Infinite Justice: Beyond (Marvel,DC,DBZ X/Over, IC, Open)

[New Neros]

-snip

Val tucked down briefly as the punch hit her stomach, but she was a fighter first and foremost, and never had her eyes off of Ashy as she backed away from the moment of impact. Val ignored whatever mantra Ashy decided to chant, some prayer or something, maybe, and instead went in for another series of strikes - each one well-aimed and driven with pure power and intent, aiming for head, body, and arm shots - the girl delivering a brutal side kick to finish off her barrage of attacks. Val realized this early in the fight, though, that Ashy was more logical in her approach whereas Val had training and instinct on her side. Experience be damned.

She danced around her opponent with sharp eyes, watching every move Ashy made to defend against it or counter it, whatever the situation called for at the time. Her steady breathing meant that Val still had a lot of fight left in her, even after a decent flurry of punches and kicks, not being based purely on emotion, but the intent to win.

[New Neros]

-snip

A cascade of steam and gasses poured from the containment pod as the button was pressed by the Prince of All Saiyans. This door was not designed to be opened, it's placement here in one of the far flung, useless outposts of the Planetary Trade Organization was intentional to ensure it would never, ever become activated. Perhaps it was vanity on the behalf of the Acrosians, Freeza himself, that a creation could become stronger than him. But still, the purpose of whatever lied in the pod was about to be fulfilled, it's sole mission to be a genocidal, world-breaking cyborg.

The gasses cleared away and gave forth to the sight of what would appear to be a man, but to the eyes of Okarot, it was definitely the look of a Saiyan. His hair, however, was a golden tint of perfection unlike the normal, dark colors of Saiyan - signaling some birth defect or something more sinister. Clothed and all, the Saiyan looked to be still in stasis, but slowly, his eyelids rolled open as a flash of red engulfed his entire eyes, the flash dimming and settling on a yellow-tinted iris, and black sclera instead of the usual whiteness.

Suddenly, a gust of wind, and the pod was empty. Slamming down in a tri-point stance, the Saiyan slowly brought his head up to get a full view of Okarot - utilizing his faster speed to manage his escape. His eyes flashed as if lines of programming and code were scrolled before them - the newcomer literally scanning Okarot. A small band of metal snapped around his jawline to reinforce it in preparation for an upcoming brawl - the truth of his origin reveal. He was no longer simply a Saiyan, but a Saiyan Cyborg. "Full-blooded Saiyan detected." He spoke in a normal, unhindered voice.

"Termination in effect." He called, rushing forward at blinding speed with a single punch aimed at Okarot's center mass.

[Mavorpen]

snip

"Why,joining the Collective of course. I admit, I was hesitant at first, just as you are. However, I grew to realize that being a part of the Collective is for the best. Not only for me, but for my people. No, not even simply for my people -- for the universe itself. With the Collective comes strength, peace, and so much more." Ronan's voice was difficult to decipher. He sounded entirely sincere, however at the same time there was a slight hesitation that possibly gave away that he may not be entirely supportive of his actions.

Ronan turned to K'Ragnar. "Take the Lantern to the prison cells." As K'Ragnar left with Kylie, Ronan saw something in Naja's expression for a split moment that made him raise an eyebrow. "You know that Lantern. Do not bother denying it, it is, how Terrans say, 'written all over your face'." Ronan gripped his hammer, the Universal Weapon, tighter and it began glowing. "Do not test me and make the mistake of having your smart decision to surrender be in vain."

One of the Phalanx then spoke up. "[Attention. Conformation of the capture of the Kryptonian and subject: Adam Warlock has been received.]"

"Excellent. Notify Super Adaptoid to bring the Kryptonian to us, and we will head back to Hala while he continues to lead forces on the planet." Ronan said.

"[Query, Select Ronan: Is that wise while we are in the midd-]"

"Enough. The Great Ultron will want these prisoners immediately -- especially Adam Warlock. Now, prepare the warp-drives."

[Charmera]

-snip

Val tucked down briefly as the punch hit her stomach, but she was a fighter first and foremost, and never had her eyes off of Ashy as she backed away from the moment of impact. Val ignored whatever mantra Ashy decided to chant, some prayer or something, maybe, and instead went in for another series of strikes - each one well-aimed and driven with pure power and intent, aiming for head, body, and arm shots - the girl delivering a brutal side kick to finish off her barrage of attacks. Val realized this early in the fight, though, that Ashy was more logical in her approach whereas Val had training and instinct on her side. Experience be damned.

She danced around her opponent with sharp eyes, watching every move Ashy made to defend against it or counter it, whatever the situation called for at the time. Her steady breathing meant that Val still had a lot of fight left in her, even after a decent flurry of punches and kicks, not being based purely on emotion, but the intent to win.

The first of the strikes landed, waking Ash and putting her back on the defensive. She felt pain, though it was a welcome bliss compared to the numb existance she once knew, and so she smiled, the pain warming her slightly. Then she began weaving. Her style focused on evasion and speed. It had served her well when her magic failed her. Instead of blocking by providing an equal force to her strikes, Ash merely redirected them or dodged around them. The kick she did not count on, however, and she was sent to the side, grunting, though she quickly spun to recover. Her smile only widening the more pain was delivered. "Mmmmh. It feels so damn good to feel pain again." She commented. "So Val... are you having as much fun as I?"

She moved next, like a lithe yet powerful tiger she pounced on her foe, fist aimed right for her opponents face. Though she was able to quickly transfer the force into a sweeping kick designed to trip her opponent. After all though she was enjoying this, she too had a desire to win.

Hiroshi:

Hell.

He was in hell he knew it. The air smelt like burning carbon and smoke, it filled his lungs and made him cough. The overwhelming scent of sulfur washed over him. It was a smell he was all to familiar with, the smell of burning cities.

Even worse, it was impossible to breath. Every gasp was a choke for air, a desperate plea by his body to inhale, but all that came up was blood, crimson spatter all over his ripped dogi. It was then that the full force of pain washed over him like a ocean wave. Everything was burned, his skin was blistered terribly, and both of his arms past the elbow were black and cracked, blood oozing from cuts and scrapes, and from where the skin had split. Even as air gently rolled over his skin, it felt like he was being dragged along concrete.

A struggling gasp escaped his lips, not as intense as it would have been if he could breath. Then weakness set in, his muscles finally giving out. Despite his eyes being closed, he knew he wasn't dead. if there was a god, he didn't want Hiroshi's suffering to end yet, that'd be to merciful. Who was carrying him? And if it was Claudia, Tomia better be with her.

Shakily reaching his hand out, he grasped onto her shirt, coughing up blood as he tried to speak.

'C-Claudia?"

Claudia frowned as she sat by HIroshi, craddled in her arms. She saw no point in using her air powers to do so when her own strength would do just as well. She stood, wondering where they should go. "Yes Hiroshi?" She answered. "We don't have a lot of time. We need to get you to somewhere you can be healed." She spoke. She seemed vaguely calm, though you could sense the anger she was bottling up for Hiro's sake was... overwhelming to say the least. It radiated off her like heat.

[The Fallen Jedi]

Arcos Orbit

"For a person who stays within the shadow of their Commander, you are surprisingly agile and even powerful!" Blizzard taunted as his fist connected with Xero's, causing electricity to race around them at an accelerated rate. The two Arcosian rivals were putting as much energy as they had into this single fight, their rivalry taking the priority of the battle. It was finally a chance for one to kill the other and put an end to an extremely long feud that lasted even before Xero had met Arctico. Blizzard's body seemingly evaporated away like smoke, his body materializing behind of Xero, his tail rising up with lighting-quick speed, coiling itself around Xero, beginning to choke the Lieutenant "Even with that little power boost you have, It is hopeless to beat me..." Blizzard chuckled as without even thinking twice, he fired his eye lasers into the back of Xero, the energy being so powerful that it ripped through the Bio Armor and shot out through his torso.

