C42: Nickname
[Famous from Luke Cage +35]
[Famousness from Henry +50]
"How did you do it, Ah Xing?"
After a moment, Henry, Luke Cage's father put away the stunned expression on his face and looked at Li Ran, who stood calmly before him.
Kicking a can isn't strange, but what shocked him was that Li Ran had kicked it so hard it flew high into the sky so far that they couldn't even see where it landed.
That level of power clearly went beyond human limits. Even a professional athlete or martial artist, like those from the UFC or Olympic-level training, couldn't launch a soda can with that kind of force.
More surprisingly, judging by how effortlessly Li Ran did it, he hadn't even used his full strength.
Luke Cage glanced at Li Ran's thighs as he rolled up his pant leg slightly. As someone who had been subjected to the illegal experimentation of Dr. Noah Burstein at Seagate Prison and gained near-invulnerability and superhuman strength, Luke wasn't exactly shocked but he was curious.
He knew instinctively that Li Ran's power wasn't from a similar experiment or mutation. It wasn't gamma radiation like what changed Bruce Banner, or a Super Soldier Serum variant like Isaiah Bradley received. This was different.
"'Hercules Legs', that's the name of the kung fu technique I learned in Penglai," Li Ran explained.
"Kung fu?" Luke echoed.
Since the rise of martial arts cinema in the 1970s, Bruce Lee, Enter the Dragon, and later Iron Fist's debut in Marvel Comics—Americans had grown familiar with Chinese martial arts, at least on the surface. So when Li Ran said "Kung Fu," neither Luke nor Henry was surprised. They nodded as if everything now made sense.
But this was exactly the problem.
Stereotypes kill understanding.
Li Ran could see it in their eyes, Western assumptions filled in the blanks. He sighed inwardly. "Kung fu" had become a catch-all term, its deep traditions and philosophy watered down in pop culture. He had to thank earlier trailblazers like Shang-Chi, whose legacy paved the way but even so, conveying the real meaning behind a term like "Penglai" was no simple task.
If he were alone, without those who've come before, even explaining the nuance would be a mountain to climb.
"King Kong Legs and Wonder Man," Henry laughed. "Didn't expect to meet two powered guys in one day."
"Dad, I've told you already," Luke muttered, exasperated. "That nickname is awful."
Henry: "Come on, Mr. Invulnerability, if I had powers like yours, the first thing I'd do is give myself a better nickname. If you wait for someone else to brand you, you won't like what they come up with. Trust me, ask the Thing."
Luke: "There's no one out there looking to name me, Dad. No one even knows what makes me special."
Henry looked up at his son. "Don't say that, Luke. Maybe Ah Xing's right. Maybe these powers aren't a curse. Maybe they're a reason, a calling. You should go out and use them. Maybe that's why God gave them to you."
"Riva said the same thing," Luke muttered, his voice quieter now.
"Then maybe she was right," Henry pressed. "You ever think that maybe, just maybe, your strength was meant to help others? Not just bartend at Harlem's Paradise or fix clippers at Pop's old barbershop. You could be like Spider-Man or Daredevil. Harlem needs someone like that."
Luke: "Maybe my dream is just sweeping hair at Pop's, washing glasses at the club, and praying the world leaves me alone."
"You can run from it, but you can't escape it forever," Li Ran finally said.
Luke turned sharply. "Do you think I wanted any of this?"
His voice rose. Fists clenched. That buried anger came bubbling up again. "I was framed, Dad. Set up by Willis Stryker. Thrown into Seagate. Beaten like a test subject, studied like an animal. Then I walk out one day with bulletproof skin and no idea why. You think that's a gift?"
Henry: "That ability saved your life."
Luke: "No—it destroyed it. If I didn't have these powers, Riva might still be alive. And I wouldn't be living in the shadows, hunted, mistrusted, used."
Henry: "That may be true, son. But life only moves in one direction—forward. What's behind you? That's done. It's where you go now that matters."
Luke sighed. "I just want to live. One day at a time."
Henry's words had struck a chord, but not deep enough to move him, not yet. The weight of guilt and trauma still anchored him to the past.
Li Ran, observing in silence, was grateful his mission was merely to deliver a message, not to heal old wounds. If that burden had fallen to him, he wasn't sure he could bear it.
But fate doesn't give warnings.
Suddenly, the distant sound of smashing glass and screams cut through the moment. The atmosphere shifted instantly. Muscles tensed.
The sound came from—
"That's Connie's Chinese restaurant!" Henry exclaimed, eyes wide.
Before anyone could react, Li Ran darted off like a thunderbolt, a blur of motion hurtling toward the commotion.
He had made a promise to Mrs. Connie to protect the restaurant and its people and he intended to keep it.
"Luke," Henry said, watching Li Ran disappear.
Luke Cage turned, almost reading the plea in his father's expression. "Dad, you promised. When I told you the truth, you said you'd never force me to do anything I didn't want to do."
Henry's voice was firm. "This is different, Luke. We're not talking about vengeance or secrets. Mrs. Connie helped you when no one else would. She rented you that room, no questions asked. Doesn't that mean something?"
Luke's face darkened. He looked toward the restaurant's direction, lips tight. After a beat, he muttered, "Fine. But this is the last time. Just this once."
Henry smiled faintly. "Whatever decision you make, it's yours alone."
Luke Cage gave a helpless smile, pulled up his hoodie, and broke into a jog. Then a sprint. Toward the chaos. Toward Li Ran.
Toward something more than just survival.
"Go, Mr. Invulnerability," Henry whispered to himself, pride softening his voice. "Let Harlem see what a real hero looks like."
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