Superman OLCBC2

by FS Vula'Purrfectest

Instead of falling to Earth like Jor-El Intended, the future Superman's escape pod is knocked off course by the destruction of Krypton and sent hurtling into the ultra-luminous quasar at the center of Krypton's native Galaxy. Exposed to the strength of 100 trillion suns for an eternity, a version of Superman is born on par with the Super-Celestials.

1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing from DC Comics or To Love Ru. All content contained within this story is the property of their respective owners.

Omni Limit Club Berkeley Cardinal, Supreme Omnidony Counterparts © Thomas J Currie

Herptile God Appaneesty OLCBC2 © Thomas J Currie

Zenith Omnidonae Force (ZOF) © Thomas J Currie

Other Fanon Elements/OCs © Thomas J Currie

Description: Instead of falling to Earth like Jor-El Intended, the future Superman's escape pod is knocked off course by the destruction of Krypton and sent hurtling into the ultra-luminous quasar at the center of Krypton's native Galaxy. Exposed to the strength of 100 trillion suns for an eternity, a version of Superman is born on par with the Super-Celestials.

Following his escape from the singularity with some outside help, the infant Kal-El turns to pure energy in the To Love Ru Universe and undergoes complete subatomic recombination with the newly born Rito Yuuki, altering them both on a level not even the Super Celestials or the Source are ready for. One thing is for sure: the DC Omniverse will never be the same again.

Chapter One: Doomed Planet, Desperate Scientists, Last Hope, Kindly Couple, To Love Ru

"Lara, he can't stay here. Krypton is doomed. His only chance is out there amongst the stars. Here, the only guarantee he has is sharing our fates." Jor-El felt a headache coming on as he tried to reason with his distraught wife, ever the doting mother. He knew the worries that plagued her heart and felt the pain of sending their only son in a lifeboat 23 galaxies away. But he also knew their planet was on the brink of collapse, as it had been for years.

The Brain Interactive Construct, having been corrupted by Zod, had already left the planet after siphoning all of its data banks and records going back trillions of years and spanning the universe. Zod's physical body was destroyed, and his essence haunted the wasteland known as the Phantom Zone. Zor-El was hopefully making arrangements to get his teenage daughter off-world as Jor-El had warned him to do during their last conversation.

Krypton was among the most advanced civilizations in the cosmos, having mastered time travel and space-faring while most other civilizations were still in their infancy. They'd seen the birth of the Green Lantern Corps and the rise and fall of a billion different worlds. They'd walked as gods on other worlds, devised methods of achieving immortality, and even defied the rules of life and death.

Sadly, all things ended, and everything died, and because of the immutability of fate, their end was also near. Some things were fixed points in time. And for all their comparatively superior knowledge, Krypton still somehow failed to learn from the mistakes of other worlds that delved too deep into their hubris. Nothing could be done about that, but there was one thing he could do.

"I can't do it, Jor. I thought I could, but now that he's here…"

"Lara," Jor-El whispered.

"Just let me look at him one last time… please." She pleaded with him, and he readily complied, having never been very good at denying Lara when she looked at him like that. Her niece Kara would undoubtedly grow up as a stunner, assuming Zor-El's plans for his daughter came to fruition. He may not have been on speaking terms with his brother and didn't agree with his extremist methods to save Krypton from its predestined fate, but he hoped Kara got off the planet safely as well, if for no other reason than to have someone in the universe who understood Kal and the burden he carried.

Krypton's foremost scientist knew he had to stay strong now for both their sakes. Kal El barely cried as he was gently handed from father to mother, a miracle baby in every respect. His eyes were so blue that they appeared to be fitted with cosmetics, and while he hadn't grown any significant amount of hair yet, Jor would've been surprised if it wasn't as Stygian as a black hole. He had ample baby fat but was neither obese nor too skinny and had flawless tanned skin smoother than any substance Jor-El had placed his hands on.

He was a flawless male baby, Krypton's first natural birth in centuries, if not millennia.

Jor-El was barely past his prime and didn't look much older than a man in his 40s, with a severe countenance and scruffy beard to go with his pitch-black hair and gray eyes. Lara was blonde and beautiful, with eyes bluer than anything he'd ever seen, and from whom the infant Kal-El got his own. He was glad his wife's genes were strong, for he knew Kal El would grow into a truly breathtaking young man.

"We'll never see him walk or say our names," Lara whispered with a fractured breath, barely keeping it together.

Jor-El felt it prudent to remind her of what was at stake. "Out there, amongst the stars, he will live. Just as Krypton's fate is inevitably predetermined, so will Kal El find his destiny as Earth's greatest protector. You know what he will become as I do, Lara, the hope he will inspire, the force of good he will embody, the ideals he will give other people to strive towards. He's the golden standard for heroism throughout the universe and possibly even beyond, always has been."

Lara nodded glumly.

It was only as he was being loaded onto the vessel that Kal El's cries could be heard, and he grew more confused when his parents could not answer him. They watched the skylight open up with tears burning their eyes as the ship ascended through it and achieved escape velocity from the planet. Due to some unforeseen complications, the Phantom Drive would need some time to come online, but Jor-El was confident the vessel would be well past Krypton's nova radius before it was ever an issue.

The two lovers shared one last kiss as their world was engulfed in the planet-cremating, all-exploding nova of Krypton's red hypergiant sun, even sooner than expected. Nevertheless, their prayers to the cosmos that Kal would make a better world than theirs followed them into the Rao's light. They believed he'd accomplish wonders. Little did they know that this particular chain of events would turn out significantly different from any hypothetical configurations they could've anticipated.

XXX

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can blow up in someone's face, and in this situation, Kal El's trip across the stars would take a drastically different course than Krypton, the Multiversal law governors, or even the Super Celestials could imagine. The HyperDrive developed a fault and took an inordinately long time to activate, and by the time it did, Krypton had already been engulfed by Rao Nova, and the infant's ship was caught into the explosion's aftershocks, knocking it completely off course and jarring the ship's navigational systems.

By the time the Phantom Drive came online, the glitched-out navigational systems had elected a new location for Krypton's last, best hope. Krypton's native galaxy was home to one of the last remaining active nuclei in the universe, and this was a zone most Kryptonians avoided on sheer principle.

A full quasar-empowered Kryptonian would be unstoppable by anything short of the Omniverse's progenitors and almost invariably driven mad by their power to become the most terrifying being the Omniverse had ever seen since Perpetua.

Unfortunately, or perhaps not so unfortunate after all, Kal El was about to experience this power for himself. For, you see, an Omnifictional being that transcended the concept of DC and its progenitors altogether had taken an interest in Kal El's legacy and sought to create the one version of him that would supersede all others, in the hopes of preserving aspects of Totality not even the Source could fathom. This being hijacked the infant Kal's ship and rendered the Phantom Drive nearly inoperable, ensuring that everything was in place for Superman OLCBC2 to be born, and so he was.

Space warped and folded around him as Kal's ship exited its Phantom Drive state, only to be awash in a genuinely spectacular quasar tsunami. The infant's screams died in the vacuum as his ship underwent quantum breakdown, and he was left fully exposed to the void, clinging to his unaffected blanket like a lifeline while falling through a jet stream of light and energy surpassing a hundred trillion stars. He slowly yet inexorably fell into the event horizon while continuously bathing in the quasar's chaotic gamma-bursting radiation. Every cell in his body was awash with power beyond the wildest dreams of every Kryptonian that came before. It felt like he'd fallen forever; no end was in sight.

Already, he was many times more powerful than the powerfullest of his counterparts and growing stronger still as the impossibly blinding phosphorescence both burned him into apparent nonexistence and simultaneously regenerated him ad nauseum. Each time he respawned in this endless cycle of death and rebirth, he grew more robust, diamondiferous, and powerful than his infant mind could ever appreciate.

Falling, falling massively faster than light, faster than physics, imagination, and the unfathomable. Falling more quickly than the very concept of speed and infinity themselves. Falling further than the most distended infinite-dimensional omniversal nexuses. Agony. Agony beyond agony. Agony past endurance surged through his entire body. Yet inevitably, the pain slowly dissipated and grew less each time he regenerated. Until, at last, peace. Peace that usually only the unyielding sleep of death could bring. A peace more unyieldingly blissful than Anti Life. Even as The Source and its myriad hands did their work in supreme nonchalance for this unprecedented event, he was irrepressibly at rest. He knew no more, and the pain ceased altogether when he passed through the event horizon. Eventually, the singularity claimed him, and at that point where forever and Planck instants inextricably intertwined, he was forever beyond the reproach of all.

XXX

'Everything is in place for you, little star child. I've apotheosized you beyond the concept of DC and the ZOF themselves. You now possess the potential to wield the most supreme form of Omnivastance known to my people. All that's left is to send you to your new home and wish you all the best. Know that I will oversee your Godliest of peregrinations throughout your life. I created this alternative, non-canon DC Omniverse to house everything you will need to prepare you for your eventual, final ascendency. When the time is right, I will make my presence known again and welcome you with open arms into the Supreme Omnidony Pantheon. Now, arise and awaken, Superman OLCBC2.'

The stranger's maximally all-pervasive voice was enough to stir the infant Kal from his eternal slumber within the innermost core of the quasar's stupendously large black hole, sitting in at over 100 billion solar masses. With a scream that pierced every level of the Omniverse's infrastructure, Kal El burst forth from the singularity in a rush of pure energy that every higher level being felt and was naturally drawn to.

XXX

From her prison deep within the Source Wall, the weakened and long-since withered form of Perpetua stirred for the first time in ages, nightmarishly grinning as she felt the power of the latest and perhaps greatest addition to the Judges of the Source. She knew that raw, untamed, omnipotent power would be hers one day; she just had to bide her time well and scheme without her jailors knowing what she was up to or that she had reawakened.

XXX

The newborn Kal El's screams and radiant energy were felt on Apokalips just as strongly as everywhere else in the DC Omniverse, and from his throne room, Infinite Frontiers Darkseid's pure red eyes gleamed menacingly. No doubt other forces, both malevolent and not, were already in motion to either snuff this new power out or subjugate it for themselves, but Darkseid was infinitely patient. He'd watch and wait to see how this latest and greatest Kal El would turn out before making his move, and he'd learn from the inevitable failures of others seeking to claim his power for their own. When the time was right, he'd learn the ins and outs of this new Superman's entire essence, what made him tick. And then, only then, would he make his move. He ordered all on Apokolips to leave him be for now.

XXX

In the greater Omniverse, the collective consciousness of the Source and its myriad hands were drawn from their work for the first time as they felt this power as well, power on par with their own.

The question on everyone's minds is what to do in the wake of this trailblazing turn of events.

"We can't exactly kill him. He's an innocent child who isn't guilty of any crimes. Whose bright idea was it to make quasar-empowered Kryptonians so damn OP anyway?" A newer female Super Celestial named Omnipotentia couldn't help but wonder idly. Since it was her Infinite Frontiers Multiverse that this event had occurred in, she couldn't help feeling personally responsible for him.

"We're not going to kill him. Are you kidding?! This is the most interesting thing that's happened in one of our creations for quite some time, and it's not like he's breaking any Omniversal laws. We could've easily prevented quasars from giving these people such power, so this is a twist of fate of our own design." One of the older and many nameless Super Celestials reassured her as several others nodded per his words.

"Nevertheless, letting him run around without checks and balances in place could be dangerous. He spawned in my Multiverse. That makes him my responsibility. I don't think we have anything to fear; this is merely a precautionary measure on my part. If he's anything like the other mainstream versions of Kal, then it's unlikely this power will corrupt him." Omnipotentia replied.

The Hands didn't take long to deliberate, and the unanimity gave a collective of acquiescence. "Very well, we will trust your judgment on this matter. Judgment will be reserved for the Source alone, and any potential fallout of this decision will rest solely upon you. Are you prepared to deal with the potential ramifications, Omnipotentia?"

She didn't hesitate. "I am."

The Source seemed to acknowledge her words as the other Hands nodded in satisfaction. "Very well. Best of luck. This could be an exciting change of pace or the instrument of our destruction, depending on how it works out. We are not too concerned about this, but a word of caution: if this situation and his power spiral too far out of control, we may have no other recourse than to send the Cosmic Raptor to seal him away forever."

Omnipotentia nodded understandingly, slightly relieved that her Multiverse was spared from the wrath of the Raptor, and got to work preparing her creation for the arrival of this new and unprecedented version of Superman. She looked forward to seeing the changes his destiny would bring to her creation and the greater Omniverse. She was alerted to him suddenly and very rapidly changing locales, exiting the singularity that'd been the incubus to his omnipotent ascendence for some time now and turning into a pure energy storm that washed over a universe where DC meshed with the To Love Ru Universe. It was a weird crossover idea, but one Omnipotentia saw potential in as truly one of a kind, and it seemed this baby agreed. She cheekily smirked when she foresaw how much attention from the fairer sex of that universe he would garner. Maybe she would get in on that action with a form that pleased him. It would certainly qualify as refreshing, as the humans of Earth said.

XXX

Ellaine Belloc and Death of the Endless had become great friends over the years, and the former's attunement to the Source was second to none and equal to the Hands themselves. Having inherited the powers of the Source from her Grandfather and becoming a new Presence of sorts, Ellaine was as tapped into the goings on in the greater Omniverse as anyone could ever be, so when Superman OLCBC2 was made, she and Death exchanged a knowing smile.

