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

[New Neros]

-snip

The hit staggered the monstrously large Shatterstar, a testament to his durability by tanking such a blow. "Your people really need to stay dead." He commented harshly, in regards to Shimura's interference in the mortal world. "You will be joining the brothers and their master soon, though. Tonight, you will avenge nothing. What's done is done and will be done again." But, as Alastir made his dramatic appearance, Shatterstar gave a confident smirk, brewing with pride, arrogance, and supreme trust in his own abilities and power in the face of Satera and Alastir. "You both are interlopers, meddling with things beyond your control."

"Quite so." Maxwell said with indifference at the appearance of the two. He didn't even care to look at Alastir's face the Demon God eyed the Mad King. "I do what I must. Beyond you, beyond me, there is a greater good that must be followed. But I will give you fair warning, this will not be a two on two battle. I am a Mad King, you know me as such, and you two? You are both something beneath me." He callously said, "Shatterstar will be more than enough. Get rid of these interlopers, Maddox." Maxwell commanded, the behemoth moving at blinding speeds to punch Satera while he was close, throwing his hand to the other side in order to block an attempted surprise attack by Alastir.

Maddox spoke with some strain, but made his voice very clear. "You two don't seem to realize..." He began, using his unimaginable strength and muscle to get free of the Gods' attacks and circle back around the two, facing them head on without regard for himself or his surroundings. "I break Gods."

[The Fallen Jedi]

- Snip -

The Fall of The Masaki
Part 9 The Two Gods: Alastir & Satera vs Maddox Shatterstar

"Do not question the actions of Master Shimura, for it will be his decision when he finally decides to stay dead, but the reason why he came back in the first place..." Alastir smiled demonically, beginning to give into the urges of his Primordial counterpart sealed within him "Was because you decided to try and kill young Ryuichi, which none of us would allow to happen." The demented grin on Alastir's face continued to grow and grow, until his very charcoal skin on his face began to slowly peel away "It has been a long time since I've allowed IT to come out and fight on my behalf, but I suppose that this situation warrants it, I will not be holding back whatsoever, so prepare yourself for the full power of the Dark God!" It was at this moment that a large amount of black steam began to emerge from every pore of the Dark God's body, the demented smile still remaining plastered on his face "It's been so long since I've come out to play..." Primal Alastir darkly remarked, the charcoal body of his fusee shattering into millions of pieces, leaving nothing but a demented spectral entity in it's place, the same demented smile remaining plastered on it's face.

"You break gods?" Primal Alastir asked, the smile never fading away as a distorted chuckle could be heard from the confines of it's mouth "Do you really think that will frighten me? I'm sorry to say, but you aren't fighting a god anymore." an extremely violent wave of darkened energy shot out around the spectral entity, resulting in a manifestation of black flames around the three combatants "You are fighting something that is BEYOND a god, I am darkness incarnate!" Primal Alastir let out a great roar that resulted in the entirety of Sigma Island to break apart at it's foundations, becoming something more like a chain of islands in comparison to it's former Continent-sized girth "Intangible Shadow!" Primal Alastir replied subconsciously, creating a single shadow that only he could see, having manipulated the light around this entity in order to keep it hidden from the naked eye "Are you ready to have some fun Satera?" Primal Alastir asked.

Satera chuckled, having sensed that the real Alastir still retained a trace amount of control over his primal personality "Fun isn't the word that I would use in this type of context, but in a way, yes, I am prepared to have some 'fun'." using Spera's power of Light Manipulation, Satera casted a blindingly large amount of light that extended itself towards Maddox, turning to Primal Alastir, who shot forward with his Intangible Shadow in tow, firing off a large black mass of energy as well as numerous sharpened red tipped tendrils towards his opponent "Let's see how he responds to this, then a proper plan can be made as to how to engage this monstrosity."

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

---

Manifest took in a deep breath when he returned to reality, the first breath with a sound mind in a very long time. When he noticed she was holding his hand, he smiled slightly, and listened to what she said. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as she reinforced his mental defences, exploring them. They were strong, and more powerful than any he had ever had before.

"Thank you, Hadrimmelis." He smiled softly in reply to her speaking of their bond. However, his expression grew grim when Julie was mentioned. He nodded slowly. "The Earth and Mars were her home. I will return her body to Earth, and locate her last will and testament." He closed his eyes once more, a sadness adorning his expressions. "Let her legacy be fulfilled, exactly as she wanted. I owe her at least that much."

He breathed for a moment, then opened his eyes and looked into Hadrimmelis'. "Hadrimmelis, words are not sufficient to demonstrate my thanks. But... For now, you are correct. There are things I must take care of, and endure, by myself." He hesitated, but let go of her hand and leaned forward, embracing the Black Dragon. "Thank you, my friend."

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars couldn't help but smile when Kiris did her best to comfort it. It really made him feel good that he had someone who he could confide in, who would comfort him when he was upset or vulnerable. He noticed Kiris staring at him, which made him blush a little, reminding him of the moment right up before their kiss. He found himself staring at her a bit too before forcing himself to look away, nodding when Kiris quickly went off. He headed to his own room to try to clear his head as well. When he arrived however he was met with the thick smell of paint. He raised an eyebrow as he stepped inside, wondering what was going on. He then walked inside and realized that everything in his room was painted red. Luckily basically everything important to him was in his lab, but still this was clearly not what he needed in this moment.

Um, is everything in your room covered in paint? Mars asked Kiris telepathically. He was clearly not happy about this. If this was a joke it wasn't funny.

Darian and Serene
Darian and Serene were shocked as they flew off into the sky and very quickly arrived in Africa. They were both disoriented for a little while before they came to and were shocked to see an army of strange alien creatures around them. They both took out their weapons after transforming into their warrior forms. They were prepared for a fight but Etla seemed to knock out or scatter the enemies in their close vicinity so they turned to her instead.

"Uh so Etla?" Serene said as she looked around. "So, do we know what we're doing here? This place doesn't look terribly friendly.

Grimms
The Wizard swatted at Hannah and Sarah's attacks, his arms being cut apart and reforming. "Hannah, you've always had trouble with you manners!" He shouted as he tried to knock her out with his free hand.

Meanwhile Sam heard her sister's order and was torn. She wanted to help Sarah and Hannah, but Roy was hurt and getting him out safe was important. She couldn't disobey her older sister so she quickly moved to grab Roy, who looked like he may have broken an arm in the fall. She helped him up slowly and started to move him away from the car when he was suddenly grabbed by the Wizard. Sam yelped in shock and tried to create shadow claws to grab him but it wasn't enough. Sam was confused, why did the Wizard seem to be targeting John and Roy and not them? She wasn't sure what was happening, but she knew it certainly wasn't good.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Jamie listened to Luna as she explained that she was not only a newcomer to New York, but also an alien, having come to Earth from a distant planet. Despite herself, she was somewhat surprised, as even though she knew that the presence of alien beings, especially those who looked fairly similar to humans, was at an all time high on Earth, this was still the first time that she had met one of them in person. The experience was more akin to meeting a Chinese or Egyptian or otherwise foreign person, rather than the actual impact of meeting a person from a rock more or less as massive as Earth, hundreds or thousands of lightyears away. She was pleasantly surprised, but frowned as she heard Luna call Earth primitive. Sure humans weren't as advanced as other species out there, but that was still uncalled for.

The girl's frown did not fade away as she continued listening to Luna, simply staring ahead through her shades, narrowing her eyes a little when the green-haired woman made a bunch of ugly modifications to the arm cannon and had it fire, only to give a long and boring explanation on how it worked afterwards. By the time Luna finished, the Final Boss yawned a little.

"Oh, whoops. Sorry, I just don't really dig all this nerdy stuff. I'm more of a gamer." The black-haired girl stated, before waving off the modified arm cannon. "Anyways, you said that thing's after you? Maybe you'd like to meet my friends then? I don't think they'll refuse to help you. Who knows, you might even like them." She offered, before moving to lead the way. "I just have one question, though." Jamie said, and then took of her glasses before looking at Luna.

"Why'd you let me win?" She smiled.

And with that said, she led the way to the Justice Queens tower in the heart of New York.

---

---

The girl with the mechanical arm scratched her head a little with her normal hand as she looked at Prototype and listened to him. "Oh, you're welcome. I figured that someone who comes from a civilization that ranks at around one point five in the technological development scale would not have an easy time understanding something like the Relative Threat Level system. It happens all the time, really, but I'm glad I could help." She said, smiling brightly at him, the sarcasm having evidently sailed miles above her head. Her smile faded away a little, however, when she heard the man state that he didn't know where the being who registered as a relatively high threat was. She had expected someone who let out a blast that could be seen from so far away to be more useful than this, but she supposed it was okay. Whoever had caused that spike in her scanners would probably do something that would betray his position at some point, so she could just kill some time while that happened.

"Well, thanks for answering, anyways." The girl said politely, nodding. "Anyways, I'm Black Sun. I'm a cyborg. And you?" She asked as she pointed at him, practically poking his chest. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here? If you don't know where the big threat is, then you're not here for that are you?" She continued, more curious than anything else, wondering if there was any other thing of interest in that dull place called New Namek.

---

---

Seeing the pain that she had brought to Manifest by mentioning Julie caused the World-Dragon to feel pity for him, for a man who had not sinned while in control of himself, yet had to bear those sins anyway, for he had inadvertently allowed himself to commit them. She did not wish for him to continue suffering, and yet, she knew that little of what she could say or do would change things, save for wiping the event from his memory, but she found the very thought of doing such a thing to him completely abhorrent. For one, it would be a betrayal of his trust, and an imperfect solution at best. While he would no longer remember the cause of his shame, others would know what he did, and likely remind him of it, which would cause severe complications. And if she attempted to do the same thing to the others, then not only would she betray their trust as well, she would be cursing Julie's memory. No, Manifest would have to bear with his pain, and this caused the World-Dragon grief, the empathy she felt for him intensified by the bond they now shared. Giving a solemn nod, she agreed with his plan to honor her legacy.

What came afterwards, however, left Hadrimmelis pleasantly surprised, her frown turning into a soft smile. It was, technically speaking, nothing new, but this was the first time that Manifest had initiated it, instead of herself, and, strangely enough, this made her happy. She embraced Manifest as well, until he broke up the hug, and then looked at him with her sole crimson eye.

