While Jupiter was in class, Celsus from the Defense Bureau was chatting with Robot, the captain of the Viltrumite Youth Group, on the street that had been attacked by aliens.
"What do you think of the two rookies?"
Celsus looked at the devastation around them, his brow furrowing slightly.
"One of them is still a little green, but the other..."
"He's incredible. At first, I thought Omni-Man had just changed clothes, but my scans clearly show he's younger than Omni-Man. I came to one conclusion: he's basically a mini Omni-Man."
Robot turned around and looked at Celsus as he spoke.
"Mini Omni-Man?"
Celsus pondered Robot's words.
"Try to recruit the two of them. See if you can get them to join your team."
Celsus gave Robot the assignment.
"Got it!"
Robot nodded slightly. He'd already been planning to invite the two rookies.
At school...
"Ahh..."
Jupiter stretched. Afternoon classes were finally over. He yawned and left the classroom empty-handed.
What!? You're wondering why he didn't bring a backpack to class?
Who brings a backpack to class these days?
"You're here..."
"Then let's go!"
When Jupiter and Mark reached the school gates, Eve was already waiting for them.
"Okay!"
Jupiter and Mark nodded, then followed Eve.
"..."
Not long after the two of them left, a girl with long blond hair and fair skin stood in the schoolyard, her arms folded across her chest. She quietly watched Jupiter and Mark walking away. Mark had just gotten beaten up because of her, so seeing him with another girl made her feel a little uneasy.
In the sky...
The three of them flew freely through the air in their costumes. As the senior hero, Eve seemed eager to show off for the rookies, and kept flying faster and faster. But no matter how fast she went, Jupiter stayed right behind her.
As Eve and Jupiter continued to accelerate, Mark—who still couldn't quite control his flying—had a rough time. He tore through four or five GG-branded outfits in quick succession...
Fortunately, no one was hurt because of Mark's mistakes.
"You're fast..."
Eve glanced at Jupiter beside her and spoke softly.
"Eve, you can't describe a man as fast, especially one with as much stamina as me. I'd much rather you call me smooth."
Jupiter stressed the distinction.
"Heh. Then I'll have to see if you really have that much stamina..."
Eve had caught the little joke in Jupiter's words. She raised an eyebrow and sped up.
The same joke could have completely different effects depending on who told it. From a handsome guy, it was a joke; from an ugly guy, it was sexual harassment.
"Heh..."
Jupiter watched Eve speed up and continued following close behind, unruffled.
"Boom!"
The two of them cut through the air and eventually came to a stop atop the highest span of the Cross-Sea Bridge.
"All right! I admit it, you really do have stamina."
Seeing that she still hadn't managed to shake Jupiter, Eve had to concede.
"Of course."
Jupiter smiled at Eve, then opened his arms.
"Ah!!"
The next second, a figure came plummeting down with a scream.
"Boom!"
After a burst of explosive force, Jupiter caught Mark as he fell from the sky.
"You were flying too fast. I couldn't slow down..."
Mark felt humiliated and hunched his shoulders. He wanted to make an excuse, like saying he'd only just learned to fly, but the problem was that he and Jupiter had learned at the same time—and Jupiter was already this good.
"For a rookie, you're actually better than most people."
Jupiter continued to encourage Mark.
"Don't say that..."
Mark shook his head. The more Jupiter praised him, the more inadequate he felt by comparison.
"By the way, where's the base?"
Mark looked to Eve, hoping to change the subject.
"The base is right beneath our feet."
Eve smiled at Mark and snapped her fingers.
The bridge deck beneath them sank. It was hard to believe that the span they stood on was actually the entrance to a secret base!
"Whoa! That's amazing..."
Mark entered the base and stared wide-eyed at everything around him.
The huge room had books, all kinds of equipment, and even a pool table for entertainment!?
As Jupiter, Mark, and Eve descended into the base, the sewer repairman, who was playing pool against a man with the power to make duplicates, turned around.
"Well, well! Look who it is! The great superhero, Mini Omni-Man?! Or is it the Viltrumite Youth Group's secret captain? Geez, I had no idea anyone could give me orders on the battlefield!"
Rex, the sewer repairman, looked at Jupiter—who'd arrived from above once again, dressed in an outfit almost identical to Omni-Man's—and curled his lip. He was still annoyed that Jupiter had ordered him around and treated him like some underling.
"Rex!"
Eve had been about to give Rex a hug, but stopped in her tracks and glared at him for his sarcastic remarks.
"Geez! I'm complimenting him."
Rex hurriedly tried to explain himself when he saw Eve's angry expression.
"Mark, Jupiter, don't mind him. Rex is just like that. He's not a bad guy, really."
Eve turned and said to Mark and Jupiter.
"Welcome to the Viltrumite Youth Group!"
"Eve, Invincible Young Hero, and..."
Robot, who was working at a bank of equipment nearby, looked at the three of them and immediately welcomed them. He'd just finished discussing with Celsus how to recruit Invincible Young Hero and his older brother. What a coincidence that they'd shown up now! But just as Robot was about to welcome Mark and Jupiter, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words, because he didn't yet know—
"By the way, you haven't told me your superhero name!"
Eve looked at Jupiter. She'd already told them her hero name, but realized she still didn't know his.
"My name? Ancestor Person! You can call me Ancestor Person!"
Jupiter puffed out his chest so everyone could get a better look at the F on it and appreciate the glory of F*CK.
"..."
As soon as Jupiter finished speaking, everyone present stared at him wide-eyed.
"Ancestor Person!? I've never heard such an arrogant name!"
Whether it was Rex or Robot, neither of them had ever met anyone this conceited.
"Well, now you have."
Jupiter walked over to Rex and looked down at him.
"What are you gonna do!?"
Looking at Jupiter's height of nearly two meters and his body, sturdy as steel, Rex swallowed reflexively and took a few steps back.
"Nothing. I just get the feeling you have a problem with me. Is it my name you don't like, or me?"
Jupiter stared expressionlessly at Rex and asked.
"Hey, he looks like he's about to beat me up! Can someone help me figure out what to do? Should I just get down on my knees?"
Rex was starting to panic. He tried to ask the others for help.
He was just a small-time thug, the sort who picked on the weak and cowered before the strong. Now that Jupiter was standing his ground, Rex immediately backed down.
"Hmph..."
But no one, Eve included, showed any intention of helping Rex. After all, he'd brought this on himself.
"Relax, you don't need to be scared. I'm not planning to rough you up. If a supervillain attacks the city, I'll still need you to help out. Trust me, a small-time thug like you, who looks like a complete loser, isn't totally useless."
Jupiter gave Rex a bright, Superman-style smile and casually patted him on the shoulder.
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