Chapter 03: The Start of Something Super

Illya stared at the Servant with no small amount of shock, dimly noting that Servants apparently could retain memories of prior Summons. "Th-That's my Mama, Saber. I'm Illya. Illyasviel Emiya."

"...Illyasviel." Saber's eyes widened further, no doubt comparing her current appearance to the last time they'd met when she was a mere child. "How long has it been?"

"Ten years." Illya smiled. "Will you-"

"Ow!" Shirou suddenly yelped, causing all eyes to fall on him as he stared at the back of his hand in abject shock. "Illya, I thought you guys said that I wouldn't qualify as a Master."

"You do not." Sella confirmed.

"Then why is this here?!" Shirou revealed the back of his hand to them, showcasing his own fresh set of Command Seals. "Does the Grail really have no care for what qualifies as a Master?!"

Shirou never got his answer as the Summoning Glyph used to call upon Saber began to glow again.

"Stay back, Illyasviel!" Saber immediately moved to Illya's front, holding up an invisible weapon protectively.

Unlike Saber's slow build up, this new Servant came with more of a literal bang that actually blasted Illya back a few steps. When the smoke cleared, another blonde woman was shown to be there. Down on a single knee while her fist had actually cracked the ground, she was revealed to be similarly blonde like Saber, but that was where the similarities ended.

Her hair was short, barely gracing her neck while her sky blue eyes surveyed her surroundings with piercing scrutiny. Compared to Saber's armored wear, she was dressed in a pure white leotard-like apparel with white gloves that really highlighted a slender yet athletic figure, which only made her large breasts pop out more, especially with the large round opening that displayed her cleavage.

"Alright, who's the poser who thinks they're my Master?" Crossing her arms beneath her impressive bust, the blonde's eyes began to burn scarlet as she levitated a few feet off the ground. "Better speak up."

"You're a Kryptonian?!" Shirou gawked at her in surprise, the Servant herself taken aback at how her brother had approached her while flying as well. "I didn't know that there had been others here before us... What's your name? Which era did you live in?"

"...y-you're a Kryptonian, too?" The Servant murmured, looking incredibly lost as she and Shirou now floated back down, turning to look at Illya. "This is... What year is this? What country?"

Her father may have warned her about this, but Illya groaned internally at the fact that things were already far off the rails.

Minutes later, Galatea hadn't stopped in her frequent observation of the young man beside her. Judging from what she knew, she'd actually died to her goody two-shoes counterpart.

But surprisingly, she was important enough to get recorded by an alternate world's version of a worldwide Valhalla. It was only thanks to Daddy's teachings that she'd even entertained the idea of alternate worlds being a real thing, and Kal here inadvertently confirmed it.

He was young, much younger than the Superman Daddy had known with differing features, but with too many similarities to be coincidental.

Her Master was a Superman who hadn't become Superman yet.

On other matters, the idea of a bloody tournament for a wishing device sounded positively laughable to Galatea, if solely for the fact that nobody had snatched it away yet.

Until both Kal and Illya pointed out that the Grail would be nothing more than a shiny cup without the slain essences of at least five Servants.

Stupid name, by the way. Wouldn't have stopped Waller from whisking it out of sight if she'd been here herself.

"Now then, from what's Illya's told me..." Kal finally finished off his explanation to her before focusing on the other blonde in the room, having helped one of the platinum haired maids pour a fresh round of green tea. "Saber, you can't astralize like Berserker can?"

Useful ability, even if somebody as invulnerable as her didn't need it.

"Yes. Forgive me if I refuse to reveal the true reasons for it, but be assured that it won't hamper my prowess in the slightest." Saber answered, giving her a level stare. "I will defeat all of the Servants without fail."

Galatea smirked back. "Oh, I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a lot of failing."

"Don't antagonize each other." Illya sighed as she got up. "Okay, shall we go?"

