Hello all,
I am delurking and finally posting a story. It's also
sort of the kind of story I swore never to do. It's
a songfic that could be more. Whether or not this
becomes a full story will depend upon what kind of
feedback I get from this. For now, consider this a
stand alone/oneshot. Hope that you like.


It's Not Easy(To Be Me)


�Going live in Three� Two� One�Live!�

�Good evening Tokyo and greetings from the Nerima Ward. Move over Sailor 
Scouts, there is a new hero in the city and he�s a real Superman.  In the 
six months since the demise of Superman while fighting the monster Doomsday, 
there have been sightings of so called �supermen� from one corner of the 
world to another. No
less than 17 different beings claiming to be Superman have
surfaced and over half of these have been disproved.�

*	*	*
�Father, come quickly� she�s on again.�
*	*	*

For the last few weeks, various sightings have occurred within the
Tokyo Ward of Nerima, which I am sure everyone knows is situated next
to Juuban Ward, the home base of the super heroine�s the Sailor Scouts.
Earlier tonight, a battle was waged between the Sailor Scouts and some
unnamed monsters. The battle spilled over into the Nerima Ward, and
just when things looked darkest for the intrepid band of heroines a man
arrived to help them. A Superman.

�Cutting to footage in Two� One� Relax, go with voice over.�

�As you can see in this video footage, The Scouts are clearly
beleaguered and rapidly starting to tire when suddenly he appears.


*	*	*
Scene cut:
Sailor Jupiter is down and bleeding. A quick pan of the battleground
shows Sailor Mars to be holding an obviously broken arm and Sailors
Venus and Moon to be standing back to back and surrounded by four large
creatures that appeared to be part man, part cockroach, and part�
chicken? As the camera panned back Sailor Mercury was stepping over the
prone figure of her teammate, worry and fear clearly stamped on her
face, looking at two more of the strange creatures.  Suddenly a dark
shape interposed itself between Mercury and her opponents.

�Not this time� No more.� The cold voice is clearly heard, even though it is 
spoken lowly.

Faster than the eye can track the creatures are flying backwards away
from the newcomer. As he steps out clearly into the light he becomes
fully visible. Dark black pants tucked into equally dark low boots. a
black shirt with a dark red �S � upon the chest,  a dark red cape with
a sable �S� upon it attached to his shoulders, and a half-mask that
covers his face from just above his mouth on up. The battle after that,
while not exactly one sided, is never truly in doubt.  The scene ends
with the mysterious man helping a bruised Mercury to her feet and smiling at 
her as a video crew attempt to close in and interview him.
The same voice reporter's voice from the beginning of the newscast is
heard.

�Sir, sir� are you the Nerima Superman?�

He turns away from Sailor Mercury and looks at the reporter. �I�m just
a man, doing what�s right.� And with that he leapt into the sky and
disappeared.
*	*	*

The scene cuts back to the young lady reporter. �I have the feeling
that this will not be the last appearance of our mysterious �Superman�.
For Newscene 8, this Tendo Nabiki bidding you and yours a good evening.
And Superman, wherever you are� Thank you.

*	*	*

On a business street in downtown Nerima a short red-haired young lady
stands watching the newscast through the window of a video store along
with a small crowd of other onlookers. As she walks away she
whispers, �You�re welcome.�


I can�t stand to fly
I�m not that na�ve.
I�m just out to find
The better part of me.


*We see a well built man in his late teens going through some martial
arts katas. He spins and leaps forward in a kick that seems to defy
gravity for a moment. His black ponytail flutters and his blue eyes
are ablaze in concentration*


I�m more than a bird�I�m more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It�s not easy to be me.


*We see the man in black yet again, his cape seeming to stand directly
out from his back as he runs alongside a train while carrying a young
lady in his arms. At first it seems as if he is simply racing the
train, until one notices the blood leaking from the lady down his arms.
A closer look, as the lady�s head lolls backwards reveals it to be the
same reporter that we saw earlier trying to interview the man in black.
A hospital can be seen ahead. *


Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees,
Find a way to lie
About a home I�ll never see.


*We see the same redheaded young lady that we last saw outside a video
store. This time she is clearly despondent, as she slowly walks past
small house just inside the Nerima side of the boarder to Juuban.
The house is decent sized and is obviously well kept, but just as
obviously seems to be� lacking something. She appears to be holding
back tears as she turns away from the house. A small sign that says 
�Saotome� is visible beside the doorway to the house.*


It may sound absurd�but don�t be naive
Even Heroes have the right to bleed.
I may be disturbed�but won�t you concede
Even Heroes have the right to dream.
It�s not easy to be me.


*We see our �Superman� standing next to Sailor Mercury again. This
time, it�s Mercury holding him up. He�s battered, bruised, and bleeding. 
Barely conscious, he looks around the area. The collateral
damage to surrounding buildings is remarkably small considering the
amount of firepower that was released. A rapidly disintegrating male
body dressed in gray can be seen in the background. The lady reporter
covering the story looks upset. Whether or not this is due to the
injuries Superman has received or the closeness of Sailor Mercury to
him is open to conjecture.*


Up, up and away�away from me
It�s all right�You can all sleep sound tonight.
I�m not crazy�or anything�


*We see him standing on top of a tall building looking out over Nerima.
His cloak flutters briefly in the errant breeze. Slowly, lights begin
to go out around the town. He still stands there, watching and waiting,
ready to be there when needed. His eyes seem a bit glazed, as if he
hasn�t slept in days. Perhaps he hasn�t.*



I can�t stand to fly
I�m not that na�ve.
Men weren�t meant to ride
With clouds between their knees


*We barely see him, so fast he is flying. She is in trouble and needs
him, but even with his speed he may not get there in time. Seconds are
as precious as diamonds and heavier than mountains.*


I�m only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me


*We see the lovely redhead yet again, only this time she looks haggard
and drawn, as if sick. She coughs weakly as she walks up to the side
of a bridge, a small box in her hands. She reaches out, and as if
making an offering tilts her hand and drops the box into the waters
below.*


It�s not easy to be me.


*My name is Ranma Saotome. My name is Ranko Sankura. I am Superman.
May the Gods have mercy on my soul.*





Thank you for reading this. If you liked it, please drop me
a note. If you didn't like this, please drop me a line anyways
and tell me why.

HGCavlier

Oh, by the way... the song isn't mine it's:

Five For Fighting
Title: Superman
Album: America Town

If you haven't heard it, give it a try. I cannot help
but think of Ranma when I do.

And the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and DC Comics.
Thanks for the paints you all... I'm just gonna play on the
easel for awhile.



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