Good early morning, my readers! So, i am staying by my grandmother for this week, but tgat doesn't mean i'm not making progress with the other chapters. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't as long as you'd expect. I really don't know what's going on myself.

Anyway, a small response to Exodus12345:yeah, Shinko does have a little sister, and leaving her like that is also the reason for why he berates himself so much for his decision of leaving (if it would have been just his mother, that would have been one thing and not a really bad one, but his suster was another matter entirely). I'm sorry if it wasn't clear enough, also the next prequel chapter is gonna go more in depth with that (well, not entirely, but it will show things from another angle...).

Ok,i'm diverging now. Let's just get to the chapter.

It was a relaxing afternoon in the Z city ghost town:Saitama was reading manga, Genos was finishing with the cooking (while wearing a silly, yellow apron), Shinko was also reading a fantasy novel (with Beeline sleeping from the top of his head) and the other Wastelanders were either talking or drinking.

None of them could predict, or even feel for that matter, the huge meteor approaching from the dephts of space.

X X X

The alarms were blaring in the Hero Association's head quarters.

"What's happening?!" one of the executives, an old man with a round nose, asked frantically.

"It seems that a large meteor is approaching Z city's airspace" one of the employees said as she sent the information to another station.

"How much until the impact?" the executive asked.

"Based on the meteor's speed...not much" the emplyee said as the video feed with the satellite was disabled.

Apparently the meteor destroyed it in its wake.

"Start the evacuation of the citizens, i will call the heroes personally" the executive said, sweat racing of his face.

X X X

In the dojo, Bang was currently giving extra lessons to Charanko. Those were simply for beginners who had trouble grasping the basics.

Bang would almost say that's he's ashamed of giving these lessons to Charanko.

Almost.

Suddenly the phone on the far side of the room rang and Bang picked it up, momentarily stopping his training session with Charanko.

As the frantic calling on the other side ended Bang sighed and placed the phone in the pocket of his white pants.

"I'll have a...very important assignment from the hero association, so train while i'm not here" Bang said to Charanko as he left.

'That's going to be impossible' Bang said as he hurried to Z city, but perhaps he could use this situation to test his other disciple.

Bang picked up the phone and dialed the number as he hurried to Z city.

X X X

Shinko went to the kitchen as the house phone rang.

"Who is it?" Shinko asked as he picked up the phone.

"Oh hello, master Bang!" Shinko happily replied as Bang's tone got serious.

After getting the news about the approaching meteor, Shinko's eyes widened.

"What?! I'll get there as fast as i can!" Shinko replied as he got into yet another pair of shoes (curtesy of Monoculor) and got out of the house, sprinting madly.

While going to Bang's location, Shinko noted that Genos was heading there as well.

X X X

"Finally here" Shinko said as he walked with Genos through the empty hall.

"There seems to be nobody in the building" Genos said as he scanned the sorrounding area.

But then he was proven wrong.

"I see you've actually arrived, Shinko. And you must be the new S class hero" Bang said as he came from behind a column.

"S class rank 3 Bang, one of the strongest heroes" Genos said as he greeted the old man, but he asked himself 'And he knows Shinko too...could he be Bang's disciple?"

"Hello master, about the meteor..." Shinko said, a bit unsure.

"I guess i have to explain the situation first:all the S class heroes were called to this place, but since this place is empty, it seems that they are occupied...or don't care at all. I have been tasked to destroy this meteor, a dragon level threat mind you, in 35 minutes. If i succeed, the faith in the Hero Association will rise and donations will come pouring in, THAT is what they are really after. The problem is that this task is impossible for me, therefore Shinko shall destroy the meteor, while i oversee the whole operation" Bang said.

He really didn't know the full power of the young boy and this would be the perfect test. Of course, Bang knew that most of the credit would go to him regardless, but Shinko didn't seem to mind that much.

Shinko scratched the back of his head and said ashamed "Yeah, the fact is that i can't destroy it..."

"Then we're doo-" Bang was going to said but Shinko cut him off "I didn't mean THAT!" he said throwing his raised hands foward.

As the conversation continued they made their way to a taller building.

"I can easily wreck that rock in the sky, but i'm afraid that the fragments will destroy the city" Shinko explained.

"Then what do you suggest, throwing it into space?" Bang sarcastically asked.

"I was thinking of that, but i'm afraid i'd throw it in the city below" Shinko said.

"So what's the plan?" Genos asked.

"It's simple:Saitama will punch the meteor, while i will destroy the falling fragments" Shinko replied seriously.

'Saitama? Who is that person? Another hero? Is he stronger than Shinko?' Bang asked himself 'If Shinko puts his trust in that guy, he might as well be' he then concluded.

X X X

Arriving on the top of the building, the three heroes saw the giant meteor heading in the city.

Suddenly they heard a roar of engines and they saw a hulking robot with a lot of cannons on his back landing next to them.

Upon seeing the hulking robot, Shinko froze, his past experiences with them not being very friendly.

"Bofoi! Have you come to stop the meteor too?" Genos asked the hulking robot.