This attack would have been fatal to Xero if he hadn't erected a small energy barrier towards the impact site of the eye lasers, causing them to shoot up ninety degrees upward. Xero retaliated quickly by whipping his tail up and smacking Blizzard square in the face, causing him to loosen his grip on Xero and pull away from offending appendage. With lightning quick reflexes, Xero pulled back a few feet away and began to give the energy donated to him by Arctico back to his Commander, wanting to use his own energy to take his rival on "I'm not about to let my power be put to waste, no matter how beneficial such energy would be..." Xero said to himself, noticing that Blizzard was chuckling at him, most likely due to returning such raw energy back to it's source.

"You really are crazy aren't you Xero?" Blizzard laughed as his purple aura spun around him like a whirlwind, Blizzard thought that his rival made his death much more swift and even more easy than before, his overconfidence blinding him greatly "Even with the power up from your Master, you had a hard time lasting against me, much less stopping me from choking you, so what makes you think that in your current state that you'll be able to stop me?" Blizzard said, a smirk plastered on his face.

Said smirk on Blizzard's face disappeared entirely as Xero chuckled, his own purple energy revolving around him like a typhoon of raw, unkempt energy enveloping his body "You really think that I was operating at my absolute limit, true that I am operating at my maximum limit at this state, but considering the beating your giving me..." Red, Glowing cracks began to form all around him, preparing his transformed state "It seems that I have to push my body to a level that I've held back for so very long!!!" Time stopped as Xero's eyes closed, and the shroud of purple energy began to entirely envelop his now morphing body, his energy taking a nosedive to zero before it shot up exponentially, to the point that even Blizzard's eyes widened in both shock and terror at such a drastic increase of power.

Quickly taking matters into his own hands, Blizzard shot forth with an agitated yell, striking at the purple avatar that was the transforming Xero "Do you think that your power up will be effective against me?!?!" Blizzard roared in anger as he fired an energy wave towards the temporarily immobile Xero, causing his body to be enveloped in a thick smokescreen, not even his energy was seeping out of this smokescreen. Blizzard laughed as he could no longer see any trace of energy from Xero "That Is what you deserve you worm, your power is nothing in comparison to mi-" Blizzard ceased talking when Xero's purple aura exploded in all directions, causing a shockwave that sent Blizzard reeling backwards.

"Was that your excuse of an attack, or were you holding back?" A voice responded from within the smoke stack, which started to gradually dissipate all around the talking figure. Xero's transformation was naturally complete, his entire body resembling that of Frieza in his 4th Form, with the Gems that were part of his biology sparkling red and his skin being as pitch black as the dark side of the moon, his eyes as crimson red as the deepest pool of blood. A smile formed on the Lieutenant's face as he floated forward "Because If that was all you could muster against me..." Xero's energy exploded once more with power, his energy steadily rising with each passing second "You surely will be dead within the first five minutes!"

Blizzard managed to regain his balance, growling as if he were the devil incarnate "You little-" That was all that Blizzard could get out before Xero shot forward and attacked Blizzard with an unrelentless show of physical prowess, Xero's fists striking in seemingly all directions. Not only was this physical attack physically punishing to Blizzard, but he felt the intensity of each punch increasing with each passing moment, this situation was becoming increasingly volatile for the Traditionalist Warlord, not only was he being bested by a weakling, but he was being bested by someone who sympathized with the Reformists, the Reformists of all people! Letting out an enraged yell, he called upon all of his energy in an expanding barrier.

Surprisingly, Xero relented in his assault and backed away slowly from the expanding barrier, ready to launch yet another attack upon his rival as soon as the coast was clear. To his surprize however, as quick as the barrier extended, it receded rapidly into the palm of Blizzard, who was bloodied and bruised by Xero's unrelentless assault "Thats IT you Reformist bastard!!!" Blizzard screamed in pure bloodlust as he called upon the energy of Lord Frigid, who willingly donated energy to Blizzard reluctantly "I'm putting every ounce into this attack, and If you avoid it..." The orb of energy began to grow and then compact itself into a small orb of energy "... The planet of Arcos will go along with you!!!" Blizzard screamed, all rationality being lost from his primal anger.

Xero's eyes narrowed into small slits, knowing that this attack could destroy Arcos in it's entirety. With his head falling, Xero opened his palm up, a purple orb of energy forming on the center of his palm as he too put as much energy as he could into his own attack "You won't do such a thing as long as I stand..." Xero's orb of energy was as massive as a Supernova "Your ambitions along with the traditionalist cause ends today!" Xero boomed with authority, his unwillingness to lose Arcos now took priority, he would not let Arcos fall by any means necessary. All at the same time, both Xero and Blizzard fired their energy orbs at the same time "GO TO HELL!!!" Cried out both opponents as their energy beams raced towards each other, brightening the sky of Arcos and even the battle between the two fleets, a major beam struggle taking place between the two rivals, the energy beams struggling to overpower each other, with one beam being poised to destroy Arcos, while the other beam desired to protect the planet...

[The Republic of Atria]

She sighed. The peaceful way was certainly the boring and annoying way. It wouldn't have been hard to smash Ronan through the window, grab Kylie, and be gone before they could be, but she had to help put a stop to this. It wasn't like this ship could hold her. If she really wanted to leave, it may as well have been made of tin foil. She was about to put Ronan though the wall when she heard the name Ultron. By the way he was addressed and the history of the psychotic machine on Earth, it was obvious he was behind everything. "Alright... I'll play along. But here's how this plays out. You don't hurt my friend. And I don't show you what the power of a million exploding suns looks and feels like." She said with her arms crossed. "Final offer."

[The Fallen Jedi]

Sigma Galli Prime
Sigma Mountain Range
A New Resolve: Asumar's Humility
Soundtrack: A Reborn Asumar Masaki

The peaceful breeze of the Mountain Range wisped past Asumar, causing his spiky hair to flow upwards peacefully as Asumar sat silently in the Burmese Meditation Position, his unique energy signature flowing peacefully throughout his body, channeling it through the vibrant life of the Sigma Mountain Range, his energy dancing gracefully all around him, a peaceful expression falling upon the previously ambitious Warlord who once desired to become even with Kilian Roth and put an end to his rival's life. Said desire no longer flowed through him as he sought to remember who he once was and why he lost his way to the tantalizing ambition of power, something that corrupted him long ago, and even corrupted him very recently when he sought to restore his honor and defeat Kilian. Asumar's eyes slowly opened as he took in the peaceful atmosphere of the Mountain Range, ever since he was a child, Asumar found himself at peace with himself when visiting such a majestic sight.

"How long ago did I stray from the path that fate intended for me?" Asumar asked himself as he stood like a statue, staring out into the beauty of the mountain range, he could feel every living thing that inhabited the mountain range, such a diverse amount of life roamed about within the mountainous range that it could have brought a tear out of the eyes of many, but Asumar stood on and watched as the sun rose up through the peaks of the mountain "My ambition, my pride, and even my arrogance have pushed me to such a point in time where I could no longer identify my purpose in life, I didn't even care what my son would feel when I went on to face Kilian..." The thoughts that ran through Asumar were enough to cause his eyes to water in regret of his recent actions. "All that I've ever done is cause pain and misery to those who I desire to protect..."

From trying to kill his brother, attacking Earth out of spite, trying to put an end to Kilian's life to the death of his Alternate Counterpart, Asumar saw that through the majority of his life, he wallowed in the darkness and sought to only satisfy himself, he didn't even care for his son's mental well being when he fought Kilian, Asumar closed his eyes as he came to regret everything he did, and he wanted to merely go back in time and make sure that such events never came to pass, but he knew that even if it were possible, the effects could be detrimental and cause much more damage. It was safe to say that this was the low point in Asumar's life, his past transgressions finally caught up to him, he even began to think that now was the time to stop hiding behind his pride and accept facts, there were people far more stronger than him who existed within the Multiverse.

Usually such thoughts would be foreign to Asumar, but he began to accept it when he realized that he was powerless to defend his home against Nightmare, he realized that he was powerless to stop Alt-Asumar's death. Asumar let out a quiet sigh as he walked to the ledge of the mountain, staring up into the beauty of the rising sun "I...I realise who I am now..." Asumar brought his hand up to the sun "I am no Kilian Roth, I am no Kazuko, I am..." The Orange Hue of Asumar's Speed Force began to emerge from his hand as he released control of the Speed Force and gave it back to the Cosmic Forces "I am Asumar Masaki, the Half Breed of both the Human and Celestial Race, nothing more, nothing less..." As the last of the Orange Hue of his Speed Force Signature faded away into nothingness, a smile formed on Asumar's face as he turned away from the mountain "My only desire..." Asumar spoke aloud as a cherry blossom landed on his palm "...Is to protect my son, my brother, my father, my adoptive father, to protect everyone who I hold dear..."

