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

[The Republic of Atria]

Naja wasn't able to avoid being grabbed forever. One of the slavers, in fact the very same one who carried her inside when she got caught was the one who wanted to have his way with her. "Y'know, you're definitely in the top five hottest slaves we've caught so far." He said grabbing her chain and pulling her down beside him. "You're married to the human? What's he got that I don't?"

"Mouthwash, for starters. Seriously, a toothbrush would be a wise investment. That and he doesn't sell people like they're cattle. Or treat me like I'm property. Or just isn't a piece of shit in general. Which one do you think?" She asked with earned her a quick shock. "Oh yeah... He doesn't shock the hell out of me either. That's like four things." She counted on her fingers and showed him. "The numbers don't lie."

"Listen! You... Stupid bitch!"

"Ouch. You must've been up all night thinking about that one." She was shocked yet again for being a smart ass, but it was noticeably less intense. Her powers were finally starting to come back as shown by her invulnerability. The slaver grabbed her by the chain attached to collar. Where she had a smarmy grin. "I thought the whole point of me being in chains and a shock collar was so you could feel superior? Yet I seem to be having more fun than you despite being shocked and unable to move much. How is that?" Was taunting the slaver a smart idea? Probably not. She could barely move. Which he took advantage of and hit her square in the face and then recoiled shaking his hand while Naja only had a bit of her green blood fall out of her nose.

"Ow! What the hell?!" He asked and looked at his knuckles which had split from him striking her. He looked back at Naja who wiped the blood off of her nose and more or less shrugged at him.

"Go talk to mommy. Maybe she'll give you a roll of nickles." He was about to hit her again when he got called. "Is it mommy?"

"Shut up!" He hissed at the chained woman who just smirked at him. "What do you mean the human escaped?! How could he escape?! The collar should've blown his head- You overloaded it?! How many times do I have to say- I don't care if he was being a jackass! You don't use the highest setting more than- Dammit!" He shouted and threw his communicator on the ground. "Don't move. We're not done here." He pointed at Naja who put her hands up as far as her shackles would allow looking innocent. "When I get back, I'll show you what a real man looks like!"

"My husband? I already know what he looks like." She got one last quip in just as he was leaving with most of the others. It didn't take her long to figure out that the one who escape was Xander. It wasn't like he was going to stay put longer than he had to. Most of the guards how to go help capture him and as a result most of the brothel was empty save for a few guards and the women being held against their will. Naja decided to grab something to eat and caught a reflection of herself in a mirror. "Huh... Not bad."

Xander

Xander succeeded in pulling out the battery to his shock collar. They were designed to be rechargeable, which was enough to give him a jolt. He knew he had enough energy to fly, but not enough to get the speed needed to break orbit and get into space where he could recharge much faster. That and he didn't want to risk getting shot out of the sky again. If he got caught, they would likely kill him. Not something he wanted to do on his honeymoon. Then again, getting caught by alien slavers is rarely on anyone's list of things to do on a honeymoon. He had to find a way to keep them busy long enough for his and Naja's powers to recharge. He was close enough to where he could fight, but not enough to face them in a straight fight.

So he moved quickly and made a fake path out of his collar and broke some branches to give them a trail, and then circled around back to the slaver camp. It was a skeleton crew, but he still had to be quiet, lest they call in the fact that he came back. One of them had to go to the restroom, but was too lazy to go inside, so he attempted to go in the bush. At which point Xander snuck up behind him and with one swift motion, broke the slaver's neck and dropped him in the woods. A few minutes later, his friend came out looking for him. "Hurry up! If the boss catches you slackin' we'll both be in collars."

Xander slowly floated above his line of sight and dropped down the slaver. Grabbing his arms which made the salver drop his remote to the collars and his communicator. "Tell you what. I won't rip your head clean off if you tell me how to disable the collars. I would be quick if I were you. I'm not known for patience." The slaver tried to break free of Xander's grip, but Xader had some of his powers back. The slaver wasn't going anywhere. "You keep that up and I'll pull your arms off. Don't think I won't. I've done worse to stronger people."

"Okay! Control tower! Looks like a radio transmitter! It's what controls the remotes and the range on the collars!" He waited a second for Xander to let him go. "I told you what you wanted to know! You promised you wouldn't kill me if I told you!"

"Incorrect. I told you I wouldn't rip your head off." Xander replied and grinned evilly. "And I won't." One small crack later, two slavers were dead and he was scouting out the best path to take to get everyone out.

[The Republic of Atria]

Praetoria

"I'm not of the opinion that clothing designs make you evil." Xander said. "If you had ill-intent beforehand, putting on a different color scheme isn't going to change that. Likewise if you meant no harm to begin with." That was probably the first thing he ever said that had a deeper meaning than just what he meant. "If you don't want it, that's fine. It was just an offer and I could always use the practice. If you ever need help finding something, look me or Naja up. We'll help as best as we can." The android seemed decent enough. Had he meant any harm, it was likely he would have tried to go through with it right then and there, and if he did actually have intent, he had every intention of reducing it to scrap.

Attilan

"Ehhh... I get the vibe from Xander that he had no idea what was going on to begin with. He puts off this clueless vibe... I couldn't explain it if I wanted to. I'm pretty sure Naja had everything to do with this..." He said and would have wiggled his toes had he had any. It was times like this that he really wished his parents were still alive so they could give him advice on how to talk to women. "I wouldn't mind solving space mysteries and... Stuff." Julie said intimate. He wasn't completely oblivious as to how sex worked. TV was a great teacher. Good Teacher. Okay Teacher... A teacher. "I... don't think that's a bad thing. Cops typically can't have spouses in the same precinct anyways. But I'm not a space cop. I mean, I kinda was for like... Five minutes. Then Darkseid... Then... Everything else. Then... You."