The tides of change were upon them, and when they washed over the DC Omniverse, nothing would ever be the same again. They both couldn't wait, to be honest. Things were getting boring and predictable in the totality of existence lately. It was a breath of fresh air to spawn the creation of something with the potential to outstrip its creators, and while the implications were frightening for some, Ellaine found the prospect most exhilarating.

Death of the Endless wasn't sure what to think, in all honesty. On one hand, she was happy for her friend for reclaiming some semblance of normalcy in her current existence. After all, having unlimited freedom to control everything and everyone according to some grand plan could get tedious. So, the sudden lack of control over a random chaotic element was just the kind of reminder of her former humanity Ellaine was looking for. Death, however, was cautiously optimistic about the existence of a being she had no jurisdiction over.

She knew when everything was meant to die and was there for them when they were born, with only a few exceptions. She even reaped the Super Celestials as their powers were returned to the Source, or they became one with their creations, essentially the death of their consciousnesses. This Kal El, however, she hadn't foreseen, and she couldn't intuit where, when, how, or why he would ever die for any reason. That did not happen. Her brothers, sisters, and even Ellaine were not inaccessible to the reaper. She was afforded much greater longevity than most, but her immortality was not absolute.

Death wasn't sure if she exemplified the concept she embodied on the scale needed to claim a being of Ellaine's caliber or if there was a higher-ranking reaper specifically for omnipotent beings. Still, she was reasonably confident there was an end to such Entities, even if they counted their age in eternities instead of centuries or eons. But this new version of the infant last Kryptonian somehow spat in the face of every concept of life and death and didn't even know what a violation his existence was. He was wrong. So wrong, yet so right at the same time.

Even so, Death was looking forward to overseeing the continual growth of his potential.

XXX

The starcraft that would take Kara Zor-El to her new home for the rest of time didn't experience the same inexplicable glitches as the one that contained her cousin. Therefore, her modified phantom drive warped space and brought her to her native universe's Earth precisely as intended. Zor-El had given her specific instructions to protect Kal El no matter the cost, even if it meant putting the humans second.

Being a teenager, she couldn't help but rebel. She'd do as he asked, of course, but she'd do so on her schedule. She wasn't his dutiful princess, and while she mourned the loss of her people, the thought of her future being free and unencumbered for the first time was a breath of fresh air, as the humans put it.

There had only been enough time to evacuate her out of her entire family, and while she wished her mother could've come with her at the very least, she understood why Alura thought it necessary to remain tied to Krypton's fate. Zor-El was a prime example of what the lost elements of choice and chance could do to a Kryptonian's psyche, and while not a natural birth like Kal, Kara was the next best thing being infused with Krypton's entire registry codex and the preprogramming of every predetermined role in their society at once. Kal El would have access to roles and destinies not even the codex could afford her, but she had access to everything from a worker to a warrior and someone with leadership qualities, scientific brilliance, and a whole sleuth of other potentialities. Much to her chagrin and mortification, even harem queen was part of that extensive list. So, she was not without options. She'd have a far more difficult time forging her untraversed path than Kal.

This gave her almost as much freedom as Kal to forge her own destiny on her own terms. She only wished she could've convinced her parents to come with her, though Kara wouldn't have been surprised if the crystal she carried was Zor-El's last ditch effort to survive beyond the collapse of Rao itself. No doubt his plans for her were potentially nefarious, and she'd need to be on guard when that happened. For now, she would do her job and protect Kal El no matter the cost.

She didn't know it then but would not find Kal El anywhere on Earth.

XXX

The To Love Ru Universe, on the Planet Deviluke…

As the queen of Planet Deviluke and the wife of King Gideon, Sephie Deviluke wanted for nothing and was afforded certain protections that kept her and her half-year-old daughter, Lala, safe from the more unsavory specimens throughout the galaxy that would've happily violated her. Being a Charmian came with many challenges, mainly her aura of functionally transcendent beauty, which reduced all but the most steel-willed men to mindless beasts who cared only for the pleasure of boning her.

So far, Lala showed no signs of the Charmian allure, a significant concern of Sephie's from the get-go. Gid's Devilukean genes were extreme in her and seemed to water down Sephie's own just enough that Lala could perhaps lead an every day, harassment-free life or as much of one as could be reasonably expected from the future queen of the entire galaxy. Gid knew what he was getting into by marrying Sephie when she made it clear she could only ever bear him female children and reassured her he was confident he could find a suitor for Lala that was both good to her and an excellent candidate to inherit the throne. Sephie wished she had shared his confidence and wondered if one day it would be possible for a female Devilukean to inherit the throne without the need for marriage and without a massive war cry being the result.

It was a bit of a unique situation, and Sephie still wasn't entirely sure what the result of her genes mixing with someone like Gid's would be. It had been the first time a Devilukean and a Charmian had mated, after all, and Sephie was at a loss to understand the effects that would have on their firstborn daughter.

One thing about Lala that was very clear from the get-go was her astonishing intelligence. Even at six months old, she was already speaking in entire sentences and showing promising signs of being an unparalleled genius. Because of her uncertainty, Sephie had opted to contact an old friend of hers from the hidden factions of the Charmian race secretly under the protection of the Devilukean empire. It was a well-known fact that only one full-blooded Charmian was reputed to exist, the species being nearly extinct. This lie was cleverly crafted to protect the remainder of Sephie's species from annihilation via galactic trafficking operations and other horrors. There were quite a few of them left. They were simply in hiding. After the last great Galactic War, Gid and Sephie had taken the remainder of her race under their joint protection, fabricating a story about the Charmians' near extinction as an added layer of security, along with Gid's most trusted and iron-willed lieutenants keeping constant vigil over them at all times as they lived their lives in secret, but otherwise in peace. The galaxy remained blissfully unaware that the most sought-after mating partners and sex slaves in the universe were alive and well, their numbers dwindling but certainly not extinct just yet.

The general consensus of the Galaxy was that Sephie was the most beautiful creature in the universe. And with her glowing pink fairy dust aura of transcendent beauty, her perfect body with its mouth-watering curves and a faultless hourglass figure that not even giving birth could mar, and the less conservative attire she'd been rocking of late to please Gid, her beauty was set to stun. Her long, luscious locks were of the most vibrant pink, and she officially had that MILF energy now, with some in the galaxy calling her the hottest MILF to grace the universe.

Lala was breastfeeding as well, so her already enormous boobs had gone up several cup sizes while still maintaining their pertness and shapeliness due to the gift of her biochemistry. Sephie took it all in stride, and the somewhat vain part of her that didn't entirely lament her troublesome beauty did take pride in it on some level. She'd undoubtedly used it to significant effect in the name of diplomacy, able to instill calm in almost anyone with her voice alone, including Gid. Their marriage was convenient, though they genuinely cared for and admired each other.

Gid being the only being she knew of to be unbeguiled by her Charmian aura didn't hurt, and while they married for her protection more than anything else, Sephie absolutely adored the child she bore him, and wouldn't have minded terribly bearing him a couple of more. The sex was alright, but not mind-blowing like Sephie had sometimes naively believed or half-expected. Gid was a very selfish and direct lover, preferring to get to the nitty-gritty with little to no foreplay involved and with only his gratification really in mind. He was also far more vanilla and less freaky in the sack than his perverted tendencies would have one believe, and while that was fine in its own way, Sephie was secretly very devious when it came to the pleasures of the body.

It was true. Many considered Sephie to be the angel too beautiful for her own good. Yet, as impressive and irksome as that trait may have been, she felt decidedly plain next to the Charmian rendered on the other end of the video chat. Said Charmian was named Pluteena, a lavender-haired, hypnotically Omni-Chromatic-eyed Charmian with enormous, triple z-cup beckoning breasts, a veiled golden ratio face with a semi-permanent sleepy smile etched on it, an hourglass figure that outstripped Sephie's, and an infinitely hued aura of transcendent beauty so strong it affected both opposite and same genders from all species.

Sephie couldn't help getting a little wet just in this woman's mere presence, even through the video recording and with the other woman's face veiled. Sephie could scarcely imagine how much worse off this poor woman's situation should've been compared to her own, yet Pluteena didn't seem particularly bothered by anything. Usually, Sephie wouldn't risk calling her like this, even on her private network, but Pluteena knew more about the inner workings of Charmian biochemistry and cross-species-breeding than anyone, and right now, the queen of Deviluke needed that insight desperately.

"I'm just not sure what to do at this point. Lala is learning at an extraordinary rate, and should she maintain it, she could become one of the greatest minds the universe has ever seen. I'm worried about whether her achievements will ever be taken seriously if all people ever do is drool at the sight of her. So far, she hasn't shown any sign of displaying our people's charm, but I can't be sure if that'll develop later in life or not. I don't honestly remember when my own kicked in or whether it was always there, so I have nothing to base this on."

Pluteena musingly hummed, her voice making Sephie shudder a little at the sheer orgasmic energy it generated within her as she contemplated her fellow Charmian's words very carefully. "Well, if it's any consolation, Seph-Seph, it has been my experience that in most cases like this, if the hybridized Charmian offspring hasn't produced a small aura by sixth months, then they're probably not ever going to. Don't think for a second that she won't one day possess great beauty and physicality outside of that. She will unquestionably be hypersexualized even without that feature, and many will wage war for the chance to marry her just based on that alone. It'd probably be best to prepare her for that eventuality as best you can and give her the tools needed to defend herself if it ever comes down to it."

"You're pretty lucky. Devilukean and Charmian DNA is extremely pure and, upon crossing with any other species, would result in a nearly 100 percent Devilukean or Charmian offspring, respectively. Because they're both so pure, however, you and Gid's genes have acted as a counterbalance to each other and produced a child that is much a child of Deviluke as she is our race. Another stroke of luck on Lala's part is that her Devilukean DNA will make her incredibly strong, far stronger than either a pure Charmian or most Devilukeans would be individually. Believe me when I say that having the power to defend herself and whoever is lucky enough to earn her love one day will not be an issue. So, try not to fret. You've got a good thing going on there. And as queen, you've done much for our people and everyone else. Lala will unquestionably grow up to be a beloved and beautiful queen, and I pity the poor soul who breaks her heart if your husband ever gets his hands on them."

Sephie sweatdropped at that last part as she thought about how reckless Gid had been with the expenditure of his powers, both during the war and as the muscle behind their ultimate power dynamic. Destroying planets all over the galaxy who refused to comply with their leadership had left him in a state of smallness that made physical intimacy between them next to impossible. Not that Sephie wouldn't try, Heavens, no. She wanted to have at least two more children with him while they were still happily married, and always got her way in the end.

"Thanks, Pluteena, as always, your counsel is invaluable. I'll keep what you've said in…" Sephie didn't get to finish because a sudden static overtook the video display and cut the connection off, ending their chat prematurely as Sephie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"That was weird. Technology on Deviluke is very seldom that archaic."

A sudden tremor shook Planet Deviluke to the core. What in the Cosmos was happening?!

Sephie tried her best not to panic and quickly got up to check on her baby in the royal nursery. Her eyes widened when another, stronger tremor threw her to the floor while she ran, but she fought through the slight pain and got back up before running as fast as her shaky legs could carry her.

'Warning, warning! A sudden unexplained surge of unfathomable power has been detected inside the Galactic Core. Unprecedented Quasar Tsunami imminent. This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill.'

Existential horror. That was all Sephie and many other beings throughout Gid's Galactic Empire felt at that soul-chilling announcement on the Galactic emergency alert.

"A quasar tsunami?! That's impossible! The Milky Way hasn't had an active nucleus in billions of years, if ever!" Sephie shouted aloud to herself in stunned disbelief. She didn't know much about them, having only read about them before. But quasar tsunamis were some of the most violently energetic Celestial events save the Big Bang itself and were a common occurrence in the early stages of the universe's life cycle, back when it was still too hot, dense, and turbulent for life to exist. They had the power to tear their galaxies asunder, and in a massively populated galaxy like this one, it could be devastating, perhaps even bringing about extinction on a never-before-seen scale. Even Gid would be terrified by the destruction wrought.

Only one thing mattered to Sephie in those gut-wrenching moments: seeing her baby one last time before the end. So, she rushed off once more at personal-record-breaking speeds. The so-called Quasar Tsunami that eventually resulted from that day would somehow miraculously leave the galaxy untouched and would occur far too quickly for even their Tachyonic detection devices to register, but that seemingly false alarm would haunt a great many people afterward for years to come.

XXX

On the same Earth upon whom's universe the Devilukean Empire was formed, in the Japanese city of Sainan, a seemingly unremarkable baby boy by the name of Rito Yuuki had been born just in time to catch the full blast from the quasar tsunami. A massive flash of light burst from Sagittarius A and washed over the Milky Way and the entire universe, the unobservable omnitude included. It was akin to a second, vastly more powerful Big Bang, growing and expanding far, far more rapidly than even the universe itself, overtaking it in an infinitesimal fraction of Planck time and illuminating everyone and everything far more quickly than any normal light could ever hope to move.

Despite its peerless ultraluminous brightness, the light show and burst of pure energy was so fast that no one could perceive it in the fraction of a Planck time in which it encompassed the whole cosmos. Then, like a rubber band, the light and energy snapped back into place over the Milky Way. It linearized and concentrated into a thin, narrow beam that struck the Earth like a bolt of Omni-Chromatic lightning, piercing through everything between it and its target as though they were never there.