The Cherry Blossom was lifted up to the heavens by the gentle wind of the Mountain Range, the former Asumar Masaki, the one who desires power, the man who hid behind his pride, the man who formerly was an avenger was no longer within him, rather, a man who desired to protect his loved ones and everything that he held dear, that man was the new Asumar Masaki. Asumar closed his eyes with a smile as, like the wind, he disappeared from the mountain range entirely "It will be a long time until I can right my wrongs, but at least..." The Cherry Blossom Tree that stood on Shimura's Perch began to lose all of it's petals as they scattered like the wind throughout the mountain range "I can begin to set things right once more..."

[Mavorpen]

She sighed. The peaceful way was certainly the boring and annoying way. It wouldn't have been hard to smash Ronan through the window, grab Kylie, and be gone before they could be, but she had to help put a stop to this. It wasn't like this ship could hold her. If she really wanted to leave, it may as well have been made of tin foil. She was about to put Ronan though the wall when she heard the name Ultron. By the way he was addressed and the history of the psychotic machine on Earth, it was obvious he was behind everything. "Alright... I'll play along. But here's how this plays out. You don't hurt my friend. And I don't show you what the power of a million exploding suns looks and feels like." She said with her arms crossed. "Final offer."

"You misunderstand our goals. The Collective does not want to hurt anyone. It desires peace -- peace that can be obtained only by joining the Collective. Free will is but a hindrance towards achieving our full potential as sentient beings. Harm will only come to those who threaten this peace."

"[Warp - drive prepared.]"

"Then, let us return home." A wormhole appeared in front of the ship and they entered it. They passed the energy barrier surrounding the Kree galaxy with no difficulty, and quickly reached Hala. Upon landing on the planet, they were transferred to holding cells in a large tower that dwarfed all of the other structures in the capital city, with the exception of Adam Warlock, who was taken to a different section of the tower.

[New Rob Halfordia]

snippy snippy

Okarot was caught off guard by the cyborg's speed, and the impressive power of the punch which had been thrown at him. Well, more to the point, he had been surprised by how he had been flung backwards and towards a cliffside. As he approached it, he quickly stuck his feet towards the side of the massive wall in front of him, and landed on both feet, using both his hands to stop himself from entering it. Despite the pounding pain in his torso, he couldn't help but smile, and mutter to himself.

"That's the spirit.", he said, with a grin, wiping some blood from his lip. Something about the idea of fighting another Saiyan exhilarated him, even if it was a cyborg. Suddenly, his appearance changed ever so slightly, indicating the power up to an Ascended Saiyan. He hadn't been pushed to the point of Ascension in sometime. The feeling was quite an experience. There was a certain excitement to a foe who pushed him to his limits. Of course, he wasn't quite there yet. But then again, he hadn't even really tested if he was able to ascend past a Super Saiyan 2 yet. Either way, at this rate, he'd surely find out.

Okarot charged the cyborg at speeds approaching light, disappearing from right in front of him and reappearing from behind, delivering a downward roundhouse kick with enough power to level a planet's surface.

[Treko]

-snip-

"The naaame of thisss delectabllle drink is called maaargarita! God blesss Jiiiimmy Buffett!" I shouted as I rose another margarita and quickly downed it before pushing aside and looking to the next one. How could I ignore the next one? It was simple really...you couldn't. What kind of sick bastard sees another margarita and doesn't go for another drink. Jimmy Buffet would figuratively roll over in his not existent fucking grave he saw that shit going down in this bar. He did not suffer in margaritaville for nothing; that man died for our alcohol drinking souls. I for one would not tolerate such waste in this bar. While I was contemplating roundhouse kicking anyone who dissed the holy margarita I took notice of the bartender in my drunken condition. It was obvious this man was recommending that I shouldn't get another 4 margaritas, but you know what? He can go fuck himself. This is America, Jack. If he didn't like it I would break my foot off in his royal ass.

As the bartender came over to me to hand me the margaritas I could feel Marionette's hand cover over mine. I almost retracted my hand instantly, but I held myself and let my hand sit beneath her. This wasn't a feeling I had felt in a long time. Girls tends to avoid the guy with the creepy stitched on smile. It must be a personal thing they have against me or some childhood trauma. To be honest I looked Like the dude you saw in nightmare and immediately regretted going to sleep. Couldn't really hold it against them because I scared myself more than a couple of times.

"You know...you're the first person not to really care how I looked." I said while looking at the hand on top of mine. They slurred speech I had quickly dissolved away and I was back to normal. Really missed human contact. You'd think you wouldn't but as I determined you can't really continue talking to yourself. The only upside to demonic powers is that it protects the host from harming itself. I guess drinking ludicrous amounts of alcohol is considered self harm, but hey, If it wasn't going to hurt me why stop?

I looked to Marionette and I finally gave a normal smile which I hadn't given in a long time. It felt nice and better than most of the crap I smiled at and I wasn't particularly crazy about beating the shit out of someone, but decapitation, now that was something to smile about. There is just something about knocking some dudes head clean off that you...wait...talk about going off topic. Anyways, I was going to lean in closer to say something to Marionette, but I felt a sharp pain all along my back.

"What in the flying shit! That hurts like a bitch!" I shouted as I quickly shot up from my bar stool in pain and tried grabbing at the pain on my back. The demon roared in my head as I felt the stinging pain dig deeper into my body, "Hostile threads are inside you!" With the pain only growing I pulled away from Marionette and slammed into a nearby wall before finally grasping the threads. I gave a giant pull and felt the threads finally get pulled out of my body.

-Blank script/mind-

"Ouch...my head fucking hurts like crazy." I said while I arose from the floor and looked around, "Where the hell am I? Must be a bar...but that doesn't explain while I feel different. Alcohol? No...wait...wheres my head demon!?"

I grabbed my head and looked out to the arena that was below the bar before peering closer at my reflection in the window. What the fuck? That's an impossibility and literally mind blowing phenomenon. With shock and fear I turned back to Marionette with wide eyes, "What did you do!? How d..did you do this! I was told never again!" I grabbed at my face for the first time without requiring to tear of the stitches. Best of all the stitch markings were all gone and I was a handsome son of a bitch.

[Bentus]

Mia Aveline – Devil’s Den
During the fight

---

Mia grimaced in frustration as she felt something fighting against her Threads; it was violent and aggressive, snapping at her as if in a rage. She ignored Kross’ surprised cry of pain, stubbornly determined to push past whatever it was that was resisting her Threads’ progress. It was tough progress and Mia could feel her strength being drained by the effort, she’d never had to expend so much energy performing a task like this before. Suddenly Kross shot up from his stool, causing its legs to scratch loudly on the bar floor. Mia hadn’t anticipated the movement – normally those affected by her Threads quickly became calm and docile – and a high-pitched yelp escaped from her lips as her Threads pulled taught, pulling her along with Kross.

“Cut it out!” She insisted as she was dragged along with Kross, rather painfully too, as he writhed about in a desperate attempt to tear out the invading strands. “I’m serious, stop being such a baby.” Mia’s mind was racing, trying to make sense of how he could be resisting so effectively, when the masked hero slammed himself into a wall. Mia’s eyes widened in horror as she saw his hand reach over his shoulder and clasp down firmly on her three Threads. “Wait, don’t do tha -!” A sharp flash of pain shot through Mia’s forehead as Kross tore out the strands that were assaulting his nerves, the feedback causing the girl’s vision to momentarily be overwhelmed by a searing glare – it was all Mia could do not to cry out.

She placed a hand on the bar, using it to support her weight as she rubbed her now aching head with the other. Her Threads retreated back into her fingertips, having completely lost whatever foothold they’d managed to garner on Kross and giving her sufficient time to steady herself. Mia turned to glower at the man, placing a hand on her hip and intending to berate him for causing her such grief. However, as soon as she laid eyes on Kross – and for the first time actually Kross – Mia’s expression changed to one of surprised curiosity.