"Eh?" Kal blinked. "Go where? With Berserker here, shouldn't we revise the strategies?"

"Sure, but I really want to go and eliminate at least one Servant per night if we can manage it." Illya let one of the maids put on a coat for her, flipping her hair out before putting on a hat. "And with two Kryptonians, this war's as good as won."

"Don't jinx yourself." Even as he said that, Kal was already getting up himself while the other maid handed him a coat of his own. "So will we be leaving together, or acting separately?"

"Separately." Both Galatea and Saber said as one, the blonde Servants exchanging stares before the latter nodded meaningfully.

"...fine, then." Kal shrugged and led the way. "Call for me if you need me, Illya. C'mon, Berserker."

"Should you not report to the Church, though?" The maid with the smallest breasts spoke sternly. "You should register yourselves before acting on your whims."

"Ah, I knew I was forgetting something." Kal sheepishly muttered. "Thanks, Sella."

"Seriously, you're the head of the household in Riruka-sama's absence." Sella scolded. "Don't act so unbefittingly of your position."

"I don't think that a literal servant has any business speaking to him like that." Galatea spoke up.

"Easy, now." Kal raised up a peacekeeping hand between them. "While Sella is our maid, she still speak however she wishes, as she has always done for our benefit."

"No, Berserker has a point." Sella apparently had some sense compared to him. "Despite my position as your maid, it seems that I have grown too comfortable to now be backtalking."

"Sella, I order you to not stop backtalking us!" Illya demanded, Saber accompanying her before they all exited the house. "My word is the law to all Einzbern homunculi!"

"As expected of my little sister." Kal rolled his eyes. "Declaring yourself as a god to the ones who will genuinely act as such."

"I don't like this place." Berserker spoke out loud after staring at the church from before the gates. "I don't see anything suspicious, but..."

Shirou didn't blame her. He himself had a different reason for not wanting to enter into the church, but cowardice never got anything done. "You can stay out here, if you want. I'll go in."

Wishing not for the first time that they could've gone out searching like Illya and Saber had in Uncle's Yamaha V-Max, Shirou pushed forward alone.

"Oh, my~" A melodic yet monotonous voice greeted Shirou the moment he opened the doors into the church. "To think that a foreigner like yourself could once more step into the Lord's house. God is truly a welcoming force of this world."

"Hortensia-san." Shirou barely managed to not growl out the name of the nun who stood up from kneeling before the altar. "Still relishing in the anguish of sinners who come to repent?"

The speaker was a young silver-haired woman before him. Appearing like a saintly nun, Shirou was quite sure that she possessed the opposite in her personality, despite her unbelievably genuine devotion to her God. Then again, it wasn't like Shirou knew how a person afflicted with extreme levels of Schadenfreude was supposed to act. All he'd gotten from Caren about it was that her deceased father had even been worse than her.

"Quite an accusation from someone as religious as I." Caren smoothly replied. "Don't tell me you use that mouth to pray to this Reo-"

Caren's words halted, stopped by the sudden grip on her neck as Shirou's closed the distance faster than she could blink.

"His Name is Rao." Kal-El growled, his amber eyes showing hints of red as he glared at the woman he just slammed against the wall.

"So defensive, Emiya." Not even having the decency to be afraid or care for the hand gripping her neck, Caren pressed a strong finger against his chest. "Stress isn't good for your body, especially for someone as powerful as you. You might start breaking the things you touch."

"Is that an invitation to start right now?" Shirou replied venomously. "For someone who's supposed to teach others to avoid temptation, you sure invoke it instead."

"It's quite a necessary feature to distract men like you." Caren tilted her head coyly. "Although, I never expected you to have such depraved desires yourself."

Distracted from his anger, Shirou blinked in confusion. "What?"

"You just pressed me flat against the wall with an unbreakable grip on my neck..." Caren clarified, a wicked grin stretching onto her face. "Convulsing against you... your hips shoved between mine as I writhe..."

