the door opened, a man stood inside.  Ryoko pulled him out
and walked inside, dragging a laughing Tenchi.  Once the door closed,
she got down to asking questions.  "All right Tenchi, what's so funny?"
	Tenchi finally stopped laughing.  But his face still contained a
smile.  "You are Supergirl!"
	"And..."
	"...And it just seems funny."
	"Why?  You think I can't save the world?  I _am_ used to having
powers, you know."
	"That's not it.  It's just that you're a space pirate by
reputation.  An evil demon.  You wouldn't know truth and justice (the
"American Way" was left out due to the fact that the world of Tenchi
Muyo! has nothing to do with America) if each part of the scale hit you
in the head respectively."
	Ryoko scratched the back of her head.  "Okay,  I have no idea
what truth or justice is.  But how hard can this hero stuff be?"
	"I guess we'll find out when...what are you doing?"
	Ryoko began to spin really fast, causing a small tornado.  Tenchi
shielded himself, hoping debris wouldn't fly and hit him.  Within a few
seconds, she stopped, and found herself in her Supergirl uniform.  It
was just like the traditional current Supergirl uniform, which was much
like the Superman uniform:  red boots, blue, tight fitting pants, some
red section that looked like underwear, a blue, tight-fitting upper
body section with a huge red S on the chest behind a yellow shield,
finished off by a red cape.  Only she wore a short red skirt and not
blue pants.  As he looked her over, Tenchi found himself "happy to see"
Ryoko.
	Too busy looking over herself, Ryoko didn't see Tenchi, so she
couldn't make a wise crack.  "Does it always take this long?" she
asked.
	"Um...I don't know," Tenchi said, rubbing his hand through his
hair.  He still couldn't believe what he was seeing.
	Ryoko finally looked up.  "What do you think?"  Then she looked
over Tenchi's body.  "Never mind."
	Tenchi nervously laughed and reached for the back of his head.
"Yeah.  Anyway, what are you going to do?  You came in as Ryoko and
you'll end up coming out as Supergirl.  How will you explain that?"
	Ryoko carefully looked around in thought.  Then she looked up at
the ceiling.  She narrowed her eyes and slowly, they began to glow red.
Almost immediately afterward, two bright red laser beams came out of
her eyes and hit the lights at the top of the elevator, causing a fire,
and electrical sparks.  "What are you doing?" Tenchi asked, fearing his
simulated life.
	"I have an idea," Ryoko replied, still blasting away.  She
finally hit the cable that held the elevator car, causing it to shake,
then freefall.

	People down at the destination first floor of the Daily Planet
building patiently waited for the elevator until they heard a crash.
The counter above the door began to countdown rapidly, which caused all
the people at the door to step back.  One woman screamed, and it caused
a lobby panic.
	All of a sudden, the elevator car hit the first floor.  The doors
blew open, flying through the lobby and crashing through the glass
doors at the very front of the building.  Preceded by smoke and debris,
Ryoko, or what the people around knew as Supergirl, was thrown out of
the elevator with Tenchi in her arms.  They hit the marble floor with a
thud, and skidded for about a foot before the two just laid there,
Supergirl on top of Tenchi.
	Ryoko breathed hard, and smiled at the fact that her super breath
was blowing Tenchi's hair back and forth as if he were in a constant
changing wind.  She tried her hardest to fight the urge to kiss him,
but she just couldn't.  That is, until he woke up.
	Tenchi looked at Ryoko with narrowed eyes, as if to say, "Why did
you do that?"  All she could do was look back at him, as if to say, "I
didn't expect you to wake up."
	She quickly corrected the situation, going back to business.
"Um...are you all right, fellow citizen?" she loudly protested,
attempting to sound proud, serious, and just all at the same time.
	However, Tenchi didn't feel the same way.  "Yes I am," he
shouted, no enthusiasm, "thanks to Supergirl!"  He shoved Ryoko off to
the side of him.  A remarkable feat, indeed.
	The people in the lobby applauded as Tenchi continued to look at
Ryoko, not even thinking about smiling.  She nervously laughed, and
shrugged.  Tenchi then looked away and got up, dusting himself off.
Ryoko did the same, then flew out the front doors of the building in a
blur, leaving wind chasing her.  The crowd applauded again, this time
including whistles and cheers.  "Idiot," he said, staring at the
elevator.
	All of a sudden, mild mannered Ryoko walked up behind him.  She
was in the same attire as before, now wearing thick glasses.  "What did
I miss?" she asked, smiling and bearing a resemblance to Linda Carter
as Diana Prince [Cross reference: Wonder Woman].
	A smile still not on the horizon, Tenchi looked at Ryoko, angry.
"Very funny."  He finally un-boxed up his face, but didn't smile.  "Now
what were we supposed to be doing?"
	Ryoko began patting herself down, searching for the note she held
when they met upstairs.  She blushed, and looked up at Tenchi.  "Could
you help me here?"
	Tenchi looked up at the high ceiling of the building, not even
thinking about it.  He instead sighed, and wondered what he had gotten
himself into by agreeing to help Ryoko pat herself down.  He kept his
distance and looked away, barely tapping and trying to avoid her hips.
	Ryoko just stopped and watched, giggling.  Then she grabbed
Tenchi and brought him face to face, body to body with her.  "No,
closer," she said, smiling as he tried to squirm away.  In this
simulation, she was super strong, and he was a regular human.  At this
moment, Ryoko decided it was a good idea to kiss him.  After all, it
was not like he could resist.
	So she did.  Tenchi didn't enjoy not one second of it, as the
super-suction of Ryoko's breath drew out his.  His eyes remained open
as he suffocated, while Ryoko's were closed, enjoying the moment.  It
wasn't until a slap in the face by Tenchi that Ryoko realized what was
going on.  He grabbed his throat, and she noticed that her strength may
have had something to do with his condition.
	Ryoko broke the kiss and Tenchi hit the ground, gasping for air.
She reached for the back of her head, nervously laughing.

