Extraordinary North America: Where are the magical partners?

Chapter 180 "What kind of hero do you want to be?" (asking for monthly tickets)
Des Moines, Iowa.

"what--!!!"

In the deserted suburbs of a small town, a sudden scream broke the tranquility of the air, coming from far away.

If there were people there, they would have witnessed an incredible scene - the air seemed to be torn apart by invisible hands, and a dark blue vortex appeared out of thin air. Then, several figures fell out of the vortex in a panic with screams.

“F**king unprofessional!!!”

Rango staggered to his feet, cursing, covering his chest, and vomiting violently.

Yumi, who was floating beside him, had an expression as if she had done something wrong and patted his back with grievance.

Just now, in the murder house, Rango and his team completed the careful selection of the target world. Under Yumi's control, the pages of the magic book flipped rapidly until they stopped at the different world they were going to.

Then, a blue light as deep as a black hole surged out from the magic book, forming a portal to the unknown. Under Yumi's instructions, Rango took the brunt and jumped into the light.

Originally, he thought that after entering, he could reach another world directly by closing his eyes. However, the fact was that he was rapidly spinning thousands of times in a space full of nothingness. Just when he thought he was going to be turned to death, a strong feeling of weightlessness suddenly hit him, and when he opened his eyes, he had already arrived here.

"Fuck. I almost passed out."

Teddy also vomited violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of cotton before he barely regained a little balance.

This time, when they came to this strange world, there were only three of them serving as the vanguard. After they had thoroughly understood the place, the main force would follow.

"I'm sorry, Master~ I forgot to tell you about the side effects of the Shuttle Grimoire."

After Rango had finished complaining, Yumi spoke coquettishly in her soft voice, and carefully wiped the stains from the corners of his mouth with her tail.

When Teddy saw this scene, he couldn't help but curl his lips in disgust and cursed her in his heart, "What a slut."

"Forget it, we are here after all, but where are we now?"

Rango rubbed Yumi's head and looked around. They were obviously in a vast grassland. It was quiet all around. Apart from a few ordinary American-style town houses vaguely visible in the distance, there were almost no signs to indicate the direction.

After a while.

In a residential courtyard in a corner of the town, the sunlight dappled onto a girl in tight sportswear.

She was concentrating on punching a thick tree. Every punch was precise and powerful. Although her figure looked frail, her punches left deep fist marks on the tree trunk!
"Four hundred and ninety-nine, five hundred!"

As the last punch landed, the girl finally lost all her strength and collapsed to the ground exhausted, her chest heaving violently as she breathed in deep gulps of air.

"Annie, don't stop! There's weightlifting waiting for you after boxing!"

At this time, a stern voice of a middle-aged woman came from the window frame of the house. After hearing it, the girl named Annie gritted her teeth, endured the pain in her body, and staggered towards the car parked on the street.

She gripped the car's bumper tightly with both hands and exerted force suddenly. The car body weighing several tons was shaken in an instant and slowly rose up.

Then, she took a horse stance, her tight pants outlining the tight lines of her hips, and as she leaned forward, she lifted and lowered the car as if doing a deadlift exercise.

The neighbors around were used to this, and many of them were there cheering for her.

"Annie, come on! You are the one who belongs to this year's Super Seven Team!"

"Don't forget to ask my countrymen for an autograph for me!"

"I want the invisible man!"

"."

Facing the booing of the residents around her, Annie just smiled calmly, but secretly competed in her heart. She knew very well that if she failed to join the seven-member team in the end, these people would definitely laugh at her the most.

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine. One hundred."

Sweat dripped down like drizzle, blurring her vision, but Anne's eyes were unusually firm. She repeated the weightlifting movements mechanically, and every lift was a challenge to her own limits.

As time went by, the spectators on the street gradually dispersed, leaving her alone to train alone and determinedly.

"clap clap"

A burst of crisp applause sounded from behind, accompanied by a low and magnetic voice.

"It must be very difficult for a girl."

Anne turned around suddenly and saw a tall man standing not far away, looking at her with a smile. Next to him, a kitten was floating leisurely, and at his feet, there was a teddy bear standing???

After seeing the other person's handsome face that looked like a movie star, Anne suddenly felt a little unnatural. In the small town where she lived, it was rare to meet such a handsome man, and the other person had an indescribable temperament.