"Perhaps if you showed me your mind I would be able to better understand how much gratitude you hold for me, my dear friend." The Black Dragon chuckled softly, before raising a hand to Manifest's cheek. "But, as I have said before, there is no need to thank me. The knowledge that I did not lose you to that blade or to your own fragments is enough for me. Maybe one day you will be able to repay the favor, but you do not need to concern yourself with that for now. I am nothing if not patient, after all." She stated. After a pause, however, she let out a small sigh, allowing her hand to drop to her side. "For now, though, I understand that you have a duty, and I will not keep you from it any longer. Farewell and good luck, Manifest. I pray that we meet again soon, but even if we do not, remember, I am always by your side." Hadrimmelis spoke solemnly.

Then she was gone.

[Finland SSR]

The Ultimate Majin

Part Eighteen: A Whole New Buu

Itaku

---

The first thing I saw upon reentering our world was Frank, in his Transcendent state, staring at Majin Buu with shock present in his eyes. I soon popped back into normal size, as if I were a piece of popcorn, then Atiala and Lucien, whom I held separately from the trillions of other victims. Then everyone else started popping back up. I could barely even expand the energy shield around them fast enough to keep them in place, but I managed to do it. Throughout this time, the Majin behind me was constantly screaming, holding his head and muttering random shouts. He sounds like he's in pain.

"Look, Frank!" I exclaimed. "People popcorn..."

"Wow..." he muttered out after he raised his head, looking over the gargantuan ball of former Buu victims. "How could he fit so many people there?"

I shrugged, then descended back down on the ground, still in my First Angel form. Frank grabbed Atiala and Lucien, put them down and started shaking them by the shoulders to wake them up. Come on... They're alive, I know that - their ki is still healthy, - but the monster seems to have put them into a coma of some sorts. Wait! Atiala's eyelids started to open... and as soon as she regained consciousness, she let out a frightened scream. Looks like her conscience was paused at the point of absorption.

"Don't worry, friend." I spoke. "You're okay. And so is everyone else."

"What... what happened to your ki?" the Krypto-Saiyan muttered out her first words in a while. "And the hair..."

Oh, is she referring to my transformation? I closed my eyes and went back to my base form to preserve energy, which most likely confused her even more. "It's a long story."

While we were talking, Lucien suddenly let out a screech, holding onto his chest, until he realized that he doesn't have a hole there anymore. Buu probably healed it to obtain more power from him. "What? Frank? Itaku?" Obviously, he was still confused.

"A lot happened in the last few hours: Thanks to an old Kai on Supreme Kai's Planet, I had my potential unlocked, and faced off against Buu, entering his stomach and freeing all of the people he has absorbed from there." I tried to explain, then pointed to the massive ball of sleeping floating people and other kinds of living beings above us. "That's all of them."

"I didn't understand anything." Lucien commented. Atiala looked at the ball, narrowed her eyes and spoke:

"Say... I can sense myself out there! Weaker, yeah, but still!"

"Huh, you're right! I'm also in there somewhere!" I added. "And all of the Herans, too..."

"I can't find myself among them..." Lucien was somewhat saddened by the fact. "Maybe something bad happened in that universe?"

"Considering that Zen Buu was born there, probably. And speaking of him..." Atiala floated a bit forward, passing across a few boulders and taking a glance at the Majin. His humane facial features, like the nose and chin, were gone, and he looked even more like the ugly despicable monster that he is. He was also bulkier, much bulkier, as if he was barely able to contain his muscle. Still grunting and screaming, though. "He transformed... but he's far weaker now. I could easily take on him in my base form."

"It's kind of ironic that he got weaker by growing more tall and muscular." Frank added. He was seemingly staying out of the conversation so far.

"He is still transforming - back into his pure form." Huh?! I turned around, towards the source of the voice. Supreme Kai? He appeared out of nowhere?.. Oh, right, Instant Movement. Buu was shaking and constantly moving his arms, as if he was trying to beat on his chest, or perform a dance. The Kai turned towards me, smiling. "You did it, Itaku! You saved the Universe! And for a moment there, I thought you wouldn't be able to make it..."

"It's to pay out old debts. Back in Bebidi's ship, I had a chance to destroy the Reality Reader before Buu was summoned, but I failed... I guess they've been paid back now."

"Oh, yes, definitely. I don't think Buu's pure form will be of any challenge to us."

"Uh, not to break the mood, but his power is increasing... rapidly!" Lucien spoke while watching Buu's transformation from a bit further away, but he was ignored. Atiala landed back on the ground, turned to me and asked:

"So, Itaku, you're going to be staying on Earth with us, correct? Nice earrings, by the way."

"Oh, thanks... Now that we're all heroes, I think this job is going to be our top priority. Master Frank, do you know any more big villains we could face?"

"Please don't call me 'Master', Itaku, it's weird."

"Oh, I'm sorry... I thought you would like that."

Atiala turned to Lucien, whose eyes were still focused on Buu. "So, Lucien, what are you going to do next?"

"...RUN!" he exclaimed and leaped back.

Run? Hu-

AH!

Me, Atiala, Frank and the Kai leaped up as fast as we could, moments before the plateau we were standing on was set ablaze by a single tiny pink energy blast. THAT was a strong attack. That was something the buff Buu wouldn't be capable of produ-

No... I looked at the Majin. He wasn't bulky or tall anymore, nor did he let out any more screams or shouts, just lowered the finger that he used to fire the attack. He was just a little pink demon, as tall as a child, - comparable to Lucien, - but the power that swelled inside of him... was thousands of times larger than when we last checked. I'm going to need my full power for this. And as soon as I thought that, I clenched my fists and almost instantly transformed into my blue-haired First Angel transformation.

"This... this is all wrong!" The Supreme Kai was scared and frightened beyond belief. "In his pure state, Majin Buu should be equal to a Super Saiyan 3... and this Buu could crush one with a finger! He is weaker than his Zen form, yeah, but still too powerful... Maybe Zen Buu knew that someday, someone is going to do the thing that you did, Itaku, and powered up his original form as a last resort plan."

"I take my words back. I can't take this thing on." Atiala muttered out. "I don't know how strong you are, Itaku, but let us hope that you can handle this."

"Supreme Kai, take Buu's victims and bring them back to their universe. I will fight Majin Buu." I spoke.

"Anything for a hero." The Supreme Kai bowed, then stretched his arm towards the ball of sleeping floating absorbees and teleported with them, probably to his planet, where he can sort them out and bring them back to where they're supposed to be. Meanwhile, the kid Buu stared at us, blankly, then let out a massive, powerful, screeching scream, while bumping his tiny fists at his chest.

"This Buu's way different. He hasn't said even a single cocky remark yet." Frank commented. He, Atiala and Lucien landed on a mountain a bit further away, where they can spectate the fight. Fine. This should be between just the two of us. Me... and this kid.

"So, how about we start the fight?" I exclaimed. Kid Buu raised his right hand to the sky and created a massive purple ball of energy above his palm. One strong enough to wipe this galaxy out in a single bang. And then - without even a single word bragging about his strength or mocking me, without even caring that this move will blow him up along with everything around him for the next five hundred thousand lightyears, without even making a sexual innuendo joke his past self was famous for - he chugged the attack right at me.

Oh...

Crap.

[The Rebel Alliances]

Ralph the Rat-16-New Namek

Time seemed to freeze as Barrow was punched straight into a mountain, his attack doing nothing against the titan before him. I saw Rose scream for her comrade, but the sound was lost in the moment, Ashley, sailing through the sky above the battlefield, a precise blast of energy punching straight through her shoulder. At first she seemed dazed or confused, her eyes slowly tracing across the wound as her backpack slipped fromher frame as she slipped from her extreme gear. I teleported to her, catching herself and her bag, but allowing her board to collide with the earth. I could see her try and mouth my name, but I placed a gloved finger to her lip, signalling silence. But she persisted. "My...bag...carry it with you, it will help." I had no idea what she meant, thinking her to be confused, honestly I was surprised she had it, it's not part of her normal wear.

"Whatever you say..." I stated softly, a feint smile spread across her lips as she nodded. Looking back up, I could already see Solar returning with Barrow. As my gaze passed over my team, I realized that this was our first time fighting a enemy together like this. We never needed to before. I realized however, what I could not risk.

Them.

I am willing to sacrifice all, but it must be my sacrifice. Closing my eyes I gave the next order.
"Rose...evacuate the team. Right now...that is the required teamwork." Her voice rose as she protested.

"I can still fight! So can Solar and Chaos...if we-"

"What?" I questioned. "I understand you Rose, but Ashley and Barrow need all of you." I explained. Ashley having fallen unconscious in my arms.

"None of you stand a chance, and I cannot focus on the battle if I am concerned for all of you. Please, take them to the Aurora and go." With that, Rose relented. But nodded defiantly. As she loaded the wounded and everyone else to a shuttle, I watched as the violent wind whipped against me, as the vessel docked with the Aurora. Then I slowly turned to face Frost. Having no delusions for ny expectations.

Lifting myself back into the air, the thousand small pebbles violently orbited around me. Then disappearing in a flash I appeared above him, hurling several stones with enough force to shear Mt. Everest.The smaller the object, the faster I can propel them. Once more, I appeared next to him, this time striking him hard with a telekinetic enhanced fist. Then disappeared again and appeared behind him, delivering a frm quick, Finally, I emerged back into existence but this time in front of him, firing several more pebbles. Repeat the process of striking randomly from distant and close positions, trying to throw him off, as I fought to now avenge my team.

[The Republic of Atria]

New Namek

Xander flew to the source of the message. A rather green and blue planet. Almost completely water that his mistook for grass. However the trail of bodies definitely told him that there was something very wrong. Unfortunately, Namek was sparely populated as it was, the massacres didn't exactly leave many people to talk to for information, which made him glad that he didn't bring Naja along. She wasn't as used to seeing death as he was. That didn't make him any less angry that innocent people were dead. And for certain, he was going to mutilate who was responsible, and beat them to death with their own limbs. Or something else particularly gruesome. It was one thing to kill people. It was another to massacre them, AND children. Which he would return in kind.

It was then that he heard some explosions. "Speak of the devil..." He muttered to himself and shot across the sky to see someone whom he thought had died long ago. Frost. However he was fighting some small creatures who were clearly giving it their all to try and stop him. That fact that they weren't dead, told him that either Frost was weakened since last time, or he was holding back. Not that it mattered. His powers had increased over a thousand fold since the first time they met. He was just going to let the creatures do their best, but if it looked like Frost was going to win, he would step in. Though, he wondered if Frost would recognize him. His hair was tied behind his head in a half assed ponytail and his outfit was much different than it used to be.