"What did you do!? How d..did you do this! I was told never again!" Kross seemed to be just as astonished by his sudden transformation as Mia, running his hands over his features as if refusing to believe what he saw in his reflection. Mia didn’t answer at first, leaning in close to his face as her eyes seemed to study every detail of his features. She frowned in confusion, before proceeding to poke him repeatedly in the face with increasing forcefulness, believing that perhaps he’d triggered some kind of hologram. When she’d satisfied her curiosity, Mia straightened herself and crossed her arms across her chest as she considered what had just happened.

“I didn’t do anything.” And that was part of the problem. Kross should’ve been a mindless puppet, or at the very least a mindless vegetable (not to imply for a moment that he wasn’t already). “Something stopped me.” A final ring sounded out from the arena as the crowds erupted into cheers; a cold rush of fear shot along Mia’s spine as she realised it could only mean one thing. She turned towards Kross, a look of desperation in her eyes.

“What do I need to do to make you get out of here?” She pleaded. The final tally of the fight was being announced and Mia knew she had only minutes – if not less – until CeeCee and Sentinel saw her and Kross.

[The Republic of Atria]

She sighed. The peaceful way was certainly the boring and annoying way. It wouldn't have been hard to smash Ronan through the window, grab Kylie, and be gone before they could be, but she had to help put a stop to this. It wasn't like this ship could hold her. If she really wanted to leave, it may as well have been made of tin foil. She was about to put Ronan though the wall when she heard the name Ultron. By the way he was addressed and the history of the psychotic machine on Earth, it was obvious he was behind everything. "Alright... I'll play along. But here's how this plays out. You don't hurt my friend. And I don't show you what the power of a million exploding suns looks and feels like." She said with her arms crossed. "Final offer."

"You misunderstand our goals. The Collective does not want to hurt anyone. It desires peace -- peace that can be obtained only by joining the Collective. Free will is but a hindrance towards achieving our full potential as sentient beings. Harm will only come to those who threaten this peace."

"[Warp - drive prepared.]"

"Then, let us return home." A wormhole appeared in front of the ship and they entered it. They passed the energy barrier surrounding the Kree galaxy with no difficulty, and quickly reached Hala. Upon landing on the planet, they were transferred to holding cells in a large tower that dwarfed all of the other structures in the capital city, with the exception of Adam Warlock, who was taken to a different section of the tower.

"Oh yeah... The Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others thing. I read books and listen to public radio too. I've also seen Terminator. Which you, and everyone else who thinks about building a sentient A.I. should watch before doing it. Remind me to kick whoever built Ultron in the nuts when this is over." They were taking her literally to the heart of everything. She complied and sat in her cell scanning the structure with her X-ray vision. After a few minutes she was cisited by the Ghost of Christmas Alex.

"You look like you're having fun. I paid for the food and put everything away in my room. By the way remind me to give you your credit card back. So how's it going?"

"Actually, don't let the prison cell fool you. This is in the heart of like everything for their little operation. I played along and they probably think I'm weaker than I actually am. The second things go awry, I'm switching to good old fashioned violence. I'm just hoping that guy you told me about earlier doesn't pop up. We just have to pop Ultron and this is over."

"Ultron? You can't just pop him. If you really tried, you could get past his chassis. But even if you break it, he has a bunch of backup bodies. You need to find a way to cut him off from them before destroying him. Otherwise you're just gonna keep going on a wild goose chase."

"How do you know so much about the Kree? And Ultron? And everything?"

"Magic." The projection sneered a bit much to the annoyance of Naja. "While yes, it is magic, it's mediation. It's nice and quiet in my apartment which allows me to focus. I become in tune with the universe and can explore virtually anything I please unhindered. So I've been going through Kree intelligence and looking up anything involving Ultron. Yes this is your first solo mission. Kind of. But just because I can't kick Ultron's ass with you, doesn't mean I can't help you. You're the muscle. I'm the brain."

"There are nicer ways to put things."

"Well. Like you said. My social skills aren't exactly up to snuff."

[Osnil]

Salis' eyes widened in surprise as Jenny split the bullet mid air. Suddenly a cold feeling crept up his legs as she began to blow. Annoyed with himself for being shocked into inaction, he quickly formed portals around his feet in order to break the ice's hold on him. He then reeled back as a sudden blow came towards his hand, barely missing it's mark. Dissolving the portals on his legs, Salis ran forward in retaliation. As he passed by the girl he shoved his glock into her gut and unloaded the last of the clip into her. Continuing to move forwar, he ran into a portal and appeared on the other side of the arena, reloading as he went. Salis the. Created a portal eight feet in diameter directly under Jenny and set the exit high in the air a few feet in front of her. As she fell through, Salis closed the entrance around her ankles in order to keep her suspended there.

Gotcha, Jenny thought after she encased his legs in ice. However, he created portals around his legs to free them. He also blocked her swing at his head. Then he ran forward, and while running, Jenny felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Then she felt like she was falling, then stopped. She glared at her opponent. How could she have been so gullible-so stupid. This time there would be no way to get out. It was time to give up, unfortunately. Giving up was something she didn't want to do, but had to. She simply sighed, "You win."

[The Starlight]

Roy smiled, happy to see that he could actually contribute. He saw Katie blushing and speaking very fast. "It's okay, I knew what you meant, and thanks." Roy told her.

Cora then spoke up, "Well, if we can find the plant and figure out its properties. We can develop a antidote to counter act it's effects. I'll start researching to see what I can find. I have access to the government files. So if anything like this has happened before. They probably know about it." Cora said, setting off to work with determination.

Roy decided to try to help, but he wasn't nearly as good at research as Cora was. In reality it was just an excuse to be close to Cora. After about half an hour he got the courage to speak up with her. "Hey Cora, this is really cool that you have access to all this stuff." He said a but awkwardly. She didn't respond so Roy tried to think of something else to say. "So how did you meet-" He was suddenly cut off by Cora.

"I'm busy, I can't talk right now." She told him plainly as she focused on her work. Roy frowned and looked disenheartened. "Alright, I understand sorry." He said meekly, looking back at his computer to try to hide his embarrassment and that he was upset.

Val glanced at Cora, mentally frowning at Cora's abruptness. "I think I'll be able to find it quicker, Cora. I have a database of every single plant on this Earth up in here," Valancy said, tapping her head. "Just give me a couple minutes..." she said, closing her eyes and focusing. Opening her eyes a few minutes later, she said, "I've got it, but we'll need to recreate the climate in order for it to survive." Pulling on some gloves, she opened a large glass container. Finding some dry ice, she poured it in, lowering the temperature inside the container to far below zero. Then, taking some soil, she put some of that in, and closed it. Shutting her eyes once again, she brought up her hand, and created the plant. "Well, there it is. Give me a few hours and we'll have our antidote."

Pulling up a chair and paper, she began the math necessary, summoning the necessary plants and herbs, along with taking a vial of her own blood. Her healing power would have to be part of the process. Then, turning to the plant, she stared at it, conversing with it through her mind.

[Finland SSR]

Atiala Hypernova, I SWEAR, NOT GUILTY

---

...zzz... Huh?

"What?" I spoke, as if just waking up from some weird dream, and opened my still rather dizzy eyes. Everything was still spinning around in my eyes, like I was just on a huge rollercoaster and now put in a... prison cell. Wait, did those robots drug me and placed me in their dungeon for further experiments? I hope not, but I saw all my other "teammates" also lyng around, knocked out and left here. Moving myself up, I crawled tiwards the window at the other side if the room, and I saw that we were in a huge tower in a futuristic alien city.

Wow. The whole vibrating molecules thing would be really useful right now. You know, to vibrate through or something. And I can't risk puncing a hole through the wall and escaping that way. I dn't know where am I or how to get home. Maybe the other people with me do... "Uhh..." I turned at the others. "I hope you're just knocked out sleeping, and not... you know, dead. Because I woukd really appreciate your help with this mess. Please wake up..."

[New Rnclave]

Hiroshi:

Hell.