She hurriedly put down the bumper, wiped the sweat off her face with the towel around her neck, and asked curiously and shyly, "Who are you?"

"Rango!"

Rango took the initiative to extend his hand and introduce himself, his voice warm and powerful: "We are tourists from Europe, nice to meet you!"

"Annie."

Annie gently held Rango's outstretched hand, pointed at Yumi and Teddy curiously, and asked expectantly, "Are you also a psychic?"

"superpower?"

Rango's mouth curled up into a playful smile, his eyebrows slightly raised, and he nodded, "Of course, otherwise how could a cat fly, and a teddy bear walk and talk, right?"

"That's amazing." Annie said enviously, "This is the first time I've seen this kind of superpower."

Afterwards, the two of them stood outside the door and chatted for a while. From the conversation with the girl, Rango learned that the other party was also a super-powered person. Of course, it goes without saying that no normal girl would lift a car for fun.

Anne also revealed that the reason she worked so hard was because she wanted to join a team called the Super Seven, each of whom is a superhero who fights against violence, protects justice and peace. Ever since she knew she had super powers, joining the Seven has been her family's long-cherished wish.

"Annie! You're slacking off again!"

Just as the two were chatting excitedly, a middle-aged woman wearing an apron and looking anxious suddenly rushed out of the house. After her eyes briefly paused on Teddy and Yumi, she quickly turned to Annie, frowning and speaking with a bit of reproach in her tone: "There are only a few days left until the selection day. How can you join the seven-member team if you are so lazy?"

"Got it, Mom!"

Perhaps out of fear of her mother or her endless desire for the Super Seven, Annie didn't bother talking to Rango anymore and quickly turned around to continue her deadlift training.

But at this moment, a hand suddenly rested on the hood of the car, and the car body, which had been half lifted, was instantly pressed back to the ground.

Rango smiled at the stunned Annie, then turned to look at her mother, "Excuse me, ma'am, but with your training, those who know would think you are preparing for the seven-member team selection, and those who don't would think you are losing weight. It's really too crude and simple."

Anne's mother looked at the man in front of her who was most likely a superpower, and explained with difficulty: "Our family conditions cannot afford high-end training equipment."

"No, no, no, the equipment is not the key, the people are what's important."

Rango looked at the mother and daughter with a serious face, then raised his thumb to himself and said confidently: "If you believe in me, I am willing to train Annie personally and help her realize her dream."

As soon as this was said, Annie and her mother looked at each other in confusion. After a short silence, her mother finally asked first: "Are you a superhero trainer?"

"Uh no, but I'm probably better than any superhero you've ever met."

As he spoke, as if afraid that they would not believe him, Rango raised his hand to grab the bumper of the car, then lightly lifted it above his head. Finally, he swung it up with one arm!
Under the shocked gaze of the mother and daughter, the only vehicle in their family was thrown hundreds of meters away by the man in front of them, and after passing over the house, it hit the ground heavily and turned into a pile of scrap metal.
"I admire Annie so much that you don't have to pay me."

Rango patted Annie on the shoulder and said to them, "As long as we provide food and shelter, it's fine. How about it, do you want to do it?"

Annie's mother looked at the car that had caught fire and scrapped, and forced a smile: "Okay, but this car..."

"I'm so hungry, let's eat first."

"Sir, our car"

"Do you have steak? Fry me two more, and it would be best if I also have a bowl of authentic Chinatown fried noodles."

"car"

"By the way, don't forget to prepare a bucket of fresh fish for my cat."

"."

Just like that, Anne, who had been training alone for more than ten years at the cost of an old car that had been driven for who knows how many years, finally found a trainer who was also a person with super powers.

night.

In the narrow living room, Rango slumped on the sofa, holding a plate of fried noodles as a midnight snack, eating while watching the interview program on TV.

The person being interviewed was a middle-aged man who looked a little thin. Under the guidance of the host, the man was talking incessantly, claiming to be the embodiment of justice, and was willing to give up everything for the safety of citizens, including personal privacy and even his life.

After hearing the host on TV call the other person the Invisible Man, Teddy couldn't help but sneer: "Shit, the Invisible Man is almost becoming a mascot for superpowers. He can be seen everywhere. There was an Invisible Man in Hotel Transylvania, there was an Invisible Man in our cabin, and now here, there is an Invisible Man as well."