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

New Namek
Prototype sighed. "I was being sarcastic! Do you think I'm stupid?!" He asked her, his voice clearly frustrated. He calmed himself, then continued. "I... Don't know who I am... I have no memory of my true self. Just call me Prototype." He said. "I'm an android, completely robotic unlike you. And my reasoning for being here is simple; I want to find the Dragon Balls so I can wish for my memories. Plus I just wanted to test my powers." He continued, gesturing to the fallen bodies of Frost's goons.

"So you're here to find a threat? Maybe I'll help you if you help me?" Prototype suggested.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Cataclysm 3

Across the multiple main fronts of the Dathomiri invasion, Earth and it's defenders began to strike back, holding the line of the main flow of Dathomiri forces. In Chad, the Silver Legion ripped through the dathomiri troops, causing to fall back to their entrenched defences, trying to hold the line. In Washington DC, The Justice League, backed by SHIELD, carved their path to the Teleportation Matrix in the park, pushing back against the now growing horde of thralls surrounding them. Berlin was on the brink of destruction, when The JLA, along with the Avengers came to the rescue, giving the German Military the brake they needed to hold their capitol.

Washington DC

The Justice League forces pushed forward, Maria Hill, Guardian, Superman, Wonder Woman, John Stewart, and many others had fought hard and long through the growing hours of the invasion, trying to fight back the Dathomiri forces. They had reached the 2 mile mark to the Teleportation Matrix, taking point at the Washington monument where they fortified their position. "We've got incoming vehicles" Guardian said to Wonder Woman, as 4 Shield VTOL Helicopters landed, and Armored Shield Soldiers, armed with Miniguns and other Heavy weaponry took point. Maria Hill stepped up beside Wonder Woman and Guardian, "We're ready to make our push, the longer we wait, the more prepared we are". Wonder Woman looked to Superman, who looked to Guardian, they all nodded in agreement; "Alright Men, Move out, hell isn't going to wait forever!" Maria yelled as the Shield Forces moved out towards the Matrix.

The Coalition force quickly moved towards The Dathomiri Teleportation Matrix, reaching within a mile, the Dathomiri forces quickly advanced......then stopped. "What the heck" Guardian said as The Dathomiri forces stopped, in a large line of sheer force they stood there staring them down. "Men, open fir-" "Wait!" Guardian yelled to Maria Hill as an Armored Figure jumped and smash down infront of the troop line, standing up, the air grew stale as none other than Maeya, Dawned in Dathomiri Armoed, gave a devilish smirk at the sight of Guardian. Guardian landed next to Hill, "Who's the Woman?" She asked not looking at Guardian, "Maeya, She's mind controlled, Hill you've got to give me a chance to reach out to her. Me and The Knight were able to save her before, I can do it again". Hill shook her head, looking at Maeya, then at Guardian she sighed, "you've got 5 minutes", Guardian nodded, flying from the Coalition force, meeting Maeya halfway.

"Hello Boyscout", Maeya said in a mocking tone.
"Maeya, this isn't right" Guardian said in a depressed tone.
"What isn't right? That Catarock is my One, true God, and I'm serving him rightly by standing to command his force?",
"This isn't right, what would your parents have thought?" Guardian said in a pleading tone.
"Catarock is the only Family I have!" Maeya yelled at Guardian, before firing an energy blast at close range, knocking him back far.

Maria Hill nearly dodged out of the way as Guardian flew back, "ALL TROOPS, OPEN FIRE!" Maria Hill yelled, as every Shield Soldier fired at the Dathomiri Troops and Maeya in a huge amount of gunfire. The Bullets simply bounced off of Maeya's armor, she snickered as he lunged forward, Superman and Wonder Woman flew off towards her in return, and Maeya yelled a warcry as the clash begun.

Chad, Dathomiri Fortified Position

In the Chad front, the Silver Legion would've cut through a large portion of the Dathomiri defences by now, forcing the Dathomiri troops to fall back to their artillery. "Ready the artillery!" A Dathomiri ground commander yelled, The Giant Dathomiri Artillery guns took aim at the Silver Legion's forces. "Fire All Batteries!" The commander yelled, as the guns fired a huge amount of artillery, they fired up into the air, and came barreling down onto the silver legion's forces.

Just before they were able to hit the Forces, A Large Dark Magic Barrier appeared, dissipating the Artillery fire as they hit the barrier. Beside The Silver Field Commander, appeared The Dark Lord, who walked up beside them. "I'll assume you're one of Earth's Defenders?" He said, waiting for a reply, holding his mace with both hands behind his back.

---

Catarock's Mothership

The Knight crept through the Mothership, partly limping from the broken ribs and other damaged bones that the Dathomiri soldiers gave him when they beat him. The Knight leaned against the left wall, the heat of the pain on the back of his neck weighed him down, ready to give up as the anchor of stress pulled him towards the ground. The Knight then remembered something his Father had previously told him,

"it is the good and great men, who stand up for Chicago, when others turn and run"

The Knight pulled himself back up to his stand, and continued walking, 'Can't give up now......Chicago...And Earth need me to do this' he thought as he leaned against a wall, next to a panel of a door. The Knight entered a code The Dathomiri guard told him, as the door slid open, he quickly walked into an Armory room, with every type of not only Dathomiri, but Intergalactic weapon you'd need. The Knight quickly gazed over to a Dathomiri Handgun, laying on the counter of the Armory. The Knight picked it up in his hand, inspecting it as he stood there;
"The Power to change a nation....",
The Knight reached into his belt, taking out the Dylithium - Radion Bullet,
"The Power to change history......",
The Knight opened the pistol, showing it was empty, and slid the bullet in,
"The Power of God."
The Knight closed the Pistol Chamber, gripping it tightly, 'Mother, Father, tonight I will have to break a vow I took 10 years ago', The Knight thought to himself as he walked out of the Armory. '

[New Rob Halfordia]

As the others began to clear the battlefield, Frost snickered, raising his hand and taking aim at the fleeing Chaos Force members, "Not so fast..." he muttered, a small ball of energy charging up. Right as he fired it however, something struck his arm, sending the attack way off course, barreling through the atmosphere and into space. That's when Frost's gaze suddenly shifted to the rat, the one who continued to annoy him. And now, was actually getting on his nerves.

The continued barrage of literal pebbles now bounced off Frost's aura, as he suddenly found Ralph directly beside him, throwing a telekinetically charged punch. As it struck, it had little effect, and Frost threw a punch of his own. Ralph was gone before it could strike, but a massive blast of air and force exploded outwards from the missed punch, moving with such strength and speed that it ignored the planet's gravity entirely and simply punched a hole through the atmosphere miles away.

More pebbles came, shattering as they struck Frost, but once more having little effect, and Ralph struck again. Once more, Frost swung at where the rat had been, punching another hole through New Namek's ozone layer. This battle was going nowhere fast, which meant Frost had to take slightly drastic measures. He formed a ball of energy in his hand, which grew to about a meter in size before shrinking to the size of a marble, sending out a shockwave as it did. "Alright rat! Let's see how you deal with this!" he shouted, with noticeable anger.

Suddenly, he turned around and hurled the ball of energy towards the airship where the Chaos Force retreated to. If the rat would not provide entertainment, then he would pay the ultimate price, not in his own life, but in lives of his friends. Unless he could find a way to stop the attack, they would most certainly be doomed.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

---

Seeing the pain that she had brought to Manifest by mentioning Julie caused the World-Dragon to feel pity for him, for a man who had not sinned while in control of himself, yet had to bear those sins anyway, for he had inadvertently allowed himself to commit them. She did not wish for him to continue suffering, and yet, she knew that little of what she could say or do would change things, save for wiping the event from his memory, but she found the very thought of doing such a thing to him completely abhorrent. For one, it would be a betrayal of his trust, and an imperfect solution at best. While he would no longer remember the cause of his shame, others would know what he did, and likely remind him of it, which would cause severe complications. And if she attempted to do the same thing to the others, then not only would she betray their trust as well, she would be cursing Julie's memory. No, Manifest would have to bear with his pain, and this caused the World-Dragon grief, the empathy she felt for him intensified by the bond they now shared. Giving a solemn nod, she agreed with his plan to honor her legacy.

What came afterwards, however, left Hadrimmelis pleasantly surprised, her frown turning into a soft smile. It was, technically speaking, nothing new, but this was the first time that Manifest had initiated it, instead of herself, and, strangely enough, this made her happy. She embraced Manifest as well, until he broke up the hug, and then looked at him with her sole crimson eye.

"Perhaps if you showed me your mind I would be able to better understand how much gratitude you hold for me, my dear friend." The Black Dragon chuckled softly, before raising a hand to Manifest's cheek. "But, as I have said before, there is no need to thank me. The knowledge that I did not lose you to that blade or to your own fragments is enough for me. Maybe one day you will be able to repay the favor, but you do not need to concern yourself with that for now. I am nothing if not patient, after all." She stated. After a pause, however, she let out a small sigh, allowing her hand to drop to her side. "For now, though, I understand that you have a duty, and I will not keep you from it any longer. Farewell and good luck, Manifest. I pray that we meet again soon, but even if we do not, remember, I am always by your side." Hadrimmelis spoke solemnly.

Then she was gone.

Charles Crawler looked into the darkness where his friend had vanished for a moment after she had left. Slowly floating into the air, he vanished, speeding across the Fortress, towards a small, unused room about the size of a Helicarrier. Inside, in the centre, a small, one person bed laid unused since he had created the vast facility. His own. He laid down, and for the first time in months, the God of Fragments fell asleep, peaceful in his sleep as he hadn't been while awake in a very long time.

[The Rebel Alliances]

Ralph the Rat-16-New Namek

My tactic was proving futile, doing little more than frustrating the tyrant. Striking from random directions the alien was unable to get a target on me. This, caused him to resort to a desperate measure. Charging a new blast, it was not aimed at me however, but the Aurora. Cold sweat beaded my fur as everything seemed to freeze, but as if by design, my single Chaos Emerald began to shine radiantly, meaning that it was reacting to the presence of the other Emeralds. But they were left..Ashley, squeezing the shining yellow emerald tightly I focused on the Aurora. Which was dangerously close to being destroyed. Grinding my teeth as I screamed.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

Then, just an instant away from oblivion, the ship seemed to blink from existence. In reality it was now back at New Mobius. My muscles started to relax after the close call, but the moment was short lived. Soon my attention shifted from my friends to my enemy. My duel colored eyes staring daggers into his cold expressionless face. Slowly, I undid Ashley's backpack as I revealed six additional jewels each a different color of the light spectrum. Moved by the powers of my telekinesis they began a rapid orbit around me. Spinning faster and faster with me in the eye of the proverbial storm.

