Before dawn broke, Chicago's sky brightened just slightly. Kirishima Kai woke on the rooftop of an abandoned building, stirred by that light. The concrete floor was cold and hard beneath him, his back aching. He'd spent the night here. After defeating the monster, unsure where else to go, he'd climbed to this high place and waited out the darkness. He slowly pushed himself up and looked down at the city. It was Chicago. But not the Chicago Kai knew. Orange light spread across the horizon. In that glow, the wreckage of buildings floating in the sky became clearly visible. Chunks of half-collapsed concrete hung there, defying gravity. Not just one. Three, four of them. Suspended in mid-air, still broken. A single bird darted between them without hesitation. (This world started changing about forty years ago.) Kai recalled it vaguely. A memory from comics he'd read in his original world. Invincible: The Other One. An American comic series—he'd read the translated version long ago. A story about a parallel Earth where superhumans existed. The first superhuman was confirmed about forty years ago. From that point on, this world had diverged from a normal Earth. Monster corpses lying in the streets didn't surprise anyone. Buildings floating in the air were just everyday life. And yesterday morning, Kai had been abruptly thrown into this world. His stomach growled. Of course it did. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. No wallet. No phone. Nothing written in Japanese anywhere around him. There was nothing in this world that could prove Kai's existence. "[whispers]This is bad," Saying it out loud made him realize just how bad it was. He stood at the edge of the rooftop and looked down at the street below. People were already walking around. Commuters, probably. A man in a suit held a coffee in his hand as he walked. At his feet, less than three meters away, lay the corpse of a different monster—not the one Kai had defeated yesterday. A chitinous creature about five meters long. The man glanced at it, made a face like it was in his way, and walked around it. That was all. No surprise. No fear. Just the reaction of someone avoiding an obstacle. Nothing more. Kai looked at his own left arm. Beneath the skin, blood vessels glowed a faint pale blue. It had been like this since yesterday. He didn't know why they glowed. He didn't know why he could fly, or why he could lift steel beams with one hand. Yesterday morning, while heading to school, he'd been engulfed in white light, and when he came to, he was here. His powers had manifested at the same time. But the nature of those powers remained a mystery. According to what he vaguely remembered from the comics, even GDA's—the Global Defense Agency, the international government organization that managed superhumans in this world—analysis couldn't fit him into any known category. (Have I not been found by GDA yet?) He didn't know. They might have found him. If they'd recorded yesterday's battle, he should've been marked by now. But so far, no one had come. Kai jumped from the rooftop. His control was poor, so the landing went wrong—he fell at an angle and tumbled into an alley. It hurt. But his bones didn't break. This body was sturdy. He got up, brushed the dust from his clothes, and started walking toward Uptown. --- Uptown, the residential neighborhood where Legalwood High School stood. The district where Mark Grayson attended high school. A neighborhood with mostly middle-class families, not particularly rough—or at least, it should have been. But the pavement bore massive claw marks in places. Traces of monsters clawing or trampling. Left unrepaired. In this world, that wasn't unusual, so no one rushed to fix it. Around the corner of an alley, there was a grocery store. Three collapsed concrete blocks were stacked in front of the entrance, making the door impossible to open. An elderly couple stood before them. A white man and woman in their seventies, both trying to push the blocks, but they wouldn't budge. The woman was slightly bent over, her face showing pain. Kai stopped. (Can I even speak English?) He thought about it. In his original world, his English was just average middle school level. But yesterday, when he'd listened to people talking around him, he'd somehow understood the meaning. Something might have changed when he was transferred. Well, there were things he could do without words. He approached and grabbed the top block. He lifted it. It came up easily with one hand. He set it aside. The next block, then the next. He cleared all three in less than a minute. The elderly couple stared at Kai. Their eyes went wide. The woman said something. In English, slowly and clearly. "Thank you. You're very strong." "[cold]You're welcome," He'd answered in Japanese. But the old woman just tilted her head and smiled. The man said something too, and the two of them went into the store. Kai stood there, somewhat dazed. (I was thanked. This is the first time I've properly interacted with someone in this world.) It felt strange. Not happy, exactly. Just a thin sense that maybe it was okay for him to exist here. A fragile feeling, but it was there. That was the moment it happened. A roar came from above. Wind pressure slammed against the pavement. Kai reflexively looked up—a figure with a red cape billowing descended from the sky in an almost vertical drop. The impact of the landing cracked the pavement. Fine fractures spread from the point of contact. The figure was slightly taller than Kai. Short blonde hair, bright green eyes. A vivid "I" mark on the chest. A young face with freckles that would show when smiling. But he wasn't smiling now. Mark Grayson. Invincible. The face matched perfectly with what Kai had read in the comics. Kai swallowed his shock. Inside, he was completely shaken, but he couldn't let it show on his face. Mark looked him up and down in a second. His eyes held