"Do not call me that, call me by hero name, Metal Knight" the machine said.

Shinko froze at the name since it sounded eerly familiar, but decided to remain calm.

"Anyway, i have come here to test my new weapon, and this meteor appeared at the right moment" Metal Knight said as the machine squatted and the cannons readied themselves.

They then roared as numerous missiles were launched against the meteor, creating a powerful explosion.

But, alas, the meteor was not deterred.

"Seems like they did nothing, i'll have to work on them for more time then" Metal Knight said as he flew away.

'What a jerk' Shinko thought.

Genos looked at the meteor with determination and, opening his chest, revealed an hexagobal glowing object.

Shinko, using his (albeit limited) manga knowledge, could deduce that the object was his energy source.

Genos connected his core with his left arm and shot and a huge beam at the meteor.

"Such power...i may be seeing things, but i think the meteor's actually slowing down!" Bang said astonished.

"Really!?" Genos and Shinko said at the same time.

"No, i was just seeing things" Bang sheepishly corrected himself.

Shinko fell over and Genos shouted "Damn you old fool!"

Then Genos fell over, his core becoming more dull and the light in his eyes growing dimmer.

"Genos!" Shinko said with worry as he rushed to his side.

"Old man, take care of him, will ya?" a familiar voice said from behind them.

"Saitama!" Shinko said with joy as Bang turned, surprised by the man's appearance.

"Shinko, get the old man to safety" Saitama said with a smirk as he propelled himself into the sky, cracking the roof they were standing on.

"You will not..." Saitama said as he approached the meteor.

"...fall on..." Saitama continued as he readied his punch.

"...my town!" Saitama said as he punched THROUGH the meteor, which then exploded.

"He did it!" Shinko said as he raised a fist to the air.

But then the fluffy boy saw the fragments falling towards the city, closer and closer by the second.

And then pure panic kicked in.

X X X

All Bang saw was Shinko preparing to launch, just for the latter to then blink out of existence...

...and generating a shockwave which destroyed the ceiling of the building they were standing on (along with its upper part).

X X X

While Bang took an unconscious Genos to safety Shinko, with perhaps the speed of light, reached a fragment and, by tapping it, disintegrated it.

Then Shinko went to the next one, then the next one and so on.

Because of this, no fragment came into contact with any building, therefore reducing the collateral damage close to zero (unless one would want to count broken windows). Besides, Shinko's work created a nice light show that people (except those suffering from epilepsy) enjoyed looking at.

Of course, it would be fair to mention that Metal Knight was also contributing, from the sidelines, with his missiles.

X X X

"Well, i guess that takes care of it" Saitama said as he landed in the middle of a small road.

Then, noticing a rather annoying background noise, he raised his shiny head:Saitama could clearly see Shinko moving around while tapping falling rocks.

'Nice light show, but why are rocks falling from the sky?' Saitama asked himself, but then remembered of the explosion and the pieces of the meteor.

'Eh, Shinko's got it anyway' Saitama said as he walked away, trying to recall when the next sale would occur.

X X X

'Phew! Now everyone should be safe' Shinko though as he landed on a building.

Because of the speed he was moving, abundant clouds of steam and smoke rose from Shinko's body.

He released a breath of relief as he felt his own body relaxing 'Now THAT is speed, i think this is the first time i feel tired from the start of this year' Shinko thought as he wiped some sweat on his front.

Better not go that fast ever again.

But as he smelled smoke Shinko looked down and found out that not only was his shirt and shoes vaporized, but his pants were also on fire.

Shinko yelped as he patted his shorts to extinguish the flames.

Now he had a legitimate reason to get home fast.

X X X

"Interesting" mutterex Bofoi from his laboratory, checking the aftermath of the mission.

Honestly that meteor's appearance was the only occurrence that raised his mood, since these days it only seemed to get worse as troubles piled up:first a base of his is destroyed by a captured monster (who seemed to be a low-mid dragon), then he finds out that same base was actually hacked prior to the incident and now, even with the 'help' of his assistant or the bio-weapon, he couldn't get clues neither on who (or what) hacked his base or the whereabouts of the one that escaped.

But this 'Shinko' could be the key to know the causes of both these incidents, since he kind of appeared out of the blue and he was behind the fragments' destruction.

The old inventor put a hand on the left upper side of his head, nursing it from a growing headache.

"All of this trouble is making me lose my mind and this headache is making everything worse" Bofoi groaned sadly as he brought another hand on his heating forehead.

If he thought this request wouldn't sound so stupid or unnecessary, he would have asked Child Emperor to make him some medical pills by now, thus putting his intelligence (well, more like his free time) to good use.

'Too bad that brat wouldn't know the meaning of 'urgent priority' even if it harassed him every morning' Bofoi thought as he saw, from one his devices, Child Emperor trying to hack the communication device for the fourth time this week.

Bofoi smiled at the boy's frustrated scowl. As long as he was alive, Child Emperor would be the SECOND best inventor on the planet.

And we got this chapter out of the way. If you think we're immediately going to the Deep Sea King, then think again!

Anyway, see you next Tuesday!