While Jovian was sitting in class, back on the street that had been attacked by aliens, Cecil Stedman from the Global Defense Agency was chatting with Robot, the Teen Team's leader.
"What do you think of those two rookies?" Cecil asked, frowning slightly as he looked over the wreckage everywhere.
"One of them is still a bit immature," Robot said. "But the other…"
"He's outstanding. At first I thought it was Omni-Man wearing a different suit, but my scans show he's clearly younger than Omni-Man. So I reached a conclusion—he's basically a mini Omni-Man."
"A mini Omni-Man…" Cecil repeated, thoughtful.
"Try to make contact with both of them," Cecil ordered. "See if you can get them to join you."
"I understand," Robot said with a small nod. He'd planned to invite them anyway.
Back at school…
"Ahhh…" Jovian stretched, yawning. Afternoon classes were finally over, and he walked out of the classroom empty-handed.
What, you want to know why he didn't have a backpack?
Who brings a backpack to class anymore?
"You're here…"
"Alright, let's go."
When Jovian and Mark reached the school gates, Eve was already waiting for them.
"Sure," Jovian said, and Mark nodded too, following after Eve.
…
Not long after they left, a girl with long blonde hair and pale skin stood on campus with her arms folded, quietly watching the two of them go. She remembered Mark had gotten "handled" because of her not long ago, and seeing him with another girl still made her feel prickly.
Up in the sky…
After changing into their suits, the three of them flew freely through the air. Eve—clearly in the mood to show off a little for the newcomers—kept pushing forward faster and faster.
No matter how much she accelerated, though, Jovian stayed right on her tail.
But as Eve and Jovian kept ramping up the speed, Mark—still not fully in control of his flight—had a rough time. He smashed through four or five billboards in a row…
Luckily, nobody got hurt because of his mistakes.
Eve could tell Jovian's "joking tone," of course. She raised an eyebrow and sped up again.
The exact same "joke" hits completely different depending on who says it—when a handsome guy says it, it's a joke; when an ugly guy says it, it's sexual harassment.
"Heh."
Jovian watched her pick up speed and simply followed, calm and unbothered.
Boom!
The two of them tore through the air and finally stopped atop the highest point of a massive suspension bridge spanning the water.
"Alright," Eve said, looking at Jovian—still unable to shake him.
"Of course." Jovian smiled at her, then casually opened his arms.
"AAAHH!!"
The next second, a scream ripped through the air as someone fell straight down from above.
BOOM!
With a heavy impact, Jovian caught Mark out of the air.
"You two were going way too fast," Mark said, embarrassed, shrinking his neck like he wanted to disappear. "I couldn't brake in time…"
He wanted to make excuses—like how he'd only just learned to fly—but the problem was Jovian had learned at the same time, and Jovian flew like he'd been doing it forever.
"For a beginner, you're already better than most people," Jovian said, continuing to hype him up.
"Don't say that…" Mark shook his head. The more Jovian praised him, the more Mark felt painfully outclassed.
"So… where's the base?" Mark asked Eve, desperate to change the subject.
"Right under our feet," Eve said with a smile, snapping her fingers.
The next instant, the bridge surface beneath them sank downward.
It was hard to believe it, but the roadway under their feet was an entrance to a hidden base.
"Whoa… that's insane…"
Mark stepped into the base and stared around with eyes wide.
The massive space had books, all kinds of equipment, and even a ping-pong table for fun.
Right as Jovian, Mark, and Eve descended, the guy playing ping-pong—trading volleys with someone who kept splitting into duplicates—turned around.
"Hey—look who it is." Rex, the guy who always looked like he should be fixing sewers, smirked at Jovian as he landed again in that Omni-Man-looking outfit. "The big hero, mini Omni-Man. Or are you the Teen Team's secret leader? Wow. Since when did I miss the part where someone gets to order me around on a battlefield?"
He was still mad that Jovian had commanded him around and treated him like a glorified helper.
"Rex!" Eve stopped short, glaring at him.
"Oh my God, I'm complimenting him," Rex said quickly, trying to talk his way out of it.
Then Eve turned back to the brothers.
"Mark, Jovian—don't mind him. Rex is just like that. He's not a bad person."
"Welcome to the Teen Team," Robot said from where he was operating a bank of instruments. He immediately switched to greeting mode. "Eve, Invincible, and…"
He paused mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something awkward.
He didn't know Jovian's hero name.
"Oh—right," Eve said, looking at Jovian. "You still haven't told me. What's your hero name?"
"My hero name?" Jovian straightened his chest so everyone could get a nice, clear look at the big F on it—so they could fully appreciate the glorious spirit of F*. "Freeborn. You can call me Freeborn."
…
The moment he said it, everyone's eyes went wide.
"Freeborn?!" Rex and Robot alike looked stunned. "I've never heard a more arrogant hero name in my life!"
"Congratulations," Jovian said, walking right up to Rex and looking down at him. "Now you have."
"…What are you going to do?" Rex swallowed hard and backed up a couple steps.
Jovian was tall, broad, built like steel—and Rex's instincts screamed at him to retreat.
"Nothing," Jovian said flatly. "I just get the feeling you don't like me. Got a problem with my hero name? Or do you have a problem with me?"
Rex's heart started racing. He turned his head toward the others like he was begging for a lifeline.
"Hey—he looks like he's about to hit me. Somebody help me out here. What am I supposed to do in a situation like this—drop to my knees?"
At the end of the day, Rex was a bully who only felt brave around weaker people. The second he met real pressure, he folded.
"Hmph."
But nobody—including Eve—had any intention of saving Rex.
He'd earned this with his own mouth.
"Relax," Jovian said, suddenly switching to a bright, sunny smile—the kind that belonged on a cereal commercial. He patted Rex's shoulder lightly. "I'm not planning to 'handle' you."
"Besides, if some supervillain attacks the city again, I'll still need you to do the grunt work for me."
"Believe me—someone like you, who looks like a useless little punk, isn't completely worthless."