He was in hell he knew it. The air smelt like burning carbon and smoke, it filled his lungs and made him cough. The overwhelming scent of sulfur washed over him. It was a smell he was all to familiar with, the smell of burning cities.

Even worse, it was impossible to breath. Every gasp was a choke for air, a desperate plea by his body to inhale, but all that came up was blood, crimson spatter all over his ripped dogi. It was then that the full force of pain washed over him like a ocean wave. Everything was burned, his skin was blistered terribly, and both of his arms past the elbow were black and cracked, blood oozing from cuts and scrapes, and from where the skin had split. Even as air gently rolled over his skin, it felt like he was being dragged along concrete.

A struggling gasp escaped his lips, not as intense as it would have been if he could breath. Then weakness set in, his muscles finally giving out. Despite his eyes being closed, he knew he wasn't dead. if there was a god, he didn't want Hiroshi's suffering to end yet, that'd be to merciful. Who was carrying him? And if it was Claudia, Tomia better be with her.

Shakily reaching his hand out, he grasped onto her shirt, coughing up blood as he tried to speak.

'C-Claudia?"

Claudia frowned as she sat by HIroshi, craddled in her arms. She saw no point in using her air powers to do so when her own strength would do just as well. She stood, wondering where they should go. "Yes Hiroshi?" She answered. "We don't have a lot of time. We need to get you to somewhere you can be healed." She spoke. She seemed vaguely calm, though you could sense the anger she was bottling up for Hiro's sake was... overwhelming to say the least. It radiated off her like heat.

Hiroshi:

"T-T-The L-Lookout... S-Sensu B-Beans..." He croaked, his body screaming at him, his muscles shaking with effort.

Behind them, he could feel Hazzel... he wasn't in the best condition, but was he? His power was fading quickly, this guy was hovering around a 1/4 of what he'd exerted during the fight.

Tomia. There was power left, he could feel it!

'What happened' Hiroshi asked. 'Where is Broly? That monster?'

He could feel the monsters energy, but he couldn't pin point the location of the monster, only the haze of his ungodly power. It wasn't over yet. It wouldn't stop until that thing was dead. There was a grim irony to this all. He hadn't cared about the fate of Earth until his daughter showed up, now it's fate was down to him. Right now, as he let his girlfriend carry him, Broly was ripping apart families, killing Fathers and Mothers before their children. That could be Tomia, hell, that could be Ariel. There were so many other children like Tomia who were losing their parents as he lay here.

Never vocing it, mentally or aloud, Hiroshi quietly steeled himself, hardening his heart as he opened his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he raised his hand, gripping the top of his dogi and ripping it downwards. None of these people deserved to die anymore than Tomia had. He needed to survive.

He had to survive. Not to avoid death, or for Tomia even, but to stop Broly. This wasn't about him anymore, this was revenge. Tomia and so many others would die before he got there even if he left now. None of the others could stand against him, even Claudia, it would take to long for her to reach a level of fury high enough to defeat Broly. And she would suffer to long. No, he would have to do it.

" I will not die. I will survive this. I will get stronger. I will stop him. If not for Tomia or for you, then for everyone else who has suffered at this monsters hands.

For the first time in his life, Hiroshi knew what heroes like Alex and the others felt like. He would have to give his everything to defeat this thing, and so he would.

But even with all of this in his mind, his heart was slowing. Shivering uncontrollably, a moment later, Hiroshi rasped at Claudia, pressing his hand against her cheek.

" I can't give up yet. It's not done yet."

[New Neros]

-snip

"Fun kicking your ass?" Val said, a fist connecting with her face and throwing her off, her legs being swept from under her immediately after. At that point, training and instinct kicked it, her hands shooting out and grabbing onto Ashy's thin, skin-tight workout clothes to pull the girl down as Val fell - all happening in a split second, the Vokornian on top of Val, but Val delivering a kick to the abdomen as it all happening during the fall, rearing back, and delivering another kick to get the girl off of the dominant position. "You betcha."

Val jumped back up and made some distance between herself and Ashy, her eyes still narrow and watching every move, intent to not lose focus.

Mir was watching it all unfold, nodding after each successful combo or strike Ashy or Val would land, impressed at the feminine form and how much power it could produce. Perhaps it was his own upbringing that saw women as the weaker sex, but steadily, he was proven wrong in just this one bout. Though he had power and some skills on his side, Mir knew he was outclassed in technique and pure skill by both of the ladies as they fought, resolving to get better as well. "What was the point of training constantly if a skilled throw can put you firmly on your ass?" He wondered, his eyes trailing to Ashy as his mind subconsciously ogling her firm, toned body in the skimpy clothes.

[The Templar High Council]

Ronan turned to K'Ragnar. "Take the Lantern to the prison cells." As K'Ragnar left with Kylie, Ronan saw something in Naja's expression for a split moment that made him raise an eyebrow. "You know that Lantern. Do not bother denying it, it is, how Terrans say, 'written all over your face'." Ronan gripped his hammer, the Universal Weapon, tighter and it began glowing. "Do not test me and make the mistake of having your smart decision to surrender be in vain."

Upon landing on the planet, they were transferred to a holding cell in a large tower that dwarfed all of the other structures in the capital city, with the exception of Adam Warlock, who was taken to a different section of the tower.

Kylie couldn't do anything while unconscious, but she woke up later in the cell hurting all over. In the corner was someone dark-skinned and who wasn't in enough light to see well. Ruby and the other person who was Jamal's friend were missing, but the girl they met before the Kree attacked was still there. And she looked worried.

Atiala Hypernova, I SWEAR, NOT GUILTY

---

Wow. The whole vibrating molecules thing would be really useful right now. You know, to vibrate through or something. And I can't risk punching a hole through the wall and escaping that way. I don't know where am I or how to get home. Maybe the other people with me do... "Uhh..." I turned at the others. "I hope you're just knocked out sleeping, and not... you know, dead. Because I would really appreciate your help with this mess. Please wake up..."

"Nope. I'm fine. Just my arms hurt, and my legs hurt, and my boobs... Well, most of me hurts, so I could be better." Kylie smiled and sat up against the wall. "So... we're in jail. Alien jail. That's cool. Do you want to introduce yourself, Violet?" Kylie asked, nicknaming Atiala based on her hair color. "People on Earth call me Lady Lantern, but you can call me Kylie."

[Mavorpen]

The strange new being bent down and touched Jamal on the forehead. Under normal circumstances, Phyla would have done something to prevent this from happening. After all, just a few seconds ago, it appeared to have been piloting a giant mechanical creature that nearly killed them. Plus, what with the whole Phalanx thing, she wasn't in a very accepting mood when it came to living machines. However, for whatever reason, she felt at ease when the creature touched Jamal.

She quickly realized that her instinct to not prevent this action was the correct one, as the techno-virus visibly receded and Jamal began stabilizing. He groaned as his eyes opened and he sat up.

"[Relief! You are awake. Interrogative. How are you feeling, Nova Centurion?]"

"Who...are you?" Phyla asked, as she helped Jamal get to his feet.

"W-Warlock..." Jamal muttered. He groaned as he sat up and held his head. He looked at the creature and continued. "You're Warlock of the New Mutants, aren't you?"

"[Recollection. Self has not been called that in a long time. But yes, at one point, Self was known as Warlock and was part of the New Mutants.]"

"The fact that you're on Kvch... does that mean you're a Technarch?" Phyla asked.

Warlocked frowned as he became visibly sad. "[Indeed. Self never much fit in with the other Technarchs, unfortunately. Self is a mutant among Technarchs much like the New Mutants are mutants among humans.]" Warlock began circling around Jamal and looking him up and down. "[Observation. Your vitals appear to be relatively stable. You are lucky Self reached you when Self did.]" He declared with a smile.

"T...That's right. What happened? The virus suddenly became much more aggressive once we got near the planet." Jamal said.

"[Yes, that is what occurs when Phalanx technology comes into contract with Technarchology. Your viral load reached critical levels because of this. I was forced to donate some lifeglow to you to reign the virus under control.]"

"But... you couldn't get rid of it?" Jamal asked.

