[Third Person's PoV]
Within the first week of Superman's debut, someone recognized his identity instantly. That person was none other than his very first fan—the girl he had saved long before he ever became known as Superman.
Miku sat cross-legged on her bed, her back resting against the headboard. She wore a loose, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts to combat the warmth of the day. She looked different from how she had five years ago—older, more mature. Her hair had grown much longer, the strands falling over one of her sleepy, half-lidded eyes, giving her an almost mysterious air.
Blue headphones covered her ears as music softly played, helping her concentrate—though in truth, she was struggling to focus. Books and papers were scattered across her bed in a chaotic sprawl as she attempted, with minimal success, to finish her homework.
With a sigh, Miku leaned her head back against the wall and let her eyes drift shut. Just then, her phone vibrated beside her. She patted around blindly for a moment before grabbing it and unlocking the screen.
It was a message from her sisters' group chat.
Yotsuba: Do you guys think this is real?
Curious, Miku noticed that the message had a video attached. She tapped on it and brought the phone closer. The clip was from the news—a scene showing a burning building engulfed in fire and black smoke. Then, in a burst of speed, a red-and-white blur soared across the screen.
The mysterious figure zipped in and out of the building, extinguishing flames and rescuing people at a speed the camera could barely track. He ascended from the top floor, carrying several people in his arms, while others were trapped to his flowing red cape as he hovered mid-air.
He gently lowered them all to safety before floating upward again, vanishing from sight like a phantom in the wind.
As Miku watched, her eyes slowly widened. The fatigue melted away, replaced by astonished joy. Her breath caught. A quiet, almost disbelieving giggle escaped her lips as she leaned forward, hugging her knees.
"Clark…" she whispered softly, her voice trembling with emotion. She hadn't forgotten him. Not for a second.
She puffed out her cheeks, clearly annoyed but still smiling. "And you said you hated superheroes… You big liar."
She hit the replay button and watched the video again. Then again. And again. The more she watched, the more her heart swelled.
A quiet thought crept in: Does he still remember me… or has he already forgotten?
Switching back to the group chat, she scrolled through the replies. Her sisters were mocking Yotsuba, saying the video was clearly fake, a hoax, or some CGI stunt. One even joked that Yotsuba had been watching too many cartoons.
Miku's expression turned to a small pout as she glared at her phone. "It's not nonsense," she mumbled, quickly typing back: It's real.
She saved the video to her gallery, then created a new folder titled: My Hero.
Something told her this wasn't going to be a one-time thing. She would keep track of every moment, every heroic act he performed. And she was right. Day by day, more reports surfaced—videos, photos, testimonies—all of them showing Superman in action.
Her sisters were floored when it became undeniably real. Yotsuba, of course, gloated, rubbing it in their faces until they all begrudgingly apologized—everyone except Miku, who had never doubted it for a second.
By the end of the second week, Miku had grown a little obsessed. She filled her new folder with every scrap of footage she could find. Her sisters teased her mercilessly about it, but Miku didn't care. She didn't even try to hide the small smile that tugged at her lips every time she opened the folder.
---
Three weeks into Superman's appearance, he remained the hottest topic in the world.
On a school bus rattling through the city streets, a young boy named Shiki sat near the back with a half-finished sketchbook in his lap. He was coloring a drawing—one of his favorite hero, the now-world-famous Superman.
Beside him, a girl peeked at his page. "Shiki, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" he said, not looking up. "I'm drawing Superman."
She shrugged. "Everyone's talking about him… this 'Superman.' I don't get what the big deal is."
Shiki looked up, eyes wide with disbelief. "What?! He's the coolest! You should've seen what I saw online—he froze lightning with his breath. Lightning! And with just one punch, he cleared the skies and stopped the rain!"
Before Shiki could gush further, a sudden BOOM echoed from beneath the bus. One of the wheels exploded violently, sending the entire vehicle lurching sideways.
"Everyone hold on tight!" the driver shouted, his voice filled with panic.
Screams filled the air. The bus driver yanked at the wheel, trying desperately to regain control, but the momentum carried them forward—straight into the guardrail of a bridge.
The side of the bus smashed against the rail with a sickening crunch. Children cried and clung to their seats in terror as the bus teetered on the edge, the sea far below crashing against the rocks.
The bus rocked dangerously, just one final push away from plummeting.
Tears welled up in Shiki's eyes as he glanced to the side, where his seatmate was sobbing uncontrollably, crying out for her mommy. His small hands trembled as the half-colored painting he'd been working on slipped from his grasp and floated down to the floor. For the briefest of moments, it felt like the drawing stared back at him. Then, with a soft flutter, it slid forward under the seat.
Shiki shut his eyes tightly, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill. His tiny fists gripped the edge of the seat with all the strength he could muster. The bus jolted suddenly—metal groaning, children screaming—as it teetered forward, breaking loose from the edge of the cracked bridge. With a sickening lurch, the vehicle plunged toward the ocean below.
Screams filled the cabin, high-pitched and desperate. Shiki clenched his teeth, praying—no, Hoped—that someone, anyone, would hear him. So he cried out with all his might, voice cracking in sheer desperation.