	"Okay, what have we got?" Ryoko asked Tenchi.  She walked down
the crowded Metropolis sidewalk next to Tenchi, all business.  She
didn't even look his way, too busy organizing the info she'd gained in
interrogating people.
	"Well, we know that Lex Luthor has been illegally digging in..."
Tenchi let the sentence trail off.  He looked straight ahead, away from
his notepad, realizing Ryoko wasn't all over him and saying things in a
seductive voice.  He couldn't help but look at her.  She remained
looking forward, walking at a business-like pace.  She didn't even
notice him looking at her.
	Just as Tenchi started to get her attention, he bumped into
someone, and they both fell to the ground.  Ryoko stopped walking and
frowned.  "What's the plan this time, Masaki?" the woman said.
	To Tenchi, the voice was familiar.  It was a female, one he'd
known for a long time.  He looked up.  "Ayeka!"  Tenchi couldn't help
but hug the woman.
	"Get off me!" she shouted, pushing Tenchi away.  "You reek of
that rancid Daily Planet smell."
	"Huh?"
	"You heard me."  Ayeka gathered things from the sidewalk,
randomly chunking them into her purse.  "You still work for those
idiots over there, don't you?  I personally think your amazing
expertise in journalism would be much better appreciated at the
Metropolis Star."
	"Metropolis Star?"  Before Tenchi could think about what Ayeka
had said, he was yanked off the sidewalk by Ryoko.
	"He's not about to join that tabloid trash of a newspaper," Ryoko
said, and walked off, still grabbing hold to Tenchi.
	Lagging behind, Tenchi couldn't see the huge smirk on his face.
He was too busy trying to break Ryoko's grip on his wrist, mainly
because he could feel his bones starting to crack.  Finally, he gave
up.  "What is the Metropolis Star?"
	Ryoko furrowed an eyebrow and looked back at Tenchi.  "The rival
newspaper!  Duh!"
	"Oh.  It's just that...Superman and Supergirl are all clashed
into one adventure, so I don't know one thing from the other."
	"So that's your excuse, oh Superman knowledgeable one."
	Looking around, Tenchi heard a bell ringing.  "Hold on, wait a
minute.  Wait a minute!"  Ryoko finally let go of Tenchi.  He snatched
his arm away, not being able to help rubbing his wrist.
Despite having the ability to hear half way around the world,
Ryoko still drowned out anything of importance to her, so she didn't
hear it.  Tenchi noticed this as all she did was stand there and eat a
burger she had just bought.  Anyway, he looked around, and noticed a
nearby bank being robbed.  He tapped Ryoko on the shoulder.
"Um...Ryoko?"
	She turned around.  "What?" she muffled, her mouth full of beef.
	"The bank."
	"What about the bank?  What do I have to do with the bank?  Do
you want me to rob it or something?"
	Tenchi sighed.  "You're the hero.  Go stop the bad guys!"
	Ryoko's eyes bulged open.  "Oh!  You mean from robbing the bank."
	"Um...yeah!"
"Oh!"  Ryoko shoved her burger into Tenchi's hands and started to
jog off, a hard thing to do in high heels.  "I'll be right back!"
	"Okay!" Tenchi shouted.  And began laughing.
	People began shouting things at random as they pointed to the
sky.  "It's a bird!"
	"It's a plane!"
	"I don't know what the hell that is!"
	Anyway, it was Ryoko, or Supergirl rather.  She landed at the
entrance of the bank, and found it interesting to punch her way through
the glass doors rather than just open them.  Two guys with machine guns
fired instantly when they saw her.  Ryoko wasn't sure what was about to
happen, so she ducked, hoping to dodge any of the bullets.  They all
bounced off to her surprise, and after a while, they tickled so much
she almost had an orgasm.
	Realizing there was still an incomplete task at hand, she got up
and grabbed both guys by their necks.  Then she violently rammed them
together, only proving to Tenchi she had no idea what truth or justice
was.  As they fell out of her hands, Ryoko looked around, sensing more
action nearby.
	"Where are the rest of them?" she asked the teller behind the
counter.  She proudly protested the question, rather than shout it as
if it were a threat.
	Nonetheless, she responded fearfully...that's just the aura Ryoko
gave off.  "They're in the vault."
	Ryoko ran into the vault, and did find one guy, stealing
valuables from safe deposit boxes.  "Naughty boy, aren't we?" she
taunted.
	The guy simply ignored Ryoko, sliding open boxes he'd already
picked locks on.  He slid one open, one that contained a strange rock,
then realized what he was up against.  When he spotted Ryoko, she
quickly grabbed her stomach in pain.  She collapsed to all fours,
growing weary and losing sight of what went on around her.  The guy
furrowed his eyebrow, and found an opportunity to escape.  He ran up to
Ryoko, kicked her in the stomach, and watched her keel over.  Then he
ran out of the vault and out of the bank, ignoring his partners.  He
was impeded by a swarm of police cars outside, and all the valuables he
stole were safely recovered.