Warlock looked down at the ground and avoided their gaze. "[Unfortunately, no. Self cannot simply cure the virus. That would require the sacrifice of Self's own life. Query? Did you come here for a cure?]"

"No. We came here for more than that. A Phalanx covenant has taken over the Kree Empire. Billions have potentially already died and many more will die if we don't stop them." Jamal explained.

"[Compassion. That is sad. Unfortunately, Self cannot help you.]"

"Why not?" Phyla asked.

"[...Follow Self.]" What appeared to be a large railroad trolley of sorts emerged from the giant scorpion mechanical creature, and Warlock jumped onto it. Phyla flew up to it, raising a Jamal up with a platform construct to help him conserve his energy as much as possible.

The trolley began moving across the landscape. "[You see, Self's species, the Technarchy, is a naturally violent species. Technarchs travel the universe, plundering galaxies and consuming their lifeglow. The Phalanx are actually a byproduct of this -- nothing more than simple digestive enzymes left behind once feeding is finished. Technarch young are forced to fend for themselves. They are left here while all mature Technarch have long since left Kvch.]"

The trolley reached large metal doors imbedded in a large mountain. The doors opened to reveal a room so spacious that Jamal couldn't even see the ceiling. The room was constructed entirely out of metal and the ceiling was apparently held up by countless cubic pillars. Suddenly, they were greeted by another Technarch. He resembled a gorilla and had a large chest and bulky, long forearms.

["Why did you stop the drill!? Self was not finished be-]" It began angrily. Then it looked at Jamal and Phyla and became even further noticeably angry. ["Why are these meat things here? Can Self take their lifeglow?]"

"[Absolutely not! These are Self's guests!]" Warlock shouted, growing larger as though he was an animal trying to threaten a predator. Then he turned and faced Jamal and Phyla and gestured at the Technarch "[This is Tyro. Self found Tyro in his infancy stage and has raised him as Self's son. Self has been preparing him.]"

"Preparing him for what, exactly?" Jamal asked.

"[To fight his own Siredam.]" Warlock placed his hand on one of the pillars and his arm began fusing to it. A video feed was projected onto the pillar that began showing his memories. "[When Self lived on TerraEarth and fought with the New Mutants, Self was attacked by Magnusfather, Self's own Siredam, in order to test and obliterate WarlockSelf. Since then, Self came home to Kvch to begin saving Self's species and teach the Technarchy to no longer be gluttonous beasts who simply seek to consume lifeglow. Self wishes to instill in them to give lifeglow, not take. Tyro is the beginning of this quest.]"

"Warlock..." Phyla said, her voice soft and soothing. "What you're doing is admirable. Really, it is. But we're talking about billions, trillions, of lives at risk that need to be saved."

"[WarlockSelf would really like to aid you, however WarlockSelf simply does not have the power. Self would have to steal lifeglow from another to help you. Self will not do that.]"

"So that's it then? I just accept that I'm gonna die? Just roll over and let the Kree and even the Earth that you once called home get destroyed as well?" Jamal said, furious.

"[Regret. Please, Jamal, self feels guilty enough as it is. If faced with the extinction of your own race and the Kree and could only save one, would you not choose your own race?]"

"...Of course I would." Jamal muttered as he realized that he understood where Warlock was coming from. While he thought that Warlock was being selfish, he knew that he was as well. But that's what happens when it comes to the survive of your own species: you become selfish. "Come on, Phyla, let's go. We'll find another w-"

Suddenly, Tyro started howling in pain and appeared to be melting as his body collapsed to the floor and his limbs began spreading apart. "What's wrong with him?" Phyla asked as the three of them knelt down beside him.

A screen appeared in front of them and Warlock began tapping on it. "[Self does not know. Tyro appears to be picking up a signal of sorts. Self is beginning to pick up the signal as well, but not as strongly as Tyro. Self is scanning now to determine -- oh, no. There, in the Southern Hemisphere. An active Babel Spire. The technovirus that Self burned out of you earlier appears to have manifested and gone critical somehow. They are sending a signal to summon.]"

"Summon what?" Jamal asked.

"[A Siredam. A fully mature Technarch is coming. We are doomed.]"

---

snip

snip]

"So then This One told him, 'Use the Force, Luke.' He looked at me like I was insane." A female voice said.

"...What does that even mean?" A voice recognizable as belonging to Ruby asked.

"It is a Star Wars reference. That is a movie from Earth, is it not?" The unknown voice responded.

"I dunno. I haven't watched it yet. Oh, they're here." Ruby came into view in front of Naja, Kylie, and Atiala's cell with another, obviously alien, woman right beside her. The cell "door" was a straightforward, though powerful, energy barrier. "So... I'm gonna need you guys to stay there for a bit." Ruby said to the imprisoned group.

---

Meanwhile, in a room located in another part of the tower, perhaps the worst possible scenario in this situation was taking place. In said room were a few Phalanx, and an individual known as High Evolutionary.

"Interesting..." High Evolutionary said as he watched different scenes playing one after another. He watched as Hank Pym first constructed Ultron and the Avengers fighting against Ultron, among other things."It appears to be memory engrams randomly playing in succession -- a memory bank of images showing key moments in the 'Great Ultron's' life."

"[High Evolutionary, this data does not concern you.]" One of the Phalanx protested.

"I will decide what concerns me and what does not." The visual on the monitor changed again. "Ah, this seems to be the last known confrontation between him and the Avengers."

"[The humans believed The Great Ultron to be dead. However, one of our Babel Spires picked up his stray consciousness. We foolishly attempted to assimilate him at first, however he quickly showed us the error of our ways. Before, we lacked direction -- a singular consciousness through which our full potential could be utilized. We became a part of him, and he a part of us.]"

"Fascinating, indeed. He forcefully integrated himself into your central systems through sheer force of will. What a frightening being. Now I see why he presents such a threat towards the Earthlings. Now, let's check up on how the process is proceeding." High Evolution turned to face Ultron housed in an open sarcophagus-like human sized container, as well as an identical container next to him. "It appears everything is proceeding as e-"

Suddenly he turned around as he heard his name being mentioned on the monitors. Ultron sat in a throne in the center of a room, with Kree soldiers around him performing their personal duties using computers. "I am honored to been chosen for such a significant role. The High Evolutionary shall be located." A Kree General standing next to Ultron's throne stated. "Though, I fear I do not quite understand for what reason I was selected for this mission, nor why you require the services of organic soldiers in general."

"It is simple." Ultron responded. "The Phalanx, useful and technologically advanced as they may be, lack true free will. It is a flaw that is fundamental in their design -- one I will soon breed out of them. For now, I require soldiers who can behave and make decisions as individuals to lead them. Tasks such as these are best delegated to beings such as yourself."

The soldier bowed. "Again, I am truly honored, Great Ultron. "As for what we currently know concerning High Evolutionary, we have discovered that he is undertaking a Clandestine Project on behalf of my former leader, the Supremor."

"This project intrigues me. Evolution through design, rather than random chance and natural selection. The creation of a genetically perfect organism. You will locate this High Evolutionary and secure his test subjects for my use." Ultron stated

"Hmph." High Evolutionary grunted upon watching the memory. "So you were onto me this whole time." He walked over to the now empty and lifeless husk of Ultron's body. "I do hope that you find my work satisfactory."

Suddenly, the closed cocoon container next to Ultron's body burst open. Adam Warlock emerged from it, eyes glowing red with a fiendish grin on his face. "Indeed, I do, High Evolutionary. You do the most wonderful work."

[Empire of the Siberian Flaming Eskimos]

Kalaris was continuing to fly through the fray, punching holes in Acrosian ships when suddenly two beams of devastating energy appeared at the Traditionalist flag ship. He looked in awe, never having seen two beings produce such power. "We are in way over our heads," said Kalaris as continued to gape, "There is no way we can go up against this. I say we run for it and try your plan elsewhere."

Gladio ignored Kalaris for a bit, studying the dueling beings with analytic interest. Interesting, he said within Kalaris' head, S.W.O.R.D. had some data on these beings, but it never led me to think they were this powerful. I'll have to accelerate my plan.

"We're not running?!" yelled Kalaris, "They can blow up a flag ship on their own and you want to stay in this fight?"