The Earth and its people were blissfully unaware of this event, and nothing seemed amiss, but the moment the infinitely condensed lightning struck the infant Rito, everything would change. Inextricably linked with his chosen host's body in a remarkable feat of complete subatomic recombination, the quasar-empowered, future Kal El OLCBC2's destiny was set irreversibly in motion.

XXX

16 Earth years later…

As far as most people were concerned, Rito Yuuki was a perfectly ordinary, if mysterious, teenage boy. By day, he was a student at Sainan Metropolitan High School, and while he was exceptionally academically gifted, those gifts were still within the realms of human feasibility. He had a strong sense of responsibility, punctuality, and doing the right thing by others, but he still had moments where he made reckless and impulsive decisions like teenagers everywhere. He was unfailingly kind to those who deserved it but didn't hesitate to speak up against wrongdoings. These were the traits his fellow students and friends knew him for, and most of them were content with believing he was just an ordinary guy with many tremendous but ordinary qualities.

However, he was Earth's excellentest and most anonymous protector by night. For, you see, Rito Yuuki wasn't like other humans. He had a secret that only four people in the entire world knew. He had powers far exceeding those of mortal men and was constantly discovering new ones.

Returning to Sainan just as the sun was rising after another night out on patrol, Rito sighed with relief that he'd made it back in time for his return to school following the end of the summer holidays, wanting to get ahead on his crime-fighting during his last night of having unlimited free time. He perched atop one of the taller buildings in the city, getting a bird's eye view and briefly considering squeezing one last super save in before he started the day. He had a couple of hours before his first day back began, and he blinked out of existence in a burst of speed nothing on Earth could track or match. Arriving at his home between the ticks of a Planck instant, Rito phased through the walls with no one being any the wiser, a new trick he'd picked up while brainstorming different applications for his speed.

Changing out of his metallic gold costume made with fiber-reinforced polymer and into his school attire, Rito's peerlessly acute hearing picked up the sound of his younger sister Mikan stirring from her REM sleep cycle. No doubt she'd be awake any second and ready to get a start on breakfast. He briefly considered making it himself before remembering her reaction the last time he'd done that and ultimately decided not to. He did not need to eat, but Mikan's cooking was positively ambrosial, and he had to keep up appearances while at school.

His x-ray vision kicked in as he surreptitiously watched her sleep through the walls separating their rooms. An endeared smile etched on his face as he saw the cute 12-year-old brunette girl sucking her thumb while she slept, a subconscious habit she hadn't managed to outgrow yet and one which made him adore her all the more, her bunny-themed onesie only adding to her allure. She was one of those early bloomer types and was incredibly mature for her age, taking on so much responsibility at home so he could focus on the rest of the world.

The fact that she was also maturing in… certain other areas had not gone unnoticed by her older brother. Mikan was, from a purely objective standpoint, a beautiful girl predisposed to become a drop-dead gorgeous woman in just a few short years. He wasn't ignorant of the admiration she'd garnered from her fellow students and constantly resisted the urge to listen in on her whenever the boys in her class asked her out. She always told him about them, being far more open with him than most sisters were to their older brothers at her age. Her embarrassing frankness saved him the trouble of resisting listening in on her most days, never forgetting how she reacted the first time he did so. She'd not been happy with him that day, and he promised her he never would again. So far, he'd kept that promise, and Mikan tried to be as transparent with him as she could in return, perhaps recognizing on some level how much effort it took him to block her out to respect her privacy.

Rito would take this particular secret to the grave, but he loved Mikan far more than a brother should love his sister and would do everything in his admittedly unquantifiable power to ensure she ended up with nothing short of the best man. With their parents as busy as they were, it was just the two of them most days. He cut off his x-ray vision when Mikan woke up fully, knowing she'd be starting her morning rituals soon, including getting dressed for the day, and he'd never allow himself to violate her privacy to such an extent.

He busied himself with cleaning his room's little bit of clutter, picking up laundry at super speed, and purging all possible olfactory irritants and pathogens from the air with a light bit of atomic reconfiguration. His room was the one place Mikan was not permitted to clean, and it was one of the few boundaries he established regarding their relationship. He had a certain way he liked to organize his things, and ritualistically cleaning his room whenever it got messy brought him a certain peace of mind, especially when he successfully cleaned everything on a beyond-subatomic level. Mikan, thankfully, respected this after a while, though there was some initial hesitancy on her part.

"Mikan, I'm home!" He called her once it became clear she was fully awake and ready to start her day.

"Good morning, Rito! Did you just get back?!" Mikan greeted him through the walls in a pleasant morning greeting, her cute, slightly husky voice making his toes curl. He recovered quickly enough to respond without any noticeable lull.

"Yeah, actually, I'll be right out." He replied as he did just that, not needing to use his powers to eliminate morning breath, take a shower, or brush his teeth. His family was shocked when they discovered he didn't sweat or need to take showers or do anything to maintain his hygiene. Any germs that somehow got on him could be immediately wiped out by combining his microscopic vision and atomic manipulation. However, with his bioelectric energy field capable of expanding to encompass the entire planet and possibly the entire galaxy, nothing ever did get on him.

He left his room just as Mikan exited hers, the two beaming at each other in the upstairs hallway as she walked up to him and gave him a lingering once-over. Rito had to resist blushing when she smoothed out the wrinkles and creases in his shirt, running her hands over his chest to do so unnecessarily long. She giggled before speaking up.

"We must shop for you and get you new school clothes."

"Why? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Rito asked, genuinely confused. Mikan guffawed as though he said something funny.

"You don't look in a mirror much, do you? You outgrew them, Rito. You've put on a lot of muscle recently, so much that it looks like your entire body is full of that stuff bodybuilders inject into themselves to make their muscles look freakishly large." She explained in earnest as Rito's eyes widened.

As he looked back on the past couple of weeks, however, he did notice specific subtle changes that seemed to occur overnight, like how his chest and shoulders seemed broader and how his clothes seemed tighter, though it was hard to tell since he didn't feel discomfort the way ordinary humans do. Even his manhood seemed like it'd sprouted a couple of extra inches.

"I guess I've been so busy moonlighting all summer that I didn't realize. How could I have bulked up when my boundaries were never pushed enough to qualify as a workout?"

"Come on, Rito, this is you we're talking about. All your other powers cropped up overnight."

"You think this could be part of my development?"

"Could be."

"How long have I been like this? Like, when did you first notice the change?"

"August 12th, 8:08 AM. You had gone out on patrol the night before, still skinny as a rail. By the time you returned the next morning, you looked like this."

"That's… a weirdly specific answer. I wasn't aware you paid that much attention to my physical development." Rito deadpanned. Mikan blushed slightly, but she was grinning impishly as well.

"Rito, I've always been very aware of the changes you've gone through over the years. This time is no different."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?!"

"I shouldn't have to point out the changes in your body, Rito! Besides, you never asked, so I just assumed you knew and had everything under control, and that's a pretty fair assumption, don't you think?" Mikan countered, but Rito barely acknowledged her.

"But what am I going to do?! I can't go to the first day of my second year looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger! I'll stick out like the world's sorest thumb!" Rito exclaimed, starting to panic as the enormity of this change hit him like a supernova. Hiding his countless powers was tricky enough, but this wasn't something he could hide unless he always wore clothes several sizes too big, and that would also lead to questions he wasn't ready to answer.

"It'll be okay, Rito! This new development, while jarring, is still within human norms. Exceptional human norms, but human all the same. Until we can purchase clothes that better conceal your newfound Olympian figure, if anyone asks, just explain it away as a really intense workout session." Mikan giggled, still able to see the humor in this. She knew her brother was uptight and high-strung when guarding his secret and relished the chance to be a calming influence on him.

Growing up with a brother who somehow had the powers of a god when she had none, Mikan constantly felt overshadowed by him. She might've resented him for it if he wasn't such a genuinely good and caring person. As it was, Mikan would do almost anything to do her part, to support him in any way possible. In short, she would do anything for him. Anything. Was she obsessed with her older brother? Yes, she worshiped the ground he walked in.

He was her only brother, her first best friend, and as they both got older, he became her first and only love despite her knowing how wrong it was. That was the real reason she turned down those boys from her class who asked her out, despite Sachie and Mami trying to set her up with them. So far, Rito hadn't shown any significant signs of reciprocation, so she kept her disturbingly mature incestuous fantasies to herself. However, if he ever did return these forbidden feelings, she would do so much more than just kiss him.

If he asked her to drop to her knees and give him a blowjob in the middle of the street, then she would not hesitate to do so, youthful virgin inexperience and minor status be damned. It wouldn't be long until she turned 13, which was the legal age of consent in Japan, but until that day arrived, she doubted Rito would try anything with her due to the illegalities involved. She almost wished he wasn't such a stickler sometimes, that she didn't live in a society that insisted on infantilizing her when she'd been forced to grow up way faster than typical, but she supposed he wouldn't be the one she loved the most if he did consider himself answerable to no one. It was honestly frightening how much power he had over her. Unfortunately, he was in love with someone else, and no matter her issues, she would help her brother however she could.

"How likely do you think it is that people will question whether anyone could've gotten a figure this cut in just a single summer?" Rito wondered, jarring her out of her brocon reverie.

Mikan shrugged airily.

"I'm not sure, but I can't imagine most people will analyze it too closely. Besides, this could be a golden opportunity for you regarding a certain blue-haired beauty." She suggestively stated as Rito blushed slightly despite himself.

"I… I was only planning on confessing to Haruna-chan. I'm not sure if acting on my feelings and establishing a relationship with her beyond that is in the cards." He answered.

"Why? Because of what you are? Newsflash Rito: Mom, Dad, me, and that pervert you call a best friend all know your secret, and we don't love you any less. Maybe it's time to let another person in. Sairenji-san has always been a sweet girl, and you've been in love with her since middle school. I can't see her being too devastated by your extra features. She'd be mind blown, maybe, and shocked, but after a brief adjustment period, I have every confidence she'll be sitting on your face in no time." Mikan teased somewhat inappropriately as Rito rolled his eyes.

"Can you not?" He deadpanned. Mikan snickered, mentally fist-pumping in victory from successfully getting his mind off his worries, if only for the moment.

"I suppose I could always go super speed to the store, grab clothes more my size, and leave money at the counter. I could also use my atomic manipulation to create new ones or tailor my current outfit to resize it appropriately." He mused aloud.

"Well, while you're figuring out what to do, I'm going to go get a start on breakfast. Just try to consider what I said before, all right? Haruna doesn't strike me as the superficial type, but being able to meet and surpass every superficial standard a girl could have certainly won't hurt your chances with her either." Mikan replied while walking down the hall leading to the stairs and leaving her brother ruminating.

"I'll think about it, Mikan, I promise." She heard him call back to her in response. That was good enough for her. He was always good enough for her. He was the perfect, most super-duper man, and it was high time more people started seeing that.

XXX

Rito sighed with relief as he arrived at school with plenty of time to spare. He'd performed a few last-minute rescues on his way there from home, including a cat stuck in a tree, an apartment building caught aflame, and an attempted mugging. All of these things occurred in Sainan, the latter stopping the instant the golden-clad superhero arrived to save the day. Satisfied with his work for the time being, he ducked behind an unoccupied alley and changed clothes at super speed. His suit returned to the infinite pocket dimension Rito created to store his most precious belongings.

While rushing to school at a brisk but human pace, Rito found himself overjoyed that his actions were beginning to earn him a reputation with criminals on a global scale. Just the sight of his metallic visage was enough to strongly discourage most of them before they could even get started, and that's if they ever saw him at all. Rito would often just drop them off at the nearest police station, often humiliated beyond comparison but never beaten up with sufficiently excessive force.

People still tried to commit crimes, of course, thinking he'd never get to all of them in time. Regrettably, they weren't entirely wrong because he couldn't always be everywhere at once despite how fast he was. Then there were the other types of emergencies and natural disasters he routinely stopped, his abilities and desire to help others leading him to become the entire Earth's number one guardian angel and protector. The world was waking up to his deeds as well, with massive monetary rewards being put out for anyone who could snap a photo of him and bounties being put on his head by organized crime bosses. Media outlets worldwide covered his exploits and interviewed the people he rescued, many steadfast in their support of him.

'And yet, I still have to go to school. Where's the justice in that? Oh well, it's not all bad. Dad always said the social aspect of it could be good for me, plus it could open all kinds of career paths for me as well since hero work doesn't pay, and he wasn't wrong; even if I am currently studying at a Ph.D. level for most of my classes in secret. I can't wait to see Haruna again. I wonder how her summer was and if she's gotten any prettier.'

He was jarred out of his reverie by a familiar voice speaking directly. "Yuuki-kun, while I commend your punctuality, there is such a thing as attending school too early. Classes are still half an hour from starting, and while the doors are unlocked, only a few teachers have arrived."

"Kotegawa, good summer?" Rito greeted her with a genuine, wholesome smile before adding sheepishly. "Sorry, I had nothing else going on and was up extra early this morning, so I thought I'd seize my first day back."

Yui Kotegawa was a beautiful girl with straight black hair down to her waist, deep brown eyes, and an unpleasant perma scowl. Her prudish demeanor juxtaposed quite significantly with her unbelievably generous figure for her age, and she was an even bigger stickler for the rules than Rito was. Despite many students disliking her strict personality, her position as the student council president, and their labeling her as the Class Tyrant, Rito had always gotten on with her just fine.