I then began to shout telepathically into Frost's mind as I was transformed by the powers of the Emeralds.

You wanted to be entertained!

My eyes began to glow in silver light as my normally white fur changed to a shining platinum color. A silver flame like aura erupted around me as my new form revealed itself. It is said that the emeralds increase ones power a thousand fold. I don't know if that number is accurate, but limitless energy was now at my disposal. The emeralds finally seemed to vanish, but in reality their energy simply infused itself with me. The emeralds and I were one. But I have been here before, and this power does not last long. Five minutes tops.

Now you'll see! I yelled, again telepathically.

This time, I did not teleport. But moved at speeds beyond FTL appearing right next to his head and throwing a kick packing beyond planetary power. And this attack lacked any psychic enhancement.

With the attack over I prepared another, far more powerful strike. As I continued to threaten the Tyrant.

I'll SHOW YOU CHAOS! My power is stupendous!

I then reached out and grabbed Frost telekinetically, pulling him towards me to make him connect with my next blow, a enhanced punch with destructive levels impossible before. I then mentally screamed as the strike was about to connect.

You can call me Mystic Ralph!

[New Rob Halfordia]

Frost snickered as the rat changed, "So you've changed the color of your hair?" he asked, sarcastically, "I fail to see how this is going to defea-"

That was what Frost was able to get out before being kicked directly in the head, with enough force to easily shatter a planet. He found himself being fired at the ground at speeds he found hard to comprehend at the level of power he was at. And, as the Arcosian slammed into the ground, he felt pain the likes of which he hadn't felt since the events on Earth.

As he prepared to get up and counter attack, Frost suddenly lost control of his body, and found himself being dragged back up into the air. The tyrant desperately searched for something to hold onto, but it was too late, the rat had its grips on him and was not about to let go. In mere moments, the Mobian had Frost within striking distance, and hit the Arcosian so devastatingly hard, he found himself being flung headfirst through the air, and into the sky.

Not only did Frost fly through the sky, he flew so far that in mere moments, he was on a collision course with a low orbiting, Earth sized moon, being propelled out of the planet's atmosphere. The impact with the celestial body created fissures in the satellite's surface, an collision of truly epic proportions. However, as the tyrant, buried under the moon's surface, opened his eyes, it was not anger, nor fear that filled his expression. It was excitement.

His red eyes suddenly flashed, and his purple aura became a solid energy covering his body. The planet sized moon began to shake and crack under the duress, though unlike New Namek during his last transformation, it was not handling the energy very well, as the core began to melt, and lava erupted from fissures forming on the planet. And even then, the Namekian homeworld itself began shaking under the transformation's duress. The power being displayed was not even reminiscent of Frost's previous forms, it was almost unrecognizable in its sheer volume and intensity.

As it exponentially, grew, it seemed to have no end, simply growing and growing, until eventually, after one massive jump in power, the moon orbiting above New Namek turned into a ball of fire, debris and massive rocks spraying into space, and onto the planet below. And, as the meteor showers began on the planet below like an apocalypse in action, the skies darkened and the ground started to become scorched and covered in ash. Embers flew through the air as an extinction level event began taking place.

However, in all this chaos, one thing made itself clear. Frost had cleared a plateau that most Arcosians had trouble even coming relatively close to. He floated directly in front of Ralph, his new form a combination of silver and grey colors, with deep red eyes that longed for bloodshed and destruction. Unlike before, they were completely unmoving, uncaring. They lacked sympathy in every aspect of the word, simply emotionless. He momentarily looked over to a spot where he now understood the one he sought stood. The Golden Guardian. The target of his vengeance. They would soon enough have their fun. And Frost would have his ultimate vengeance.

The Arcosian's glare returned to Ralph, "You have been a good distraction, rat. But now, the main event has arrived, and you've gotten to the point of annoyance. So I've deemed it necessary to do some pest control of you will." he said, as massive chunks of rock and debris from the shattered moon rained upon the planet behind him, causing massive explosions which, in the face of Frost's new power, seemed but small firecrackers.

Frost lifted his hand, and pointed it at Ralph, "I wonder how much you can take of 1% of my power? Let's see." he said, as his hand suddenly emitted enough telekinetic push to move a planet, all directed at Ralph.

[Empire of the Siberian Flaming Eskimos]

New York

The sky was blue and clear, surprisingly nice for the city. Only wisps of clouds dare trace the sky as pedestrian crowded the sidewalks and taxi drivers honked their horns. The bustle of the energetic city could be seen everywhere, and it was a wonderful sight to behold for many. Most were looking out the windows longingly, aching to be let from cubicles and desks to enjoy the wonderful day. There was one man, however, who had no interest in the pristine sky, the rush of the streets, or the products hawked from store windows. This man sat at his desk in the police station, the chaos of daily cop life blowing around him like a hurricane, while he stared intently at police reports on his desk and computer. His name was Officer Dalton Cob, a sharp officer in his twenties who was quickly climbing the ranks of the New York police. All around him officers and detectives were hurrying about; taking calls, going to crime scenes, or trying to get vital files for the next break in their case. Cob wasn't interested in that though. One phenomenon in particular interested him. The armored vigilante. That's what he'd been called at least. Over the past several months a strange figure in high tech armor had appeared at various crime scenes, taking out criminals with extreme prejudice, but never killing. At first many thought it was a new member of the Justice Queens, but no new members had been announced and the armor sited seemed a bit on the dark side for them. Skulls, guns, and knives weren't really the MO when it came to aesthetics. Because of his uncertain alignment, the authorities had decided to label him a vigilante for now. He only appeared at select crime scenes, and no one knew what their motivation was so at this point it was unclear whether he could be trusted as the JQ's had. For now the police's goal was to apprehend with minimal force, or at least find out why the armored figure was doing what they were doing.

Over the months, the vigilante had become a bit of a water cooler story. Sightings weren't all that common to begin with, and the only reason anyone was giving it any credit was because of all the strange things happening in the world. If it weren't for the JQ's existing it probably wouldn't have even been considered. For Dalton it had become a bit of an obsession though. Some thought he wanted to be the first to contact for the career boost, others that he was looking to prove something. While those all would be good reasons, the truth was that he was fascinated by the strange figure. Ever since his first citing, the very first one ever in fact, where he'd shot a bank robber holding someone hostage. Something about the way that they just nodded in thanks, then left. Not wanting any acknowladgement, not explaining themselves, and not showing anything about who they were. It was strange to him, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it, even if it was just to thank them for the lives they had saved.

Dalton was still staring at a police report when a hand to the back of his head snapped him out of his trance. "Rise and shine farmer boy," said Detective Hughes as he leaned over Dalton's shoulder, "we've got criminals to catch and people to save." Farmer boy was the nickname Dalton had earned for his unusual last name. Surveying the various papers on Dalton's desk, Huges quickly put together what he was doing. "Still chasing that phantom suit of armor, are we now? You really should lay off on it. This is the kind of thing that turns into a dangerous obsession."

Dalton rolled his eyes at his mentor. "It's not taking over my life Hughes, I'm just interested in this guy, that's all."

"Swinging the other way now, are we?" Replied Hughes with a smile, watching Dalton's face turn red as the younger man realized his phrasing. "Look, just take a break from it for a bit. This isn't crucial to the department and there's a lot of other things that need to get done."

Dalton sighed in response. "You're probably right. It's just that I feel like I'm so close to finding a pattern. They only show up at select crime scenes, and if I can figure which ones we'll be able to predict their next move." Huges raised an eyebrow at this. "It's like one of your cases," he hurriedly said, "you look for a pattern or motive and use that to catch them."

Hughes continued to look at Dalton with a look of doubt. "That easy, huh? Maybe I should just turn over my badge now. Here come Officer Cob, shooting strait to head detective! Look out everyone!" Dalton gave Hughes a glare before turning back to the reports on his desk. Hughes simply chuckled and walked over to his desk with an unseen smirk of admiration on his face. In truth Dalton was on the right track. Even when he'd first taken the kid in, it had been clear that he was bright. Since then he'd also shown a good work ethic and a drive to get to the bottom of everything that came to his desk. Hughes could see that kid going places, but that didn't mean he was going to show it. Keeping his ego down peg or two would do him some good.

Hughes had just gotten to his desk when suddenly the phone rang. Picking it up, he listened for a bit before hanging up and hurrying to put on his jacket. "Come on Cob, we've got a collapsing apartment building that needs some people on the scene," he called out as he moved towards the exit.

"You're a detective, isn't that someone else's job?" asked Dalton as he hurried to catch up.

"Apparently they're backed up and we're the closest thing available. People need to be evacuated and the police need someone on the scene. Now hurry up!"

---

Del moved through the collapsing building quickly, moving debris that would normally take several men to lift like it was nothing. She had already found and helped several trapped civilians, but sirens were close and more debris was coming down. It wouldn't be long before she would have to go if she wanted to continue remaining anonymous. Moving through several more rooms, she eventually found a group of people trapped inside a room that was mostly caved in, the door blocked. Quickly ripping the door off it's hinges, she removed the fallen beam blocking it before motioning for the people inside to leave. As the people inside passed her, they seemed somewhat intimidated by her armor, quickly moving past and avoiding any sort of eye contact through her helmet's visor.

Damn this suit, she thought as she tried to ignore the looks that they gave her. She was about to move on when she noticed a woman who was refusing to leave. Del quickly moved towards her and grabbed onto her shoulder before motioning that she needed to get out.

"My daughter!" she yelled through tears, "She's in there still!" For the first time Del noticed that the collapsed ceiling left a small opening near the bottom, the sounds of a scared toddler coming from behind it. The woman turned towards the noise and tired to get through, but Del pulled her back.

"Get out before more of the building collapses, I'll get her," said Del, her voice heavily deepened and distorted by a voice changer in her helmet. The woman was about to protest, but Del cut her off and pushed her towards the door. "Go!" she yelled as she shoved the woman towards the door. Finally listening, the woman moved out with tears streaming down her face as she made her way to the exit. After making sure the woman had left, Del crouched down and inspected the opening. It was too small for her to fit through, and the amount of debris around it was heavy, even for her. Not to mention that there was no telling what moving it might do to the integrity of building with that much weight on it. Leaning down to look through, Del could spot the child through the dust and darkness on the other side. She was huddled in the corner, obviously frightened. "Hey, hey!" called out Del to her, only to see her recoil in fear as she saw the skull on Del's helmet and heard the strange tone of her voice. Giving a heavy sigh, Del reluctantly took off the piece armor that covered her face before leaning back down. "Hey, it's okay," she called out calmly, now in her normal voice with her face exposed. "See? No skull. It's just me." Slowly, Del was able to coax the girl into coming closer, timid but no longer quite as scared.