The plan is still workable. I just have to adjust it for minimal backstabbing. Also, my scan's indicate that the beams can destroy a planet, not just a flag ship.

"Great, just great. Not only are we fighting guys who can single handedly destroy a planet, we're going to betray them!"

Just keep flying, said Gladio. Leaving part of himself to help Kalaris and keep him from running, Gladio moved his attention back towards the Traditionalist ships. Sifting through their network, he quickly hailed a base on Acros. Instead of greeting their response with communication though, Gladio quickly surged into their system and forced the link to stay open. Once again he smashed his way through the few firewalls he encountered. Soon he was everywhere. Gladio flowed through everything that had a wireless signal. He jumped through the networks across the planet and took control of it all. Power plants, computers, construction sites, everything. Gladio was almost ecstatic. The freedom, the vastness, it was so exhilarating. Gladio allowed himself to enjoy this newfound sensation for awhile longer before focusing on the task at hand. In order to execute his plan he would need a lot of supplies and construction equipment. He quickly commandeered a fleet of transport ships from across the globe and had them move to discreet locations. Meanwhile, he also signaled out where the supplies he needed were and moved to have them transported by drones along with various construction bots and equipment. All across Traditionalist territory, things were being set in motion. It wouldn't be long until they came to fruition, and Gladio's plan would begin.

[New Neros]

-snip

After the rapid and nearly unprovoked assault, the cyborg remained idle, simply reverting to a normal standing position as he watched the Saiyan fly. He remained there, silent, yet watching as the Prince righted himself and powered up, preparing for a counter-assault. With Okarot charging directly at Paras, he still refused to move, intent on taking the brunt of the attack to establish who was the more durable combatant. Okarot disappeared suddenly, though, the cyborg's eyes widening as he acquired new information on the warrior's battle speed, but felt the downward connection of a kick right at his upper arm and shoulder.

An attack that would blow the surface of a planet away, kicking up air and dust all around, a visible shock-wave radiating from the impact across the planet's already-ruined surface. It was stand to reason that the cyborg was blown away by the sheer impact and force of the strike, but to the shock of the Saiyan, and perhaps the cyborg Saiyan as well, he remained there, his heels dug heavily into the ground to withstand the strike. Despite that feat, it was clear though - Okarot shattered the metal rods and support structures in Paras' arm, a perfect ninety-degree angle forming just after the impact, and the piece now hanging limply to the side.

The sounds of electric sparks and grinding gears sounded, the cyborg walking some distance from the site of the impact - a massive trench stretching for miles on the landscape denoting exactly where Okarot attacked, and it's aftermath. Deep brown and red dripped from the cyborg's arm, the skin having been seared away to reveal it's entirely metallic shape. He dropped to his knees, clutching the arm, the pain unbearable to grasp, a silent scream taking the Saiyan's mouth. He clenched his teeth and eyes shut, a mental purge of the pain underway, and a slight utterance coming from under his breath. "Upgrade..." He said quietly, his teeth never parting as he said it, a sudden snapping noise jerking his shoulder upward.

In the calm created from the vicious attack, Paras opened the palm of his left hand - the one that was uninjured from the bout - and revealed a large circular component, radiating with energy. "To think I needed to fire a Ki blast at all..." He said to himself, before violently whipping around and facing his palm towards Okarot. "Nothing can save you from me. I will wipe out the Saiyan race, starting with you." He said menacingly to Okarot, painfully unaware of who this being was or the fate that befell his race...or even that he was a Saiyan himself. Still, he fired his massive blast with ground-shaking force, yelling, "Incinerate!" As he did so.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Gilbert made his way out of the darkness and ruin after his brief encounter with Chorus. It had been quite the lucky thing to run into her, but then, it was also a tad... useless. She just interrogated the man and left, no time to even ask for an autograph. But then again, he could hardly blame her. He knew everything he had done before regaining control of his body, he knew that he had done a fair bit of atrocities and he knew that he had even fought her, forced her to kill him a whooping five times before he finally got his shit together. With that in mind, he couldn't exactly blame anyone else but himself. Stepping through a collapsed gate, he left the building and looked around, wondering just how much ruin he had caused in his rampage.

"I guess this is why I've always been better off alone." He thought grimly to himself as he moved on through the dark alleys of the crime-ridden city. A city without a savior, it was rotten to the core and only a handful of individuals were still trying to fight against the tides of darkness. But as much as he wanted to help them, he had his own problems to deal with, and they were, much to his dismay, even greater than those of the city. For inside him was a beast that threatened to unravel and devour all time, and he knew not how to stop it. The only person he knew who may have had an idea of how to do so was missing, and he was left to wonder why it had to be him, Gilbert Graham, who was to bear with the burden of hosting the Time Demon.

"You were chosen because you have nothing." A voice came from out of nowhere. It was a woman's voice, and it seemed to echo only within his mind, but it was not any voice he recognized, though it seemed vaguely familiar, and he could notice a tinge of emotion in it. Sadness? Was it sadness? Whatever it was, however, Gilbert could not deny what was said. Truly, he had nothing, only the clothes on his back, and even that was stolen. He had no home to return to or family to miss him, he had no friends, not anymore. But he could always earn them, right?

"You were chosen because you are nothing." The voice continued, but this time, Gilbert frowned. Of course he was something! He was... he paused. He was not a hero, for certain, nor a villain. Not a vigilante, either. He was no employee, no famous person, not even someone's friend or lover. These thoughts running through his head were discouraging, but he beat them back. Even if that was true, he was still someone, he was Gilbert!

"You were chosen because you are no one." The voice sentenced. At that, the young man was shocked. He soon realized he was truly isolated. He had been an orphan for as long as he could remember, no one there to look out for him. He had friends, once, but they knew nothing of him before they met, and now they were no more. He realized that there was no one to vouch for him, no one that could say he was someone.

But he had to be!

With an angry resolve, he immediately took off, using his power over time to boost his jumping abilities in order to travel faster, darting for the Batcave he had fixed with his own two hands in order to find the one thing he knew could be able to confirm his existence: The Batcomputer. Crossing Gotham City in no time, guiding himself from the faint, fragmented memories of when he had been overtaken by his inner beast, he reached the Batcave and barged in aggressively. No one was there yet, which made things significantly easier, and so, he walked over to the computer. It was protected, naturally, but he did not give up. He rewinded the computer until such a time that it was not protected, as if a Bat had been about to use it at that moment, and then used its vast database to search for himself, typing in his name and waiting.

And so, for minutes he waited, waiting as the supercomputer did its thing. But when the results were turned in, Gilbert could only stare.

There was nothing.

He, Gilbert Graham did not exist.

---

---

---

Sarah continued shamelessly flirting with and teasing the blood-controlled tellers and customers of the First Bank of Starling City as she waited. Naturally, everyone present believed that she was waiting for the tellers to finish placing all of the money in the bag, but what she was actually waiting for was for her sisters to finish scooping up all of the cash sitting inside the bank's vault, which was a significantly larger sum that made the money she would've earned by stealing from the cash registers pale in comparison. And yet, because of the sheer magnitude of the spectacle she was putting on for the guards while holding them still by controlling the blood in their veins, no one had yet noticed that the vault had been violated and the money was about to be plundered by Sarah's younger sisters. It had been a wonderfully executed diversion, in her humble opinion.

She was just finishing the very necessary job of turning an indignated, violent guard into a hot and bothered mess, when she heard a beastly howl reverberating through the whole building, originating from the room just outside the vault. At this, she could only smile. What was to others the monstruous noise of an angry beast, was to Sarah unbelievably cute. Hanah was always happy when she was given the chance to transform, so the eldest Grimm sister had come to think of the howling as her little sister's cries of joy. Still, though, it was a bit inconvenient that everyone had heard it as well.

"Whoops. I suppose the jig is up." She softly whispered to herself as she continued putting up her act, for all it was worth now.

Not long after, she received a response to the telepathic message she had sent the others earlier, from none other than her little sister Hanah herself, telling her that everything was almost over and that Samantha just had to break open the vault. Everything was still going according to plan, then, and that was good. Sarah also noticed that there was something different to Hanah's thoughts. They were more animalistic, for certain, more beastlike... but also, and most importantly, they were more cheerful, and this made Sarah happy.

