Chapter 24: Normal Growth

Behind Shen You lay an unconscious homeless man. Like most of Gotham's homeless, he had no family, no friends, and no one knew him. Fortunately, he seemed to be fine and woke up after a while. He couldn't remember why he was there, just that he felt extremely hungry.

So it wasn't a scam.

As he watched the confused homeless man walk away, Shen You's sixth sense, like an "Ultraman's gut feeling," tingled with a sense of danger. 

Cautiously, Shen You activated his Ultra vision and scanned the homeless man's entire body. What he found was unexpected: traces of a peculiar, non-Earthly parasitic organism in some of the man's organs. 

Shen You, though a three-thousand-year-old Otaku from the Land of Light who rarely ventured out, had received extensive training and had a broad perspective. He recognized that the remnants inside the man were not of Earth origin. The parasite, once living inside this homeless man, was now dead, leaving behind traces that posed no threat to the host.

Instantly, Shen You deduced: someone was targeting him. 

The alien must have tried to jump onto him, hoping to take over his body and suppress his spirit.

A cunning and cruel alien!

Good thing he had the upper hand.

While the existence of aliens in the DC world was not surprising, why would one target him?

Could it be a random attack?

It was possible, but Shen You quickly recalled his recent encounter with an alien, the mantis-like one chasing Kara. Could they be working together?

This incident was a wake-up call for Shen You.

He had been too complacent in such a perilous world. He needed to be more vigilant. What if the attacker had been a stronger symbiote, one that could overpower him?

Shen You decided on the spot that he needed to start specialized training today, focusing on maintaining an external mental force, akin to Spider-Man's "spidey sense" for premonitions.

Returning home, unaware of these events, Kara, the Kryptonian girl, had just woken up. She walked groggily in her light white nightgown, her messy blonde hair and sleepy face resembling someone dozing off in a calculus class. Her cat, Stretch, also yawned lazily on her small shoulder, both master and pet looking disinterested as they headed to the bathroom.

Kara turned on the faucet.

Snap.

The faucet broke off in her hand, spraying water all over her face. She stood there, stunned, holding the broken piece, until she was soaked.

Shen You came over, "What happened?"

Kara, realizing she had made a mess, panicked and threw the broken faucet handle away, which then embedded itself into the wall, cracking the tiles like a spider web.

Shen You poked his head in and saw the broken, spraying faucet, the cracked wall, and a drenched, innocent-looking Kara. The Kryptonian cat, Stretch, looked equally clueless.

Kara, with a guilty look, said softly, "I didn't mean to."

Shen You immediately understood what had happened.

The pet he had picked up was starting to upgrade.

Like Superman, a Kryptonian pet that upgrades without any effort, leaving the other players in the DC universe furious.

"It's okay, you're just growing," Shen You said gently.

"Huh?"

Kara looked at her small white hand in disbelief.

Growing can do this?

Having never experienced the effects of yellow sun radiation, Kara had no idea about the changes happening in her body.

"It's normal, don't worry. I have some experience with this," Shen You comforted her.

Superman's adoptive parents on the farm managed to help him control his powers. Shen You figured, as someone who could fly and shoot lasers, he could handle training a Kryptonian girl.

"Okay," Kara nodded, feeling guilty. She stepped back and grabbed the door handle to leave.

Crack.

The handle broke off.

Kara, holding the broken handle, looked ready to cry.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Shen You sighed. 

In the following days, Shen You spent time helping Kara adapt to her awakening powers. His training from the Land of Light proved effective, and Kara quickly learned to control her growing strength, at least enough not to affect her daily life.

Meanwhile, Shen You continued his own activities. The negative phase wave radar was functioning well, and his mech's presence was becoming as legendary as Batman's. The striking red and silver armor and light-based abilities led some to believe the mysterious armored figure and the "Ultraman" from before were connected, or part of a large, secretive organization.

As his activities and fame grew, so did the light energy index on his bracelet.

"Beep beep beep~"

The radar picked up a strong signal.

Excited about gaining more experience, Shen You checked the location.

An abandoned amusement park.

Gotham, amusement park, abandoned.

Shen You pondered.

Nothing good ever comes from these combinations.