I turned into Ultraman in American comics

The pitch-black night hung over the canyons and jungles like a consuming plague, with stars scattered across the sky. Dark shadows from the cosmos wriggled between the woods and valleys, a massive, terrifying cyclopean eye flickering in the darkness.

A magnificent arc cut through the sky like a meteor, with a steel bird weaving through the stars. A supersonic fighter jet broke through the clouds, its pilot targeting a massive object in the forest below, missiles poised for launch.

With a roar, the missile streaked forth like a sword piercing the night.

In the next instant, flames consumed the sky and earth, and the entire mountaintop began to emit a sharp wail. Scorching pressure ravaged the silent valley, seemingly determined to level everything in its path.

Temperatures high enough to melt steel turned the night into day. The dazzling flames briefly illuminated the giant shadow in the darkness, revealing its enormous and grotesque form.

It looked like a starfish?

Indeed, it was a massive starfish. Shaped like a five-pointed star, its lower two points supported its body like legs, while the other two acted as arms. Its chest bore a massive eye, entangled with intricate, bizarre patterns, and staring into it evoked eerie whispers, as if gazing into an abyss.

A starfish towering tens of meters high.

The missile barrage had no effect, merely giving it a hot bath. But it seemed enraged, standing amidst the sea of fire, its enormous eye glaring furiously at the birds of prey in the sky.

Thousands of miles away, at the A.R.G.U.S. headquarters, the advanced metahuman research group.

A short, stout African-American woman stood before a massive screen array, watching the enormous starfish unfazed by the missile barrage, frowning slightly.

She was Amanda Waller, the commander of A.R.G.U.S., one of the world's top agents and counterintelligence experts.

"Report, commander, no effect."

"I see," Waller said coldly. "Proceed as planned. Let's see if this five-pointed alien freak can withstand white phosphorus bombs."

The colossal starfish on the screen, named "Starro," was an extraterrestrial entity. Its abilities and strength were still unknown, but conventional weapons seemed ineffective against its body.

What was certain, though, was that it posed a significant threat and fell under the jurisdiction of A.R.G.U.S.

However, before the next command could be issued, the front-line camp's communications channel was filled with screams, gunfire, and horrific cries.

"What's happening?" Amanda Waller demanded sharply. "Report!"

"The camp is under attack!"

The central control room's display switched to the front-line camp's surveillance cameras. From multiple angles, the A.R.G.U.S. personnel witnessed what looked like hell.

Countless starfish had infiltrated the camp, launching a sudden assault. They lunged from the shadows, each one precisely latching onto a soldier's face.

Just like the classic "facehugger" from horror films.

All the attacked individuals convulsed violently and stopped struggling within seconds. When they rose again, they had become mindless puppets, the starfish on their faces staring with eerie eyes, quickly drawing their guns to attack uninfected comrades.

The camp was overrun by starfish in mere seconds. Even through pixelated surveillance footage, the horror of the scene was palpable.

Waller was briefly stunned but quickly regained her composure. "Get me a direct line to Blackbird. I need to speak with the pilot."

Her brow furrowed deeply.

They had underestimated the situation. Waller realized that A.R.G.U.S. was still inexperienced in dealing with extraterrestrial threats; they should have been more thorough in their preparations.

The starfish enemy clearly had the ability to produce numerous smaller entities and had secretly deployed them to infiltrate the front-line command camp, using a form of mind control to take over.

It was smarter and more dangerous than it appeared.

"Yes, ma'am!" The communications officer, nearly paralyzed with fear, scrambled to comply.

The line connected, and the pilot's voice came through. Waller issued a cold command: "This is Amanda Waller, A.R.G.U.S. commander. The camp has been overrun. I am ordering you to bomb and destroy the entire camp, leave no survivors."

"Commander!" The communications officer was shocked. "But our people—"

"The enemy has unknown mind control capabilities and poses a significant risk of mass spread," Waller stated firmly. "I don't have time to argue. This is an order."

Another team member interjected, "Commander!"