"Am I being awkward? I hope I'm not being awkward. I have no idea what I'm doing... Which is the summary of my life story." He admitted, on the borderline of sweating.

Slave Camp

"Someone likes what they see..." The very same woman who Naja spoke to a few minutes prior said as she caught her looking at herself in the mirror. Which made Naja all the more uncomfortable with the situation.

"What? What are you-"

"You don't need to hide anything from me. You know what I'm talking about."

"I'm pretty sure I don't." She denied yet again and her enhanced senses started to come back. Followed by the the cracking of a superhuman fist connecting with someone's head. One quick look to the left, seeing through the wall saw Xander hitting an Arcosian across the face... Straight into where she was sitting. "Get down!" She shouted and shoved the woman to the ground while also diving down as the large being in charge of the place smashed through the wall, followed by a golden streak smashing into him again and pushing them both. Out of the room and through the building. "Kick his ass Xander! We need to get everyone out of here."

"My... I can't quite say I've ever seen anyone hit someone that hard-"

"Move it!" Naja hissed, grabbing her and breaking the collars off those who still had them on and ushering them outside. "Those two are going to tear this place down any minute. You do NOT want to be in here." She said making sure that everyone was out of the building. The women met up with the men that had been separated from, who also had been freed from their restraints. "Now, I'm not the person who wants to rub it in your face... But I told you so." Normally she would be up there, helping her husband beat the slaver's head in, but in the event a stray piece of debris or energy blast came their way, someone had to deflect it.

Meanwhile, Xander was enjoying the fact that he got to hit something. It had been several days since he actually fought anyone. To make matters even better, he still wasn't at full strength. Which meant he was having to put actual effort into his fight, something he either never got the chance to, or never had to. He smiled as he delivered a nasty uppercut onto the Arcosian and then axe slammed him to the ground. "Gonna give you some credit. It's been a long time since I got to vent like this. I'm still gonna kill your sorry ass. Zap me, and throw me into a slave mine? Sure. Try to SELL my wife? I'm gonna break every bone in your body." He hissed and tried to stomp on the alien, only to have him move at the last second, narrowly avoiding being smashed into paste.

The Arcosian responded by firing a barrage of Death Beams at the human only to have him swat the beams away. "Impressive!" He shouted and tried to throw a right hook only to have Xander catch it. Xander retaliated with his own left hook, which was also caught by the Arcosian. Both of their energy flared all over the place. "It's rare that such a low life such as yourself has the strength to hurt me! And the green one? The one that resembles a reptilian creature? My, you are a lucky-" He was interrupted by Xander smashing his head into his, breaking his nose. The force of the blow caused him to recoil and Xander to blast him in the chest with his eye beams that went straight through him causing him to drop to one knee.

"How many tugs does it take to rip off an Arcosian's head? Let's find out. Let it be known that I'm not racist, I know an Arcosian. Cool dude, no pun intended. Arctico, I think his name was." Xander mused while grabbing the Arcosian in a head lock and with one, two, three tugs, had tore the head off of the slave master, making a very purple mess. He took a few deep breathes, as it was the first time he actually had to exert himself in a long time. It felt good. "Alright! Who's nex-" He was interrupted by Naja tackling him. "It's been a whole... Two hours since I've seen you. You okay sweetheart?"

"I'm fine. Everyone's safe. Did you have to tear his head off?"

"No, but it felt good. I haven't had a workout like that in ages. Why are you still in chains? Here, let me get those off of you..." What surprised him was that Naja didn't seem the slightest bit perturbed by them to begin with.. Then she let Xander take them off of her. "You're acting weird."

"My... I guess I do owe you an apology." The woman said looking over the couple. "Young man, you have no idea what kind of woman you have. You take good care of her."

"Ummm... Thank you?" Xander replied ever so slightly confused as to what she meant. "I've sent a distress signal out. I'll have Praetorian soldiers here in a few minutes to start getting everyone back home. Our work here is done. Let's go get our stuff and go."

"How about you shower first? You've got alien all over you."

[The Republic of Atria]

Xander finally found his and Naja's clothes. Luckily, the chest Hadri gave them was indeed as durable as she said it was. Not a scratch. "Well then. I'm not going to lie. That was an unexpected turn of events. And that's putting it mildly." He said as he finally got dressed. "Good as new. Almost back to full strength. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss Earth. By the way, what was that woman talking about? She said you're special. I already knew you were since you're my wife. What happened in there?" He asked. "Did one of them touch you?" He already had an idea of what it was, bu he didn't want to pressure her too much.

"What?! No! I'd never let that happen. You're the only one with that privilege... I mean, one was about to, but he called called away to get himself killed by you. He was more frustrated than I was. Wish you were there to see, or at least hear me quipping. Do you think I'm weird?"

"I'm sure you were hilarious. You're always funny. Whether I admit it or not." That was a very strange question. "I suppose it depends on your definition of weird. It's a subjective term. What's weird to me is probably normal to someone else. Charles Addams said what's normal for the spider is chaos to the fly." He explained. "In this case-"

"No! Stop with the logic and overthinking. Just tell me. Straight up. Do you think I'm weird?"

"A bit. But it's not a bad thing. A few decades ago, humans didn't even believe in aliens. Now they're a semi-regular occurrence. But my perspective is a tad bit different than yours. You can come off as a tad strange to me sometimes, but strange is good. You're making me see things that I never expected. For better or worse. Does that answer your question?" He asked and took her hands. "How many people look at us and see that we're a strange couple? To me, it's normal."

