A totally normal day at school

Troy groggily dragged himself through the school gates, a deep pit of anxiety churning in his stomach. The fight with Gladiator had left him sore all over, but that wasn't the worst of it.

No. The worst of it was the notification that had popped up on his phone this morning.

[Auto-Upload Successful!]

His heart had nearly stopped.

In his exhaustion, he had completely forgotten to stop the recording. The entire fight—his near-death experience, Shadow's intervention, everything—had been uploaded straight to his Bubble Cam channel.

Panic set in.

He had rushed to check the video, dreading what might have been exposed. Luckily, the auto-upload had cut off before he unmasked in Shadow's lair. The video had ended right as Gladiator was battling Shadow.

Troy exhaled. "Okay… not the worst thing in the world."

Then he checked the views.

1.2 million.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

It was viral. People were analyzing it. Theories were everywhere. And worse—his classmates had definitely seen it.

Just as that thought crossed his mind—

"TROOOOOY!"

A stampede of students rushed toward him.

"Oh, no."

The Nerd Club got to him first.

"YOU MET SHADOW?!" one of them shrieked.

"Did you see his moves?! That counter against Gladiator was textbook perfection!"

"Forget Shadow—what about you?! You fought Gladiator and lived!"

Before Troy could escape, Jackson threw an arm over his shoulder, grinning ear to ear.

"So it's proven you are definitely bubble boy ,this is obviously your channel ."

Troy spoke nervously " what my channel, Nah it's not my channel and I'm not bubble boy."

"Alright, whatever bud , I will play your game.You aren't bubble boy but Spill. How did you get this footage?"

Annie narrowed her eyes. "And don't even try to lie this time."

Troy let out a nervous laugh. "W-What do you mean? I just… uh, happened to be in the area. You know, uh… on a snack run!"

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "A snack run?"

"Yup! Super important. Can't hero-watch on an empty stomach!"

Annie crossed her arms. "Troy. The fight literally happened in the middle of a street. During a storm. At 2 AM."

Troy wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. "W-Well, you know me! Late-night cravings!"

The Nerd Club was not buying it.

Then, one of them dropped the bomb.

"Okay, okay, but more importantly—you do realize what this means, right?"

Troy blinked. "...What?"

"Bubble Boy is a criminal."

The group fell silent.

Troy felt his stomach drop. "...Excuse me?"

Annie crossed her arms. "Think about it! He fought Gladiator, a legion member! That officially makes him a villain!"

Troy's eye twitched. "What?! No, no, no, that's not how it works!"

Jackson put a hand to his chin, nodding sagely. "Annie has a point, man. Only villains fight heroes. That's, like, a golden rule of comic book logic."

The Nerd Club gasped in realization.

"OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE RIGHT!"

"Bubble Boy is officially a menace!"

Troy groaned. "Okay, first of all, no!" He pointed aggressively at them. "Second—Gladiator was the one attacking me! I was defending myself!"

"Sounds exactly like what a criminal would say," Jackson said.

Troy facepalmed. "Are you hearing yourselves?!"

Annie smirked. "Oh, we hear you. Loud and clear. And we have one question left."

Troy gulped. "What…?"

She leaned in, eyes locked onto him like a hunter stalking its prey.

"...Troy. Are you Bubble Boy?"

Dead. He was dead.

Troy flailed. "WHAT?! M-ME?! BUBBLE BOY?! PFFT—" He wheezed dramatically. "H-Hilarious! Oh, man! Wow! Good one, Annie! GREAT joke!"

Annie narrowed her eyes. "Mhm. Sure. Just know… we will find out the truth."

Troy forced a smile. "Haha! Yeah! Sure! You do that!"

Then, he did the only logical thing.

He ran.

Meanwhile… Across the Planet

High above Earth, Starman floated in the void of space, arms crossed as he surveyed the cosmos.

A meteor, roughly the size of a country, hurtled toward the planet.

With a flick of his wrist, he stopped it mid-air.

Another flick.

It shattered into dust.

He sighed. "Too easy."

A distress call rang in his earpiece.

[Hostage situation in New York. Armed assailants.]

Starman exhaled, eyes glowing gold. "On it."

He vanished.

Seconds later, he reappeared with a supersonic crash sound in the middle of a bank, criminals already mid-heist.

"Gentlemen," he said casually. "You do realize robbing a bank is illegal, right?"

One of them panicked and pulled the trigger.

The bullet bounced off his forehead.

Starman sighed. "That was rude."

He clapped. The shockwave sent them flying into the walls.

The hostages cheered.

"You're safe now," Starman said smoothly, floating toward the door. "Justice is served."

He flew off, cape billowing behind him.

But his face darkened.

Gladiator's fight with that vigilante had been circulating the internet. The Legion was already in an uproar.

And now, it was time to deal with it.

The Legion Headquarters

Inside the most secure facility on Earth, the greatest heroes sat around a massive, circular table.

The air was thick with tension.

At the head of the table, Starman sat, golden eyes burning with restrained fury.

To his left sat Seaman, his most trusted ally. He remained silent, watching the room carefully.

To his right, Void leaned back in her seat, arms crossed, expression unreadable.

Further down, Bolt tapped impatiently on the table. Mr. Mars and Elemental exchanged glances, clearly uncomfortable.

At the far end, Gladiator sat stiffly, her hands clenched.

In the middle of the table, a massive screen replayed the footage of her fight.

Starman's jaw tightened.

The recording paused.

Slowly, he turned to her.

"...Explain yourself."

Gladiator swallowed. "I—"

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Starman's voice was low, dangerous.

Gladiator's fists clenched. "He—he was a vigilante! He was breaking the law!"

Starman's chair scraped against the floor as he stood. His presence alone made the room feel smaller.

"Do you think the law applies to us?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

Gladiator stiffened. "I—"

"You were sloppy," Void interrupted coldly.

Construct, usually the joker of the group, stayed uncharacteristically silent.

Seaman leaned forward. "We have rules, Gladiator. This video makes us look like bullies."

Gladiator gritted her teeth. "I was handling it!"

"You lost."

Silence.

Starman loomed over her.

"For decades, we have been the supreme force on this planet," he said, voice like thunder. "And now? Some street rat has made a mockery of you. And, by extension—us."

Gladiator held her ground. "I won't let it happen again."

Starman's hand twitched. For a moment, it looked like he might erase her from existence.

"...See that you don't."

The tension in the room was suffocating.

The Legion had a new problem.

And Starman would make sure it never happened again.