Rango shrugged, not really knowing how to answer. In fact, in his opinion, a true invisible man should not show his true appearance in public.

Even though he always complained about the invisible man in his team who was always elusive, to be honest, deep down he admired his behavior.

Only by keeping it mysterious can you have deterrence!

After the interview with this guy, other superheroes appeared on TV. Looking at the subtitles below, they were a group called the Super Seven, and they all belonged to a group called Vought Corporation.

"Annie."

Rango's eyes turned to the corner of the living room, where Anne was pedaling a unicycle with great effort, but she did not forget to knit a sweater with her hands. "Is this the Super Seven you said you wanted to join?"

"Well," Anne tried to maintain her balance and said without raising her head, "The Homelander, Queen Maeve, the Locomotive, the Deep Sea, the Invisible Man, Black, and the last one, the Lamplighter, who is about to retire."

After hearing her words, Rango and Teddy looked at each other, was stunned for a second, and then both burst into laughter.

“Fuck, Homelander is such a funny name, the leader of his hometown? Hahahaha”

"And the lamplighter, Walter? Lighting a lamp is considered a superpower?"

"Hahaha"

Listening to the mocking laughter of the two people on the sofa, Annie suddenly became angry and wanted to defend the heroes in her heart. But as soon as she stopped knitting, Yumi, who was floating beside her, began to cheer her up: "Come on, Annie, there are only three minutes left to an hour! Don't give up at this time!"

"I"

Anne tried hard to maintain her balance, snorted at Rango and Teddy, and continued her training of knitting a sweater on the unicycle.

After recruiting Rango to be her trainer this afternoon, she was looking forward to and imagining that he would have a series of exciting potential development courses.

As a result, after these bastards emptied their refrigerator, they threw a unicycle to her and asked her to practice her balance skills which had nothing to do with superpowers.

But they were talking and laughing, drinking beer and watching TV. This sharp contrast made Annie even more upset. Asshole!

Except for Yuumi who is relatively considerate, this man and the teddy bear are complete liars!

But what made her even more helpless was that her mother seemed to be frightened by Rango's strength to overturn a car hundreds of meters away. No matter what she said, she was unwilling to drive Rango and the others away, which led to her current miserable situation.

On the other side, Rango on the sofa was joking with Teddy about the Super Seven, but when the TV screen switched to a man with short blond hair and a star-spangled cape, his smile froze instantly.

Like he said before, he has seen a lot of movies but basically no TV series. However, many times, when the characters in a TV series become popular, even he, who does not follow the series, will know a little about it.

Coincidentally, he had seen this guy on TV in countless emoticons.

“Holy shit!!!”

Rango pointed at the cloaked man posing on TV, turned to look at Annie, and asked in disbelief, "Is that Homelander him?"

"Yes, my countryman." Anne raised her chin and said proudly, "You must have heard of him in Europe. He is a superstar known as the God of the World!"

Rango stopped laughing this time. He tapped the armrest of the sofa with his fingers, his eyes fixed solemnly on Homelander on TV.

He has a very handsome appearance, but maybe it’s because of preconceived notions, but Rango always feels that there is a subtle evil spirit between this guy’s eyebrows.

"So, the boss of the Super Seven you're going to join is him, Homelander?"

"Of course, he is the embodiment of justice. He has prevented crimes and saved innocent people countless times," Anne's tone was full of idol worship. "He is like the reincarnation of Jesus on earth."

"."

Rango glanced at the girl and did not refute her. She was obviously brainwashed by Vought Company's superhero marketing. It would be difficult to get out of it without going through some things.

But to be honest, he only knew a native of his country and understood that this guy was not a good person, but Rango didn't know much about other aspects of the plot.

At this time, after the host on TV introduced the motherland in great detail, he began to introduce other heroes one by one:

Queen Maeve, who is invulnerable to swords and guns and dressed as a mature woman, Deep Sea who can communicate with marine life, the locomotive whose maximum speed exceeds the speed of sound, the masked man Xuanse who has powerful fighting and assassination abilities, the lamplighter who can control flames to a certain extent, and the invisible man who can change the state of his skin introduced before.