"It does. Thank you..." She said and helped finish packing. "I'm only asking because... God, I'm so embarrassed. I can't even believe this."

"Let me guess. It has to do with you being in those restraints?" Naja's face in response to his guess was all the answer he needed to know. "It wasn't that difficult to figure out."

"Can... We not talk about that? At least not now?"

"Sure. I'm still excited to see that I have parents! And they're nice! I've read that in laws are supposed to dislike the spouse of their offspring. But they like you. We are breaking ground here! Let's go home sweetheart. I think we've actually earned it." Xander said slinging the chest over his shoulder taking taking off with her flying beside him. "What did you think of my parents? Were they nice to you?"

"Yeah. They were really nice." Why she was suddenly afraid of what Xander thought about her pretty much admitting what she just did scared her so much was digging at her. Whenever she did something, he always played along and was very honest about how he felt. "I liked it! Okay?!"

"I figured." Xander shrugged.

"That's... It? You don't have anything else to say?"

"For the most part, yes. And since your little act a few nights ago, I've took it upon myself to look up common sexual practices common to Earth. There's quite a bit devoted to it as I learned. What you're telling me about isn't uncommon." He explained. "I don't understand why you're making a big deal out of this. I told you that I would try to be more vested in the culture of Earth. I'm pretty sure I'm doing just that."

"It amazes me how you can be that stoic and make even talking about our intimate moments sound boring."

"It's an art, not a science."

[The Republic of Atria]

Attilan

"Ehhh... I get the vibe from Xander that he had no idea what was going on to begin with. He puts off this clueless vibe... I couldn't explain it if I wanted to. I'm pretty sure Naja had everything to do with this..." He said and would have wiggled his toes had he had any. It was times like this that he really wished his parents were still alive so they could give him advice on how to talk to women. "I wouldn't mind solving space mysteries and... Stuff." Julie said intimate. He wasn't completely oblivious as to how sex worked. TV was a great teacher. Good Teacher. Okay Teacher... A teacher. "I... don't think that's a bad thing. Cops typically can't have spouses in the same precinct anyways. But I'm not a space cop. I mean, I kinda was for like... Five minutes. Then Darkseid... Then... Everything else. Then... You."

"Am I being awkward? I hope I'm not being awkward. I have no idea what I'm doing... Which is the summary of my life story." He admitted, on the borderline of sweating.

"Well, yeah. He is sort of like that. Ruler of a nation yet very poor at picking up certain social cues." Julie remarked. "Then again I'm a workaholic Green White Lantern so who am I to judge?" She smiled as she then chuckled at Otis' nervousness. "Don't worry. Youre not being awkward. Or at least not in a way that doesn't endear you even more to me." She spoke quite bluntly. Perhaps too blunty, was she being too forward? She supposed it didn't matter too much. One of them needed to be the forward one. "No one knows what they're doing when it comes to dating. You only get good at it by trusting your instincts. Like a lot of things actually..."

"We all have faults. Luckily for him, he's got a wife to help him with that kind of stuff. Wait. A green/white Lantern? I know they came in green, yellow and apparently blue. But there's white too?" He asked. "What's the thing white goes off of?" He was endearing? That wasn't something that he'd ever been called before. Not that it bothered him. "Awe... You're so sweet. Really..." He said sliding his feet along the ground nervously. "I'm going to be honest, it's hard to tell the difference between instinct, nervousness, arousal, and like the fifty thousand other things I've got going through my head at the moment. Maybe we could start be going someone a bit more... Private? You'd probably know more nice quiet areas to hang out than I do."

Slave Camp

A few hours after Naja and Xander liberated the slave camp a loud boom Tube opened up and stepped out Wyatt, followed by Desaad and a terrified Kalibak. "What the FUCK? Seriously?! I gave him a small list of VERY simple tasks. HOW? Scrawny. You saw me give him that zapper, right? It could put a Kryptonian into a coma for a doggamned YEAR." He shouted as he floated around the corpse of what was once his subordinate. "And he manages to get his head torn off. You know what, you deserve it you stupid idiot." He surrounded the head in a white glow, which brought it back to life, but only the head. "Alright Fuckup. The hell happened?" He asked the floating dismembered head.

"There was a human... He-he wore this terribly gaudy outfit. Blue and Yellow. And his wife, a reptilian-"

"Lemme stop you there. Hairy! Did I not tell this idiot to watch out for poorly dressed motherfuckers that fly? I know you're an idiot. But here's the thing. Nature color codes shit for a very good reason. The bright and colorful shit is the shit you DO NOT want to antagonize. Cause that's how you get killed. And I see mining equipment. All you had to do was kill the males and chain the females to the wall until I got here. Holy FUCK, why is everyone so USELESS?!" He asked pinching his nose for a second.

"This planet is rich in Vibranium! I thought it would be-"

"Vibranium?" Wyatt asked and grabbed a chunk of some of the unrefined ore, took a bite out of it like one would an apple, and then spat the shards out. "I could SHIT vibranium if I wanted to. Better yet, I could make Hairy shit it. Alright." Wyatt said and caused the Arocians' head to explode quite violently. "Since bumblefuck over here can't handle the simple task of getting me something to amuse myself. I guess we're doing this the old fashioned way. We're takin' over this universe."

"Master. That is quite a daunting task. This universe is not quite as weak as the others."