"Where's mommy?" she called out in a small voice.

"Mommy is outside," replied Del in a sweet, but urgent voice, "I'm gonna take you to her, but I need you to come towards me." The girl seemed apprehensive about crawling through the jagged opening, but Del extended a hand through and urged her on. "Don't worry, nothing's gonna happen. Just crawl towards me. That's right, I got you," she continued to say as the girl slowly made her way towards her. Eventually Del was able to pull her out completely, and not a moment too soon as the opening she had just been in started to cave in with the rest of the room. Del quickly carried the girl out, moving towards the entrance of the building where she could now clearly hear the sirens of police cars and fire trucks that had arrived. Moving to the edge of the entrance, Del set the girl down and motioned for her to go out to where her mother was waiting before putting on her helmet again.

Watching form the edges, Del smiled as the mother turned towards her now running daughter and embraced her with tears running through the grim the covered her face. Also watching the heartwarming scene of a mother reconvened with her daughter, Dalton looked around and spotted Del. His eye's widened as he recognized the skull visor and the strange armor. This was it, he'd found the vigilante. Del too noticed Dalton, and moved to go back into the building. Before she went, she looked back at the crying mother, making eye contact as the woman smiled wide in thanks. That was the last expression she ever made, as a single shot rang out.

[The Republic of Atria]

"Well... Yeah. I don't want to hurt someone." Otis didn't feel like talking about that anymore, so he decided to change the subject to something different. "By the way, Inhumans change their names after Terrigenesis. Which is getting cocooned and then coming out of it. Usually has to do with their new powers or appearance. For me, I chose Bolt. Because I was a speedster before the Darkseid thing." It was a lie, Manifest was the one who suggested the idea for his name, but he didn't want to think about that man right now. "I'm not sure what you would like. It's more a personal choice but-" He was Cut off by Felicity before he could finish his thought.

"Velocity. I'm fast too. And it sounds like my normal name. Kind of. The last four letters match." She explained. "But I like it."

"That's... Pretty cool actually." He admitted. "Hopefully Gorgon'll be back soon. You'll like him. He's like you, but... Imagine a bull crossed with a man. Not like a Minotaur. Hooves of one, but the body of a mountain of muscle. He's the one who taught me how to fight. It was... Strange. I never really fought at all before that. But he told me that all Inhumans have to learn if it's possible. Something, something warrior people-"

"You're the softest warrior people in this whole city, aren't you?" She asked, snickering with her arms cross. Otis was obviously not willing to admit that he was, but she wasn't wrong. "Awe... Don't be sad. When I'm through with you, you'll be a BAMF. No exceptions. First lesson. Take off your pants." She commanded. Otis gave her a strange look, but was just about to do what she asked when she spoke up again. "Seriously?! You're not even going to ask why?! Or say no?!" She exclaimed and put her hands on her head. " Holy shit, Blue. You really need to stop doing what people tell you when you don't know what it entails." She clearly had her work cut out for her. "You said you liked anime. Which ones?"

"One Punch Man-"

"Okay. That's perfect." She explained. "You're the Saitama in this situation. You're stronger than just about everyone around you by an absurd amount. The difference is that he's a lazy motherfucker who lost interest in life. You're just pathetically spineless. It's all in your head. You just need to ask yourself, what would Saitama do?"

"Sit on my ass and eat junk food until something happens?"

"Not the part where you should be asking. Like... When a giant monster starts knocking shit over. You get your ass out there and punch it into mush. Hopefully with more interest than him." She explained.

"Feli-"

"Velocity."

"Velocity... That's just not me. This isn't like One Punch Man. There's at least a few other Saitamas out there. I don't have to be one of them. I can help people without punching giant monsters. That's what Xander and the like is for. I'll be there for moral support and crowd control if it's needed." He explained to her. "There's all this hypothetical questions. But until it actually happens, I'm not going to worry about it. Look. Thank you for trying to help me. But I just can't push myself into doing something like that. I'm-I'm gonna go. Gorgon should be back in a few minutes. I'll see you around alright?" He said and before she could object, Otis vanished in a bright red flash.

"Well. You tried." Came the voice of Gorgon. "I've been trying to get through to him for weeks. Not quite that simple. He's stubborn and scared."

"Hmph. That was plan A. I'm not gonna stop until he gets the message. I have a plan. We'll need that guy who rules Praetoria. Your Queen. And a bunch of people from around the city. Any royal helpers that the Queen has would be perfect."

"I don't think it wise to pressure him..."

"Well, sweet talking the bastard isn't going to work. We both clearly tried the honey approach. Now, we do vinegar."

[Illica Falki]

Ava
Ava was still a littles confused, even after Kiris's explination. After taking a little breather to calm herself down, she flies up to the computer desk, and turns to Rin. "I'm Okay, A little confused, But I'm alright..." She sits down, dangling her legs off the edge of the desk. She didn't plan what to do after going to the tower, so she doesn't have much of an Idea what to do now.
Vera
After Finding the Pup sleeping on it's bed she kept outside her room, Vera decided to leave him sleeping. She opens the door to her room, only see it all painted. The few things she kept in the room were also painted, but since most of her stuff was in her hideaway she wasn't really affected. Opening her window to air the room out some more, Vera finds her note book where it's usually hidden. There's some paint splatters on the covers, but the pages are alright. She takes the time to make notes on the mission and it's outcome, as she usually does after missions.

[Finland SSR]

The Ultimate Majin

Part Nineteen: Terror's Final Hours

Itaku

---

With widened eyes and a gaping mouth, I watched as Majin Buu's galaxy destroying attack kept on approaching me, faster and faster... He's insane. He is absolutely insane. And yet... he's still clever... Buu's regeneration is so godlike that even if I collapsed an entire universe on top of him - which I can't actually do, but for the sake of argument - he would still be able to regenerate like nothing happened. The only person who will survive this attack will be him. This... insane bastard! The attack is almost touching down on the ground, dramatically outshining every single other light source in the area... I approached it and started pushing on it with my arms. Looks like it's moving back a little...

No. It's no use. I can't throw the attack back into outer space - it will be a ticking time bomb. It it touches anything big, the Galaxy will be completely destroyed...

Wait...

I quickly drew a heptagram in front of the massive ball of energy. It immediately turned into a massive magical portal, and a few seconds later, the attack was no more. I think I placed the other end somewhere in far-away intergalactic space. Hopefully, it will dissipate from friction and radiation before it can do any sizable amount of damage.

Hopefully. I panted a little. This took quite a lot of energy from me...

Majin Buu was watching it happen with a disinterested look in his eyes, then, as soon as his galactic buster attack vanished, so did he. I could only widen my eyes when the pink creature re-appeared right in front of me and unleashed a powerful strike to my chin, sending me back a few meters and staggering. Focus, Itaku, focus! I quickly leaped back in range for a counterattack - a wide sweep kick. It left just like hitting bubblegum - he just stretched back into his normal form.

I unleashed a barrage of physical strikes at Buu's face and chest. Every single punch and kick sank deep, but simply bounced back. Darn it! And he's just laughing... How about this? A chop to the neck and a step kick to send him flying into a mountain. As soon as I saw the dust shoot into the sky, I placed my palms in front of my chest, facing each other, gathering a huge amount of energy between them.

"Super Burst Missile!" I screamed out, then fired the bottled up energy as a massive energy blast. Kid Buu stood up from the rubble and wreckage, only to have my energy attack slam into his stomach and lift him up into the air, where it promptly exploded in a spectacular fashion. Phew... that should do it. Oh, nope. Nope. He regenerated. And then-

AGH! A simple punch to the cheek that sent me barreling across the landscape for hundreds of meters. And then... and then...

He used my move! The same one I used a few seconds later! No, seriously, in the same fashion - hands in front of chest, charge up energy between the palms, fire it as a blast - except that it was pink instead of blue, and he didn't shout the name out. It's coming... closing in very quickly... I stood up as fast as I could and backhanded the incoming Burst Missile, neutralizing it by sending it into a nearby plateau. Well, that structure is gone.

Buu yawned, then charged towards me at full speed. If energy blasts won't cut it, either... I rapidly drew a heptagram in front of myself, manifesting the spell as a wave of nigh-absolute zero cold, freezing the pink monster immediately on contact. He won't be moving anywhere for the time being. I can-

Huh? What!? He's thawing out... And then he lit himself on fire, melting the layer of frozen air and ice above him in an instant. How? Really, how? I mean, I would imagine Zen Buu having such attacks... but his pure form? Something's not right. Anyway, I used the opening to send a flurry of punches into his chest and stomach, finishing off with a powerful knee strike to the chin. He backflipped, then charged up a ball of rainbow energy in his left hand.

Rainbow energy... That's not ki! Buu soon fired it as a one-handed rainbow colored energy wave. I crossed my arms and blocked... I took it, but it was still an incredibly strong attack. A bunch of burns, cuts, some clothes torn apart... And unlike him, I can't regenerate. Obviously, he wouldn't let me catch a break after the attack, either, and just had to disturb the silence by suddenly appearing in front of me via teleportation. I wiped some blood off my face, and he laughed like a madman.

What a maniac.

What followed next was a massive and incredibly fast exchange of punches and kicks, a clash, if you want to say it that way. Me and Buu both sent thousands of strikes at each other, each one strong enough to destroy a planet if we wanted to - luckily, the energy was concentrated to a single point and thus didn't cause much collateral damage. Neither one of us was willing to budge or give in, and yet I had a slight upper hand. I dodged more of his punches and kicks, and he seemed to be holding his own not as well. But the difference was negligible.

The physical clash slowly took into the air, where we continued to attack each other, albeit the strategy changed. Instead of thousands of weak punches, we changed into powerful knee, elbow and fist strikes. I strike him in the chin with my shoulder - he retaliates with a head smash. I sink my fist deep into his nose - he blasts me point-blank into the chest. And it kept going... and going... The hardest thing about this fight is that I can barely find an opening that I could use. This Buu doesn't boast, he doesn't care for his life, he doesn't care for anything or anyone. He just fights. He is just a manifestation of pure destruction. He's just... a little demon, and we're all his playthings.