After listening to the host’s introduction, Rango felt it was just average!
Apart from Homelander, Queen Maeve and the Engine, who are somewhat interesting, the rest of them combined are not even worth a slap from that kid Andrew.

Teddy's opinion was exactly the same as his. "Do you believe it, Rango? You or Andrew don't even need to do anything. Just feed the vomiting man two pounds of feces and he can wipe out all these guys!"

".I would like to thank you on behalf of the vomiting person."

Rango's eyes were once again focused on the fellow countryman who was giving an impassioned speech on TV.

"The others may not be as good, but this guy should be quite good. Didn't you hear what the host said? He has supersonic speed, the ability to fly, an indestructible body, terrifying strength, and extraordinary perception. Damn it, this guy is simply a beggar."

"He is simply you from another world!"

Teddy suddenly interrupted excitedly: "Haven't you figured it out, Rango? The ability to fly, supersonic speed, invulnerability, and great strength, aren't these exactly like you!"

"Well, that kid can shoot lasers from his eyes, but I can't do that."

"When you draw a few more summons, maybe you can draw the characteristics of Laser Eyes?"

Teddy looked Rango up and down, stroked his chin and said with emotion: "Rango, you are the assembled version of Homelander!"

".Fuck, I hate this name!"

Rango waved his hands unhappily. It was an insult to compare him to his native country. He was a good guy through and through.

Teddy smiled and continued, "I have a plan. Have you noticed that there are a lot of people with super powers in this world? The citizens are almost used to it. It is very suitable for people like us to settle down and survive here."

"Yes, so what?" Rango turned his head and asked.

"As outsiders, conflicts between us and the local indigenous forces are inevitable. Instead of passively defending, we should take the initiative and establish our own superpower company!"

Teddy jumped up and down excitedly, "Just think about it, with the strength of this crappy group of seven, calling Andrew and the others over would be a sheer massacre!"

"You're overthinking it, buddy. Didn't you hear what was said on TV? Vought Corporation has hundreds of people with super powers throughout North America, and the Seven are just the seven most famous among them."

"So what? We have a whole world to back us up, why should we be afraid of a single company like him? If all else fails, let Yumi open a tunnel at the Water Company headquarters, and then release all those dark creatures in the wooden prison. I don't believe we can't deal with them!"

"You are really smart sometimes."

Rango was completely shocked this time. He looked up and down at Teddy who was dancing with joy. After this guy accompanied him to the round clam hunt, his moral bottom line had dropped to an unbearable level.

The Water Company didn't provoke him, but this guy wanted to make the other party bleed.

He pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head and said, "Forget it. We have no grudges against them, so there is no need to set up a company to compete. We should stay for a few more days to collect some information about the local customs and habits. If we are sure that we will settle here in the future, we have to find a place to live."

Teddy couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard this, not believing the other party at all. Based on his understanding of Rango, with this guy's personality, he would sooner or later have to confront the super-powered people in this world in a few days.

Meanwhile, under Yumi's strict supervision, Annie struggled hard and finally managed to keep her balance on the unicycle for a full hour, while miraculously completing one sleeve of her sweater.

She was so tired that she was out of breath. She smiled bitterly and said, "You guys can chat. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."

"etc."

Rango glanced at his watch and interrupted her seriously, "It's only eleven o'clock now, and we have a special training program to complete, which will add another two hours."

"Other projects?" Annie was stunned when she heard that, then asked expectantly, "Is it some special training project?"

"Of course." Rango smiled and announced loudly: "That is - playing table tennis on the seesaw! Once the ball lands, the timer starts again!"

"Fuck." Anne's wail rang out immediately.

Time passed quietly amid Anne's endless complaints and efforts, and a week passed by like a flash.

In the open space in the courtyard, a girl of about 20 was having a fierce fight with a cat floating leisurely in the air. The wind of her fists and the cat's claws complemented each other, and the angry screams and the lazy meows of the cat intertwined back and forth.

"Center of gravity! Grasp your center of gravity! What did I teach you? Don't let your body lose balance so easily!"

"Lean your back against the wall! Keep your eyes open! Don't waste your energy yelling!"

"Damn it, you're the dumbest superpowered person I've ever seen!"

"."

Before he could finish his words, Yuumi leaped lightly and threw a precise Meowth Punch. Annie was caught off guard and was hit through the wooden wall behind her. She fell awkwardly into the ruins outside the wall, and a cloud of dust rose up around her.