"I'm not a fucking moron. That, and I don't wanna blow this place to primordial dust. A place with this many superheroes that kill has to have some hot women. And since they'd get their asses killed in the conflict, we have to be more subtle. They all still think Yuga-Whateverthefuck is still alive. That means I've got the element of surprise. We've got someone learnin' to do. Scrawny. I want you to show me the strongest of the idiots guarding this universe. And then I'm going to show you idiots how you conquer a universe so well that they'll practically be giving it too us. Hairy, I'm gonna need something to keep me from getting too bored. Don't fuck it up. It's the one thing you're good for."

[The Republic of Atria]

It was a relatively quiet flight back home. Xander thought nothing of it and was just happy to be back home. "How was it for you?" He asked as he sat down on his bed. "I thought the trip was quite enjoyable. The ending was a bit rough, but I enjoyed it regardless." Naja walked up to him looking slightly annoyed. "Are you okay? Is there something you want to talk about? Your expression says-"

"The trip was great." She admitted. "Even as I was going to be sold into slavery, I was having fun. It's just... Why are you so agreeable?!" She demanded. "You're always willing to go along with whatever I ask... Most of the time."

"I... What? Naja, I do the things you ask me to, because I love you. If I'm not mistaken, marriage is intended to be an equal partnership. Enjoy it or not, your wants mean just as much as mine."

"And that's so sweet of you. It really is. I'm sorry, I'm just being crazy." She apologized and sat down next to him. "You really don't have anything more to say about the chain thing? Because I'm thinking about... Other stuff."

"Not really. As long as you're doing it of your own volition, I don't mind. I do think it's a bit strange that someone would intentionally want to be restrained like that, but if you find it enjoyable, then by all means." He replied.

"Don't knock it 'til you try it." She teased. "Come on. Let's have some fun. It's really not that bad... Besides, we were supposed to have some sexy time while we were away..." Xander conceded. He was in the mood anyways, so why not?

However, just as things were about to get underway, the ground shook and they hadn't even done anything yet. "What the hell?" Xander muttered and stood back up when the roof exploded with Alex floating above them wearing a new suit of armor. "Oh... Fuck." Xander was under the impression that Otis had killed him, or at the very least, he died when the universe they were fighting in did. He wasted no time, switching on the Starbrand and smashing into his evil counterpart. "And I was in such a good mood too!" He hissed at Alex and hit him with an uppercut which sent him into the sky. "You couldn't wait another hour, could you?!" He demanded firing a bright blast

Alex narrowly dodged the blast, and tried to kick Xander in the face, only to have hit foot caught. "Relax... I saved you from putting your dick in that thing. You should be thanking-" He was interrupted by Xander slamming both of his hands onto his head, smashing it to bits.

"That thing is my wife." Xander hissed as Alex dropped for a second or so before his head regenerated. He charged at Alex only to feel strange. It was almost like he was being tickled. At least until he started melting. His bones felt like rubber and his body was given the appearance of ooze.

"Wait... You still haven't figured out that much of your powers? Holy shit, this is gonna be a piece of cake. This universe is mine! ALL MINE!"

Meanwhile on Apokolips. Wyatt was watching as Xander returned home, only for him to be attacked by Alex. He would have been more than happy to just let Alex kill Xander and be done with it, at least until Alex started yapping about the fact that the universe was his. Which he certainly wasn't going to stand for. That was his universe. And he sure as hell wasn't going to let some blue skinned psycho take his property. "Hairy! Scrawny! We're going on a trip! Change of plans! We've got an idiot that needs his balls torn off!"

[The Republic of Atria]

"Thanks." Xander said as he managed to pull himself back together. "What do you mean when did I get here? I live here. And let me get you up to speed. That psycho is a version of me from an alternate universe, which if the last one was any indication of what he's doing, he's here because he killed it. And if we don't get him out of here soon, he'll probably do the same thing to ours. Which is obviously bad. Quick notes, he's an energy vampire on a cosmic scale. That armor he's wearing seems to compensate for it, so our best bet is to get him out of this universe as quickly as possible. We can't kill him. We've tried that already." Xander quickly explained.

Naja immediately went to contact Otis. "Hey Otis, remember that guy you kicked the crap out of a few days ago? Well... Turns out he's not dead. And he's here. So get here when you-" She didn't even get to finish before he teleported behind her, looking slightly unhappy. "Are... You okay? Usually you're smiling."

"I'm fine. I can't say the same for that blue bastard though. At least in five minutes. Thanks for calling Naja. Here. Can you hold this for me?" He asked and gave her his motherbox. "This is gonna get very... High octane. I don't want that thing breaking. When I saw so, open a boom tube somewhere outside of this universe." He explained and Naja took it. Otis flew outside just in time to see Frank kick Alex off of Xander. "You!"

"Fuck me..." Alex muttered as his jaw snapped back into place after Frank broke it.

"Damn straight fuck you!" Otis hissed. "I'm slightly upset!" He shouted, slamming his foot square into Alex's face, again and again, until it wasn't even a recognizable as a face. "Naja! Do the thing!" And just like he asked, Naja opened a Boom tube while Otis flung the monster at it. Only for him to stop just before he went in. Then Alex exploded in a mess of gore. "Ooooh... That... That wasn't what I was expecting."

"Peekaboo!" Came the slightly crazed voice of Wyatt Walker. Otis flew down to greet the old looking man.

"Thanks for the help. Who are you?"

"Sorry about that." Wyatt replied seemingly friendly. "My card." He said and with his hand glowing bright white, flung Otis through building after building of the island nation. "Alright!" He shouted as several more boom tubes opened up letting in hordes of Parademons and his lieutenants. "This universe is mine now motherfuckers."