undisguised wariness. An unknown face. That's what his expression said. GDA's system allowed heroes to identify unregistered superhumans through their database—or so the comics had said. "[serious]What organization are you with?" It was direct. No greeting, no preamble. Kai paused for a beat before answering. "[cold]Organization? I don't have one," "GDA registration?" "[cold]I don't have that either," Mark's expression hardened slightly. The superhuman registration system—a GDA-administered system where superhumans engaging in hero activities had to register their identities and receive activity permits. Unregistered superhuman activity was a federal crime. Mark knew this fact, and now he was facing Kai with that knowledge. "Unregistered hero activity is a violation. I saw what you were just doing," "[cold]It's not hero activity. I just moved a heavy stone," "You were using superhuman power," "[cold]…Yeah, you're right," He couldn't argue. It was the truth. Mark took a step closer. Kai didn't move. Running would be pointless, and there was no reason to run. But while meeting Mark's gaze head-on, Kai felt something strange. (I know about this guy.) Memories from the comics came flooding back. Mark Grayson, eighteen years old, hero for a few months. He possessed Viltrumite-derived powers inherited from his father, Omni-Man—Nolan Grayson. Flight, super strength, high-speed movement, high durability. Strong sense of justice, straightforward, a bit reckless, but loyal to his friends. And—he still didn't know his father's secret. Kai couldn't get that fact out of his head. He knew what Omni-Man was, what he was plotting. Mark didn't know. That asymmetry was already beginning now. "What's your name?" "[cold]Kirishima Kai," Mark tilted his head slightly. An unfamiliar name. "Kai?" "[cold]Kai. That's fine," Mark was about to say something else when— The ground trembled. At first it was just a faint vibration. But it quickly grew stronger, and the pavement cracked in three places simultaneously with a roar. The asphalt bulged upward from within, then collapsed explosively. Three holes, each about three meters in diameter, opened up. Six jointed legs emerged from the edges of the holes. The first one crawled out. An insectoid monster over five meters long. Its entire body was covered in thick chitin, and viscous fluid dripped from its jaw-like mouth. Something like an eyeball moved with a wet sound. A second one, then a third. Three of them crawled out onto the pavement at once. People on the street screamed and ran. Mark was already moving. He charged straight at the nearest one and drove his right fist into its head. There was a sharp cracking sound as the chitin shattered. The monster flew backward and slammed into the wall of the building across the street. A huge hole opened in the wall. Mark landed. It took less than a second. But the remaining two headed in different directions. Toward the elderly couple. The old couple who had gone into the store were peeking out from the entrance, alerted by the commotion. The two insects were charging straight at them. Kai moved before he could think. He dove in front of the first one and kicked its head with all his strength from the side. With a heavy thud, the monster's head was completely crushed. He hadn't held back. The result of a full-power kick was the monster's head losing all shape, its body flying more than two meters. It was overkill. But there was no time to think about that now. The second one charged straight at him. Kai grabbed a fallen concrete block and slammed it directly in front of the descending jaw. The monster's head was driven into the ground. He kept his full weight on it, pressing down. The monster thrashed. Its limbs hit Kai's body. It hurt. But his bones didn't break. Three seconds, five seconds—the movement stopped. Silence fell. Kai stood up, breathing hard. Mark had turned around. There was surprise on his face. He was trying to hide it, but he couldn't quite manage it. Kai had taken down two monsters in less time than it had taken Mark to finish one. Mark understood that. That's why he couldn't speak. The elderly couple had fled deeper into the store. They were safe. There were no people on the street. Everyone had run. Only Kai, Mark, and the three monster corpses remained. The silence continued. Wind blew, scattering fragments of shattered chitin across the pavement. Mark opened his mouth. "[serious]…That was fast," His voice sounded reluctant. "[cold]I just didn't know how to hold back," He said it honestly. It was the truth. His control over his power was poor. He never quite knew how much force to use. It had worked out because the enemy was a monster, but if it had been a human, the thought made him shudder. Mark stared at Kai for a while. Not hostile—searching for answers. "I'm asking again. Where are you from?" Kai looked at the cracked edges of the collapsed hole. (How should I answer?) I'm a high school student from Japan, and I was engulfed in light on my way to school and transferred here—there was no way he could say that. But if he lied, things would get complicated down the line. Based on what he'd read in the comics, Kai understood Mark's personality. This guy wanted honest answers. If he tried to dodge, Mark would see through it immediately. Kai looked up. "[cold]I came to and I was here. My powers manifested at the same time I arrived. I don't understand why I was transferred, or what these powers are. I don't know any of it," Mark went silent. "[serious]…Are you serious?" "[cold]There's no point in lying," Mark stared into Kai's eyes for a while. He could tell Kai wasn't lying. More than that, the recent fight backed up his explanation. Poor control. Didn't know how to modulate his power. Crushing that insect's head wasn't intentional. The movements of someone inexperienced. The harshness faded slightly from Mark's expression. "Okay. I'll believe yo