Under the eaves, Rango, wearing sunglasses, put down the beer can in his hand, shook his head helplessly, and walked into the pierced wooden house.

Although this girl is very strong, her boxing and kicking skills are extremely poor. She has not learned any systematic fighting techniques. Without him having to do anything, Yumi can beat her to death with just a set of Meow Meow Fists.

At this moment, under the ruins, Anne was surrounded by dazzling light, like a multi-million-watt light bulb, and this was also her superpower.

Glow!

That's right, it's simply emitting light. The stronger the emotion, the brighter the light is, and it can also absorb the surrounding electric current to recharge itself.

Rango had tried it before and found that even with her maximum power, she could only push herself a few meters away at best, and the lethality was almost zero.

Under the ruins, as the light grew larger, all the wood piled on Anne was pushed away.

It is worth mentioning that although her superpowers are very ordinary, her physical defense ability is not bad. After breaking through a wall, she was basically not injured.

Looking at Rango in front of her, Annie's eyes flashed with disappointment: "Am I really useless? I have been training for so long but I still make mistakes all the time. I can't even catch a slap from Yumi."

"Well, it's not trash."

Rango sat down next to her, patted her shoulder and encouraged her, "Yuumi is not as weak as you think. When she attacks with all her strength, a slap from her has at least a ton of force, and she is faster than you. It's not shameful if you can't beat her. But you are indeed a little too stupid, and you need to keep working hard."

Annie pouted when she heard that and pushed away Rango's hand on her shoulder in dissatisfaction. She originally thought that he would comfort her, but he started by calling her stupid.

She buried her head in her knees and said blankly, "I have sent the introduction videotape to Water Company, but there has been no reply yet. Do you think I was really not selected?"

Rango was silent for a moment. Just the day before yesterday, he personally filmed a video tape introducing Anne's various abilities, from strength to speed, from endurance to defense, and even the seemingly useless luminous ability, and sent it to Water Company as a reserve candidate for them to select the Super Seven to replace the "Lamplighter".

But there has been no response from the other side until now. In Rango's opinion, Annie's position in the seven-member team is most likely lost. After all, this "luminous" superpower looks too weak. Even he would not choose a "luminous person" as the signature superpower of his company.

"Annie."

Rango turned his head to look at the girl and asked in confusion: "Why are you so obsessed with joining the Super Seven? Do you want to live under the spotlight and become a star that everyone pays attention to?"

"No!"

Anne immediately shook her head firmly, her eyes flashing with unprecedented seriousness and enthusiasm, "My ideal is to save the world, and only by joining the Seven can I best realize my ideal."

"what?"

Rango couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "Save the world? Seriously?"

"Of course, if it wasn't for saving the world, then why would I have trained so hard since I was a kid?"

At this point, she couldn't help but reveal a trace of frustration, "It's a pity that Water Company doesn't think highly of me. It seems that I can only become a police officer in the future."

Seeing her frustrated look, Rango was about to give her some words of encouragement when he heard hurried footsteps in the kitchen, followed by Annie's mother's excited shout: "Annie! Annie!!! The Water Company called and you were selected! They invited you to attend a press conference at the company headquarters the day after tomorrow!"

Annie's eyes widened instantly when she heard that. She looked at Rango in disbelief and confirmed with a trembling voice: "She just said that I was chosen."

"Yeah!" Rango patted her shoulder excitedly and repeated loudly, "That's right, Annie, you've been selected! And you'll soon be standing on the stage of the press conference and becoming the focus of everyone's attention!"

"Ahhhh!!!"

Annie could no longer suppress her excitement. She hugged Rango and cheered, "I'm going to be a superhero! Rango, did you hear me? I'm really going to be a superhero!!!"

"Okay, okay, is it worth getting so excited about just this little thing?"

“This is the dream I’ve been working hard for so many years!”

Rango pulled the girl off him and asked with a smile, "Have you thought of your code name? What kind of hero do you want to be? 'Luminous Man'?"

"Starlight!"

Anne hugged Rango's neck tightly, with a bright light in her eyes: "Super Seven - Starlight!!!"

"."

(Starlight, from the American TV series "The Boys")
(End of this chapter)