Alex had regenerated behind Wyatt, and while he was talking, moved as fast as he could in front of the man and hit him square across the jaw. Hard. Hard to the point where the shockwave shook the entire island. If time were to slow, one could see the blood leaving Wyatt's nose and mouth, along with several teeth, before the man smashed into the ground. "This is my universe you old bastard! Get out!"

"That hurt, you little shit!" Wyatt shouted.

"It's gonna be one of those days, isn't it?" Xander muttered.

[The Republic of Atria]

"It's gonna be one of those days, isn't it?" Xander muttered.

Frank Mayhem

"I believe so. I mean, I already have so many questions." I spoke after Xander. I was still coated in a thick white fiery aura, so Influx was still present and the energy bar was still at reasonable levels, so I moved the hell back. Let the two fight it out, I suppose. I tried a few scans, but no solid information on what the he'll the people or things here are.

There's one bit I can say from context clues, though - there's some crazy power being thrown around here. I'll most certainly need to go into Level 2 soon.

"Anyway, you have any idea what this new guy is? Let's call him 'Player Five' for now. He helped us, but at the same time he attacked us, so that should be taken into account."

"I'm not sure who the old guy is, but you're not kidding. He's outputting some serious power." Xander admitted as Wyatt attempted to smash Alex into quantum strings, just to have him reform shortly after, and clobber Wyatt through several buildings. "Given the Apokoliptian forces involved, I want to say that he must have usurped Yuga Khan. Which is slightly unnerving. At this point, I'm just going to keep this nonsense confined to Praetoria. I'd rather those two psychos fight it out and kill eachother so I don't have to deal with it." As he was talking, Otis managed to limp back over with glowing purple blood coming out of his nose. "Otis, are you okay?"

"Yeah... Head hurts. Did anyone get the number of that truck?" He muttered, rubbing his head. "I don't ever remember getting hit that hard."

"Take it easy. You're lucky he didn't smash you into one dimensional strings." Xander said. "The only reasons our mutual friend is still alive is because he's an energy being, like me. Meaning that both of these idiots are going to keep this up until the other breaks. Which at this rate won't be any time soon. I hate to leave you guys, but I need to run some tests to see if I can get my hands on something that will actually do more than piss either of these guys off. Otis, you and Frank need to keep this contained. Praetorian and it's people can take a beating like this, I can't say the same for any other section of the planet. It might as well be made of tissue paper." Xander explained and flew off.

"So... Do you want the blue one or the white one?"

[The Republic of Atria]

"Great. I get the blue one." Which was the one he wanted to fight to begin with. Normally he would be completely averted to violence, but Alex hurt him on a personal level. Plus the fact that he could regenerate from very vicious injuries meant that he could lay into him without running the risk of accidentally killing him. Even though he really wanted to. "Hey asshole!" Otis shouted as he flew straight at Alex.

Alex turned to hit Otis, but before his fist connected Otis vanished. "Who're you calling an asshole?" Otis then slammed his foot onto the top of Alex's skull, with a very cringe inducing crack sent the blue man straight through the ground and into the ocean.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Otis called as Alex resurfaced, blood dripping from his scalp. "Is shithead more appropriate?" He was enjoying being smarmy more than he would like to admit. Most of the time, he was the bigger man, but he just wanted to give the bastard a taste of his own medicine. At least one time in his life, he felt entitled to give someone an asskicking. Alex flew at Otis and slammed into the Inhuman, who wasn't the slightest bit preturbed. In fact he seemed amused. "Normally I'm opposed to violence... But there's exceptions to every rule." Otis grabbed Alex, and putting as much effort as he could into a kick.

A very, very powerful kick. The sheer force was like a massive bomb going off in the atmosphere. Clouds dispersed, the water in the ocean was pushed back, and Praetoria experienced an 8.2 Earthquake. Alex didn't realize what happened until he pushed the mountain of rubble off of himself to see that he was literally kicked in half. His legs were nowhere to be seen. Which wasn't more than an annoyance, but when he finally got free, he wasn't on Earth anymore, he was on Mars. And what used to be Olympus Mons was a crater. "Holy fuck..." He muttered as his legs finally grew back. Just in time for Otis to land on top of him and flatten his upper body. His legs were intact, and his head was as well. Just not his torso or anything around there.

"Good thing you can regenerate... You're not doing so hot." He commented as Alex pulled himself back together. "I mean, that's pretty much the only reason you're alive. How many times have you been fatally dismembered? Have you considered fighting lessons?" He was venting. In his own smarmy way. Yelling and screaming wasn't his style. Though he left his guard down and Alex smashed into him quite hard. He felt the shock in his chest. And then the painful stinging of being hit across the face, repeatedly. Alex smashed the Inhuman onto the moon, and was promptly blasted of in a bright red flash. "Son of a... Ouch. You hit hard..." He said spitting out the blood and spit that filled his mouth.

"You stupid... Whatever the hell you're supposed to be!"

"Ouch. Words can be just as powerful as energy blasts." Otis said pretending his chest hurt by putting his hand over it. "I don't think I'll recover from that one..." This only served to enrage Alex, causing him to charge at Otis yet again. Unfortunately, Otis was smarter than he thought, sidestepped him, and grabbed his cape. "Y'know, I never understood the cape thing." He said spinning Alex around and around over his head. "It's so easy to grab. And do this!" He said an flung the blue man towards Earth at such a speed that his body was ripped apart in the atmosphere right above Praetoria. Otis flew down and waited for Alex to regenerate once again. Come on Xander...