A quick look downwards confirmed that Shirou had done exactly as Caren described, causing the Kryptonian to freeze.

"Is that how you want me...?" Caren continued without fear. "My breath escaping my heaving lings in ragged gasps... My body trembling against yours as I end up dazed from your actions..."

Caren's words evoked the image of either a woman being strangled... or something else.

Now, there were two ways Shirou could react to this. He could pull away and leave immediately after stating his status as a Master.

But... Kal was the son of a Kryptonian Warrior who had raised and trained him to never accept defeat for any reason related to cowardice.

"I hate how you tend to bring out the worst in me."

Turning her about, Shirou smacked her in the butt hard, the resounding noise echoing through the empty chapel. Leaning over so that he could see her stunned expression, Shirou hissed into her ear after pulling her hair out of the way. "I just became the Master of Berserker. Do with that as you will."

Then he released her and immediately left, done and gone while mentally screaming at himself.

The moment Emiya left through the doors, Caren burst into laughter even as her Servant materialized.

"Master, how could you do something so- so- so sacrilegious in the House of God?!" Rider scolded, flowing garments fluttering with exaggerated movements of incredulity. "Did you provoke him on purpose?!"

"Of course, I did." Caren admitted easily as she walked back towards the altar, breathing a little easier as the painful ache in her body faded away with Shirou's increasing distance from her. "I can't quite describe it, but he's always been so fun to mess with."

And the Ache lessened whenever she sparked conflict between them.

"So you will literally test the limits of a man you've told me being capable of possibly matching us Servants?" Rider deadpanned in disbelief. "You're one hell of a strange child, Master, especially if you're attracted to him enough to all but proposition him."

"Do not worry." Caren assured her Servant. "I don't intend on fully putting out unless there're plans for marriage."

"Of course, not!" Rider gasped, scandalized. "If he tries anything untoward, I'll kill him! Alien origin be damned!"

To be honest, Caren's virginity had already been long lost - with as little care for it back then as she had for it now - but she was good at compromising. Considering how much Rider had already given in much to her selfishness already, this was something she wouldn't mind indulging her back in.

"I'll be counting on you to defend my honor." Caren spoke, trying not to giggle.

"Leave it to me!" Rider cracked her knuckles darkly. "He tries anything, he'll be left as ashes for his efforts!"

("He tries anything, he'll be left as ashes for his efforts!")

Ignoring the Servant's words he could still hear, Shirou sighed as he passed by the gates while Berserker had taken to sitting on a tree branch while kicking her legs. It wasn't that much of a surprise that Caren, being the Overseer, would summon a Servant of her own. Uncle had always told them to expect cheating from all participants in a Grail War.

"Well, you're certainly more fun than the Superman I knew." Berserker chimed as she dropped down beside him.

"...who's Superman?"

Berserker smirked after blinking a little in confusion. "The title of the strongest Kryptonian alive. A title you'll most likely be taking later on."

"The strongest Kryptonian alive is my mother." Shirou shook his head. "She can be Superwoman, if that's a thing. I'll just keep doing as I normally do."

Berserker frowned. "And what's that?"

"Helping people." Shirou answered easily. "I don't really care much about being the strongest Kryptonian, unless it'll help me get better at saving people."

"Seriously?!" Berserker groaned. "Is this like a constant? A canon event? Why do you want to save these humans so much?"

Shirou just turned so that he could look her in the eye, an utterly lost expression at her question. "Do you... Do you not hear them all? All of the problems that reach our ears?"

"I learned to shut them out a long while ago." Berserker squirmed as she looked away. "There's no point to caring for them."

"You shut them out so that you wouldn't have to care for them?!" Shirou snarled.

"I shut them out so that I could sleep!" Berserker snapped back. "There's always somebody in trouble! A woman screaming and crying in an alley. A kid getting beat up and robbed by two grown men. Filthy humans trafficking their own kind for money and sexual gratification. And worst of all... the governments doing nothing to mitigate it all! Too wrapped up in their 'national interests' and 'scientific endeavors' and 'generous donations'..."

