"...Who are you?" Diana caught the implication in Morin's words and became slightly guarded.
She should have gone on full alert, but the effect of Morin's Heart of Justice was simply too strong.
"My name is Morin. You can call me Morin," he said, shifting his gaze from the mural to her.
"Do I know you?" Diana tilted her head.
"I didn't know you before, but I do now," Morin replied with a faint smile.
"I'm the same as you. I'm here to talk to you about... something related to the survival of Earth."
"Is it urgent?"
"Not too urgent."
"Then I'll go pack my things," Diana said, her appreciative look turning serious.
"Let's find somewhere to talk."
Soon after, Diana finished packing and left with Morin.
At the parking lot, just as she reached for her keys, Morin stopped her.
He couldn't miss this opportunity.
"I have a car," Morin said, releasing the [Universal Police Vehicle], still in his preferred AMGVGT form.
"I can't do that," Diana said, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean... we're both immortal," Morin clarified, realizing she meant she didn't share his ability to transform objects.
"How old are you?" Diana asked, curious.
"How about you?"
"Asking a lady her age isn't very gentlemanly."
"Same goes for a man."
"Now I'm starting to believe you," Diana said.
"So you didn't believe me before?"
"Just... a little."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
...
As they talked, Morin explained his origins.
It was a fabricated story.
According to him, he had once fallen into a deep mountain ravine and been chosen by an old, white-bearded man as his successor. After gaining his powers, he went through experiences similar to Diana's, then eventually chose to live freely. Recently, he had foreseen a great crisis threatening Earth, which was why he was searching for others like her to form a team.
It was an old, clichéd tale. The kind that would flop instantly on a certain Chinese webnovel site.
But Diana wasn't a seasoned reader, nor was she familiar with Eastern tropes. She listened with genuine interest.
Whether she believed it was another matter.
"So what's this crisis?" Diana asked after finishing a small pastry.
They were sitting in a café, coffee in hand.
Her favorite one, according to her.
"An alien invasion," Morin said.
"Alien creatures. Very powerful ones."
"Do you know when they'll arrive? Their scale, species, strength?" Diana's expression sharpened.
"Probably... twenty or thirty years from now," Morin said seriously.
Diana: "...Ha (O_o)"
"What?" Morin asked.
"Twenty or thirty years..." She sighed, then laughed dryly.
"You really like planning ahead."
"Alright, you got me," Morin said, deciding to stop pretending.
"I just wanted to talk to someone like me."
"Oh?" Diana's eyes lit up.
"Are you asking me out?"
"Aren't we already out?"
"Ha..." She shook her head, smiling.
"This is the first time someone's used a world-ending crisis as an excuse to ask me out."
"The more special the reason, the more memorable," Morin said, sipping his coffee.
"It's my honor."
"You're almost there," Diana said, looking at him.
"Almost?"
"Do you know where I'm from?" She leaned back, unbuttoning her light gray jacket to reveal a silk mesh shirt with floral patterns. Red carvings decorated the cuffs and shoulders.
She clasped her hands and rested them against the side of her head on the table.
The afternoon sun made her exposed skin resemble white jade.
Light and shadow cut cleanly across her form.
"Themyscira. Princess of the Amazons," Morin said.
"A famous place."
"Then you should also know," Diana said with a sly smile, her fighting spirit rising,
"every Amazon is a warrior. Especially me."
"I'll remember you only after we fight."
Beneath her life as a relic restorer, beneath the disguise, was a born god-killer whose fighting spirit had never faded. Years of training on Themyscira weren't something you simply forgot.
Petty thieves and street criminals were barely a warm-up.
Now she had met someone who might actually match her. Someone who seemed like one of her own.
She wasn't letting that go.
More importantly, the fastest way to verify Morin's words was through strength.
And during a fight, she could use her Lasso of Truth.
Diana wasn't naïve anymore.
Not after seeing the filth of the world.
Caution and testing were necessary.
"Of course," Morin agreed without hesitation.
A fight.
A fight that might lead somewhere else.
Cough.
Either way, he understood her intent and wasn't worried about exposure.
"By the way," Diana asked, curious.
"You're a mage? Do you fight with spells?"
"You'll see soon."
"You're not like the movie mages, right? The kind I can't even touch?"