[The Republic of Atria]

"I like that kid. I want one. Kalibak-" He was cut off by someone blindsiding him. He hated being blindsided. It was the second time today that someone hit him in the face when he wasn't looking. "Who's the dead motherfucker that just hit me?!" He hissed rubbing the side of his face to see a barrage of blasts headed right at him. "Alright. Stop with the bullshit." Wyatt hissed, his hands glowing bright white, dissolving the energy blasts just before they hit him, allowing him a look at who fired them. "A celestial tinker toy? I ain't killed too many of you. You make great sex bots. Not even gonna lie. Give ya a pair of knockers and less retarded hair, and you're right as rain. By the way, you can have these back." The blasts that Frank had fired at him rematerialized, but aimed straight at him.

Meanwhile, Xander was frantically trying to find a way to break the laws of physics and destroy energy, but was having the same amount of luck as one would expect. Which only made him more tense since he knew that Otis and Frank wouldn't last forever. He was about to start pulling his hair out when Naja decided to make a suggestion. "Would something like... Anti-matter work? Get them away from Earth and blast them with it or something-" She quickly found herself being squeezed and lifted off her feet.

"Naja, you're a genius! I love you!" He said putting her down, kissing her and flying away only to fly back about a second later. "I'm gonna need your help. This is going to require some timing. They're gonna be expecting me to be up to something, so while they're distracted, open up two Boom Tubes to the Negative zone. In theory, this should either kill them, or at the very least stop their powers from working. Maybe."

[The Republic of Atria]

"I'm going to distract him. When I give the signal open a Boom Tube to the Negative zone and we're done. And we can rebuild Praetoria... Again." It didn't take long to fix the damage done, but it was slightly annoying. Xander flew up to Wyatt just as Frank was going to blast him. "Guess who." Xander taunted, grabbing his arms, letting Franks blast hit him and then throwing him onto the ground. "Frank. We've got a plan. Otis seems to have my evil twin under wraps. What we're gonna do is set up to push him into the Negative Zone. In theory, both of them should be powerless and we win. I recommend-" He was cut off by incoherent screaming coming from Wyatt.

"-TEAR YOUR FUCKING BALLS OFF!" Out of the two target, since Xander was using the Starbrand, he was the biggest target. His cosmic awareness told him that Xander was using an external power source. All it would take some was smarts to cut him off from it and make him much easier to deal with. "Alright Blondie, let's see you fight without that fancy doodad." Xander flew at Wyatt only for Wyatt to surround him in a white sphere and drop him like a stone. "I ain't that fuckin' stupid. That whatchamacallit you're using is what makes you so damn tough. Without it? Not so much... Wait... You're an Elo too? You just got a body like me? Small Multiverse. Just one teeny tiny difference. I've got a fuckload more power than you do. See?" He was completely ignoring Frank, having almost forgotten that he was there, and using his superior power to flay Xander alive.

Naja did't like watching her huband get ripped apart at the molecular level, but Wyatt was oblivious to her, which meant Xander's plan was working. So it was her turn to help save the universe for the third time this week, and opened the Boom Tube. "Frank! Otis! Get those psychos in there!"

[The Republic of Atria]

Wyatt was too busy blasting the tar out of Xander to see the massive blast coming right for him. Which was enough to knock him off his feet and through the Boom Tube. It took a few seconds for Xander to grow back the limbs and parts of him that were blasted off by Wyatt. "Son of a bitch, that never gets less painful..." He muttered. "Otis! Throw the bastard in here!" And just like that, Otis blasted his opponent into the Negative zone. Xander's curiosity got the better of him and he flew in after the two men to see how it worked. What he saw was both of them on the ground, unable to fly. The same fate he also met when his powers gave out and he fell several feet onto the ground.

"The fuck is this?" Wyatt demanded. "Why the fuck aren't you a duck? I'm trying to turn the both of you fuck heads into small animals, but you're not turning into small animals. The fuck?!"

"I figured it out. Okay Naja did, but that's irrelevant at the moment. This is the Negative Zone. It's made purely of Anti-Matter and Energy. The Motherbox that brought us here adjusted us. See, we're all the same species. An inherent weakness is that we can't manipulate Anti-matter." Xanader then cracked Wyatt across the jaw, knocking out several of his teeth. "I noticed something. You both can't fight for shit. You rely on your powers. So when they're gone... You're not much of a threat." Wyatt threw a punch that was sloppy even by normal standards, Xander promptly caught it and his Wyatt with a solid uppercut that knocked him right out. "Alright Blue. You're next." He turned his attention to his doppelganger and saw that he was already several hundred feet away, tripped and fell on his face before scrambling back to his feet and starting to run again.

Otis had come in just to watch and make sure nothing went wrong. He could have just finished off Alex right then and there., but couldn't bring himself to do it. It was one thing when he could regenerate through anything he could throw, but now it was just sad. "Alright. Problem solved. Let's go." He said offering Xander his hand and pulling him up. "Good guys win again. The score is... Um... I lost count. So I'm just gonna say a bazillion and hope I'm right. You're bleeding..." Otis noticed Xander's hand was dripping with some blood.

"I did hit the guy pretty hard. Not as invulnerable as I'd like to be at the moment." He muttered as Otis pulled him through the Boom Tube and put him down. "You're taller than I remember."

"I used to be Five foot ten. Now I'm like Six foot seven. It's not my fault I swear. Vinatos said that my species is really tall and gangly." He said and put Xander down. "Great job team!"