There! He accidentally dropped his guard! I immediately used the chance by sending both of my legs to smash into his chest, sending him back, out of range. Don't stop with the combo! I quickly made two thin blue disks of pure energy, both hovering and spinning above my palms. I threw one - it cut right through his abdomen. Another one - immediate decapitation. Now quick! I thrusted my right palm forward and fired a massive vaporizing energy beam to hopefully end him here and now. Dust and smoke picked up... then a voice reached my ears from the cloud:

"Buu like you. You are fun."

Those were his first lines after the transformation. And it has been TEN MINUTES. The smoke cleared, and I saw Kid Buu intact, cracking his neck. It didn't work. It never works. I'm just burning through my First Angel time now. The Majin suddenly smirked and pointed his finger at me, firing a finger beam towards my left leg. Ah! I dodged it... He fired one towards the right. I dodged it again. He fired at the left again... He's trying to make me dance! You want to dance? I deflected his finger beam and fired one of my own at his head - he just suddenly pulled his head into his body, dodging it that way, and popped it out soon after.

This fight is just not fair!

Alright... focus. I drew a heptagram, aimed towards Buu, and manifested the spell as a massive wave of electricity, many times stronger than Heran lightning - and lightning on our planet is definitely one of the most powerful across the universe. I watched the Majin being fried to smithereens, then engulfing a whole lot of air and recovering like a kind of balloon. No effect. This is getting tiring... quite literally. I've been fighting for over an hour now - even before this fight, against Zen Buu and inside him. Not to mention that the First Angel transformation is quite taxing on my stamina. He is shaking his stomach now. It's like he can't get tired. Did I ever tell you that this fight is just not fair?

Buu's laughing and spinning around now... then he suddenly stopped and started sleeping, still mid-air. Sleeping? Does he think that I'm boring? But... I'm stronger than him! I mean, barely, by a practically unnoticeable amount, but still. Alright, if he's going to give me an opportunity to attack like that, then... I charged up a lot of energy in my palm, then fired it as a blue-colored energy wave. And... right before it hit, he teleported out and-

AGH! The next moment, I found myself face-first on the ground, covered in rubble. It was a ploy. I quickly rose out of the pile and looked up to see only one thing - a barrage of energy blast pounding the area, myself included. Agh... Agh...

Come on...

My clothes were pretty much ruined by now, my back was covered in cuts and injuries and my stamina kept dropping, but, when the barrage ended, I was still standing, and that's an achievement. He's still floating above me, smirking. Good, he's within hitting range. I put my hands upwards and started charging up as much energy as I could safely muster. The aura around me became a blue sphere, rapidly expanding as I put more and more energy into my attack. He seems keen on taking it head-on. Good.

"FLASH CANNON!"

What followed was a huge - no, gargantuan, almost 30 meters wide - blue energy beam coming out of my palms and crashing down on the Majin. Rocks, rubble and boulders around us were blown away for hundreds of meters on end. My friends were having trouble standing their ground and not being blown away by the sheer repulsive force of the energy attack. I used as much energy as I could into this last resort. He has to die right here, right now, by this attack . If this fails... I have no idea what I could do next.

After about six seconds of firing the attack, I finally stopped and collapsed on my knees. The force of the impact alone turned this entire place, up to the horizon, to a crystal-clear flatland, just like my planet, but far hotter. I was heavily panting and huffing. That one... was for you, Master Frank.

I could do it. I did it-

...No... That can't be! I sensed Buu clumping back together, still in full strength. You know... the bluff I thought of when facing his galactic buster... it might actually be true... The Majin suddenly appeared in front of me, and before the sweating and drained me could retaliate or even move an inch, he proceeded to lay the smackdown on me. Shoulder slam, elbow, flurries upon flurries of punches and kicks, knocking me around, energy blasts and barrages - and the most I could do would be to move back a bit more or send a few weak punches to retaliate, until finally he slammed me into the ground, creating a kilometer-wide crater in the process.

Ribs... shattered. Muscles burning... Pain... the pain... And he's still in full health, laughing at me. I could try a healing spell on myself, but it would take more energy than I have right now...

I need someone to take over... Kid Buu kept laughing while a madman, until he got bored again and decided to just end me and the planet here and now. Charging a pink energy blast...

The best I could do was connect to the minds of my comrades, who are hopefully still watching, and send the best I could muster: 'Help'

[Siliarba]

Rin Tarla

"Erm, okay, you can stay here if you want I suppose." I stopped talking as my nose began to feel itchy, quickly forcing a small sneeze out of me "Sorry, I don't usually sneeze, I can't remember the last time I sneezed. Then again not like I remember doing much. In any case feel free to look around the tower and talk to the people, they're friendly." A second sneeze quickly interrupted my chat "Sorry again, must be some dust in the air or something. In any case what's your name?"

A few moments after asking the little girls name a third sneeze came up but one a lot more intense than the others, I didn't mean to but the sneeze was forced out with some of my powers creating a sound sounding more like an explosion than a sneeze that traveled through the entire tower, it even caused the room I was standing in to shake during the sneeze. "Okay I don't know what's going on but if these sneezes get much worse then I'm going to accidentally destroy the tower and I just finished painting everything. Feel free to ask the others whatever you want to know, or the computer, we have a friendly talking computer. One that didn't want to tell me it's favorite color so it hasn't been painted yet."

With that said I rushed outside of the tower before another sneeze would pop up.

[The Starlight]

Craig landed in a flash of silver, kneeling with two prone Dathomiri he had taken out on his arrival. As he rose slowly, making sure to look back at his entrance later on in order to make sure it was dramatic enough, he turned to Etla, a smile stretching across his face as his wings folded back into his armor. "Hello, Etla," he said, striding toward his lover as his Silver Legion of robots arrived on the scene, Craig's AI, B.O.T. taking over the ordering of the battle. The couple stood there, for a moment, absorbed in each other's presence, Craig marveleing as always as the sun glinted over Etla's golden hair, his hand rising up to her cheek, before lightning crackled near them, a reminder of the ongoing battle. "First to 100?" He asked with a cheeky smile towards Etla. "And I won't include the Legion."

Noticing Etla's companions, he waved over to them, quickly greeting them. "Hello! I'm Craig, Etla's boyfriend. These fellows here are a race known as the Dathomiri. I haven't had time to fully hack into their systems, but, I figure that there isn't much need for that right now. They invade, and we defend, and so the cycle continues. We better get to it soon, we're the only thing that holding them back from establishing a foothold, and Valancy and Storm," he said, nodding up to the two women among the Dathomiri forces, "can't hold Africa alone."

Valancy and Storm were indeed attacking the Dathomiri fortified position, Valancy sending roots through the ground far ahead of her, thick vines growing up and ensnaring men and cannon alike, Storm supplementing her with lightning, to fry the circuits of the artillery. As for the Dathomiris they were among, they were either dragged into sinkholes by the grass or blasted, however, in a more entrenched position, a huge amount of artillery had been fired at Craig's Silver Legion.

Craig, receiving real-time data from B.O.T. was about to have each of his units activate their personal shields when he was beaten to the punch. A large force-field was suddenly exuded over his forces, and Craig, turning to Second Sight for a moment, his eyes turning an electric blue, before he proclaimed, with a hint of some unknown emotion, "Magic."

He turned to the magician, lifting an eyebrow. "Yup. Craig Thomsen, Defender Extraordinare," he joked, offering a nod of his head in thanks. "Let's not give them a chance to do that again, " he commented to no one in particular as he reached out through the Cyberspace to several artillery guns, easily taking control of them with his power, giving them ground and airborne Dathomiri troops and equipment as targets, smiling in satisfaction as they began to fire.

He turned to Etla once again, a crooked grin shooting up on his face. "Last to 100 has to watch the winner eat all the doughnuts back home!" he said as he shot off, wanting to get a head start so he could have the satisfaction of jokingly taunting Etla later, knowing that they both loved doughnuts.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Craig landed in a flash of silver, kneeling with two prone Dathomiri he had taken out on his arrival. As he rose slowly, making sure to look back at his entrance later on in order to make sure it was dramatic enough, he turned to Etla, a smile stretching across his face as his wings folded back into his armor. "Hello, Etla," he said, striding toward his lover as his Silver Legion of robots arrived on the scene, Craig's AI, B.O.T. taking over the ordering of the battle. The couple stood there, for a moment, absorbed in each other's presence, Craig marveleing as always as the sun glinted over Etla's golden hair, his hand rising up to her cheek, before lightning crackled near them, a reminder of the ongoing battle. "First to 100?" He asked with a cheeky smile towards Etla. "And I won't include the Legion."

Noticing Etla's companions, he waved over to them, quickly greeting them. "Hello! I'm Craig, Etla's boyfriend. These fellows here are a race known as the Dathomiri. I haven't had time to fully hack into their systems, but, I figure that there isn't much need for that right now. They invade, and we defend, and so the cycle continues. We better get to it soon, we're the only thing that holding them back from establishing a foothold, and Valancy and Storm," he said, nodding up to the two women among the Dathomiri forces, "can't hold Africa alone."

Valancy and Storm were indeed attacking the Dathomiri fortified position, Valancy sending roots through the ground far ahead of her, thick vines growing up and ensnaring men and cannon alike, Storm supplementing her with lightning, to fry the circuits of the artillery. As for the Dathomiris they were among, they were either dragged into sinkholes by the grass or blasted, however, in a more entrenched position, a huge amount of artillery had been fired at Craig's Silver Legion.

Craig, receiving real-time data from B.O.T. was about to have each of his units activate their personal shields when he was beaten to the punch. A large force-field was suddenly exuded over his forces, and Craig, turning to Second Sight for a moment, his eyes turning an electric blue, before he proclaimed, with a hint of some unknown emotion, "Magic."

He turned to the magician, lifting an eyebrow. "Yup. Craig Thomsen, Defender Extraordinare," he joked, offering a nod of his head in thanks. "Let's not give them a chance to do that again, " he commented to no one in particular as he reached out through the Cyberspace to several artillery guns, easily taking control of them with his power, giving them ground and airborne Dathomiri troops and equipment as targets, smiling in satisfaction as they began to fire.

He turned to Etla once again, a crooked grin shooting up on his face. "Last to 100 has to watch the winner eat all the doughnuts back home!" he said as he shot off, wanting to get a head start so he could have the satisfaction of jokingly taunting Etla later, knowing that they both loved doughnuts.

