Things may be a bit confusing at first, but all will be 
revealed...eventually.
 

			CRISIS ON EARTH-R!
			by Scott K. Jamison
			(Takahashi disclaimer)
			Part One:  When Titans Clash!

G		G		G		G		G

	The clock-radio sprang to life.
	#In other news today, US President Clinton announced new 
countermeasures to the growing threat of--#
	Ranma flicked the switch to "off".  He didn't need to hear the 
rest of the story, as he had selected this radio station based on how 
annoying its announcer's voice was.
	He glanced over at his wife.  Still sleeping, so he decided to 
let her rest.  How long had she been the first one up, always making sure 
everyone was fed and the household in running order?  She deserved to 
sleep in once in a while.  He'd make his special omelette for her, 
breakfast in bed.
	But first, a quick shower.  Ranma slipped out to the bathroom, 
and soaped up.  He rinsed off with cold water, feeling the strange tingle 
he always did when his curse activated.  Even after all this time, he 
still couldn't quite get his mind around his female body.
	He quickly turned the dial to hot, and luxuriated in the return 
change.  Quickly toweling off, he posed in the mirror.  Still a damn fine 
body, he assured himself.  Okay, a few wrinkles here and there, and some 
graying at the temples, but pretty good for a man of his age.
	Then it was down to the kitchen.  He made a little show of 
producing the omelette, the way he'd picked up from Ucchan so long ago.  
He did it even when, as today, there was no one to watch.
	Apparently though, he'd made a little too much noise, as there 
was a white-haired woman coming down the stairs.
	"Morning, Akane!  Just sit yourself down in the dining room, I'm 
almost done."
	"Good morning, dear.  I could have made breakfast," she replied 
in that lovably crochety way of hers.
	"A man should help sometimes.  After all, it's 1998, isn't it?" 


S		S		S		S		S

	Ranma leaped to another rooftop, shivering in his red and black 
spandex outfit.  The weather was unseasonably cold for May, probably due 
to his opponent's efforts.
	"Stupid Tenki-baba, stupid laundry not having my winter uniform 
back yet, stupid me for coming out of retirement yet again!"
	He could have been in a nice warm lab right now, but no, he had 
to be talked into putting on the Wild Horse costume again because the 
Defenders of Japan had gone missing and the supervillians had taken this 
as a sign to come out in droves.
	"Ukyou would have made sure my uniform was ready."  He smiled 
grimly at this bit of self-pity.  He'd relied on Ukyou for so much.  
	Snowflakes alerted him that he was getting closer to the scene of 
the weather witch's latest crime.  Ranma pressed the utility belt button 
that drenched him in cold water, triggering his change.
	"Achoo!  Dammit, a middle-aged guy like me shouldn't have to get 
chilled like this."
	He stood up on the nearest ledge, and spotted Tenki-baba.  "Your 
reign of terror ends now, witch!  Prepare to get your butt kicked by Wild 
Horse!"  He hated these stupid speeches, but the 1997 changes to the Hero 
Code required them.

		B		B		B		B

	Ranma was looking forward to his seventeenth birthday.  Not just 
because of the prospect of gifts, though he did like the idea, but being 
one year closer to finally being an adult and able to make some of his 
own decisions.  It didn't occur to him (except in short really depressed 
moments) that it was his very inability to realize he already was making 
decisions that led to most of his problems.
	So far, Ranma's day had been pretty typical, other than not 
making Akane mad once (Shampoo had done it for him.)  That is to say, 
hectic.  He expected at least one more challenge before dinner (at least 
his mother was cooking tonight, so that shouldn't be a challenge in and 
of itself), so it came as no surprise when there was a knock at the door.
	Well, a little bit of a surprise, since most of Ranma's enemies 
(and friends) didn't bother knocking.  Thus, Ranma refrained from looking 
too ready for battle when he opened the door.
	This was fortunate, as the person on the other side wasn't a 
martial artist.  It took Ranma a moment to place her, as she was one of 
his classmates who tended to blend into the background, but her odd eyes 
reminded him.
	"Uh, Miyo, isn't it?"
	"Yes, Mr. Saotome.  May I come in?"  After looking around for his 
father, he realized she meant him, and nodded.
	They went into the living room, and not being up on polite 
behavior towards guests, Ranma sat down.
	"So," he asked, "You here to see Akane?"
	"No."  The young woman seemed to have a poker face that rivaled 
Nabiki's.
	"You ain't recently discovered your father and mine engaged us, 
right?  I hate when that happens."
	Miyo smiled, just a little.  "No, this has nothing to do with 
your playboy ways.  You remember that I read the Tarot?"
	"Uh, yeah..."
	"Well, I had the unsettling experience today of getting the exact 
same spread three times in a row, on three different questions."
	While Ranma wasn't really up on probability theory, he knew that 
that was pretty unlikely.  "So, did I accidentally step on your deck or 
something?  I dunno if my curse would mess it up..."
	"No, but once I realized what the cards were telling me, I asked 
them what to do, and the signs indicated I should come to you."
	Ranma rubbed the back of his head.  "Uhh...I really ain't too 
fond of magic, you know.  Why me?"
	Miyo shrugged.  "Unclear.  But unless you do something in the 
very near future, what I don't know either, the world will be destroyed."


TO BE CONTINUED

SKJAM!