[The Republic of Atria]

"Thanks for your help Frank." Xander said as his powers returned. "They shouldn't be an issue now. With any luck they'll get themselves killed and they'll be out of our hair forever." Another day, another invasion stopped. Naja could tell that it was really starting to wear down on him. "I'm going to go start the repairs. Umm... I don't think we have a souvenir shop, Frank. Sorry. We really don't have much in the way of tourism. If people come here, it's more often than not to stay. Excuse me, but I've got some stuff to take care of." He said and flew off to start fixing the damage .

"I think he's actually right on this one, Frank. Closest thing we have is custom made clothing. Like what you got." Naja explained. "It's work in progress."

"Alright. That's enough crazy for one week. I need some Otis time. I'm going to Attilan, if you need me. Unless you need me to fight. Then I'm not going to." He had done enough violence for a month, even if it was against the only man in the universe he held genuine contempt for. There was a stopping point and he reached it. Besides, there were shows he needed to catch up on. And catch up he did. At least for the better part of the rest of the day which ended with a nap. He didn't need to sleep, but it was something more to relax than anything else. At least until he awoke to a knock at his door. "It's open..." He muttered as he crawled out of bed. The door opened and in stepped Queen Medusa. Which caused Otis to humorously scramble to his feet.

"Calm down." She said as Otis finally stood up. "I came to ask you for help."

"...I suppose. I won't have to fight anything, will I?" He was okay with doing pretty much anything other than anything that involved violence. "Cause I'm kind of burned out on fighting. Yesterday was a pretty crazy day."

"No. I need you to be a diplomat. Ordinarily, I'd ask someone else to do this, but I'm not running the risk of them getting captured or worse. You don't run the risk of that, and you are the most... Charismatic. The country in question is North Korea. We have reason to believe that they're harboring Inhumans. You're going to be playing the emissary while I send a covert team to find out what's going on."

That sounded very iffy to him. "So, all I have to do is play nice with the Supreme Leader of the nation-state equivalent to the short bus? I guess I can do that, sure." It didn't sound like something that would be difficult. He could play nice. "It'll be just like that one movie... The Interview! Except for... The part about killing Kim-jong Un in a helicopter tank battle..." The look Medusa gave him said all that he needed to know. "Am I the only one who still watches movies? Seriously? You all need to lighten up."

[The Republic of Atria]

Otis followed Medusa to a hanger where several other members of the Inhuman Royal guard were waiting. He couldn't help be feel slightly out of place. No one seemed to care that he was there, or they were happy that he was coming along. The only reason he was there was because of his powers and he knew that. At first it bothered him that he was only there because he had the power to do practically anything he wanted and then some, but then he realized that at least people still wanted him. Of course that opinion would change should someone else had gotten the Omega Effect, but why not take advantage of it. "This is the plan." Medusa spoke. "Bolt and I will keep him preoccupied while you all search for evidence of his lies. The Terrigen cloud passed over Korea and he claims not a single one of his people underwent terrigenesis. The odds of that are extremely unlikely."

Otis listened silently, unsure of really what to say. The plan seemed solid enough to him. All he would have to do is be himself. Which isn't that hard on paper, but he had to be himself to the ruler of the most oppressive nation on the face of the Earth. That was slightly more challenging. The sip made two different landings. One while the ship was stealthed to drop off the search group, and the other one was a more direct flight to the center of Pyongyang. Otis felt slightly out of place in Attilan, in North Korea, he felt completely alien. Even beside someone he mostly considered to be a friend. He was already most likely the tallest person in the room, being a full head taller than Medusa, usually made slightly better by the fact that he had a wide stance. They stepped off their aircraft to a large, well put together military convoy. Tanks that would be considered old twenty years ago were lined up perfectly on both their left and right sides.

It was one thing being the tallest man in a room, it was an entirely different matter being the tallest person in an entire country. The amount of people giving him strange looks was borderline terrifying. Anywhere else, looks weren't uncommon, but most people kept to themselves and ignored him. Kim himself was there to greet both of them. "Ah, welcome to North Korea!" He said in a seemingly friendly tone. Neither of them were fooled, but nevertheless had to smile in return.

"Greetings Supreme Leader. I am Medusa and this is my guardsman, Bolt." She said and motioned to the tall, blue Inhuman standing beside her.

"Umm. Erm. Yes. I'm O-Bolt." He had forgotten that he was supposed to go by his Inhuman name rather than his human one, but he had to make a good impression, and compliments seemed to be the way to go. "I apologize if I seem nervous. It's not everyday one such as myself gets to meet someone of your grandness." It was half assed and completely nonsensical, but it seemed to work as Kim was delighted. He decided that it would be for the best if Medusa did the talking and he just stood there looking pretty. Kim invited them into his personal vehicle, which Otis was barely able to fit into due to his height and tail. He would normally make a crack at his own expense, but couldn't think of anything. It was a cramped ten minute car ride into what looked like Kim's home. Very large and elegant.

This is all bull and everyone on Earth, and then some, knows it. Why isn't anyone doing anything to stop it? Otis had the temptation to just put his foot down and do something, but couldn't bring himself to. It's not like anything Kim was was an actual threat to him. Not just him, plenty of people had the power to undo the pain being caused in North Korea.

Why wasn't anyone doing anything?

[The Republic of Atria]

Otis sat quietly as Medusa and Kim talked about stuff. He was too busy thinking about what he should do about the situation. It wouldn't be hard for him to put an end to it, but the backlash could be catastrophic. He wasn't exactly up to date on politics, but there was likely a good reason that no one had liberated the country yet. On the other hand, the people are suffering terribly, and he did not want that to go on while it could easily be stopped. "-Bolt?" Medusa broke his train of thought. He didn't even realize that the car had stopped and that they were getting out. "Bolt, we have things to do." Medusa told him as he climbed out of the car like a child much too big for the McDonalds playpen.