"Yup. Craig Thomsen, Defender Extraordinare,", he joked, offering a nod of his head in thanks. "Let's not give them a chance to do that again, " he commented to no one in particular as he reached out through the Cyberspace to several artillery guns, easily taking control of them with his power, giving them ground and airborne Dathomiri troops and equipment as targets, smiling in satisfaction as they began to fire.

The Dark Lord nodded as he followed along, seeing Craig take control of one of the Artillery guns cybernetic ally as it fired on the other Dathomiri artillery. Dark Lord peered back to a few Dathomiri troops lining up to fire on Craig, and with the brush of a hand, he summoned Undead Thralls from the ground, as they clawed up from the hard rock and sand. The Dathomiri infantrymen screamed as the Thralls dragged them underground. "Always fun using those" The Dark Lord remarked, he peered over to see a woman with Snow White hair fire on Dathomiri forces with a large amount of lightning, the reflection of which glimmered off of The Dark Lord's armor a bit, "At this rate the Teleportation Matrix will be captured within the hour, however we do not have enough time, and it will only take us to a side vessel".

The Dark Lord extended one of his hands towards Craig,
"Introductions are in order, I'm The Dark Lord, Deity ruler of The Void".

[Tomia]

Cora
Cora heard Jamie's question about her knowing someone in prison and couldn't help but smile slightly. "Well, they're not in prison exactly. He's a guard there. He used to work for the government but he's retired, that's how I know him." Cora told her teammates and soon after they finally arrived a the prison. Cora showed her clearance badge at the gate before the security guards let them inside. It was a large gated facility, with nothing but open field visible for miles beyond the service road. They made it to the lobby of the prison and Cora realized they'd have to pass a metal detector. "Um, we should try to find another way to the holding facility. I'd rather not have to explain why I set the metal detector off." Cora whispered to Jamie and Marybeth, clearly a little embarrassed that she hadn't considered that detail.

[Charmera]

Craig landed in a flash of silver, kneeling with two prone Dathomiri he had taken out on his arrival. As he rose slowly, making sure to look back at his entrance later on in order to make sure it was dramatic enough, he turned to Etla, a smile stretching across his face as his wings folded back into his armor. "Hello, Etla," he said, striding toward his lover as his Silver Legion of robots arrived on the scene, Craig's AI, B.O.T. taking over the ordering of the battle. The couple stood there, for a moment, absorbed in each other's presence, Craig marveleing as always as the sun glinted over Etla's golden hair, his hand rising up to her cheek, before lightning crackled near them, a reminder of the ongoing battle. "First to 100?" He asked with a cheeky smile towards Etla. "And I won't include the Legion."

Noticing Etla's companions, he waved over to them, quickly greeting them. "Hello! I'm Craig, Etla's boyfriend. These fellows here are a race known as the Dathomiri. I haven't had time to fully hack into their systems, but, I figure that there isn't much need for that right now. They invade, and we defend, and so the cycle continues. We better get to it soon, we're the only thing that holding them back from establishing a foothold, and Valancy and Storm," he said, nodding up to the two women among the Dathomiri forces, "can't hold Africa alone."

Valancy and Storm were indeed attacking the Dathomiri fortified position, Valancy sending roots through the ground far ahead of her, thick vines growing up and ensnaring men and cannon alike, Storm supplementing her with lightning, to fry the circuits of the artillery. As for the Dathomiris they were among, they were either dragged into sinkholes by the grass or blasted, however, in a more entrenched position, a huge amount of artillery had been fired at Craig's Silver Legion.

Craig, receiving real-time data from B.O.T. was about to have each of his units activate their personal shields when he was beaten to the punch. A large force-field was suddenly exuded over his forces, and Craig, turning to Second Sight for a moment, his eyes turning an electric blue, before he proclaimed, with a hint of some unknown emotion, "Magic."

He turned to the magician, lifting an eyebrow. "Yup. Craig Thomsen, Defender Extraordinare," he joked, offering a nod of his head in thanks. "Let's not give them a chance to do that again, " he commented to no one in particular as he reached out through the Cyberspace to several artillery guns, easily taking control of them with his power, giving them ground and airborne Dathomiri troops and equipment as targets, smiling in satisfaction as they began to fire.

He turned to Etla once again, a crooked grin shooting up on his face. "Last to 100 has to watch the winner eat all the doughnuts back home!" he said as he shot off, wanting to get a head start so he could have the satisfaction of jokingly taunting Etla later, knowing that they both loved doughnuts.

"Yup. Craig Thomsen, Defender Extraordinare,", he joked, offering a nod of his head in thanks. "Let's not give them a chance to do that again, " he commented to no one in particular as he reached out through the Cyberspace to several artillery guns, easily taking control of them with his power, giving them ground and airborne Dathomiri troops and equipment as targets, smiling in satisfaction as they began to fire.

The Dark Lord nodded as he followed along, seeing Craig take control of one of the Artillery guns cybernetic ally as it fired on the other Dathomiri artillery. Dark Lord peered back to a few Dathomiri troops lining up to fire on Craig, and with the brush of a hand, he summoned Undead Thralls from the ground, as they clawed up from the hard rock and sand. The Dathomiri infantrymen screamed as the Thralls dragged them underground. "Always fun using those" The Dark Lord remarked, he peered over to see a woman with Snow White hair fire on Dathomiri forces with a large amount of lightning, the reflection of which glimmered off of The Dark Lord's armor a bit, "At this rate the Teleportation Matrix will be captured within the hour, however we do not have enough time, and it will only take us to a side vessel".

The Dark Lord extended one of his hands towards Craig,
"Introductions are in order, I'm The Dark Lord, Deity ruler of The Void".

Suddenly Dathomiri troops began to drop rapidly from out of nowhere, many being sliced in half as if some sort of sword was cutting through them. Some attempted to fight back against this invisable assailant yet all they really achieved was flailing at the air. Those with the ability to see beyond sight might be able to spot a Humanoid with red hair slicing through enemies with a Rainbow blade of some sort. Her face was serious as she cut through Dathormiri like a scythe through wheat. It seemed when attacks are flailed at her, they simply go through her body, as if she is mere smoke or a mirage, her density core protecting herself from attacks as she picked them off one by one.

She then noticed Craig, chopping her way towards him as she decloaked. "Hello Craig." She started "You wouldn't happen to know where my sister is?"

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

Salis let out an audible grunt as the air was knocked out of him from Kylie's hard light fist. After recovering his breath, he twisted and writhed trying to get out. It didn't take him long to realize he couldn't escape, so he stopped struggling, opting to glare at the green lantern from his vantage point. "Ha!" he yelled as he heard her threat, "People who haven't done anything wrong? Everyone's done something wrong! Innocence is a joke of a word that doesn't exist in anyone. Your so called 'innocent' people just do a better job of hiding it. Just look at wiz over here," he said as he nodded his head towards Simon, "You heard that laugh, there's nothing innocent about him. He enjoyed every second of knocking me around and there's no denying that." A new light came into his eyes as he continued. "And don't get me started on you heroes. You act like you're so much better, like you've made such a difference. Well last time I checked people are still dying in the streets every day while you ass-hats are busy locking people up just so they can break back out again. Cops, supers, authorities, they all sit on their high chairs while people like me live through hell. I had more scars by the time I was twenty than most men get in their lives, and I didn't see a single one of you doing jack shit about it! Chew on that the next time you're trying to lecture someone about right and wrong."

Done with his rant, Salis glared daggers into Kylie while he breathed heavily. After a few minutes pause the fire in his eyes faded and he continued in a more calm tone, "If you really insist on this charade of making a difference without killing, then fine. I'll play along since you're my ticket back. But don't think I'm going quietly or changing my way of doing things on the other side. There'll be hell to pay for everyone once this is over. You, Merlin, our wizard friend, and every one one of your precious innocents. Now can we please get to the damn war room?"

Kylie resisted the urge to crush him. That was made easier by the GL ring's inability to kill without certain limiters removed, but Kylie still had to think long and hard about it. "I don't like you." She came away with, dropping him to the ground uncomfortably. "But I'd rather keep moving than stay here arguing with a lunatic." Kylie sucked it up, ignoring what he said about heroes not doing good for the world, and continued to walk away.

Boxer, who had remained silent through this entire ordeal, finally walked forward. "My name is Henry Boxer. I'm a cop. Less than two years ago, I was the leader of a gang called the Gotham City Defenders. We were the ones who took scars so guys like you didn't have to." He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a multitude of scars across his forearm. "Every single mark you see here hurts, every day. Every single one aches when I get up in the morning to when I lay down at night. I don't see them as a curse, though. They're a blessing. Every scar you see here is another person who never had to share my pain." He looked the man before him up and down. "You don't want a Mask to give you a lecture? Go right ahead. You don't enjoy it when a government spook tells you what to do? Fine by me. Listen to the grunt on the ground, though. Listen to the man who's devoted his god damn life to getting people out of the Hell you and I live in, when I could be anywhere else."

Boxer scowled, letting his sleeve back down. "You're right. Nobody is innocent. Nobody has to be, though. That's not their job. Our job, those of us who live in Hell and bear the weight of a thousand scars on our bodies, our job is to change the world into one where people can be innocent. To make the world into one where innocent is possible." He closed his eyes and breathed out for a moment. "What's your name? I never caught it. I like to know who I'm in a life or death situation with." He asked as the group moved forward.

Salis laughed bitterly at Boxer's speech. "Great, I've got a romantic here too. Gang member and a cop, huh? Seems like it's my lucky day. Funny thing is that gangs are the reason for my scars. You would think the cops would do something about rampant gang violence, but no. They act all high and mighty, like defenders of their city with a badge on their chest. Then they get handed a few extra dollars and suddenly defending people doesn't mean shit to them. And tell me this mister noble sacrifice, how the hell is a kid starving on the streets keeping anyone else from living through their hell too? How did me getting beaten by the closest thing I had to a parent helping anyone? It doesn't, that's the answer! I got these scars because the world is shitty place and there's nothing you people can do while you let yourselves be held back by stupid concepts of innocence and riotousness. The only way to stop the killing is to give people a taste of their own medicine, and stamp out anyone who gets in your way. The sooner you wack jobs realize that the better."

Bitterly glaring at Boxer, it finally clicked to him who this man was. One of the members of that gang claiming to be defenders of Gotham. A joke if he'd ever seen one. "You want to know who I am?" he said with a sadistic smirk coming to his face, "Well you might just recognize me. The name's Salis, I'm the one who destroyed Arkham Asylum."