	Tenchi leaned against a wall, still within viewing distance of
the bank.  He checked the watch on his wrist, looked up at the sky, and
sighed.  Suddenly, the police sirens at the bank came into hearing
perspective.  He looked at the bank and saw the swarm of police.
"What's going on?" he asked himself and ran to the bank.
	Upon reaching the entrance, he was stopped by police.  "Sorry
sire, you can't come in right now," he said, "an attempted robbery has
just taken place.
	Tenchi thought fast.  "Associated Press, I'm here for the story,"
he said, pulling out his wallet and showing his ID.  He couldn't help
but look at his profile.  "Nice photo," he said to himself.
	"Okay, come on in."
	Tenchi ran inside, and looked around.  He found not much was
damaged, only a few shards of glass from the doors.  He went into the
vault, and found a weak and helpless Ryoko.
	"Ryo...uh, Supergirl, are you all right?" he asked.
	"Yeah," she said.  "I almost had the last guy and this, sudden
wave of pain came over me..."
	"It's okay.  I have no idea what it could have been."
"Gee, I don't know what it could have been either.  Hold me,
Tenchi.  I'm scared."  Ryoko placed her arms around Tenchi's neck.  He
began to gasp for air and try to pull her arms off.  Due to his
sweating, he couldn't get a grip on her spandex sleeves.
Her eyes closed and practically in heaven, Ryoko didn't notice
any of this, and just crossed her legs, beginning to gain pleasure and
happiness.

	The next day, Ryoko rapidly but gently tapped the keys on the
keyboard as she typed her story into her computer.  Once completed, she
leaned back in her chair and overlooked her story.  "Attempted bank
heist," she said, and frowned her face, beginning to add text.
"Supergirl weakened by strange presence.  By Ryoko Hakubi."  Reading
over the headline reminded Ryoko of the scene at the bank.  What
exactly was it that made her weak yesterday?
	She leaned over near Tenchi's desk and whispered for his
attention.  "Tenchi."
	Tenchi looked over her way, suspending the writing of a story he
had.  "I already know you love me," he said, angered she even bothered
him.
	"No, that's not it.  I wanted to tell you that I'm going back to
the bank."
	"Oh.  Well have a good time."
	Ryoko smiled.  Little did Tenchi know that he was coming with
her.  "Chief?" she shouted.
	She immediately had Kiyone's attention.  "What is it?" she asked.
Not exactly angered, just without enthusiasm due to the pressures of
editor in chief of a newspaper.
	"I'm going down to the bank where that attempted robbery took
place.  And Tenchi's coming with me."
	Tenchi stopped typing once again and gasped.  "What?"
	Without delay, Ryoko grabbed Tenchi's arm.  "Come on, Tenchi."
Ryoko nervously laughed.  "I'm very bad at banking."
	"You don't even know _how_ to bank," Tenchi said, angrily looking
at Ryoko.
	"See what I mean?  Now come on."