"My summer was all right. I was scared when I stood up to some bullies who were picking on girls while visiting the beach, and they turned their attention to me. Luckily, the Blur was able to stop them on his run. Aside from that, nothing too exciting happened, and I'm glad about it. And I guess that's all right. There's no rule against showing up to school this early. Just make sure you don't make any trouble for the teachers and me while we're getting things set up." Yui responded as Rito noticed she was carrying a stack of sheets, no doubt aiding the teachers with preparing their materials for the day.

Without waiting for her to say anything else, Rito walked up to her and took the stack from her, straining somewhat as though it were heavy. "Whew, this has a good heft to it. I'll take these for you." He said with a gigawatt smile while walking ahead of her with the entire stack.

"T…T…T…Thank you!" Yui managed to stammer out, clearly flustered and embarrassed. Rito heard her heart rate pick up, and had he been looking back at her; he would've noticed her pupils dilating. He was smart enough not to call her out on it, knowing it would lead to dangerous questions, but he was flattered she seemed to like him romantically, at least on some level. He remembered helping her that day earlier during the summer, feeling weirdly nostalgic about its similarity to the first rescue he'd ever done. Rito hadn't been aware that people were calling him the Blur until recently, but inwardly cringed at its rollercoaster ride theme.

"My pleasure, happy to help. But are people really calling him the Blur?" Rito conversationally said while walking with her down the hall, letting her take the lead since she knew where they were going.

"That is what I've heard people call them. Also, what makes you think they're male? How do you know they're not female?" Yui challenged, prompting Rito to shrug but not elaborate further. She was speaking to him more confidently now, which he was glad for.

Yui decided to change topics slightly. "What would you call them then?"

"I don't know, Mister or Miss Super-Duper, maybe. It doesn't matter, so long as he or she gives people hope." Rito replied in earnest.

Yui couldn't help but abandon her semi-permanent scowl for a small smile aimed at his back, finding Rito's response endearing and wholesome. She'd always considered him the most tolerable boy she'd ever met; respectful of the rules and women, willing to speak out against wrongdoings, righteous, truthful, just, conservatively attir…

"Um, Yuuki-kun, did you start an intense workout regimen during the summer?" Yui asked him suddenly, noticing how much he filled out his outfit for the first time.

The way Rito tensed slightly at the question didn't go unnoticed by the ever-perceptive Yui, but his voice was relatively steady when he responded. "I have. I didn't notice quite how significantly I'd bulked up until I changed into my school uniform for the day, and by then, I didn't have time to tailor it or go shopping for something bigger. I'm sorry, Kotegawa. I promise I'll have something more decent and appropriate for a school setting by tomorrow."

Yui blinked before hastening to reassure him. "It's fine. I was just surprised, that is all. As long as you plan on addressing this breach in Sainan High's dress code as soon as possible, I'll let it slide for now." Left unsaid was that she was entirely too fond of the view, a realization that embarrassed her.

"Thank you for understanding. I know you don't like letting intentional rule-breaking slide, but you've always had a tough but fair vibe about you, at least to me." Rito said pleasantly, making her stammer and blush again at being unexpectedly paid such a compliment.

The rest of the morning leading up to the start of classes was spent talking with Kotegowa and catching up with her on their summers while assisting the teachers.

XXX

Rito was fortunate enough to be classmates with Sairenji Haruna for the first time since eighth grade. Blue-haired and purple-eyed with a cute face and attractive but standard figure for her age, Rito had been infatuated with Haruna since junior high. It took all his concentration to focus on what the teacher was saying and not admire his crush from a distance.

"Yo, Rito, since when have you been jacked?" His best friend, Saruyama, asked him in a rapid-fire whisper.

"I don't know. According to Mikan, I went out on patrol on the 11th of August looking like I always did, and by the time I came back the next morning, I looked like this." Rito whispered back.

Saruyama almost whistled appreciatively but remembered where they were just in time. "Damn, dude, I don't know whether I should be jealous or awed. You look like the result of a bodybuilder who had a baby with a space angel. You could almost say your physique is…" He paused for dramatic effect.

"Please don't say it," Rito whined under his breath.

"Out of this world!" Saruyama exclaimed as Rito facepalmed at the predictably cringe-worthy pun.

"Oh, lighten up, man, I was only messing around. So, I take it you had a busy summer then? Certainly explains why I haven't been able to reach you."

Rito winced remorsefully. "Yeah, sorry about that."

To his relief, Saruyama just grinned. "Casualties of being the World's Greatest Superhero, not to mention the first. I get it, Rito, don't worry. Your responsibility to the world comes first. I'm proud of you, man. You're making an actual difference on a global freaking scale."

Rito appreciated this more than words could say. Saruyama had been his best friend since pre-k. There were no secrets left. Of course, knowing he was best friends with someone with godlike powers, he was armed with boundless ammo to tease Rito whenever they found time to hang out.

"So, now that we've exchanged pleasantries, out with it. What new powers have you discovered over the holiday?" Saruyama suddenly changed topics. Rito delayed his response for an instant unquantifiably small to obliterate an F-5 Tornado that had formed in Central USA on the other side of the world, dispelling it with a round of applause and returning to his seat in the classroom long before anyone had ever seen him move. He promised his Dad he wouldn't neglect his studies, but he could still do his hero work and be in school at the same time. He was more than fast enough. He could make this work; he had to. The world wouldn't wait for him to complete his schooling.

"I've discovered a few new ones, though the rate at which I do so has recently decreased. Mostly, I've just been brainstorming different applications for the ones I use the most and ways I could potentially test their limits without devastating the world." Rito explained.

"Show me!" Saruyama exclaimed excitedly, almost loudly enough to alert the teacher to their conversation. Rito shushed him anyway, his super hearing being annoying at times like this.

"Keep it down, will you?! I'll show you after class is over, all right!" Rito promised him.

"Just freeze time so we can talk without any issues. I recall that being one of your powers." Saruyama suggested in a far-too-casual tone. Rito sweatdropped at how flippantly he requested him to use his powers for the other boy's benefit.

However, he did as Saruyama requested, and the entire universe halted in perpetual stasis apart from himself and his childhood friend. The teacher's lecture had ceased entirely, his hand near the chalkboard to write more of his notes but never reaching it. Haruna and the other students were no less still and silent. The immobile photons from the sun and even the much closer ceiling would never reach them, cloaking them in a darkness more profound than the event horizon of Ton 618 as even the tiniest atom became an immovable object. The only particles that still had any motion left were the ones that made up their bodies and the air molecules Saruyama breathed. Black holes and pulsars no longer spun, and even the expansion of the entire universe, which Rito knew occurred at a constant rate of 60 trillion light years per half a second, ceased altogether. Such was the power of Rito Yuuki.

Despite this environment's total absence of light, Rito could still somehow see. He didn't know how but had long since accepted that breaking reality and going beyond the impossible was just another Tuesday for him. Saruyama whistled appreciatively, the sound being one of the only audible things in the universe now.

"Damn, I never get used to this power, no matter how many times you use it. I can't see anything, man. It's quite freaky how dark it is. Couldn't you have let the sunlight continue moving or something?"

"I could, but complete time stops take less precision. Just enabling us to talk or move in this environment requires much focus, never mind anything else. We can still hear each other, though, so just use your ears," Rito explained as he saw Saruyama shrug in what appeared to be acceptance.

"Fair enough, I suppose. I guess a part of me wishes I could see everyone like this the way you somehow can."

"You just want to look up some poor girls' skirts." Rito deadpanned before adding. "So, anyway, about my new powers. I've discovered that I can create any number of astral projections of myself, all of which possess my full range of abilities. I'm still figuring out the limitations of that one, but they're literally like ghosts and can phase through almost anything without me needing to use my speed. I think I even went into someone's dreams once in this state, but I haven't figured out how to activate that application on command. I've considered the possibility of being able to possess people and other freaky supernatural stuff but haven't tested it out to that extent yet."

"Dude, that's amazing! Sairenji would be absolutely terrified of you in that state, but so far, it seems like something you're already capable of with your speed for the most part. However, creating any number of them at any given time is cool. Are you controlling all of them with one mind, or does each projection have its own individual consciousness?"

"A little from columns A and B, I guess. The projections do have some degree of individuality. They're all aware that their existences are temporary and that my physical body is the main one, and they accept this fact. They can also act independently of one another on some level, the way I might use my right and left arm to do different tasks at the same time, but thankfully, they seem to do so according to what I would say or do in any given situation, so there is some uniformity to them as well. Surprisingly, it takes very little concentration to utilize them in tandem with one another, even when I create thousands of them." Rito explained, sweatdropping once more as Saruyama furiously scribbled down everything he said in a notebook Rito wasn't aware he'd pulled out, probably verbatim. If he applied himself this religiously in his academic career, he'd be nearly as proficient a student as the superhuman himself.

"I also discovered a power I've tentatively christened Omnikinesis. It's every form of kinetic manipulation you can think of: your standard psychokinesis, pyro, chloro, cryo, hydro, aero, Chrono, and I think even Omni-Mystokinesis, though I'd have to go up against an actual magic user before I can say for sure. So far, I've only done rudimentary forms of manipulation with each kinetic energy state. To tell you the truth, I'm a little frightened by how much havoc this power can wreak if I'm not careful." Rito added as Saruyama's jaw practically hit the floor.

"Now that's more like it! Dude, you could do so many crazy things with this ability! This one is pretty much just as busted as your reality-warping!"

"And just as dangerous. When I first tapped into it during a situation with a Tsunami near the East Indian Ocean, I thought my reality-warping had gone on the fritz, which scared me out of my mind. After calming down, however, I realized it felt different and was more precise than my reality-warping tended to be. It was the first time I ever stopped a tsunami without having to create a vortex barrier along the coastline using my speed or vaporize it using my heat vision."

"Mmhmm, Mmhmm, just don't forget your promise." Saruyama reminded him for the umpteenth time as Rito groaned.

"Don't worry. The second I discover the power to grant others mine without limit, I'll give you all the same powers I've got." Rito reassured him with playful exasperation. It was a promise they'd made many years ago when they were still just children, a promise Mikan had been quick to extract from him as well, refusing to leave him alone if she could help it. Rito would've been more surprised if he didn't one day acquire such an ability at the rate he was going. For now, however, he was still a singularity. Secretly, Rito longed for this power more than any other. He tried using his powers to replicate them in others outside of his Astral Projections, but reality warping was the only one he had currently with the potential to make that possible. Sadly, he seemed to be immune to all his abilities, and granting others powers like his without using himself as the baseline seemed impossible, even with his most reality-breaking capabilities.

Rito was not shocked to find Saruyama scribbling in his notebook once more. He spent approximately two hours in their time-frozen universe catching up with his best friend on everything that happened to him during the summer. Before long, their first day back at school was done, and Rito found himself with renewed vigor after his chat with Saruyama regarding Haruna.

'So, what's your game plan with you know who?' Saruyama interjected in the middle of their superpower geek-out session.

'Beyond confessing my feelings to Haruna-chan and thanking her for back then… I'm… Not sure.' Rito admitted bashfully.

'You should seriously think about bringing her in on everything. Only four people in the entire world know what you are, Rito. Maybe it's time to bring a fifth into the fold.' Saruyama sagely stated as Rito chuckled.

'Mikan said the same thing to me this morning. I promised her I'd think about it, and I will, but I'm not sure that's such a good idea right now. My hero work takes up nearly all of my time, and even with my powers making it easier for me to be everywhere I'm needed, I'm not sure I can devote the time and attention to her that she deserves.'

'Rito, you deserve to be happy, though. You've loved this girl for a long time now, and if anyone can balance all the craziness in your life with school and a relationship, then I bet it's you. Besides, I'm sure Haruna would understand that your duty to the world has to come first. Look at me. I'm not even mad that you've gone nearly all summer without so much as a word to me. I'm just happy for you to start to live up to your infinite potential finally, and I bet she'd be happier than anyone alive if you simply trusted her. While we're on the subject of her being meritorious, don't you think she deserves the chance to decide whether she wants to try making a relationship with you work?'

'When did you become so wise and insightful?' Rito wondered, silently impressed at his friend's advice.

'When my best friend decided to show me what he could really do for the first time. I realized long ago that I'd need to step up my game and clean up my act if I wanted to feel worthy of your friendship.'

'I guess you make a valid point, but what if she says yes and we go out? What happens if the relationship becomes physical? In the heat of the moment, if I can't control myself…' Rito let the sentence hang between them as he and Saruyama both shuddered at the disturbing mental images that implication generated.

His best friend recovered quickly, though. 'Rito, you have the most precise muscle control I've ever seen. Considering how much you have to restrain yourself from breaking every bone in my fist every time we power bump or breaking Mikan every time you hug her, do you really expect me to believe this doesn't extend to every other muscle group? Ejaculatory control is a thing in regular humans, dude. Look it up. Some guys even get good enough at it to orgasm anytime they want, regardless of external stimulation. Your penile tissue is full of muscles, just like everything else.'

Embarrassing though Saruyama's disturbingly in-depth explanation of the male body was, he raised a valid point that Rito hadn't fully considered before. While it was true he'd need to be mindful of this if a future relationship ever got physical, he probably had significantly less to fear than he initially thought.

'All right, all right, you've made your point! I'll confess my feelings to Haruna, and if I manage to get up the courage, I'll tell her my secret. Happy?!"

