Everyone Needed a Battle Suit

A car sped down the street!

Its owner had just finished a little "zero-dollar shopping"!

Though it might seem ridiculous, in this free country, it was as normal as the national culture. This sort of zero-dollar shopping happened every day!

And unlike in many countries, where it only started at night, here the fun began in broad daylight.

Meanwhile, something even more ridiculous was unfolding.

Under the bright sun, the sounds of gunfire—"Bang! Bang!"—rang in everyone's ears.

Several men in black suits and a hulking man clad in Rock Armor darted through the streets, pinned down by the enemy's overwhelming firepower.

"Damn it! You can't run away with us!"

"Only if you stay behind do we have a chance to escape!"

The man with blond hair and sunglasses shouted angrily at the hulking man in Rock Armor.

"Idiot! My job is to protect you. If I stay behind, who's going to protect you?"

The strong man didn't let them insult him without a word. He furrowed his brow and glared at the little runts. If his job weren't to protect these bastards, he'd have turned them into ground meat long ago!

"Enough talk..."

"Get me over that iron fence!"

The man in black suit was irritated. He turned to the dead-end street and the two-meter-high iron fence blocking their path, then coldly ordered the strong man.

"Don't need you to tell me..."

The strong man snorted. Grabbing one man in black suit in each hand like a pair of chicks, he raced forward and leaped over the enormous two-meter fence!

"My God..."

Held in the strong man's hands as he soared through the air, the man in black suit felt a thrill far more intense than any roller coaster at an amusement park. His heart pounded wildly. With bullets flying behind them, this was definitely an extreme sport. He wondered if Red Bull might be interested in sponsoring them.

Just as the men in black suits and the strong man thought they were safe, a boy in a red sweater, blue pants, and a yellow scarf wrapped over his face came diving down from the sky. He looked like the biggest clown imaginable, and he was heading straight for the strong man in Rock Armor.

"Holy crap..."

The strong man stared at the young man hurtling toward him, stunned. He couldn't believe he'd been so unlucky as to run into a superhero the moment he came out!

"Boom!"

A deafening crash rang out! Dust billowed, and the air churned.

The strong man was sent flying, along with the iron gate behind him, by the ridiculous young man!

"Uh..."

The strong man sprang up as soon as he hit the ground. Seeing the two men in black suits lying on the verge of death, he knew he'd botched the job.

"I don't know who you are, but you've messed with the wrong people!"

With that, the strong man charged straight at the masked young man.

"What a mess..."

Up in the sky, Jupiter quietly watched everything unfold below.

He saw the young man get bewildered by a flurry of punches from the strong man. The young man was, of course, his foolish little brother, Mark. Mark had only just awakened his Viltrumite powers, and he had no fighting skills whatsoever. He had plenty of strength but no idea how to fight back, and the strong man gave him a brutal beating. In the end, Mark relied on his strength, using a high-speed flight-and-collision attack to knock the strong man away and claim victory.

"You're the one who messed with the wrong person!"

Masked, Mark looked at the black strong man he'd defeated. The man's Rock Armor had been broken open, revealing his dark skin beneath. Mark's anger had completely faded, replaced by a deep sense of accomplishment. He wished his father and brother could have seen it with their own eyes. He had to tell them he'd done it. He'd defeated the enemy. He was a superhero!

"Mark, are you cosplaying as a superhero? Your outfit is hilarious."

Jupiter descended slowly, arms folded across his chest, and grinned at Mark.

"Hey, Jupiter! Did you see that? I just beat a supervillain! I'm a superhero!"

Mark's eyes lit up when he saw Jupiter. He'd been disappointed that no one had witnessed his achievement, and Jupiter had arrived at just the right moment. He had to show off his victory. It would give his vanity a serious boost.

"..."

Jupiter glanced at the car Mark had crashed into and the half-destroyed street, then gave a slight nod.

"Nice work!"

Jupiter gave him a thumbs-up. If Mark's goal had been to destroy the street, then he'd done an excellent job. He'd succeeded!

"No superhero wears something that makes him look like a circus clown..."

"Come with me! You two need your own outfits!"

As the brothers Jupiter and Mark chatted, a man with a small mustache descended slowly from the sky. He looked just like the editor of the newspaper in Spider-Man. It was Omni-Man, the most powerful man on the planet. He looked at his two sons and spoke softly.

"I've been looking forward to this..."

Jupiter's heart stirred at the words. He'd needed a durable outfit for a long time.

"Outfits..."

Mark was just as eager.

The three of them said no more and immediately flew into the sky!

As for the mess they'd left behind, someone else would take care of it...

In the suburbs...

Inside a tailor shop, an elderly man with graying hair was working on the latest superhero costumes.

"Boom!"

He set down the garment in his hands only when he heard a crash nearby.

"Long time no see, Arturo!"

Omni-Man entered the tailor shop and greeted the owner.

"It certainly has been a long time!"

The shopkeeper smiled as he returned the greeting.

"Hello!"

Jupiter followed behind Omni-Man with his hands behind his back and a warm smile on his face.

"Wow! My God! This place is so cool..."

Compared to the mature Jupiter, Mark was more like a kid who'd found a toy he loved. He darted around the room, admiring the battle suits on display.

"Are these two your sons?"

The tailor shop owner looked from Jupiter to Mark, then turned and asked Omni-Man, Nolan.

"Yes!"

Nolan nodded, then pointed to Jupiter behind him.

"My eldest son, Jupiter!"

"And my youngest, Mark!"

Then Nolan looked at Mark, who was still running around.

"Nice to meet you!"

"My name is Arturo Zambo. You can just call me Arturo!"

"I've known your father for decades. I was his first friend on Earth. I used to look forward to growing old alongside Nolan, but then I learned that the great Omni-Man would never grow old!"

Arturo introduced himself to Jupiter and Mark, and explained his relationship with Nolan.

"We Viltrumites don't age for thousands of years, so we can keep fighting."

After hearing Arturo's introduction, Nolan looked rather pleased with himself. As a proud Viltrumite warrior, he could live for thousands of years without aging, remaining in peak fighting condition the whole time.