Waller's patience wore thin: "What now? I said I don't have time—"

"No, there's new intel!" the team member shouted. "Radar detected a high-energy reaction. Something just broke through the atmosphere over Starro's location!"

"What!?"

Waller's heart skipped a beat.

A giant alien starfish was already overwhelming, and now there was another threat?

What was this, an interstellar tourist day with discounted tickets to Earth? Were aliens touring in groups now?

In the next moment, the second target appeared on the screen in the most dramatic and grandiose way.

The deep black sky was torn apart as a burning red sphere lit up the night. Stars seemed to scatter in fear, clearing a path for the approaching king.

It was a burning red orb.

A blazing, fiery red ball, trailing a flaming tail, breaking through the sky like a meteor.

A towering column of fire struck the ground, the explosion echoing like tons of explosives detonating simultaneously. The impact, coupled with devastating heat waves, swept everything away, pulverizing rocks and trees.

Even the gigantic starfish retreated a few steps in the face of this cataclysmic impact, its massive eye warily observing the figure emerging from the rolling dust.

A tall, indistinct figure slowly rose from the crater.

It looked like a giant?

In A.R.G.U.S.'s control center, everyone stared in disbelief at this unexpected turn of events.

Yes, it was indeed a giant.

A towering figure, slender and humanoid, with an enormous oval eye glowing with a pale golden light. Embedded in its chest was a crystal-like circular structure, shimmering with the blue of the ocean.

He slowly walked out of the crater, his flexible yet metallic-looking body cutting through the smoke, emerging from the impact site.

The giant starfish, Starro, instinctively shrank back, sensing a vague danger from this second extraterrestrial visitor.

And soon, facts proved it had every reason to be afraid.

The giant stopped and raised his right arm.

A faint blue light seemed to flicker within it.

Starro turned to flee.

A flashing crimson word seemed to appear above it.

Danger!

The giant's left hand traced a blue arc, sweeping across to his raised right arm.

He formed a cross with his arms.

A dazzling blue light, like a breaking dam, surged forth, tearing through the air like a dragon of thunder!

Stars dimmed, the earth lost its color, and the unparalleled beam of light, like a sword of radiance, cleaved the heavens and the earth, piercing through the world.

Starro had no chance.

The giant starfish emitted a mournful wail, its flesh, impervious to missile strikes, melting almost instantly upon contact with the light. Its enormous eye filled with terror and shock, as if it couldn't comprehend such terrifying power on this primitive, backward planet.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The starfish was obliterated in an instant, its remains scattered by the residual shockwaves, which continued to tear through the mountains. The impact shattered peaks, evaporating rocks and trees in the blazing light.

The sword's momentum was unstoppable, melting everything in its path, roaring into the night sky, out into the heavens.

In a moment, the giant starfish was gone.

The giant stood with arms crossed, facing the blasted mountainside. Along the path, blue arcs danced in the air, the heat distorting the space.

A single strike.

The giant released his arms, standing tall on the earth beneath the starry sky.

Like a god of both salvation and destruction.

In the next moment, he lifted off.

With a sonic boom, he broke through the sound barrier and vanished into the night.

A.R.G.U.S.'s control center was silent for a long time.

In fact, since its inception, A.R.G.U.S. had only experienced a handful of real extraterrestrial events. Most of their encounters with alien matters involved strange objects or long-dead specimens.

This was their first true encounter with a living alien.

"High-energy particle readings..."

Someone reported in a dry voice.

"The air was turned into plasma. The giant used some form of thermal beam weapon, the strength of which is incalculable."

A moment later, another report came: "The target disappeared from radar, commander. We've... we've lost it."

Amanda Waller's face showed a mix of emotions.

"All face-hugging starfish creatures in the camp have been confirmed destroyed," another report stated. "It seems the giant just killed the mother body. With the mother body gone, the rest perished too..."

"It seems the crisis is over, commander."

"Over?" Amanda Waller's face turned cold. "This is just the beginning."

She lowered her voice.

"We are about to enter an interstellar state of emergency."