'Very!' Saruyama exclaimed as he folded his arms across his chest with a grin of smug satisfaction on his face.

And so, that was how Rito found himself standing outside while Haruna unwittingly approached him, too engrossed in her book to notice him initially. His heart beat so hard, and fast it felt like he had more than one, and his vision tunneled as he looked at her, beyond thankful his heat vision didn't flare up unbidden. The rest of the world could wait for now. He had other preoccupations.

She was close, so close that the heavenly scent of her lavender shampoo drove out everything else he was smelling across the entire planet. Her family name was on the tip of his tongue when his eyes just happened to catch something in the sky that took immediate precedence. Something that looked like a satellite was hurtling right through the sky, somehow straight toward him and Haruna-chan, with many witnesses present.

Rito moved without thinking, forethought, or regard for keeping his secret or being subtle about what he was doing. Haruna was jarred from her reading with a start as something crashed with a meteoric impact right where she was standing. The sound, while deafening, was miraculously not accompanied by the pure concussive force she half expected to blow her off her feet, and when she turned around, she immediately understood why.

A familiar orange-haired student was standing between her and her alleged demise, looking like he'd put on a lot of weight in all the right places since the last time she saw him and holding up what looked to be a broken-off piece of space drone that had fallen from orbit above both their heads, one easily big enough to crush any human flat.

Hands flying to her mouth as Rito Yuuki did the impossible right before her eyes, Haruna's eyes were wide with wonder as she beheld him in his splendor, having saved her from almost certain death. Hushed whispers and gasps broke out amidst the stunned students milling about as Rito resembled a deer in headlights.

Realizing he was looking directly at her and more scared than anyone she'd ever seen, Haruna somehow found the courage to remove her hand from her mouth and attempt to talk to him. But she'd only gotten as far as saying his name before he vanished from existence before her eyes after putting the craft down as gently as possible.

Feeling overwhelmed by the shock of everything that happened, plus her swirling maelstrom of emotions, Sairenji Haruna blacked out as one last coherent realization preceded her into oblivion. Rito Yuuki was the Blur.

XXX

"Stupid, stupid, STUPID! What the hell was I thinking?! Don't answer that, I wasn't! I just exposed myself to more people in a single day than I've done the rest of my life! And for what?! To save Haruna?! There were at least a million ways I could've done so without revealing myself to her! This is bad! This is really, really bad! What am I going to do?! What am I going to do?! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!"

Rito paced back and forth in his living room at super speed while having the most significant panic attack of his life.

"Calm down, Rito. We can fix this. You have telepathy, right? Just erase everyone's memories of the event." Mikan calmly replied, ever the voice of rationality.

"I can't. People were recording me on their video phones. No doubt it's already circulating on the web by now. I've no doubt everyone at school and possibly the city knows by now. Besides, modifying memories requires more precision and care than I can manage right now in my addled state of mind. When I wipe someone's mind, I close off neural pathways. Haruna-chan's psyche would compensate for the missing memories. They'd be walled off. If I ever decided to tell her the truth again in the future, it'd be like taking a sledgehammer to that wall. Forcing two realities together, she could go insane, and the only way to avoid that possibility is by never telling her the truth again. I'm not taking a doover just because my secret came out in an uncontrolled way. Like it or not, this is the only chance I have to let her know; all I can do now is try to minimize the collateral damage."

Mikan sighed with slight relief that Rito was calmer now, at least, though she wouldn't deny this new development was scary. "We always discussed what we would do if the world ever found out and how we would handle it. Maybe it's time, Rito, maybe this was somehow meant to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, all I'm saying is, you've never made such a huge miscalculation before, and I can't help wondering if maybe that was your unconscious way of letting Haruna know who you really are. Perhaps you always wanted her to know in your heart."

Rito considered Mikan's words momentarily, pondering their potential validity and not convinced she was off base. Sensing her brother's distress, Mikan spoke up once more. "Hey, you never know, this could be a good thing ultimately. Perhaps the world is more ready to accept you than we figured." She tried reassuring him.

"I hope you're right." He replied, already running through all the potential good and bad scenarios.

"Look, for now, it's just a couple of high school kids who got your heroics on their video phones. Nothing bad has to happen tonight. Take a hot bath while I make dinner, and maybe think about getting some sleep. I know you don't need either, but it's been months since you've taken a bath and even longer since you've slept, and I feel like even you could benefit from some relaxation." Mikan suggested, and Rito found himself nodding in accordance.

A nice, hot bath sounded pretty damn good right now, and so he started trudging aimlessly towards the stairs, trying not to dwell on what could be going through Haruna's mind right now. He hadn't exactly given her a chance to respond, and he just left her to stew in the shock of finding out what he was, but he couldn't stand the way she was looking at him. Thank Heavens, it wasn't revulsion, but there was fear, shock, and dismay. That look would no doubt haunt him for a long while yet.

Unable to resist teasing him to further drag him out of his thoughts, Mikan called after him. "You know, I'd be happy to join you just like when we were kids. Might be the closest thing you get to some action from the opposite sex for a while yet." To her displeasure, Rito didn't acknowledge her and continued dragging himself upstairs. Pouting with slight petulance, Mikan shrugged and decided to get a start on dinner. It'd been a long time since Rito had eaten anything that wasn't the bare minimum needed to blend in, and she wasn't sure she even remembered what his favorites were, if any. Still, she'd do her damnedest. After the day he just had, he needed every victory he could get, no matter how small. Little did either of them know that another life-altering event would appear before Rito upstairs.

XXX

"Ahhh, that's the stuff." Rito groaned in pleasure as the hot bath water washed his troubles away, no matter how fleetingly. One thing that he'd always found curious about his invulnerability was that his skin was just as sensitive to pleasure and other sensations as a human's, if not more so, and it only became impenetrable when something attempted to pierce his flesh. Bullets, knives, and other projectiles shattered on contact with his skin. One mook even tried shooting him in the eye once, during one of the few times he'd shown his face to someone. The bullet crumpled into a pancake the instant it struck his eye and fell unceremoniously to the ground at their feet, and Rito smirked as he modified the crook's memory of their face-to-face encounter, but he left behind the lasting impression of a resounding defeat in the man's psyche as he was taken away by the local authorities.

Somehow, bathwater still registered as warm and soothing to his infinitely acute sense of touch, but anything beyond that which caused humans dangerous amounts of pain were unable to harm him. Rito got the same satisfaction out of bathing in boiling water and even the molten center of the Earth as he did his house's tub. The only thing that caused him discomfort was unexpected blasts of high-pitched sound. His super hearing was one of the few powers he had that was simultaneously a potentially exploitable weakness.

Rito submerged most of his body into the welcoming embrace of the bath, his head remaining above as he contemplated Mikan's words. Was it possible his sloppy mistake earlier was a subconscious act on his part to reveal himself to Haruna-chan? If so, he definitely could have picked his moment better. He only hoped the people recording his remarkable feat were decent enough to not post the video online, but wasn't that hopelessly naive.

The worst part was the videos could be explained away as fan made edits if The Blur wasn't a household name. Unfortunately, people knew that at least one superpowered individual was out there, that there was a walking, living miracle among them. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone discovered who he was, but he'd hoped it wouldn't be this soon. Perhaps Mikan was right, perhaps he was worried over nothing. Either way, there was no sense in dwelling on the past. It happened, his secret was out, and whatever happened from here on out, he'd find a way to make the best of it. Anyone who came to his house looking for trouble or tried to get to him through the people he loved would be in for a rude awakening.

Rito closed his eyes and allowed a smile to form on his face for the first time, wondering what Haruna was thinking and resisting the urge to listen in on her. He'd give her time to process what she saw and approach him on her terms. She deserved that much, at least. On the bright side, at least there wasn't much else in the way of Earth-shattering secrets for him to tell her.

"Whoa! What the hell?!" Rito suddenly and sharply stood upright in the tub as a sudden and inexplicable influx of energy that indicated instantaneous transmission permeated the air. His bathwater began to bubble and froth, electricity and light ionized the air, and the very fabric of reality seemed to rend before his eyes. His brain, which was capable of quantum computations vastly exceeding all existing computers, witnessed a sudden mass of atoms that weren't there before displacing the air molecules, accumulating and combining to form a fully corporeal and very naked body of breathtaking and otherworldly beauty.

Rito's bathwater promptly exploded as the very female, very alien body gave a contented sigh and stretch, the orange-headed boy's hands instinctively covering his eyes to prevent himself from seeing anything he shouldn't. Despite his honorable intentions, however, his nearly all-seeing peepers caught a quick glimpse of her enormous, double d-cup bustline, perfect hourglass figure, and long, vibrant, almost neon pink hair. Despite his surprise at seeing her here, Rito was strangely calm. He blamed his extraordinary life for desensitizing him, plus, quite frankly, his shock threshold was already pretty high.

"I'd call that a clean getaway." The intruder in his bath said in a painfully adorable and bubbly voice, Rito hesitantly uncovering his eyes and idly noting her Anime-perfect eye smile as she seemed to notice him for the first time. She hummed musingly at the sight of him, completely unbothered by either of their nudity as Rito stood to his full, imposing height of 6'4 and indicated the doorway with a deadpan stare.

"I'm sure there's quite a riveting tale behind your arrival in my bathtub, but I'd appreciate it if you could tell it somewhere other than the privacy of my family bathroom. There should be some extra towels handy for you to dry yourself out on, and I'll arrange for some clothes to be brought to you later on. For now, I'd like some time to be alone with my thoughts. I'll let Mikan know we're having an unexpected guest tonight."

The strange pink-haired girl seemed taken aback by Rito's unflappability in the face of her otherworldly arrival, but didn't argue as she grabbed one of the towels hanging on the door, wrapped it around her waist and chest, and beat a hasty retreat as she slid the door shut. Sighing as the water returned to his tub and reheated instantly with a casual wave of his hand, Rito actualized his telepathic powers.

'Ugh, you scare me every time you get my attention like that! What is it, Rito?' Mikan grumped to him, her inner voice sounding even cuter to his metaphysical-mental ears than her actual voice did. It was a weird aspect of their unbreakable, telepathic, private messaging server, one Rito created for their personal use at any time and which could connect them over vast and possibly even infinite distances. He wasn't sure, he hadn't tested the outer limits of it yet, though he knew he could still talk to her from the other side of the world or beneath it at its innermost core.

'We just got an impromptu visit from Deviluke's First Princess via some form of teleportation. I know it's last minute and I'm sorry for the trouble, but could you please prepare some extra food for our guest? I'll finish up my bath and then ask her what this is about in a couple of minutes. She should be waiting in my room for now.'

Mikan didn't hesitate. 'Of course. I was making lots of your favorites today anyway, remember?'

Rito blushed with warmth at his sister's steadfast, unfailing support, reminding himself for the umpteenth time never to take her for granted. That said, he was careful to avoid mentioning the Devilukean's stark nudity upon her arrival. He didn't want or need the headache of explaining that piece to his somewhat possessive little sister. With a sigh, Rito realized he wouldn't be deriving anymore enjoyment from his bath as he stood up and willed himself dry and clothed with nary a thought, and headed to his room to speak with his guest as the water purified itself and returned to the nearby freshwater sources instead of the sewers.

XXX

Princess Lala was waiting for him on his bed when he walked through his door, her bright, fluorescent pink hair splayed out on his comforters, a towel wrapped around her upper and lower body, thankfully covering her unmentionables but teasing at a truly spectacular cleavage. She leaned back with her right hand gently holding her towel together above her chest and her eyes closed in relief. "That was refreshing." She said with quiet bliss.

"I bet it was." Rito sarcastically replied, crossing his arms over his broad pecs in obvious, almost parental disapproval. "But that still doesn't explain why the First Princess of Planet Deviluke suddenly warped onto my planet, in my house, and in my bath while I was occupying it. I've got enough on my plate as is without getting dragged into the Galactic Empire's archaic autarchical practices. If this is an elaborate, indirect attempt at an invasion, I can assure you, it will fail. The Earth is protected." He added with eyes narrowed in complete mistrust.

The thought that the Devilukeans might've gotten wind of his existence and sought to eliminate him as a potential threat to their empire crossed his mind. So did the prospect of them coming as invaders or conquerors, though sending their admittedly eccentric and precious First Princess as an intelligence gatherer was unconventional. Even if she was among the smartest beings in the universe, he doubted Gideon would risk her life for a conquest mission.

Lala, to her credit, played the part of the shocked and sheltered princess convincingly profoundly. "How do you know about… What?! No! I didn't come here as an invader or anything of the sort! As far as I know, the Earth is not even on Deviluke's radar as a planet that would benefit from assimilation into our Empire or one that needs to be eliminated or brought into line through force. It's, for the time being, outside of our jurisdiction. Deviluke doesn't involve itself in the affairs of planets that haven't mastered space travel or established interplanetary relations. If anything, Earth is under our protection from the much nastier bullies who wouldn't hesitate to exploit its lack of advancements."

The strange boy, to Lala's relief, lessened his glare and grew less imposing, albeit only slightly as he lowered his crossed arms to his sides. "Very well, I'll hear you out for now. But know this, Devilukean, while I don't like resorting to violence, I will do whatever it takes to protect my home, and if I don't like what I hear…" Rito let the sentence hang in the air between them as Lala nodded fearfully. Though she was curious what an Earthling could possibly do to her, something told her this Earthling wasn't to be trifled with.

