The silver figure standing between Kathy and the gunman was, of course, Richard Carter.
The moment Kathy had enthusiastically pitched her trafficking investigation that afternoon, Richard had suspected she was about to stumble into something far beyond her experience.
He’d been right.
If he hadn’t quietly followed her that evening, his newest reporter would have become tomorrow’s obituary instead of tomorrow’s headline.
Truthfully, these gangsters weren’t worth transforming for.
In his human form alone, Richard could have handled every one of them.
But that would have meant hiding his identity behind a mask or a hood.
It felt unnecessarily awkward.
Maintaining Nexus’s power at human size consumed very little energy, so becoming Ultraman was simply the cleaner solution.
Besides…
Richard genuinely liked Kathy.
She worked harder than anyone in the newsroom, volunteered for overnight assignments without complaint, and chased stories with relentless determination.
She lacked experience.
Not courage.
Given enough time, Richard believed she had the potential to become one of the country’s finest investigative reporters.
Sometimes talent just needed the right opportunity.
He decided to hand her one.
The gang leader recovered first.
Fear flashed across his face, but he still had three men watching him.
Backing down wasn’t an option.
“You’ve got a death wish!” He emptied the pistol.
Muzzle flashes lit the warehouse yard.
Round after round slammed into Ultraman’s silver body.
Every bullet ricocheted harmlessly away.
One fragment skipped sideways and buried itself in a nearby thug’s leg.
The man screamed and collapsed, clutching the wound.
The magazine ran dry.
Ultraman hadn’t taken a single step.
Richard reached out.
His fingers closed around the pistol’s barrel.
With barely any effort…
The steel folded like warm wax.
The handgun became a twisted lump of scrap metal.
The gang leader stared.
“W…
what are you?” One of the younger gangsters swallowed.
“Boss…” “I think…” “…I think that’s Ultraman.” The leader blinked.
The name sounded familiar.
Then he remembered.
The giant from the news.
The one who had driven the monster terrorizing New York straight into the pavement with a single punch.
His face turned white.
We’re fighting that?
Forget it.
I’m done.
Another thug whispered nervously, “I thought Ultraman was supposed to be fifty meters tall.” His companion shrugged.
“Maybe he can change size.” “What, like an action figure?” The exchange ended there.
The gang leader gritted his teeth.
If bullets didn’t work…
He pulled a knife.
“I don’t care who you are!” He pointed the blade dramatically.
“I’m the man who runs this entire neighborhood.” “They call me Copperhead.” “You want to know how I earned that name?” Richard raised a finger.
“I don’t.” His fingertip lightly tapped the man’s forehead.
The effect was anything but light.
The gang leader blasted backward like he’d been hit by a speeding truck.
He crashed through a stack of wooden crates, which exploded into splinters before collapsing on top of him.
Silence.
One flick.
That was all it took.
The remaining gangsters turned pale.
No one dared breathe.
No one dared move.
Click.
Richard turned toward the sound.
Kathy stood several yards away, holding up her phone.
She’d switched from calling the police to taking pictures.
When Ultraman looked at her, she instinctively stepped backward.
She wasn’t entirely sure whether this mysterious guardian appreciated photography.
Richard almost laughed.
Good.
She hadn’t frozen.
She hadn’t forgotten she was a reporter.
Professional instincts survived even after nearly being shot.
That boded well for her future.
Behind her, the girls trapped inside the shipping container cautiously emerged.
The lock Kathy had picked still hung uselessly from the door.
Their captors no longer seemed interested in stopping them.
Technically…
They were free.
Yet none of them dared leave.
Fear could outlast chains.
Richard’s head tilted slightly.
He heard an engine outside.
Even without transforming, the Light had sharpened his senses far beyond human limits.
In Ultraman form, every distant sound stood out with perfect clarity.
There was another gangster.
He’d remained outside in a parked vehicle while the others handled the warehouse.
After waiting several minutes and hearing gunfire, he’d finally decided something was wrong.
He reached the entrance.
Then he saw Ultraman.
His survival instincts took over instantly.
He sprinted back to the idling vehicle, slammed it into gear, and floored the accelerator.
The car smashed through a pile of abandoned crates and tore toward the street.
One hand gripped the steering wheel.
The other fumbled for his phone.
“Boss!” “It’s Danny!” “I’m at Warehouse Forty-Two.” “No, that’s not the problem!” “You’ll never believe what happened here…” He never finished.
A silver streak descended from the night sky.
Ultraman landed directly in front of the speeding vehicle.
His palm struck the hood.
Metal screamed.
The engine compartment crumpled inward.
The car stopped instantly.
Momentum hurled the rear upward, sending the vehicle flipping through the air before it slammed onto its roof.
A wheel bounced free.
The rest collapsed into a mangled heap of steel.
Silence returned.
Kathy had chased after him with her phone recording.
She arrived just in time to witness the impossible.
The entire car…
Stopped with one hand.
Her jaw slowly fell open.
She’d seen scenes like that in movies.
Seeing it happen twenty feet away was something else entirely.
The problem had been solved.
Richard glanced back one final time.
Then he bent his knees.
With a burst of silver light, Ultraman shot skyward, disappearing into the night like a falling star in reverse.
Kathy never lowered her phone.
She kept filming until the silver figure became a tiny point against the darkness…
…and finally vanished.
Only then did she let out the breath she’d been holding.
A grin spread across her face.
She knew exactly what tomorrow’s front page would be.