Mari, wearing her Raven identity, sat atop a tall building, her black armor gleaming in the clear sunlight of the cloudless blue sky. Her legs dangled freely over the edge as she gazed down at the streets below. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, yet her Sharingan eyes flickered all around the street below with quiet amusement.
The past few days had been... interesting.
She had fought villains, rescued people from burning wreckage, and even stopped a runaway train. All things she never imagined herself doing especially not for free. Well, not entirely for free.
She had joined the hero business for the money. That was the deal. Get paid, live comfortably, build her future on her terms. She never pretended to be noble like the others. She wasn't doing it to "protect the innocent" or "serve justice."
But now, as the breeze rustled her short, white hair and the city hummed quietly beneath her, she felt something unfamiliar blooming in her chest. Joy. Real joy. Not from the fight, or the fame but from actually helping people.
Helping people made her... happy.
The thought annoyed her. She frowned, trying to chase it away.
That was news to her which made her... unsettle.
She squinted at the sun, sighing.
"Umu... well, it's probably just because the pay is good," she muttered to herself, trying to justify the warmth sneaking into her chest.
"What are you doing up here, kid?" Cecil's voice came from behind her, calm and unimpressed as always. He stepped up beside her, his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat, his gaze following hers down to the streets far below.
Mari didn't even flinch. She grinned instead, leaning back slightly. "Nothing much," she said with mock innocence. "Just thinking about asking for a raise."
Cecil snorted. "You've been a hero for, what, a week? And you're already thinking about pay bumps?"
"Yes, look—I'm only getting like two million dollars a month. That's without including taxes," Mari said with a playful scowl, twirling a tiny shard of ice on her fingertip like a coin.
Cecil gave her a long, flat stare. "You're not including the benefits we're giving you."
Mari grinned. "Ha! I was joking, boss man—"
But she stopped mid-sentence, her red eyes locking onto something down below. Her smile widened, mischief sparking across her face.
"Well, hello... what do we have here?" she muttered to herself.
Cecil raised an eyebrow. "What did you see?"
But Mari was already getting to her feet, eyes locked onto something in the distance. "Looks like I just found something fun."
Before Cecil could ask more to her, she leapt off the building's edge with no hesitation, launching herself into a sprint down the nearest rooftop, her black armor gleaming as she moved.
- - -
As Mari landed and sprinted toward the direction of the disturbance, the sound of gunfire reached her ears—followed by the chaos of two people brawling. One had concrete-gray skin, the other wore a yellow mask and shattered goggles.
She instantly recognized them. Slowing her pace to watch, she observed their scuffle with mild amusement.
When she got closer, she heard the man in the yellow mask yell, "How about Ass-Kicker?!"
Mari chuckled, folding her arms. "What a terrible name," she muttered to herself as she came to a stop, surveying the scene. Her eyes settled on the younger of the two fighters—Mark Grayson, also known as the soon-to-be superhero Invincible.
What? When did you get here?" Invincible asked, trying to look composed despite the mess.
Mari tilted her head, giving him a playful but disappointed glare. "Not a very impressive debut. Way too much property damage," she said, her voice carrying the tone of a tired older sister scolding a younger sibling.
Before she could say more, a shadow passed over her.
She didn't need to look up. She knew exactly who it was.
"Yo, Omni-Man," she said casually, turning to face the most powerful man on Earth. "Fancy seeing you here. He flow above them with an natural expression carved deep into his face.
He didn't speak—just gestured for them to follow.
Mari and Mark exchanged looks, then followed behind silently. But not before Mari lazily flicked her hand, encasing the villain in a thick prison of ice.
As all three of them landed near a quiet building, Mari immediately sensed the awkward atmosphere. The tension was thick clearly something personal was brewing between the two.
Realizing this was a father-and-son moment she didn't need to intrude on, Mari stepped back and offered a polite nod.
"I presume you two know each other well enough, so… I'll take my leave," she said, her tone casual but respectful.
Both Omni-Man and Mark gave her a brief nod, silently acknowledging her words.
Without another word, she turned and left, giving them the space they needed.
That's what Mari could have said… but in reality, she was watching them interact from the roof of another building, hidden in the shadows.
"The kid has potential," came a voice from beside her.
She didn't even bother to look—she already knew who it was.
"Yeah, he does," Mari replied casually, her fingers lightly tapping against her chin as she observed the scene below. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But he's also reckless. More of a 'I-want-to-prove-myself' type than someone with a real hero mindset."
Below, Mark was practically begging Omni-Man to hit him, clearly pushing for a test of strength.
"Interesting observation," Cecil said beside her, one eyebrow raised. "Especially coming from another child"
Mari shot him a look. "Excuse me—I'm thirteen and three-quarters. And you're the one paying a child, not the other way around. Mind you, sir," she said with a scoff, folding her arms as she glanced at a nearby ad.
"I'm also way more mentally mature than he is," she added, nodding to herself like she'd just won an argument in court.
Cecil gave her a long, unimpressed stare. "And what part of mentally mature involves spending thousands of dollars on gambling in a video game, Miss?"
Mari crossed her arms tighter, tilting her head with mock offense. "It was strategic investment,First of all, it was a limited-time banner, okay? I had amazing odds. Second… I got a legendary. Totally worth it."
Before Cecil could launch into a lecture about Mari's questionable spending habits, she quickly deflected.
"Look—they're flying off," she said, gesturing toward Mark and Omni-Man as they ascended into the sky. "Should we, I don't know, follow them?"
Cecil didn't even look. "No need," he replied flatly. "Don't try to follow them, Mari. Go home. There are no villain attacks happening today."
And just like that, with his usual no-nonsense attitude, he vanished in a sharp flicker of blue light teleporting away before Mari could come up with another excuse to stay involved.
She stood there for a moment, arms crossed, staring at the sky. thinking about only one thing what does she eat for today
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see is sea