"SUPERMAN! PLEASE SAVE US!"
In the chaos, a deep, thunderous boom echoed faintly in the distance—so faint, it almost went unnoticed among the cries.
The driver, eyes wide with horror, saw the ocean rushing up to meet them. With nothing more to do, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable.
But... the inevitable never came.
The bus jerked to a sudden stop, and silence fell—stunned, eerie silence. The driver peeked open one eye, and the breath caught in his throat.
There, just outside the front windshield, was Superman.
Hovering mere feet above the crashing waves, he stood braced against the water's force. His cheeks were puffed slightly from exertion as he held the full weight of the bus above his head, cape fluttering dramatically in the sea wind. Below him, the water rippled in a circular wave, spreading outward from his boots.
Inside the bus, the children sat frozen. They didn't understand why everything had stopped, why the world had gone still. But then, one of the kids near the front saw it—the bright red cape flapping beyond the window.
"Superman!" the child gasped.
"Superman?!" another repeated in disbelief.
"He's here!" a chorus of voices cried out.
"He saved us!"
"Yay! Superman!"
Shiki's teary eyes lit up. His lips quivered as a smile broke through the fear. Hope—bright and pure—flared in his chest. He wasn't just dreaming. He had heard him.
With slow, controlled movement, Clark began lifting the bus. He ascended, muscles taut, the enormous vehicle supported above him. He gently placed it back on the bridge as if it weighed nothing at all.
Onlookers screamed in awe and clapped with tears in their eyes. The children inside the bus, now safe, pushed open the windows and reached out, waving their tiny hands and cheering.
Superman hovered at the side, flying alongside the bus and shaking their hands as they stuck out. But he noticed something—one of the wheels was badly damaged. With a resigned sigh, he called out in his firm but playful voice.
"All right, you brats, listen up. Who wants to go flying?"
"MEEEE!!!" they shrieked with glee.
"Then buckle up!" he said, grinning. "You're all about to get a one-of-a-kind experience!"
Excited chatter erupted inside as the kids scrambled to fasten their seatbelts. The sand from his cape flowed out towards the ground, raising the bus to brace the vehicle into his hand before lifting it effortlessly into the air.
Gasps filled the cabin.
"Woah…"
"This is so cool…"
"We're flying…"
"AWESOME!"
Clark smirked to himself and called out, "Now repeat after me, everyone—Up! Up! And Away!"
"UP! UP! AND AWAY!!!" the kids shouted in unison.
And just like that, Superman launched them into the sky, the bus soaring smoothly above the city skyline.
"Sol," he said, speaking to his onboard AI, "guide me to their school."
"Already locked in," the calm voice responded.
Down below, people stopped in their tracks. Cars pulled over. Phones came out. Everyone watched in stunned amazement at the almost cartoonish image of Superman flying a school bus full of children through the air.
Within a minute, they reached the schoolyard. Clark gently lowered the bus onto the ground. The doors swung open, and the children spilled out one after another, wearing bright yellow hats and matching red backpacks.
Clark hovered slightly above the ground, arms crossed. He sighed softly as the kids swarmed around him, encircling him like fans around a rock star.
They stared at him with shining, grateful eyes, each one bursting with admiration.
"Thank you, Superman!"
"You saved us!"
"You're the best!"
Clark felt a little awkward. He was never great with praise, and while part of him wanted to scowl or brush it off, a small smile tugged at his lips. It wouldn't go away.
A curious child reached out and ran their fingers through the edge of his cape. It shimmered slightly, disintegrating into soft red sand before reforming.
"So beautiful…" the child whispered in awe.
Then, from the back of the group, Shiki stepped forward, nervously holding the half-finished drawing. He shuffled up to Superman, heart pounding.
"Um… Mr. Superman, sir?" he asked shyly.
Clark winced slightly at being called Mr. and sir, but crouched down with a gentle smile. "Sup, little man?"
Shiki held out the drawing and a red crayon. "Could I… could I have your autograph?"
Clark blinked, then chuckled softly. "Sure, kid."
He took the crayon and, with a quick blur of motion, signed his name across the paper in perfect form.
As he handed it back, Shiki stared up with wide eyes. "I like your suit. It looks really cool."
Clark hovered a bit higher and gave him a wink. "Thanks. My mom and grandma made it for me."
Then, pressing two fingers to his forehead, he added, "Remember, if you ever need saving… you know who to call."
"SUPERMAN!!!" the kids shouted, throwing their fists into the air.
Laughing heartily, Clark rocketed into the sky, leaving a powerful crack in the air as he vanished over the horizon.
Back on the ground, Shiki's seatmate turned to him and smiled. "Okay… you were right. He is the coolest."
"Told you so!" Shiki said, puffing out his chest proudly.
As he flew away, Clark could still hear the kids running up to their teachers.
"Sensei! Sensei! Superman saved us!"
He shook his head with a sigh, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"..."
"...I believe the term we're looking for is tsundere," Sol quipped in his ear.
"Sol, I will melt your circuits with my heat vision. Don't test me."
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