"If you want to experience that, it's possible."
"So you have other fighting methods?"
"I said, you'll see."
"You've definitely piqued my curiosity."
Anticipation made her restless.
She finished her coffee, stood, and said, "Let's go."
"Where to?" Morin asked.
"To find a place," she replied, winking.
"To fight properly."
"Isn't this a bit fast?" Morin hesitated on purpose.
The pace is insane.
"What, scared?" Diana asked suspiciously.
"Of course not. Let's go."
He stood decisively, determined to give her a lesson.
He placed a hundred-dollar bill on the table and turned to leave.
"Sir, that's not enough."
"!"
Morin froze.
This was the first time in his life that having money wasn't enough.
Two coffees and some pastries.
A hundred dollars short?
"Pfft." Diana burst out laughing.
"How much is missing?" Morin asked the waiter.
"One cent."
Morin: "..."
...Fantastic.
"Keep the rest as a tip," he sighed, pulling out another hundred and handing it over before leaving with Diana.
"I noticed you don't have pockets," Diana said.
"Is that magic?"
"Space magic," Morin replied.
"Storage."
"Can I learn it?"
"Yes."
"That casually?" She sounded surprised.
"No tuition? No qualifications? I heard China takes master-apprentice relationships seriously."
"Normally, yes," Morin said, shaking his head.
"But my expenses are already covered."
"For one or two small spells, it's fine. If you want more, though..."
"Then I'd have to call you Master?" Diana asked, a little excited.
Morin thought: Yes.
Very yes.
Teaching at night would be perfectly reasonable.
Teacher-student relationships turning into something else?
Interesting.
Maybe with some role-play.
"It would be... Shifu~" Diana said in Chinese.
She knew most of the world's languages. Cantonese gave her trouble, but her Mandarin was solid.
Just... the tone was off.
"Hiss."
Morin inhaled sharply.
A demigod with Venus's beauty, Athena's wisdom, Mercury's agility, and Hercules's strength calling you Shifu like that?
Impossible to resist.
At her request, Morin drove Diana home to get her gear. Then they went to find a suitable place.
...
"I have a question."
"Go on."
"That thing on your head," Morin said, glancing at her after she changed.
"Does it do anything special?"
He didn't hide his admiration.
Her armor hugged her perfectly. Wild and beautiful. Strength and elegance in equal measure. Without exaggeration, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"What do you mean?" Diana asked calmly. She was used to looks like that.
Beauty was power. There was no reason to hide it.
And Morin's gaze was pure appreciation.
"You don't hide your face when you fight," Morin said, letting go of the steering wheel.
"But no one recognizes you normally."
Finding a place in Paris had taken time, so he made conversation.
Last time he drove without watching the road... the woman beside him had also been named Diana.
Fast & Furious flashbacks.
"My Star-Spangled Tiara," Diana said, touching the inverted triangle on her forehead.
"It's an Amazon royal symbol. It also obscures my face from normal people."
"But I usually use it as a boomerang."
"A boomerang?"
"Yes. I throw it like this."
"Doesn't it fail to return?"
"With the right angle, divine markings, and rebound force, it comes back." She looked ahead.
"Are you sure you don't want to watch the road?"
"It's fine. Autopilot."
"Artificial intelligence?"
"Computer-controlled."
"Amazing." Diana looked around with interest.
"After we're done, can I borrow it?"
"I've seen a round shield that returns the same way. I want to compare."
"Of course."
"...Aren't we speeding?" she added.
"I think a cop is chasing us."
"Are we?" Morin glanced at the dashboard.
"Just 150 miles per hour."
"...We are speeding."
"Then let's go faster."
The police car behind them witnessed something unforgettable.
The vehicle's shell liquefied, stretching into wings. Blue flames burst from twin thrusters as it shot skyward.
Police Officer: "(￣^￣゜)"
"AE86, did you catch the target?" crackled the radio.
"I lost him."
"What? You're a retired Mount Akina street racer! Straight road! How did you lose him?"
"ヽ(#`Д´)? He wasn't driving. He was flying!"
"...Is this also human technology?" Diana asked, watching the ground shrink below.
I don't go out much, but I'm not stupid.
"Aliens are people too!" Morin laughed.
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