Berserker stopped to huff silently before grabbing his shoulders and pulling him close. "Listen to me, Kal. You are worth more than everybody on this planet combined. Don't be their pariah. Not again."

"Pariah?" Shirou frowned in confusion. "I really feel like you've been mistaking me for somebody else, Berserker."

"...I really don't think I have, Kal." Looking deeply into his eyes, Berserker released him and crossed her arms with a huff. "You're definitely a Superman."

"...you're not really from the past, are you?" Shirou determined. "Just where did you come from?"

"It seems that this Master and Servant pair aren't quite in tune yet." A silky voice suddenly echoed out of the darkness, Shirou's superhearing unable to decipher the owner's location.

"That is of no consequence." Another female voice spoke up, this rather monotone in it's delivery even as Shirou pinpointed her immediately. "They shall be defeated regardless."

Shirou clenched his fists as the speaker finally approached them. "Am I wrong in identifying you as an enemy Master?"

"No, not in the slightest." The young woman's blonde hair billowed in the brief gust in a pair of twintails, dressed in a tight white blouse with puffy details and a dagger holster over her hips, and a long black skirt covering her legs. A brief flare of X-Ray Vision revealed no more concealed weapons. "I am here as the representative of the Ainsworth Clan, Angelica Ainsworth."

Shirou frowned at her name. Who the hell were the Ainsworths? "Shirou Emiya."

"The scion of the Magus Killer? Then there is little reason to underestimate you." Angelica raised her hand. "Do as you will, Caster. Handle the other Servant however you wish."

Shirou stared as the space next to Angelica twisted apart, bursting out to reveal a floating woman with most of her features concealed by a hooded dark cloak with many undecipherable etchings into it. Most definitely a Caster. "Berserker, defeat her."

Giving no verbal answer, Berserker charged at subsonic speeds, her clenched fist smashing into a glowing dome that suddenly manifested over Caster. While the shield had stayed unbroken, there was no denying Berserker's strength as Caster was immediately sent flying back from the impact, leaving a path of broken trees in her wake while Berserker immediately followed after.

Taking example from Berserker, Shirou immediately blurred away from sight and reappeared behind Angelica, aiming for a simple shove of her head into the ground. However, the air around her head shimmered just before impact, spatially displacing his arm away from her. "Huh?!"

"A close range combatant, huh?" Angelica noted as she unsheathed her blade and stabbed forward, confusing Shirou at her disregard from proper aiming only to feel the useless scratch of steel against his skin.

Retreating back, Shirou and Angelica stared each other down with matching frowns. What was that magecraft she'd just used? A type that utilized spatial displacement? What were it's limits?

Shirou immediately attacked with heat vision, only for the twin beams of ballistic heat to get displaced as well.

Angelica immediately returned fire, waving a hand that caused the air above to tear apart and fire several displaced rocks and trees that launched themselves at him.

Not bothering to dodge, Shirou's arm blurred as he pulverized each of them with single hits.

"...it seems that I may have still been underestimating you a bit." Angelica waved her hand, causing Shirou to blink as he himself got displaced several meters above the ground. A second later, several boulders spatially manifested before launching themselves at him.

None of it stopped Shirou from bursting towards Angelica below, smashing down with enough force to crack the pavement and stun her. Taking advantage of her surprise, Shirou inhaled deeply and blew out with immense force, finally achieving something in how Angelica was blown off her feet.

Spatial displacement magecraft, passively made to deflect both physical and energy based attacks, but naturally did nothing against air itself since it's wielder would want to keep breathing.

It was always nice to deal with opponents that raw power alone wouldn't be enough for.

KingVessel: And now for the cliffhanger! Nobody better shoot at me- Gah, easy Galatea, you're starting off the next chapter!