Manga World: Extracting Superman's Power

"Mouri-san, I'll head out then," Azuma Shoyo said, turning to Ran.

"Sure, thanks for coming to cheer me on today, Azuma-kun!" Ran replied with a nod.

"No, I should be thanking you. I got to see such an amazing match," Azuma said with a smile. After bidding farewell to the trio, he turned and climbed into Sonoko's car.

As the car drove off, Kogoro Mouri glanced at Shinichi Kudo standing nearby.

"Hey, you little punk, aren't you leaving?" he snapped irritably.

Shinichi ignored Kogoro's grumbling and turned to Ran instead. "Ran, I'm sorry about earlier. Since tomorrow's Sunday, how about we go to Tropical Land? Consider it my apology."

"The amusement park?" Ran smiled and nodded. "Sure, see you there tomorrow!"

"Great, it's a deal then! I'll head out now!" Shinichi said, flagging down a passing taxi and hopping in.

"That rotten kid! Did I say he could go?" Kogoro muttered under his breath, fuming.

"Dad!" Ran shot him a reproachful look.

Kogoro sighed helplessly at his daughter. "Fine, fine. Go early and come back early tomorrow—and stay safe!"

"I'm a karate champion, Dad. I'll be fine!" Ran said with a laugh.

"True enough," Kogoro chuckled, looking at his daughter with pride.

…

The next day—Sunday.

Azuma Shoyo woke up at 6:00 AM and sat up in bed.

"It's close now. At the latest, the day after tomorrow—or maybe even tomorrow—Clark should be back," he thought. The idea of soon unlocking Superman's abilities put him in a great mood.

He got up, freshened up, and headed downstairs to make himself breakfast.

As he ate, he recalled what Sonoko had mentioned yesterday: Shinichi had asked Ran out to Tropical Land today.

"So it's happening today. Should I go check it out?" Azuma wondered, tempted for a moment.

But he quickly shook his head. "No, too risky. That's the Black Organization we're talking about—ruthless killers. I'm just an ordinary guy right now. I can't stop bullets."

He dismissed the idea of joining in on the chaos. Sure, it'd be fun to see Shinichi shrink into a kid—maybe even snap a few pics for posterity—but his safety came first. Azuma wasn't about to tempt fate.

He was this close to unlocking Superman's powers. Screwing it up now would be a disaster!

With that settled, he decided to stay in for the day.

Azuma wasn't the type to wander aimlessly anyway. Plus, this world was still pretty dangerous for someone like him. If he stumbled into some supernatural mess, ten lives wouldn't be enough to survive!

So, he stayed home, playing video games and watching TV.

The day passed in a blink.

By evening, a news report flashed on the screen: a murder at Tropical Land. Azuma knew right then that Shinichi Kudo had become Conan.

"Kudo, guess you're stuck as a grade-schooler now!" Azuma grinned.

For some reason, he was kinda looking forward to seeing the pint-sized Conan.

Meanwhile…

At 22-2 Mihama-cho.

This was the home of Dr. Agasa, an old friend of Yusaku Kudo.

Right now, in the living room, Dr. Agasa was studying the little boy in front of him with unabashed curiosity.

"Dr. Agasa, could you stop staring at me like that?!" Shinichi—now shrunk—said, exasperated.

"Shinichi, mind if I study you a bit?" Dr. Agasa asked suddenly.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't get any wild ideas, Doc! I'm not a lab rat!" Shinichi yelped, leaping off the couch and eyeing Dr. Agasa warily.

"Hahaha! Just kidding!" Dr. Agasa laughed.

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Don't joke about that! It's creepy!"

"So, what's your plan now?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"I don't know," Shinichi sighed, slumping back onto the couch. "I have no idea if I can even turn back. I can't even tell my parents about this."

"You can't hide it forever, though," Dr. Agasa pointed out.

"Exactly! That's why I've got to find a way to reverse this fast!" Shinichi clenched his fists. "Those men in black—they shrank me, so they must have a way to change me back."

"Really? I'd wager they meant to kill you and silence you for good. The drug probably had an unexpected effect. They might not even have a fix for this," Dr. Agasa said, squinting at Shinichi skeptically.

"Doc, do you have to be such a buzzkill?" Shinichi groaned.

"Can't help it—just throwing it out there. If you don't like it, pretend I didn't say anything," Dr. Agasa said with a chuckle.

Shinichi just stared at him, speechless.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be this late?" Dr. Agasa muttered, walking to the door and peering outside.

"Shinichi, it's Ran," he called back.

"What?! Hold on, I'll hide!" Shinichi scrambled behind the sofa.

Uh… really? Just hiding there?

At least pick a better spot!

Dr. Agasa's mouth twitched slightly before he sighed and opened the door to let Ran in.

A moment later…

"So, you're a relative of Dr. Agasa's? Edogawa Conan?" Ran asked, bending down to look at the little boy in front of her. Something about him felt oddly familiar.