"Oh, so what." Simon grumbled, clutching his skull and rubbing his temples. "I mean, I get it, your life's been kinda shit. I would empathize, but you've recently tried to murder me, so my capacity to care about you is limited. But you know what, you son of a bitch?" Simon groaned, coughing up what appeared to be tar. Dammit. He's getting stronger. The wizard wiped the liquid away, smearing it across his face. He continued, his voice pained, "But at least you've always been in control of yourself. You couldn't do crap about your world, but your body was your own. Me? I've had a goddamned evil homicidal wizard living in my mind since I was a kid. That was who hit you--I was the one who ensorceled the chips, but that was in case I got hungry--and so you're right. I'm not innocent. I haven't owned my own soul in decades. And despite that, despite my insane roommate, I'm still doing better than you. I might be possessed, but at least I don't brag about murdering people. Hell, I don't think I've ever killed someone. Although you make it hard to keep my record, and I suggest you simmer down before I get very pissed."

While the rest of the group of time travelers continued arguing down the hallway, Kylie and the two remaining (what she believed to be, now) sane people led the way, silently, to the war room. It wasn't hard to find, just go to where they imagined the center of the castle to be. After a lot of turns, and hiding from wandering guards, they eventually made it. Inside, they found one very well-dressed man, for the time, and a pair of women. One looked to be a maid, the other seemed to be of some importance.

"Oh, hi." Kylie said, standing in front of the others (who at some point eventually ceased arguing). "We're here looking for an Arthur? You look important."

"Who are y—?" Before he could call for any guards, as he was standing up, Kylie waved her hands and withdrew Merlin's coin.

"Wait wait wait! I can explain! Merlin sent us back in time to talk to Merlin, and the now Merlin said to come to talk to you about who we need to see. We have a... coin... from him, he acted like you would know what it meant." Kylie put the coin on the table, slowly, and tried to slide it to the man on the opposing side. Sadly, it didn't slide well, and ended up being rolled across the table instead. Either way, the man eventually got a hold of it, and looked over the coin carefully.

"This is indeed Merlin's signature... who are you people, exactly?" The man kept the coin, looking suspiciously at the group of strangely-garbed intruders.

"Well, I can't say to speak for all of us," Kylie said, distinctively eyeing Salis. "But I'm a superhero. And I'm here to catch someone who's been attacking me, and he came from the past." Kylie extended a green spectral hand from her right hand, across the table to the man. "My name's Kylie Perceval, and I'm looking for my ancestor, a knight from the round table."

"Perceval's seed?" The man replied, surprised at the words as well as the hand. Though he did not decline to shake it. "Well, I can't say I expected this, but it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Arthur, King of Camelot."

As Boxer followed Kylie, he seethed inside. Salis. The man who brought Gotham to its knees when the Bat vanished. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing. The best thing I can do for now is wait. Just... Wait. He opened them with a sigh a moment later. And maybe put a round in his skull before we get back to the present.

As the group entered the War Room, Boxer stood with Kylie, his fingers tapping one of the guns at his waist idly. When the man that Kylie spoke to revealed his identity, Boxer's eyes widened. Wait, as in, this is King Arthur? Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table? He raised an eyebrow in fascination. I really have got to start believing old legends. That's two or three in the last hour that've shown up. He slowly looked the impressive figure up and down, his light-hearted thoughts contrasted sharply by the analytic look that adorned his face.

At last he seemed to smile slightly. "The pleasure is all ours, your Majesty." His hand lowered from his waist.

[New Neros]

-snip

The Herald and the Gods
The Fall of the Masaki

A power unlike any seen before, Maddox Shatterstar stood in the face of not one, but two fearsome Gods, and dared not yield even for a moment. He remained quiet as Alastir shot back retorts at the muscular man, but Maddox eyed him and Satera very carefully, unsure of how to appropriately proceed against the duo. However, Alastir powered up, and began to take on his true form as the Dark God, Shatterstar shielding himself with his forearm slightly. He listened intently to Alastir and Satera's exchange, turning to face an attack from Satera - A blinding flash of light - When he was struck in the side by Alastir's tendrils. Digging deep into his heavily dense, armor-like skin, Maddox grit his teeth fiercely.

The duo seemed to halt their advance, Shatterstar pinned in place for the time being. To himself, he wondered what exactly they were planning, yet it crossed his mind quickly: A test. They didn't know how to go about beating him, so Maddox cracked a smile. "You fuckers think you're sneaky? You don't need to be when facing me." He taunted, "Dive after me like a true warrior, hide in your shadows and hide behind your light, I don't care. I'll kick your teeth in either way." With that said, Shatterstar began to bulge, his veins popping to the surface, his body temperature raising drastically as his muscles heated up - Steam coming from his body. "Now you get to see when I power up." He grunted, before simply disappeared.

"Where did he -" Satera said, jerking his head to the left on pure instinct, a titanic fist missing the side of his face by mere centimeters, the wide-eyed God feeling the pure heat and energy produced from that swing, one that tore apart the surrounding air as it broke through the sound barrier multiply times over. Reacting quickly, Satera jutted his hands forward, placing them against Shatterstar's scorching hot abdomen and firing a point-blank bast of pure white-hot light against the behemoth. Shattering the photons in all directions as it impacted the Parahuman Enforcer, his tank-like body flew across the battle, his clothing singed and burned from the assault. "That power... If he had hit me..." Satera further said, snapping back to attention as Alastir dove after the body. "Alastir, wait!" He shouted in vain, trying to tell the Dark God that it might all just be a trap.

"Ahaha! Breaker of Gods, meet the breaker of YOU!" Alastir shouted with a sickening, evil glee in his voice as the Darkness attempted to erode his sanity. He struck Shatterstar dead center in the Parahuman's chest, slamming him against a broken piece of Sigma Island's remains and forcing him to make a massive crater in the process, spewing forth rocks, lava, and Alastir's shadowy tendrils in the process. "Give me your head, Parahuman, you will feel what Ryuichi would have felt had we not stepped in." Alastir demanded, his eyes aglow with equal parts rage and excitement at the battle. Rearing back with one hand, Alastir delivered another punch Shatterstar's colossal body, forcing him down further in the crater and spewing darkness everywhere.

Alastir raised both of his hands up into a fist, intent on delivering another slam to the wall of muscle he laid on top of, but his vision was suddenly cut off. A massive had from Maddox had reached up through the dust and debris thrown up by the second hit and latched tightly around Alastir's head and neck. Rather than tighten down, Shatterstar yanked it to the side and put Alastir into the ground face-first, using him to dig across the crater the two of them had made as the Parahuman lifted himself up. Alastir screamed, but was muffled by the giant's palms. Standing fully, an enraged Shatterstar stood at the ground level of the battlefield, Alastir firmly locked in one hand, and his gaze intent on Satera.

In less than a moment, Shatterstar raised Alastir up and slammed him down - Head first - Into the ground, sending fissures and steam, along with several shadowy flames, spewing up out of the broken earth as Shatterstar laid his horrific blow into the Dark God. Bleeding a mixture of red and black shadow, Alastir remained partially conscious, yet dazed and confused. Suddenly, a searing and deep pain pierced Shatterstar through his back and out his right pectoral, bright and yellow as can be. From behind, Satera had managed to stab the monstrous Parahuman with a spear made of hard-light. Shatterstar gave only a grunt, yet, Satera wielded another spear in his other hand.

Slamming through Shatterstar's low back, towards his kidneys, and emerging on the other side near his appendix, he gave a more injured reaction, a painful yell or roar, but the two Gods said nothing, yet, giving Shatterstar the time to be vocal. "A backstabber and a shadow. That's what you call Gods?" Shatterstar demanded, "I am no God, I am but a Herald..." He began, growing stronger as he psyched himself up more, adrenaline pumping harder and faster through his blood stream. "I am a Herald of a Mad God!" He roared, twisting his back and slamming an elbow into the side of Satera's face, causing his light spears to tear more of his organs in the process, but the berserker hardly flinched. Fully turning, he brought Alastir with him - Still holding onto the Dark God's head - Flinging him out and at Satera, who caught the injured shadow being.

"You're nothing short of a monster." Satera accused, a single drop of blood sliding down his face where Maddox managed to hit him. Looking at the Para, Satera could see that he was in bad shape. Bleeding heavily on two major spots from the front and two more on the back. "Alastir, can you stand?" He inquired, the Dark God slowly coming to, shaking his head in the process.

"Y-Yes." He stammered, "I have a few more left in me. Let's make them count." He continued, standing off to the side of Satera. Before them was a white-eyed beast in the shape of a man, twice the size of a normal human being, and with the power to break gods and shatter the stars themselves. Back to where they had began, staring each other down, waiting for the first move. Steam and energy quaked as Shatterstar used his pain to gain more power, cracking the already-broken ground around him as his opponents, both tired and in bad shape, prepared to go in for the kill. "First you... Then -"

"Maxwell?!" Satera said, taken aback as the quiet observer appeared before the trio, between his own subordinate and the two Gods. Had they been able to challenge the Mad King alone and without Shatterstar, they had a chance of taking him down, but with Shatterstar still alive, the two had but a fleeting chance at victory. "I will hold you accountable for the lives lost here. For the life you took and the one you almost took!" Satera screamed, powering up with a flash of yellow light.

The Mad King of the Parahumans cocked his head to the side. "I believe we're more than done here." Maxwell said, "You have proven your point. No?" He inquired, "Ryuichi lives, and I have no reason to follow after him or kill him at this point. You two will defend him with your dying breath, so raise him to be a fine young man with the many more you'll have. You have lost so much this evening, from the brothers, to Sigma Island, to Ryuichi's innocence. You have proven yourselves and your worth, I was wrong to try and kill the boy, Kazuko is arguable, that much is clear, yet the boy did nothing. He did nothing and I tried to drop the hammer."

"Yet, you two have proven me wrong. Our day is won, but do not plant the seeds of revenge, the fruit will be unbearable for both of us. Instead, look towards the man who took his father from him." Maxwell said sternly, directing their attention to Xander. "Asumar could have been spared, and had he been spared, I would not have had to use lethal force against Kazuko. The death of his brother overwhelmed him, and I had to intervene before this world was torn apart." Maxwell said, bending the truth in his favor, painting Xander as the sole bearer of guilt. "Do you see my side of things now, or must we needlessly further the bloodshed and bickering?" He asked, looking from Satera to Alastir, awaiting their answer patiently.