Then, there was the noise of the vault doors being ripped apart and hitting the ground, which was undoubtedly enough to alert everyone.

"What is going on?!" One of the guards demanded of the pale seductress standing in the middle of the bank, but his only reply was a mischievous smile.

"I'm as ready as ever, Sam. Hanah and you just have to grab the money and come up here, and I'll use shadows to get us to the alley." Sarah thought in response to Samantha's telepathic message, and prepared to evacuate herself and her sisters once they arrived with the money. So far, everything had gone smoothly, but Sarah could not help suspecting that something was about to go terribly wrong. Certainly, she didn't have any sort of sixth sense, or prophetic visions like her sister Samantha, but still, she had a gut feeling that things were about to go awry, and she couldn't tell why.

[Finland SSR]

Ronan turned to K'Ragnar. "Take the Lantern to the prison cells." As K'Ragnar left with Kylie, Ronan saw something in Naja's expression for a split moment that made him raise an eyebrow. "You know that Lantern. Do not bother denying it, it is, how Terrans say, 'written all over your face'." Ronan gripped his hammer, the Universal Weapon, tighter and it began glowing. "Do not test me and make the mistake of having your smart decision to surrender be in vain."

Upon landing on the planet, they were transferred to a holding cell in a large tower that dwarfed all of the other structures in the capital city, with the exception of Adam Warlock, who was taken to a different section of the tower.

Kylie couldn't do anything while unconscious, but she woke up later in the cell hurting all over. In the corner was someone dark-skinned and who wasn't in enough light to see well. Ruby and the other person who was Jamal's friend were missing, but the girl they met before the Kree attacked was still there. And she looked worried.

Atiala Hypernova, I SWEAR, NOT GUILTY

---

Wow. The whole vibrating molecules thing would be really useful right now. You know, to vibrate through or something. And I can't risk punching a hole through the wall and escaping that way. I don't know where am I or how to get home. Maybe the other people with me do... "Uhh..." I turned at the others. "I hope you're just knocked out sleeping, and not... you know, dead. Because I would really appreciate your help with this mess. Please wake up..."

"Nope. I'm fine. Just my arms hurt, and my legs hurt, and my boobs... Well, most of me hurts, so I could be better." Kylie smiled and sat up against the wall. "So... we're in jail. Alien jail. That's cool. Do you want to introduce yourself, Violet?" Kylie asked, nicknaming Atiala based on her hair color. "People on Earth call me Lady Lantern, but you can call me Kylie."

Atiala Hypernova

Oh! The other person with me woke up! So I won't be the lone survivor after all. And... she has sore boobs. This was followed by an immediated thought change from happy (kind of) to weirded out. Anyway, the woman, who seemed to be at a similar age as me, introduced herself and asked me to do it too. That wouldn't be a bad idea - after all, 'Kylie' is now going to be my companion for getting the hell out of here.

"My name's Atiala..." I spoke, though rather slowly, as if not really knowing what to say. "Last name's Hypernova, but you can forget that. I'm half-Kryptonian, half-Saiyan, though I don't really have a secter identity or anything yet." Yeah, I did kind of drop the knowledge bomb. Well, we are in prison in a strange alien planet, so I guess it doesn't matter much now.

[New Rob Halfordia]

-snip

Based on the injury the cyborg had sustained, it quickly became clear who the more durable combatant was. But, the fight would not be over until it was over. Okarot was sure that if he would be pushed to the third level, this would be the fight in which it would happen. The cyborg was impressive to say the least, with a fighter's spirit reminiscent of that of a Saiyan's. Okarot could swear he recognized him from somewhere, but dwelling on such matters was a quick way to lose any fight, for, the Saiyan way was to punch first, ask questions later.

Suddenly, the cyborg stuck out his hand, seemingly preparing to fire some kind of blast. Okarot assumed a combat position, preparing to block the attack, and test his limits. Upon the beam firing, it became evident that it was an easily dodgable blast, but, a true Saiyan never turned down a challenge, and a chance to test the depths of their power. Sticking out his arms, the beam slammed into Okarot's hands, a jagged golden aura surrounded the Saiyan. His feet dug into the ground as he was locked into place. As it would turn out, the beam had much more power than he originally had anticipated. A bead of sweat rolled down Okarot's face, and his he slowly tried to push forward to break free of the blast. The cyborg was full of surprises as it would seem, and Okarot was quickly buckling under the pressure.

The blast was causing the ground around the two warriors to fissure and crack, spewing molten rock from the depths of the planet. Any and all of the trees were either burnt away, or quickly getting to that point.The planet was not going to last much longer, as the Arcosian being slammed into the core seemed to destroy a majority of it. And, while Okarot would have no trouble taking a full planetary explosion, he could only hold his breath for so long before he needed to breath. He had to deflect this beam, and get the real fight started.

As he gripped the blast, the crater already beneath him suddenly doubled in size. Okarot's muscle mass quickly increased, along with his power. The sudden boost gave him all the power he needed, even if momentarily. The muscles formed by using becoming an Ultra Ascended Saiyan gave speed a serious hit. Digging his feet in the ground for traction, the Saiyan went into a squat like position, building massive potential energy as he removed one of his hands from the cyborg's blast, allowing it to push him down and form even more energy buildup than was already there.

Almost instantaneously, Okarot jolted upwards, streaming the energy built up in his legs to a punch which he delivered directly to the beam, launching it directly into the sky. But, despite being in the clear as far as the attack, he was vulnerable for a moment, as such a large amount of energy streaming through his body, in combination with that from the Ultra Ascended Saiyan form, took it's toll on his system. Not to mention, his speed was still marginally crippled by said form, which would mean dodging was out of the question for a split second. But, the split second it took to leave the form was a large window of attack when moving at speeds approaching or at that of light.

[The Templar High Council]

Atiala Hypernova

Oh! The other person with me woke up! So I won't be the lone survivor after all. And... she has sore boobs. This was followed by an immediate thought change from happy (kind of) to weirded out. Anyway, the woman, who seemed to be at a similar age as me, introduced herself and asked me to do it too. That wouldn't be a bad idea - after all, 'Kylie' is now going to be my companion for getting the hell out of here.

"My name's Atiala..." I spoke, though rather slowly, as if not really knowing what to say. "Last name's Hypernova, but you can forget that. I'm half-Kryptonian, half-Saiyan, though I don't really have a secret identity or anything yet." Yeah, I did kind of drop the knowledge bomb. Well, we are in prison in a strange alien planet, so I guess it doesn't matter much now.

"Huh. So you're from Earth, but all alien? Pretty cool, if you ask me." Kylie became quickly reminded of her ring when she checked to make sure it was still there. She scanned Atiala (not to be rude, just to be safe) and confirmed her story. But then she noticed the thing in the corner. It was scaly. And had boobs...

"Naja?" Kylie questioned loudly. "Is that you? What are you doing here?" The ring confirmed who it was, and Kylie instantly got happier. Someone familiar was here, and Naja was a superhero amongst superheros. They'd be fine in the end.

snip

snip]

"So then this one told him, 'Use the Force, Luke.' He looked at me like I was insane." A female voice said.

"...What does that even mean?" A voice recognizable as belonging to Ruby asked.

"It is a Star Wars reference. That is a movie from Earth, is it not?" The unknown voice responded.

"I dunno. I haven't watched it yet. Oh, they're here." Ruby came into view in front of Naja, Kylie, and Atiala's cell with another, obviously alien, woman right beside her. The cell "door" was a straightforward, though powerful, energy barrier. "So... I'm gonna need you guys to stay there for a bit." Ruby said to the imprisoned group.

And then Ruby showed up! "Ruby!" Kylie celebrated, jumped up, and stepped close to the cell door. "What happened? A Yellow Lantern beat me up, then I woke up here. Hey, if you can get us out, I totally forgive you for breaking my room." She said that last part jokingly, but meant it. This crazy ordeal was much easier to handle with people she knew and trusted around.

"Wait, who's she?" Kylie questioned, pointing at the green alien. "Is she another of your friends?"