	As Tenchi and Ryoko walked down the sidewalk toward the bank,
Ryoko insisted on holding Tenchi's hand.  "Wow Tenchi, you seem to be a
bit shorter than usual."
	At the moment, Tenchi seemed to define miserable.  Deadlocked
with a beautiful woman who was more than 5000 years older than he, yet
appeared to be only 3.  She loved him to death, and personally, it was
annoying.  Not that he wasn't interested in love, it was just that this
woman was in competition with another of the same level of beauty, and
he couldn't decide who to spend the rest of his days with.  "That's
because I'm still on the ground," he said.
	"Oh, habit of mine."  She landed gracefully and continued
walking.
	Upon arrival at the bank, Tenchi was ever ready to flash his
identification again.  "Press, we're here to investigate the safe
deposit boxes for a story on the robbery."
	"Okay, one minute," the teller said.  She walked from behind the
desk and headed for the vault.  It was already open a crack, and the
woman merely had to shove it the rest of the way.
	Although the door weighed about a ton alone, it was designed to
be really easy to move.  Yet the woman had trouble all the same.  "Um,
having trouble?" Tenchi asked, surprised.
	The woman nervously laughed.  "Actually, yes.  Can you give me a
hand?"
	He walked over to the door and began shoving the door along with
the woman.  Together, though, they didn't seem to be a match against
the huge steel door.  Suddenly, Tenchi had an idea.  He looked around
the door to find Ryoko holding it with one hand.  "Ryoko!" he shouted.
	Quickly, she opened her eyes.  "Oh!  Sorry.  Just messing
around."  She released her grip on the door and let the woman open it.
She unlocked the barred door that was behind the main door, and went
back to the counter.  "Thanks," Ryoko said.
	Tenchi knocked on one of the boxes.  "Lead," he determined.
	"Whatever's here, you won't be able to spot it with your x-ray vision."
	"Then I guess we'll have to check them all one by one."
	Tenchi pulled at one of the boxes.  Needless to say, it was
locked.  "How silly of me to forget such a thing.  They _lock_ safe
deposit boxes."
	Ryoko was proud of herself at the moment.  "Let me try."  Ryoko
grabbed hold of the handle to the box Tenchi just tried.  She took one
simple tug and yanked the box out, destroying the lock.
	"You're loving this Supergirl thing, aren't you?"
	"Yes."  Ryoko couldn't help but blush.  Then she began pulling
out more safe deposit boxes, trying to remember the one she'd found
yesterday.  Then it hit her as the pulled out the one next to it.
	"It's this one," she said, pointing at it."
	"Let's hope so," Tenchi said.  "I'd estimate we've found a
million dollars worth of valuables."
	Ryoko looked back at the box she'd planned to open.  She grabbed
the handle and took a deep breath, preparing for the worst.  She pulled
it out with ease, just like the rest.  She stared and found there was a
green, glowing chunk of rock.  Before she could say "Kryptonite," Ryoko
was struck with pain.  She immediately dropped and leaned against the
wall behind her.  "Tenchi do something," she moaned.
	Tenchi quickly put the green rock in the box and back into it's
slot.  He checked on Ryoko.  "Are you all right?" he asked.
Ryoko held on to her stomach, breathing heavily.  "Yeah, I'm
fine.  Hey, Tenchi?  Does this scene remind you of something?"
	"...What are you talking about?"
	"Our future, when I'm going to be having your baby."
	Tenchi quickly jumped back, watching Ryoko laugh.  "Oh God,
Ryoko!"
	She calmed down her laugher.  "You didn't find that the least bit
funny?"
	"Not the least bit."

	"Roll the tape again," Tsunami told the woman standing next to
her.  He played the tape again, going over the instances of the other
day when Supergirl attempted to stop the robbers at the bank.  "Stop it
there," she said.
	As the third richest person in the world with a company that
produces a net worth of about $250,000,000,000 a year and a salary of
about $50,000,000 per year, to say Tsunami was powerful would be an
understatement.  She practically owned Metropolis.  Tsunami had every
citizen wrapped around her finger with fake "goody two shoes" schemes
like sponsoring charities as mere fronts for her real base of
operations:  getting rid of Supergirl (in case you haven't noticed,
she's the Lex Luthor of the story).
	Tsunami examined the rock in one the safe deposit box that the
robber had opened the moment Supergirl fell to the ground.  Thought the
fact that the video was black and white prevented her from determining
exactly what color it was.  But she had a distinct look at the rock all
the same.
	She leaned back in her plush leather chair and crossed her legs.
"It's apparent that this rock somehow weakens Supergirl," she muttered
under her breath.  "Fortunately that's one of my banks.  Mercy!  Set up
the limo.  We're headed for this bank."

	Ayeka and Tenchi laughed as they sat on the park bench, talking
with each other and enjoying hot dogs for the first time.  Sure, it was
a simulation, but everything seemed to be realistic.
	Ryoko could barely stand it.  She sat on an opposite park bench,
her face wrought in a mixture of jealousy and anger.  Her arms resting
behind her head, her legs were crossed, and she couldn't take her eyes
off the two, hoping they wouldn't end up kissing each other.  By now,
she'd really hated that she agreed to let Tenchi talk with Ayeka.
Sure, it was only her likeness and not her personality, but it sure
could have fooled Ryoko.
	All of a sudden, her prayers for someone to be in distress so she
could leave this place were answered.