"I understand. Thank you for your hospitality. You have been more than gracious, Earthling. You might already know this, but my name is Lala from Planet Deviluke." She said, introducing herself with a disarming smile. Rito inwardly sighed with grudging amusement and playful exasperation. This alien princess was as ditzy as he'd heard and seen via his super hearing and telescopic vision, and she was every bit the stunner too. It was harder to concentrate with her virtually mesmerizing presence than he would've thought.

Easing into a more welcoming smile, Rito spoke. "For the record, I don't actually think you're here as a conqueror or liberator. Earth is not advanced enough societally to benefit from either, and not a big enough threat in technological and weapons advancement to justify wiping us out either, but I had to be sure. Now that I know you're not lying, and I have ways of telling if you are, let me officially welcome you to Earth, Princess Lala."

"Glad to be here. Earth seems nice from what little I've seen of it. Your room is nice, very clean. The air is so pure in here it almost hurts to breathe." Lala greeted him in earnest while continuing to sit on his bed. Rito remained standing for now, almost beaming in pride at her commentary on his room's obscene cleanliness.

"Thanks. That's a nice bracelet you've got there. I'm guessing it's the source of your teleportation technology, considering the substantial lack of anything else inorganic on your person. Interesting design flaw, by the way, but at least it works for the important bits." Rito astutely observed as Lala's eyes lit up and she stood up with an enthused smile.

"That's right! Wow, you're really smart! His name is Mister Warp Jump, and I made him myself!" She excitedly jabbered while indicating the bracelet, and despite himself, Rito had to smile, even while he slightly flushed at her close proximity.

"I'm guessing it functions on the same principle as quantum entanglement." He guessed.

"Unfortunately, no. I can't specify exactly where I want to go, but I can warp a life form from over short distances with this. I used this on my ship's escape pod and I just happened to warp into your bathtub. I'm sorry about that, by the way. I'm told Earthlings have a more conservative view on clothing, and if I've offended you in any way…"

Rito whistled appreciatively. "Wow, Earth is still in its infancy where technological leaps are concerned, and as far as most humans know, stuff like instantaneous teleportation, even across short distances, is still confined to the realm of science fiction. I sometimes invent some pretty mind-blowing stuff in my downtime, but nothing I've managed to put together comes close to what you've done, Lala. You should be proud." He paused before adding with a light blush. "No offense taken. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a fan of the view, though it did take me off guard at first. I'm just glad I didn't accidentally propose to you in the manner that is infamously famous among your people when I first sensed the impending teleportation. I shudder to imagine the misunderstandings and potential wars that might've started."

Lala simply laughed good-naturedly. "Oh, I don't know. I don't think I would've minded terribly. You seem nice. I could do a lot worse in a potential betrothed, believe me, I really could. I don't think Daddy would've approved of your… misunderstanding in that scenario, however."

Rito chuckled awkwardly, before deciding to get to the crux of the matter. "So, what's the First Princess of Deviluke doing so far away from home? You're clear on the other side of the Milky Way from where your people usually congregate. I trust you have a good reason for potentially endangering my world by deserting your people in such a renegade fashion. You've not been cast out as a pariah or heretic, have you?"

Lala shook her head with a deep smile. "No, the truth is, I was being pursued. I had to."

She paused a moment before adding. "I thought I would be safe from who's chasing me if I could come hide here on Earth. But I was followed, and the people after me damaged my ship. I was just about to be captured and taken back, but I used this bracelet just in time to get myself out of that jam."

Rito sighed, blushing slightly at the sight of her in nothing but a towel, but before he could use his powers to fashion her some new clothes, the window to his bedroom slid open and a cry of "Miss Lala!" Echoed throughout it. Punctuating that greeting was a white mech flying on black wings and prizing eyes shaped like spirals flew into Lala's waiting arms.

"I'm so relieved that you're safe, Miss Lala!" The mecha greeted Lala with surprisingly authentic emotions. Rito silently marveled at its AI, which was advanced enough to perfectly emulate the full spectrum of human emotions. That kind of technology far exceeded anything dreamt of on Earth. Lala truly was a genius.

"Ohh Peke! Oh, thank goodness! I'm so happy you were able to escape too!" Lala proclaimed with sheer delight and relief.

"Yes, I was lucky that our ship had still not left Earth's atmosphere!"

As she said this, Peke noticed Rito for the first time and turned to Lala. "Miss Lala, who is this golden standard model of an Earthling?" It asked inquisitionally.

"Golden standard model?" Rito repeated with an arched eyebrow and smirk.

Lala giggled as well. "It's his house we landed in. Ohh! Come to think of it, I haven't asked you your name yet!" She said in response while looking at him with her vibrant emerald eyes.

"It's Rito, Rito Yuuki." He said obligingly, keeping his senses on high alert for any sign of Lala's pursuers.

Lala beamed at him most dazzlingly. "Oh, in that case, it's nice to meet you, Rito. Let me introduce you to Peke. It's a multi-purpose costume robot that I created."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Peke greeted him in turn.

"Likewise." Rito said in perfect Devilukean, shocking Lala and Peke, before the former recovered and threw her towel off.

Rito's eyes widened for the first time since this whole exchange began, and he politely turned away as Lala turned to Peke. "Alright, Peke! Do your thing!"

"Roger! Change: Dress form!"

A light suddenly filled the room that Rito couldn't ignore as he turned and saw Lala undergoing a transformation that looked like it came straight from that Magical Girl Anime his sister loved to watch. When that light died down, Lala was revealed in an outlandish, form-fitting white dress that covered her entire arms and legs, with a hat that was unquestionably Peke's head, but modified.

"It's not too tight, is it, Miss Lala?" Peke wondered.

"No, no, this is perfect! Thank goodness we were reunited, Peke! Without you, I wouldn't have had anything to wear!" The pink-haired Princess earnestly replied. Rito almost snorted at that, remembering his earlier consideration to use his powers to fix that particular problem.

Lala seemed to sense his ruminations, because she turned her full attention back to him with a cute smile. "So, what do you think, Rito? Don't I look pretty cute?" She asked him with an excited, open-mouthed smile.

Rito snorted for real this time. "I doubt you need any validation on that front, but yes, Lala. You look totes adorbs."

"If I might interject, what are our plans now, Miss Lala?" Peke asked the million-dollar question. Rito silently praised the costume-robot's pragmatism.

"Oh, yeah. I was honestly so preoccupied with escaping that I didn't think quite that far ahead just yet."

Before Rito could hesitantly offer his place for them to stay, his senses went crazy and he reacted at super speed just in time to whisk Lala away before her pursuers could box her in.

Lala's eyes widened as her surroundings immediately changed. It took a few seconds for her brain to process the fact that they'd moved at all, or that they were hiding beneath a bridge of some kind. Rito maintained vigil over the area a few feet in front of her, his eyes wide and his stance guarded. "Rito?" She tried questioning, but he shushed her with a warning wave of his hand.

"Your pursuers found us, so I ran us to the other side of the world before they could react. I also told my younger sister to hide from them, but they've already left and are trying to triangulate our position again."

Lala fell intensely silent. "Wow, Earthlings are much faster and more capable than I ever realized."

Rito chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm not like other Earthlings. I can assure you, Lala, I'm the outlier here."

"How did they find us?" Peke asked in a fearful timber.

"I suspect by following you." Rito bluntly replied as Lala grew a tick mark and Peke began sweating nervously.

"Why are you involving yourself in our affairs?" Lala couldn't help but ask Rito, focusing on that instead of chewing her costume robot out.

Rito smiled. "I wasn't going to just stand by and let two creepy old men abduct a girl right in front of me, in my own bedroom, no less. I don't care what planet you're from, certain rights and wrongs are universal."

"Your speed is impressive, but they'll track us down again eventually. What do you plan to do once they do?" Lala asked him.

Rito sighed and dropped his guard somewhat as he walked closer to her. "I'll do whatever I have to. For now, I've bought us some time, and I've scrambled their tachyonic transmissions and every other signature our departure gave off that they can track us with."

Lala and Peke both fell silent again at that casual admission. Lala dared to ask the obvious question. "Um, Rito… exactly how many powers do you have?"

Rito shrugged. "I lost count somewhere in the centillions range, but I have at least six."

"SIX CENTILLION SUPERPOWERS?!" Lala and Peke shouted as Rito instinctively muffled their voices to prevent any detection by interstellar sonar devices.

"Yes, I'm a real-life, suped-up Ajimu Najimi from Medaka Box. Ironically, I have all these superpowers and I do not possess the ability to share them, at least not yet."

"Rito, that's… wow. I need to sit down for a minute." Lala said in shock as she did precisely that. Rito hesitated slightly before he took a seat beside her and gave her a moment to gather her thoughts. He respectfully kept his distance, however.

"How long have you been like this?" She wondered with innocent curiosity.

"Ever since I can remember, and since I was born, according to my Mom. I'm not sure why I can do the things I do, what I am, or where my powers came from. But my parents, my… Earth parents always taught me to take responsibility for any actions I might take. I've somewhat recently decided to use my abilities to become the Earth's self-appointed guardian angel. Compared to places like Deviluke and the other planets in your Galactic Empire, Earth is hopelessly, tragically powerless, without support systems, and it needed someone who could defend it from any… nasties as you so eloquently put it, from exploiting our comparative weakness and isolation."

"So, you're like a real-life superhero!" Lala exclaimed with exuberance.

Rito chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "You're not the first person to have put it like that, but it's still weird to hear. I guess in the absence of a choosier term, the world's first superhero is not the worst moniker one can have."

"That's amazing!" Lala excitedly squealed. Peke, however, was lost in thought as the implications of Rito's abilities frightened the costume robot to contemplate.

"How old are you?" Peke asked him suddenly, prompting Rito to blink owlishly in surprise before leaning back slightly. Lala thought he looked surprisingly cute and hunky with that expression on his face.

"Fifteen years, going on sixteen, as it is measured in Earth time, at least."

"Wow, so, you're not that much younger than me! I'm almost 16 Earth Years old, myself!" Lala replied. Peke nodded in outward acknowledgement, a feat made all the more impressive by its position atop Lala's head, but inwardly, the costume robot wondered if Rito's abilities had something to do with that false quasar tsunami alarm that had terrified the Galactic Empire approximately 15 years ago.

"So, now that we've gotten some small talk done with, do you mind explaining why the Captain of your planet's Royal Guard is driving himself crazy trying to find you up in his ship in the atmosphere? You said you were being pursued, but I noticed you were careful to omit who you were being pursued by." Rito asked them, and when Lala blinked in shock at his statement, Rito chuckled. "I can see hundreds of trillions of different yet equally comprehensive visible and invisible spectrums, almost every one with colors most people have never seen. His ship's cloaking devices are powerless against me. You'd have to be literally infinitely invisible."

His tone was playfully admonishing, yet thankfully nonjudgmental, as Lala sighed and decided to come clean. "I guess I just had enough of the forced meetings with potential suitors, so I ran away." She said while offering him a demure smile.

Rito deadpanned. "So, you're asking me to potentially risk the safety of my world and war with your planet for a runaway attempt?"

Lala winced. "It does sound kind of childish, when you put it like that, but you haven't seen my suitors. The vast majority of them are disgusting pigs who are only interested in me for my looks and the power they think marrying into the throne will get them. Daddy says he wants only the best for me, but he doesn't think about what I want or accept my input on these gross males."

She hastened to add. "But you've already risked enough on my behalf! I'll fight for my own right to marry for love and not convenience! I know I may not look like it, but I'm actually pretty strong."

"Appearances can be deceptive. The daughter of a casual planet-buster like Gideon would be a cut above most, I reckon." Rito replied before he offered them a charming smile. "But even so, the right to marriage for love is a worthy cause indeed, worthy enough to get myself involved in galactic affairs, I reckon."

"Really?!" Lala gasped in pure joy, her eyes shining.

Rito nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I don't typically condone running away from home, but given your circumstances, I can understand why you did. Besides, I always planned on expanding my operations beyond Earth eventually. This situation just accelerated those plans a bit beyond what I originally intended."

"My, my, what brave words! I can't help feeling empowered by them!" An echoic, magnified voice reverberated in the air as Rito's eyes turned skyward and widened slightly at the light-emitting UFO floating above them. He knew he'd stopped actively scrambling their trackers, but he was still impressed by how quickly they'd retriangulated their position.

A pillar of light emanated from the donut-hole-like center of the spaceship as an alien dressed super importantly descended to the ground. Sure enough, the two MIB rip-offs who'd initially arrived to confront Lala were flanking him as the captain landed on the shoreline of the dried-up river bed below the bridge.

"Step aside, Earthling. Outsiders should not be interfering in this matter." Zastin said with a sideways motion of his arm, decked out in battle armor and doubtlessly intimidating to any normal human being. Rito Yuuki was not normal by any standards.

"You know, for such an advanced civilization, Deviluke's practices and customs when it comes to leadership and marriage are surprisingly archaic. I'm all for marriages of convenience, don't get me wrong, but only so long as all parties involved are okay with such an arrangement." Rito responded calmly, not giving an inch.

"Rito!" Lala whispered in an awestruck voice, watching him from behind with eyes shining. He looked so cool standing up to Zastin like that.

Zastin looked incensed by that jab, but recovered with grace befitting a royal guard. "This is your final warning. Move out of my way."

