New York. Amano Ren and Kate strolled down the street.
"Amano, are you from that country in the East? Was that Eastern kung fu you used just now? I know Bruce Lee. His kung fu is amazing. They say one kick can send a man flying ten meters."
"I always thought that was fake, but after seeing you casually punch people several meters away, so kung fu is real after all."
"Can I learn it?"
"Do not worry, I will pay. I can pay a lot, a whole lot."
Kate's eyes shone with anticipation. Ever since she saw Ren descend like a god and subdue those thugs, dolls and frills had lost all appeal.
She wanted to be like him, with overwhelming skill and strength.
"If you mean power like mine, I am sorry. I cannot give you that right now."
Ren shook his head. In theory the Primordial Forge could grant others the same traits and concepts.
But why would he?
Cute as Kate was, they had no ties.
He would never hand out extraordinary power at random.
At least not to someone with no bond to him.
Kate's face dimmed.
"Can an ordinary person become a superhero?" She could not bring herself to accept it.
Her understanding was a little off, but Ren did not correct her. "Yes. Look at Tony Stark. An ordinary body, yet he became a superhero."
Instead of lifting her spirits, that made her sigh. "But I do not have armor."
"I asked Mom. She said you need lots and lots of money and a brilliant brain to build something that astonishing."
"Our money is not enough, and none of us is as smart as Mr. Stark."
Ren glanced around. "Then why not be practical first. Learn real fighting skills and train your body."
Kate considered it. "That sounds good. I will tell Mom to enroll me in taekwondo, fencing, judo, martial arts..."
She counted on her fingers, very serious.
Ren laughed. "I suggest you take it slow. You are still growing. Do not stack up too many sports that strain the body."
"And about taekwondo... you might consider other disciplines too."
Kate nodded earnestly. "I will think it through."
Even so, her enthusiasm sagged a little.
A senior like Ren had pointed her a path, but thinking of all she had to learn, and that she could not quickly gain power like his to protect herself and her parents, she could not be cheerful.
Especially since Ren did not seem eager to be her teacher.
She looked up at his tall figure. "Will you teach me? Anything is fine. Fighting, combat experience..."
Ren's expression turned wry. "I do not mind being your teacher, but the things I can do are not really teachable."
"For example...?" Kate looked lost.
"Have you watched Diga?"
"I have. I even know the song about miracles returning."
Kate brightened. "In that story, children turn into light to help Diga defeat monsters."
Ren blinked. "What if I said I can turn into light too. Would you believe me?"
"Eh?"
From somewhere nearby, the familiar background music from that show rose, warm and heroic.
Kate soaked in the sound, still wondering where it came from.
Then her eyes locked on Ren and could not look away.
"Oh my gosh. I saw light."
Hand over her mouth, she stared as that glow returned to Ren's body, brightening, radiating a gentle warmth.
"You... you are an Ultraman."
"Amano Ultraman?"
"No. You may call me Lord Shafurin."
"!!!"
Seeing her wide-eyed shock, Ren chuckled and shook his head. The glow folded back into him, and his still-warm hand ruffled Kate's golden hair.
"I was just joking. Do not mind it. I am not an Ultraman. It is only a small ability."
"But you really turned into light. A Flashing Man?"
Kate walked like a wind-up doll, lost in what she had just seen.
Superman? Ultraman? Or a sun god?
Her mind churned, hunting for the perfect codename for Ren's powers.
As she thought, Ren began to sing.
This time it was a hot American pop hit from lately.
What shocked Kate most was that his voice matched the original singer perfectly.
No, better than perfect.
Every note, every beat landed exactly right.
Soon he switched to another song with a completely different style.
It was still wonderful, and his shift in timbre was unbelievably smooth, as if cast from the same mold.
"How did you do that? Maybe you should be a singer. You would take the world by storm."
Now Kate understood why Ren had said what he did.
Just that one skill might take her years, and she still might not master it.
Absolute voice mimicry.
So lifelike it sounded like the real person was standing there.
"Maybe your name should be Mockingbird."
She scrubbed her hair, overwhelmed by choices.
"Or maybe Mr. Unbelievable."
"Or Omniman."
Ren waved both hands. "Stop getting tangled in these. I do not want your mouth to pop out something even more outrageous."
Mockingbird, Mr. Unbelievable... if she kept free-associating, next she might blurt out names like Thanos, Oba, Chthon, or Shuma-Gorath.
This was Marvel. Speak a name, and there was a chance some eldritch thing would look your way.
Did she really think her father had not died early enough, and wanted to move that timeline up, maybe swap in a new dad while she was at it?