A few more days passed.
Lately, Daniel had been spending even more time in the sun than usual, staying out longer and longer each day.
The feeling of getting stronger every second was addicting.
Once he started, he couldn’t stop.
The warm little family of four continued living their peaceful, ordinary life.
Nothing dramatic happened, but the quiet routine felt comfortable in a way that made people relax without realizing it.
It was summer vacation now. Carol didn’t have classes, and there was barely any homework besides a few social practice assignments, so she spent every day running wild outside.
Most of the time, nobody even knew where she had gone.
Meanwhile, Daniel’s life had become incredibly simple.
Home. Yard. Sunlight.
That was it.
From sunrise to sunset, other than eating or going to the bathroom, he spent almost all his time sitting under the sun.
John and Mary had mostly stopped trying to interfere. There was no point anyway. Even if they told him not to, he would still do it, so eventually they just let him be.
That afternoon, Daniel was lying in the yard taking a nap when a shadow suddenly blocked the sunlight on his face.
He opened his eyes and immediately saw Carol leaning over him, her hand halfway extended as if she was about to pinch his nose.
"What are you doing?" Daniel asked suspiciously.
"Nothing..."
Carol quickly pulled her hand back and sat down beside him.
"How come you’re home already?" Daniel asked. Normally, she would never come back this early.
Carol didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she stared ahead quietly for a moment before asking.
"Daniel... Do you have a dream?"
"Huh?"
Daniel blinked in confusion.
"Why are you suddenly asking that?"
"Pamela’s moving away."
Carol’s voice sounded unusually low.
Pamela was her best friend, and now she was leaving. Carol had clearly taken it hard.
"Why’s she moving?" Daniel asked curiously.
"They’re going to Los Angeles."
Carol sighed.
"Pamela wants to become a celebrity. Apparently, one of her relatives over there noticed her and wants to train her so she can try getting into Hollywood someday."
Then Carol turned back toward him and asked again.
"Daniel, do you have a dream?"
This time, Daniel actually thought about it.
"I... don’t know."
The question left him strangely lost.
Back in his previous life, he had wanted to make money and become successful. But after learning this was the Marvel Universe, those thoughts had slowly faded away.
’Become a hero?’
Daniel silently asked himself.
His Superman abilities would only continue growing stronger. Once he became an adult years from now, what exactly was he supposed to do with all that power?
Live as an ordinary person?
It would be impossible.
Could he really pretend to be normal forever?
What was the point of having the power to slay monsters if he hid it for his entire life?
And if someone around him, even a stranger, was in danger right before his eyes, could he really stand there and ignore it?
Things that were life-threatening to ordinary people would be as simple as breathing to him.
Watching lives disappear while doing nothing...
He knew he couldn’t do that.
But once he used his abilities, people would eventually notice.
And once the world discovered someone with powers beyond human understanding, who knew how many vultures would come circling around him?
Daniel suddenly sighed inwardly.
’If only I had Clark Kent’s glasses.’
While he was still lost in thought, Carol spoke again beside him.
"Daniel, I want to become a hero. A hero like Steve Rogers."
Steve Rogers.
Captain America.
Daniel looked at her in surprise.
"Huh?"
He genuinely hadn’t expected something like that to come out of her mouth.
"Why?" he asked.
"I want to protect people. Protect all of you."
Carol’s expression was serious.
Daniel felt unexpectedly touched.
"But... you don’t have to..."
Before he could finish, Carol cut him off.
"I want to prove myself," she declared firmly. "I want to prove that women can be strong too."
Daniel looked at her carefully.
"Why would you think that?"
"Daniel, I know."
Carol’s voice became unusually calm and mature.
"Dad likes boys more."
Daniel froze slightly.
"Even though he loves me too, I can still tell. He likes boys more."
"..."
Daniel couldn’t help feeling surprised by how mature she sounded.
Normally she was goofy, noisy, and full of energy all day long. He had never seen her this serious before.
After hesitating for a moment, Daniel cautiously asked.
"Did Pamela leaving... affect you that much?"
"No."
Carol shot him an annoyed look.
"When Pamela left today, she said a lot of things to me. She said she was going to become famous. Become a real star."
Carol paused for a moment.
"We talked for a long time, but the thing I remember most was the last thing she said."
She turned to look directly at Daniel. Her eyes were filled with determination.
"She said, ’Carol, we have to chase after something. We have to do something meaningful, so we won’t be forgotten.’"
Carol repeated the words softly.
Daniel sighed inwardly.
’Do kids in this era really mature this early?’
Then Carol suddenly stood up.
"Daniel, I want to join the military!"
She planted her hands on her hips dramatically, looking incredibly heroic.
"I’m going to become a pilot. An Air Force hero! There aren’t any female pilots in the military right now, so I will become the first one!"
"You’re only eight years old," Daniel quietly reminded her.
"..."
Carol’s imposing momentum instantly shattered.
She almost choked on her own breath.
A moment ago, Daniel had genuinely been stunned by how serious she looked. But after calming down, he suddenly remembered something very important.
Carol was eight.
Her personality wasn’t stable yet. She was still at the age where ideas came one after another on impulse.
’Did visiting the Captain America memorial a few days ago awaken her chuuni soul or something?’
"Hmph!"
Carol crossed her arms unhappily.
"A person’s ambition has nothing to do with age!"
"Sure, sure... Got it..."
Daniel nodded while barely holding back his laughter.
Seeing the smile on his face instantly irritated Carol.
’He’s laughing at me?’
Carol immediately felt offended.
’He’s looking down on my dream!’
She clenched her fists and charged at him without hesitation.
Back then, she used to beat Daniel up all the time.
Whenever Daniel thought she was childish and refused to play with her, Carol would get angry, pin him to the ground, and bully him until he gave in.
But things were different now.
Before, she had always been stronger than him, and Daniel couldn’t break free no matter how hard he struggled.
This time though, the moment Daniel sensed danger, he slipped away immediately.
Carol reached out to grab him, but to her surprise, she couldn’t pull him back at all.
She chased after him for a couple steps, only to realize she couldn’t catch up either.
’Please. I’m basically Superman now. Did you think I was still the same as before?’
Daniel ran farther away while secretly feeling smug.
’From now on, Carol’s never pinning me to the ground again!’
Thinking back to all the times he got beaten up by an eight year old girl made him feel unbelievably embarrassed.
’A grown teenager’s soul getting bullied by a kid... seriously shameful.’
Still, there was nothing he could’ve done before.
Girls biologically grew up faster than boys, and Carol was three years older than him on top of that.
Resistance had been impossible.
But now?
Now things were different.
Daniel could clearly feel it earlier when Carol tried pulling him. The resistance had been tiny.
’I probably already have a few hundred pounds of strength by now,’ he estimated silently.
’My speed and everything else have improved a ton too.’
The feeling of constantly becoming stronger felt incredible.
Especially when you could feel the improvement every single moment.
It was exhilarating.
"Why did I even bother talking to you about this, you little brat?!" Carol shouted from behind him angrily.
She finally gave up chasing.
For some reason, Daniel kept running faster and faster until she couldn’t catch him at all.
"You don’t understand anything!" she yelled furiously.
Then she pointed at him from a distance.
"Just wait, Daniel! I’ll prove it to you someday!"
"Alright," Daniel shouted back with a grin.
"I’ll be waiting."
"You better wait!"