Rito smiled at that, and it wasn't a smirk or smug in any way, nor was it a dark smile that promised hurt, but a genuine, boyish, innocently charming smile. Zastin was caught off guard by that alone, but Rito had something to say as well.

"Your attempt to give me an out is admirable, but unnecessary. I can hold my own, and Princess or not, Lala deserves to rule with happiness and love in her heart! If your overweening ruler thinks an unhappy queen makes for a stronger kingdom, then he couldn't be more wrong! So, if you decide you're going to be a wall that stands between her and that happiness, then I'll form a gale that can break down any wall. I will beat the prejudism against happy love lives out of you if need be, because that's what I aspire to stand for, everyday I'm out here helping people! Truth, justice, and everything good and wholesome!"

Everyone present, from Lala to Zastin alike, was stunned by Rito's passionate declaration.

"Who are you?" Zastin asked him, his hand drifting to the sword sheathed at his back.

"He's Superman!" Lala suddenly exclaimed in an ever-so-excited manner, positively thunderstruck by this Earth boy and more touched by his sweet, eloquent words than she could ever say.

Rito smiled that boyish smile again, all his months of exhaustive brainstorming to come up with a suitable superhero identity ruined by Lala giving him the single best, most simplistic, most fitting name he or anyone else could've thought of.

"You heard the lady, so, what'll it be, gentlemen?" Rito challenged Zastin and the other two, suddenly decked out in his metallic gold super suit instead of his civilian clothes. Lala's eyes couldn't possibly have gotten any starrier if they tried, yet they also narrowed in determination as she brought out what looked like a stylized flip phone.

"Transporting! Roaring Vacuum Buddy!" She said with a righteous fury, refusing to let Rito, or Superman as she so aptly named him, be the only one fighting for her marital autonomy.

A blinding beam of pink energy shot out of the screen of the phone, slowly accumulating mass in the air as a humongous squid-like robot materialized in an explosion of pixelated lights and floated above the dried up river bed.

"Not good, it's one of Lala's inventions." One of the Devilukeans in black said in a fearful way.

Rito was momentarily stunned by the sudden appearance of the technological marvel, alien though it was, but recovered quickly as Zastin rushed him with his sword drawn and a fight broke out in earnest.

The seal on the Roaring Vacuum Buddy's beak opened up, with Lala commanding the robot to suck the remaining two Devilukeans up. A powerful vortex of wind reverberated across the largely uninhabited area Rito had brought them too, and the two Devilukeans who served under Zastin were dealt with in short order.

The vacuum continued to increase in power, and Lala suddenly realized she could no longer remember how to shut the blasted thing off.

XXX

"Clever of you to bring Lala to an abandoned town!" Zastin said through teeth gritted with frustration, slight puzzlement overtaking him as Rito either dodged or blocked every strike by the Royal Guard's sword.

"I wasn't about to let a fight break out in any of Earth's major population centres." Rito responded as Zastin threw a lightning fast jab aimed at his torso. This Superman, as Lala called him, was living up to his name, however, and literally vanished from the stunned Zastin's view, reappearing atop the dilapidated roof of a long-abandoned house.

"Honorable and fast. Surprisingly skilled fighter as well. Are you trained?" Zastin conversationally asked him as though he were not trying to kill him.

He took a running leap into the sky above the tallest roofs in the vicinity, aiming a downwards slash towards Rito's head with the intent of bisecting him, only for Rito to vanish again and for Zastin to fall through the deteriorated roof, bringing the entire house down on top of him.

"Not even remotely, I have superhuman dexterity, flawless coordination, and near hyper-competence in every field I've ever practiced in, however." Rito responded as he rematerialized outside of the rubble, knowing something as small as getting a house dropped on top of him wouldn't keep a good Devilukean down. Sure enough, Zastin literally blew the roof off the place, shrugging off the rubble the way one might brush a smattering of dust away from their shoulder.

"You have a lot of powers. Are all Earthlings like this? Perhaps this planet's threat-level needs to be reevaluated."

Rito shook his head. "No, I can personally guarantee you I'm the only outlier in that regard."

"Any alien DNA in your background, by chance?"

"I haven't entirely ruled that possibility out, considering how many aliens come here in secret, but if there is, I have no idea what species I would even be."

Zastin nodded, staying his blade for the moment.

"And you say you've been like this for… how long exactly?"

"My whole life, basically."

"And exactly how long is that life by now?"
"16 of Earth's years."

Zastin furrowed his eyebrows, wondering the same thing Peke had wondered earlier. Perhaps Superman's abilities were linked to that terrifying event some 17 Devilukean years ago.

"While this is fascinating and all, we should return our focus to the match at hand."

"Agreed. Honestly, this is my first time going up against someone that could even remotely classify as superhuman. I've always been curious how that would go, however, I really don't have the inclination to drag this out, so I'm going to end this fight right now."

"Oh, really? And just how do you intend to do that?" Zastin grinned smugly.

"Like this." Rito responded simply, before he took Zastin and disappeared with him into the sky at speeds beyond imagining, beyond physics, beyond tachyons, and even beyond the Speed Force itself, not that Rito could appreciate that just yet.

XXX

Zastin's scream was stolen from his throat upon realizing they were back in space with no protection, and Rito Yuuki floated with him in the void, bothered by neither the extreme cold nor the complete lack of oxygen. Even Superman seemed shocked by just how fast and far they'd come. "Oh, wow! I really overshot it!" He exclaimed in a slight panic as Zastin felt all the warmth vanish from his blood.

"What did you do?! Where have you taken me?! My ship should've found us by now!" Zastin shouted, his helmet thankfully automatically providing a shield against the vacuum of space to maintain his oxygen-levels. He grabbed onto the only lifeline he could in this deepest of spaces, Rito himself, who floated in the vacuum without any sort of protection.

"Calm down! We're really far out in the intergalactic medium, maybe even outside our observable universe, but I can…" Rito started, but Zastin overshot him.

"We're WHAT?! How in the cosmos did you fly us out so far so quickly?! Even our fastest tachyonic transmissions…" Zastin broke off, the enormity of Superman's flight speeds too incomputable for his brain to process. Sure enough, as he glanced around him, he saw nothing, not a single twinkle or trace of star or nebulous gases, merely exotic galaxies hovering in the distance that he did not recognize.

There was another, much more horrifying realization that hit him all the more fiercely. He'd starve to death out here before anyone ever managed to get to him in time. On the cosmic scale of things, even going a thousand times faster than light was an incredibly slow travel speed. No one had ever ventured this far out into space before, and no one ever dared. His only hope of rejoining galactic civilization rested in the hands of this impossible Earthling.

"If you would let me finish, I was just about to say I can get us back. I've never actually done this before, but I should be able to get us back to the Milky Way and to Earth once I locate it with my telescopic vision. If you continue attacking me after this, however, I might just deposit your sorry butt in Sagittarius A instead, so let's call a truce for now, alright?"

Zastin never nodded so rapidly in his life, the vacuum of intergalactic space doing little to hamper his movements as Superman glanced all around him, his eyes shifting between hundreds of trillions of electromagnetic spectrums, honing in on the cosmic microwave background most were familiar with, along with a couple of cosmic backgrounds composed of types of radiation no one else could see or come close to detecting by any means. Sure enough, within minutes, he found the Milky Way by following the celestial jetream imprint he'd permanently carved into the CMB in his trajectory, lighting it up like a polarized Big Bang. No doubt astrophysicists would have a field day with this, but giving people hope for these infinite frontiers of FTL travel he'd created wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Everything is going to be okay, Zastin." Rito gently reassured him. Despite himself, despite balking at the notion of finding solace in this godlike force of nature, Zastin felt reassured by this amazing being's words as they suddenly and instantaneously reappeared on Earth before he could blink.

"So, truce?" Rito offered with a warm smile.

"Truce." Zastin affably agreed, sheathing his sword while Rito took notice of Lala's wayward invention and sighed.

"That really is an amazing invention. I hope Lala doesn't have any sentimental attachment to that thing, because abandoned or not, I'm disinclined to see this town wiped off the map." Rito chuckled endearingly. Without saying another word, and ignoring Zastin's astonished observations, his eyes turned a bright, searing red, before a pair of polarized beams of pure heat emanated from them, bisecting Lala's vacuum cleaner with the same ease that a hot knife might cut through butter.

The vortex of wind suddenly died out as the impressive marvel of technology fell to the ground in two perfectly cut halves. Rito quietly lamented having to destroy it, and hoped Lala would forgive him if she did have any sort of attachment to it. He saw her making her way over to them with a dazzling smile, while Zastin's two lackeys clambered their way out of the vacuum cleaner's bisected remains.

"Had enough now, you three?!" Lala grinned with confidence.

"Yes, I think Superman and I have come to an understanding here." Zastin replied, while Rito chuckled good-naturedly.

"We had a bit of a scare when I accidentally ejected us outside of the observable universe, but was able to get us back in one piece." Rito reassured him as Lala's eyes widened in pure astonishment.

"But… that's impossible." She said in shock.

"I thought so, too, but I recognized none of the galaxies we were close enough to for me to see, and I think your Earthling friend here as vastly more powerful than even we Devilukeans can fathom."

"I'm honored you think so highly of me." Rito said with a charming smile, while the gears in Lala's head began to turn and she began to circle Rito as if trying to decide if he were a fascinating experiment.

"If you don't mind, I'd love to run some tests on you one of these days." She plainly spoke, earning a good-natured chuckle from Rito.

"Maybe some other time. For tonight, I'm heading home and hitting the sack. Try not to drag anymore Earthlings into your marital and familial squabbles, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Lala, Zastin, and the other two said in sync, before exchanging uneasy glances.

"I trust you can all find your way home from here. Good night, you four, and play nice." With that final parting statement, Rito vanished in a whirl of speed that made Lala blink in surprise, having not experienced the way he moved from this perspective yet.

"So, I trust I've made my intent to choose my own suitors abundantly clear, then?" Lala asked the other Devilukeans present with a dangerous edge to her voice, prompting all three to give fearful nods.

Zastin spoke up. "While I can't promise your Father will be as understanding, I've only ever wanted you to be happy, Princess Lala. I hope you know that were it up to me, I never would've condoned you marrying anyone you were unhappy with, but I had my orders, and your refusal to return home will complicate matters for me. I hope you understand the breadth of the position you've put me in. I will speak up on your behalf, but if the King remains unmoved by your plight, I fear I may have to incur the wrath of that Superman once more."

"Just do your best, Zastin. If need be, I'll have a chat with Daddy myself and clear the air."

Zastin nodded respectfully. "Very well, then I shall take my leave. You're welcome to either stay on my ship with me, or remain here on Earth. Your choice."

Lala beamed at her royal guard in appreciation. "I think I'll remain here. I still have some unfinished business on this planet, and if things work out, Daddy might not have to fret about me not finding my ideal partner for very long."

Zastin chuckled. "I'd be happy for you if it did. He seems an honorable man from what little I've seen of him. Even when all I'd done previously was try to cut him down with my sword, when I thought I was going to die, out there in the furthest reaches of space, the first thing he did was reassure me that everything was going to be okay. All that power, power enough perhaps to usurp Deviluke's authority all on its own, and he chose to reassure me in my rare moment of vulnerability. If you want my opinion, Princess Lala, you could do far worse."

"I know I could. Believe me, I really do." Lala whispered with a shudder.

"Call us if you need a lift to another planet." Zastin reassured her with a wince of sympathy as he and the other two disappeared in a pillar of light and reentered his ship.

Lala watched them disappear into the upper atmosphere with a fond, somewhat wistful smile.

"Mistress Lala, are you sure about this, about having that Earthling as your fiance?" Peke asked her worriedly.

Lala nodded. "Only if he desires it, of course. I would never dream of forcing an unwanted marriage on him when he fought so hard to give me autonomy in mine. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just not sure if getting involved with his love life is the wisest course of action. It'd be like touching the sun, and I guess I'm just worried you'll burn in the end."

"Well, better to burn out than fade away, I suppose." Was Lala's somewhat morbid answer as she flew away on a pair of black, mechanical wings. She knew Rito brought her a long way from the city he called home, and braced herself for a long night of flying. She welcomed the extra time to get her thoughts in order and formulate a winning stratagem for winning the heart of someone she'd only just met less than an hour ago. She'd heard idyllic stories about women who fell in love at first sight and just somehow knew who they were going to spend the rest of their lives with, but never put any stock in those romantic tales until now. Looking back on them, she'd never been more sure of anything in her life. She would marry Rito Yuuki. She would marry Superman, and embrace all that he was.

XXX

"I'm home, Mikan." Rito called out to his little sister as he walked through the door, only to be tackle-hugged by the little brunette in question.

"Rito! You're back! Thank goodness! I was so worried!" Mikan cried as she held him in her arms as best as she could.

"About me?" Rito chuckled endearingly.

Mikan looked up at him with big, tearful eyes. "Yes, you, dummy! You've never gone up against actual aliens before!"

"Well, I came out on top, if that's any consolation. They might even stop by to visit now that we've cleared the air. If you want, just this once, I can finish making dinner." He offered, but unsurprisingly, Mikan shook her head, wiping her eyes on her arms and blinking away any residual tears.

"No need. It's already made, and we have another guest tonight."

Rito raised an eyebrow at that. "Really, who?"

Before Mikan could answer, a familiar canine came barrelling into the entranceway to greet them. "Hey, it's Maron. Hey buddy!" Rito said with a smile while scratching under the eager Boston Terrier's chin. The dog groaned at the simple contact, kicking his leg frantically.

"But, if you're here, then that means…" Rito broke off as his eyes moved up towards the door to the living room, where a familiar blue-haired beauty stood arched in the frame.

"Good evening, Yuuki. If I've come at a bad time…" Haruna hesitantly spoke up, blushing ever-so-slightly. Rito's heart gave such a massive thump that he would've been astounded if she couldn't hear it.

"Good evening, Sairenji! And no, I've had a long night, but I really don't mind you being here. If anything, it's actually a nice reprieve." Rito replied with a light blush of his own.

The both of them stood there awkwardly as Haruna processed Rito's words, while Mikan looked on with a deadpan stare.

"Well, I'm going to go get dinner sorted out. You two kids have fun now!" His little sister said with an impish smile.

'Traitor!' Rito telepathically exclaimed, earning peals of laughter from Mikan as she straight up abandoned him.

He chanced a glance at Haruna, his face feeling unbearably hot as he finally managed to speak up. This was his chance, and he wasn't going to blow it as he scooped up Maron in his arms and walked past her into the living room to sit down before indicating the spot on the couch beside him. Haruna took it without question, her eyes resting solely on him as Maron proved himself a worthy emotional support animal and licked Rito's hand as he petted him.

"I always liked dogs. I always wanted to have one of my own, but with the kind of life I lead, I wouldn't really have the time to take care of one as much as they deserve. Plus, there's the fact that they don't live as long as people do. For some reason, that's always made me sad." Rito yammered ever-so-slightly, before looking squarely at Haruna. "I trust you have questions about earlier this evening. Feel free to ask them, and I'll answer to the best of my ability. I have to be honest with you, however, there are things about me that even I don't understand."

"You're the blur!" Haruna suddenly blurted out, startling Rito slightly and making Maron growl ever-so-slightly and lick Rito's hand more incessantly to remind him of the petting session.

"Yes, I am, though recently, someone gave me the name Superman, and I've gotta be honest with you, I think that one's really going to catch on." Rito affirmed while scratching Maron's rump and earning a whine of content from the little attention whore. Seriously, how had he not gotten a dog before now? Just petting Maron was calming him in ways that made him appreciate pet therapy all the more.

"Superman… Superman…" Haruna tested the name out on her tongue a few times, before smiling radiantly at Rito. "I love it! It really suits you, Yuuki."

"Thanks." Rito stammered with a blush, his face feeling like it could power the ultramassive black hole for a quasar with how hot it was.

"Have you been like this all your life?" Haruna asked him.

Rito nodded.

"I see." Haruna said, before adding. "That explains so much. The quick exits, the excuses, the fact that you've never had any injuries or illnesses during our entire time in school together, to my knowledge at least. And the school garden, the way it just magically repaired itself overnight during that whole situation with the dog and people accusing you of vandalizing it."

Rito nodded once more, his expression darkening slightly at the reminder of that painful part of his past. "Yeah, that wasn't a fun year, being accused of something I didn't do. Everyone just assumed I did it without even giving me a chance to speak up in my own defense. Aside from Keneichi, of course. He believed in me without hesitation, and got into a lot of fights that year with students who didn't. Of course, he wasn't the only one who believed in me that year, though I didn't figure that out until a little later."

He glanced at Haruna with significance as he said this, causing her to blush and avoid his eyes. Rito thought he saw the hint of a smile on her face, however. "I knew you couldn't have done it because of what I knew about you beforehand. Do you remember what you said to me when I asked you why you like gardening so much?"

Rito nodded, a fond smile of remembrance on his face as Maron settled into his lap, content to sleep in that position all night if need be. "Of course I do. I said that too many people these days believe there is strength to be found in the power to destroy something, but I believe the opposite is true. True strength lies in the power to create something, to sow the seeds of something incredible, something that could even potentially outlive us."

"It seemed silly, but I love gardening for the same reason I love using my powers to protect, because I'm effectively creating something that'll live on past me. Besides, the Earth could definitely benefit from a little more green in the world." He paused for a moment, becoming a little choked up.

"Did I ever tell you that I fixed the ozone layer, Sairenji? I've been working on saving the world, one crisis at a time. Saving people is all fine and good, but I want to fix what's wrong with the world, too. Because no matter how many lives I save, the world is still hurting. I can do so much, and I owe it to myself to help out however I can. I figured out a long time ago, there's little point in saving people's lives if the lives and world they're coming back to aren't worth the effort of living in it. That's why I do what I do. I'm not just saving people, I'm fixing everything that's broken in their lives and their world."

Rito hadn't expected tonight to entail him spilling his guts out to Haruna, nor had he expected her to show up at his house tonight. He figured she'd need more time to process what she saw earlier that evening, but he was glad she was here. Haruna was glad to, and in a bold move, placed her hand on top of the one Rito wasn't absentmindedly putting the sleeping Maron with. "Yuuki, that's… wonderful. I love that you're full of so much love and desire to fix everything wrong with the world, and with everything you can do, I have no doubt that you will. Just promise me you'll try and make time for those of us who love you, too. I don't want to see you burn yourself out trying to fix everyone else's problems."

"Better to burn out than fade away." Rito chuckled, before adding. "I'll do my best. Thank you for being here with me. It means the world to me that you care. Are you sure you're doing okay, though? I can't imagine seeing me stop what equates to a meteor wasn't all kinds of mind-shattering for you. I also am dreading what tomorrow will bring, and hope those students who recorded me have enough sense not to post their videos online. I was so scared that everyone was going to know about me before the end of the night."

"I'm alright. Thanks for worrying about me, but honestly, I've kind of always known something was different about you, Yuuki." Haruna whispered before asking with a blush. "Who else knows about this? I suspect your family knows, but I'm guessing Saryama does as well?"

Rito nodded. "Yeah, he's been my best friend since Pre-K. He's known for years. And now, you do too, along with a couple of other people who only found out tonight, actually, while I was out and dealing with a crisis on the other side of the world."

"And you said you've been like this all your life?"

Rito nodded again, a common recurrence tonight. "Yep. My Mom and Dad would swear by it. Apparently, my tantrums as a toddler were the stuff of legends, or nightmares." They both shared a chuckle at that.

"Do you have any inkling why or how you were born like this?"

Rito was about to answer when Mikan came into the living room with a plateful of food for Haruna, and Rito smiled when he noticed that she'd gone ahead and prepared food from multiple nationalities. "Here, we're trying some of Rito's favorites from across the planet. Did he tell you he's been all over the world and speaks every language yet?" Mikan giggled while handing Haruna some homemade pizza and Spaghetti, going full-blown Italian.

"Um, no, he hasn't." Haruna said in a nonplussed manner before taking a slice of pizza and hesitantly biting into it, her eyes widening with surprise. "Hey, this is really good!" She exclaimed with delight before taking another bite.

"I have an exceedingly heightened sense of curiosity, and Mikan's proficiency in the kitchen is universal. I've spent my entire life studying all of Earth's various cultures, and was a native speaker in every language known to humanity by the time I was 9." Rito said, first in Japanese, then in Spanish, Latin, Russian, perfect English, and then in a language Haruna had never heard before in her life, either on TV or anywhere else. She nearly shuddered from the sound of it, the different accents sounding very hot coming out of Rito's mouth.

"That's amazing, Yuuki! You're the world's best translator!" Haruna said in unmasked awe, as Rito blushed in embarrassment and Mikan smirked.

"Showing off for the girls already, huh?" She teased, earning a rude hand gesture from Rito in turn while Mikan's peals of laughter followed her into the kitchen and she got Rito's dinner ready. Haruna looked somewhat affronted by Rito flipping Mikan the bird, but didn't say anything since neither of them were offended by it.

Haruna stared at her plate in confusion, wondering how she was supposed to eat the spaghetti with the strange utensil that was provided. She'd heard of them, of course. They were called forks, and were a lot more popular in the Western parts of the world.

Rito, sensing her dilemma, spoke up. "Here, let me help you." He offered, grabbing the fork out of her hand tentatively and twirling it around inside the spaghetti with practiced ease, gathering it up around the fork in a tight ball. "Say ah," he said while holding the forkful of pasta in front of Haruna's mouth, blushing heatedly enough for steam to erupt from his ears as his current actions caught up with him.

Haruna, despite blushing madly herself, did as he told and opened her mouth with a cute smile, enabling him to feed her in the same vein as those cliched romance Anime he and Mikan sometimes watched during the weekends. The next several minutes were spent by Rito showing Haruna how to operate a fork, and by the time Mikan brought him a generous helping of Pierogies and lazy man's cabbage rolls, Haruna had made surprising amounts of progress despite the slight culture shock entailed.

"I'm not really one for foreign foods, but I wouldn't mind having this Italian stuff again, Mikan." Haruna admitted with a smile, while Mikan grinned.

"That's very open minded of you. If you're still hungry, I've made some traditional Japanese cuisine as well. Rito had a rough day today and I was trying to expand my culinary skills by making him some of his favorites from other cultures."

"Well, you did a bang-up job, Mikan. These pierogies are damn near perfect." Rito praised her.

"Thanks, Rito." Mikan shyly muttered, a light dusting of color gathering on her cheeks. Rito ate with impeccable table manners, no doubt hyper-aware of the fact that he had his crush eating dinner with them.

"So, Haruna, you're staying the night then, I take it?" Mikan spoke up in between mouthfuls of rice, grabbing the attention of Rito and the bluenette alike.

"Oh, no! I couldn't possibly impose on you two like that!" Haruna stammered in shock, her face as red as her hair was blue.

"Oh, yes you most certainly can, as long as your sister is alright with it, of course. You can take my bedroom. I'll sleep on the couch." Rito insisted without hesitation, before adding. "Or, alternatively, if you're still uncomfortable with that arrangement, I can walk you home. My presence keeps most criminals at bay, but I'm still not about to let you go walking home this late at night, not by yourself, at least."

"If it's not too much trouble, could you maybe walk me home?" Haruna requested politely. Rito nodded with an understanding smile.

"Of course, let me just clean up." He said as he stood up.

"Rito Yuuki, don't you dare!" Mikan shouted as quickly as possible, but was too late to stop him as the dishes were suddenly cleared, cleaned, and put away, and the food was put in containers in the fridge. To further incense his little sister as payback for her earlier commentary, Rito even cleared off and washed down the counters, swept and mopped, bagged all the trash and put it out, and put a new back in the can, all in an infinitesimal fraction of a second.

"There, let's go!" Rito exclaimed with a sweep of his hands. Mikan quietly seethed and Haruna offered her an apologetic smile as she followed Rito out of the living room and out the front door.

XXX

"Are you sure you're alright, Sairenji?" Rito asked as he walked side by side with Haruna up the street. "Because to be honest, I'm still terrified." He added with a smile, earning a giggle from the bluenette in turn.

"I'm okay, Yuuki. Thanks for asking, though." She reassured him.

Maron barked excitedly at the couple, which Rito translated to him telling them to just mate already. He blushed at the prospect, but that didn't stop him from speaking up. "Your dog senses our romantic tension, by the way."

Haruna promptly stopped walking, her face exploding with crimson as Rito took a sharp intake of breath and decided to just get his love confession out of the way. "I can speak to animals, too, but more importantly, I've had feelings for you ever since you stood up for me that day. I never got the chance to properly thank you for being in my corner. I guess what I'm trying to say is… I like you, Haruna!"

He wasn't aware of bowing at first, but he'd gone and said it finally, feeling a massive weight lift from his chest as he did so. He chanced another glance at her, noting how her hand was covering her mouth to hide her shock and her eyes were wide, but her pupils were dilated as well, and her face was blushing headily. Rito was certain his eidetic memory eternalized that particular shot of her in his brain. 'God, she looks so beautiful.'

"Please say something." Rito imploringly whispered. He could handle her not feeling the same way, and had no intention of being in a relationship with her anyway. His life was too complicated to allow for romantic relationships at the moment, but he wanted to know if she felt the same way. The ambiguity of it all was killing him inside.

"Yuuki, I… I feel the same way." Haruna finally choked out, looking very much like she wanted to pass out while Maron barked nonstop, pulling on his leash in an effort to keep them moving. He might as well have been trying to move a freight train, however, because it was like time had stopped, and this time, it wasn't by Rito's power.

Rito nodded with a relieved smile, his heart feeling lighter than it had in years even despite it beating fast enough to make it feel like he had a thousand hearts, or maybe even a million.

Unbeknownst to the two, a familiar pinkette listened in on them from behind a telephone pole a few houses down, a sad smile of resignation on her face. 'Of course he would already have someone he's in love with. I'm such a fool.' Lala inwardly whispered, a few stray tears traitorously leaking from her emerald eyes.

"Miss Lala, are you alright?" Peke asked her concernedly, prompting Lala to sniff and brush the tears away.

"I'm fine Peke. I guess I'll just have to continue my search for a worthy suitor elsewhere." She said listlessly, before she took to the skies once more and disappeared into the night. Some small, naive sector of her soul hoped Rito might sense her presence and fly after her, but his vision and other senses were tunneled on that Sairenji girl. Lala refused to interfere with his happiness, and would need some time to process her fading hope of finding a worthy suitor before she came back. When she did, she hoped she and Rito, AKA Superman, could be friends. Had she stuck around a little longer, she might've gained a very different outlook on the matter, but she couldn't have known what Rito said next.