"Sorry, Your majesty. I just had something on my mind is all." He admitted and followed her.

"Your personal guard seems to be quite absent minded for protecting royalty." Kim quipped.

"He often is. But he's one of the best ones I have. And the children love him. So I can see past that." Medusa replied doing her best not to outright insult the man she manipulated several times in the past.

"And quiet too. I can't even hear him walking. Maybe one day you will let me borrow him." He said half serious.

Otis, who had been listening the entire time, finally decided to speak for himself. "I serve the Queen and the Queen only. My duty is to the Inhumans. I'm certain you have many highly skilled guardsmen, and don't need me." The more Kim spoke, the more he had to degrade himself. And he hated it. He was not some stick in the mud and up his ass type of person. He was free spirited and playful, doing whatever he felt like doing at that moment, but he had to do it because Medusa wanted him to.

"And he's loyal too? Queen Medusa, you simply must let me take him. Only for a day. And then we can discuss the matter of your people." Kim wanted Otis, obviously to stick him with old needles and try to create more of him. Otis knew what was coming and was most certainly not looking forward to it.

"...Of course. Bolt, For the next twenty four hours, do whatever the Glorious Leader asks of you to the best of your ability." Medusa complied. She and Otis both knew that he was in no real danger, and if he had to, he could just simply walk out. And it would bide time for the recon team.

"Of course my Queen." Otis replied sounding like he was more than happy to go through with whatever she asked, when he had the obvious dread of having to put up with the fat bastard for an entire day. Kim called several of his guards over and told them to escort Otis to his private quarters to wait while he finished preparations with Medusa. Otis followed the guards obediently to Kim's home where he was told that he had free reign of the building, but he could not leave until the Glorious Supreme Leader had come for him. He had an hour or so to kill, so he looked around the house until he came across a man hiding in a very poor spot. There were no guards around, so Otis felt like he could speak normally. "Hey. What are you doing here? If they catch you in here, they'll kill you. Or worse. I can get you out. Don't worry, I'm a friend." Otis spoke quietly and offered his hand to the man who reached out.

And at the last second... "I sincerely apologize." He grabbed Otis's hand...

...And then black.

[The Republic of Atria]

Meanwhile back on Praetoria, most of the mess had been cleaned up. "Alright. That's most of it. I'm probably gonna go patrol. You want to come?" Xander asked his wife.

"I'm fine. I think I'm just going to take some me time and hold down the fort. Why don't you join me? I'm sure if anything goes on, someone else can take care of it. You've been busy since the moment we got home. Take some time for yourself." This was her hinting that she wanted to watch a movie or something with him, but it didn't seem like he got the hint.

"Sorry. I have to make sure that all the Parademons that Wyatt brought over are all gone. Maybe when I get back. Love you." He said, kissed her cheek and flew off.

"Yeah... Sure." She muttered slightly annoyed with him. "Guess I'll just watch TV by myself then." And just as she took her costume off and turn on the television, her cellphone rang. She didn't recognize the number, and Xander didn't have one, for some reason. She figured it was probably a wrong number, but picked it up anyways. "Hello?"

"Oh, um yes. I can't believe I'm asking this, but are you that superhero woman... Naja?" A woman's voice asked.

"Yes... Why?" She asked. "And how did you get this number?"

"It wasn't easy, but I needed to ask a favor. It's my son's birthday tomorrow, and you're his favorite superhero. I understand if you can't make it-"

"Sure. I'd love to. I'll need some information so I can find you, but yeah, I'd be happy to! Would 10 tomorrow morning be a good time?" She asked.

"That would be perfect!" The woman replied and sent her address to Naja. "His name is Jason. He's turning twelve. Thank you so much for doing this. He's going to be so happy." She hung up and Naja thought about it for a moment. She had already agreed to show up, but since she was going to a birthday party, it was appropriate to bring a gift. And she had the perfect idea, but she needed Xander's help. Which meant she had to find him, which wasn't that hard as he was flying rather slow not to far from the mainland of Praetoria.

"Hey... Can you make something for me? I'm going to a birthday party tomorrow and I want to bring a gift."

"Sure. Who's birthday?"

"Some kid named Jason. His parents got my cellphone number, somehow, and asked me to come since I'm his favorite superhero apparently." Which gave her a sense of pride. "Nothing too extravagant, just a costume made for a child. Though since he's twelve, you think you could make it so it could stretch, since he's probably going to start puberty here soon?"

"Easy. Give me a few hours. I'll get right on it as soon as I'm done here." He replied and went on his way.

"Yeah... I totally didn't want to spend any time with you not working at all..." She muttered flying back home.

[The Republic of Atria]

As requested, Xander made her the outfit that she requested, but she hardly got to see him. As soon as he finished, he went right back out to resume his patrol, and she had gotten movies for them to watch. She left them on the dresser and went to bed, alone. Normally she could convince him to at least get some sleep, but he was no where to be found. It was slightly depressing, but she wasn't willing to cut him loose. For a number of reasons. Morning came and Xander was still gone. She got dressed and flew out to where she was supposed to be for a child's birthday. It was a quiet little neighborhood, and she got some weird looks when she landed and knocked on the door, about fifteen minutes early. "Oh! You're... Taller in person."

"I get that a lot." She said. "Oh. And I brought him a gift too. I think he'll like it. Where is the little guy anyways?" She asked and looked around the house. He wasn't home.

"He's out with his father. They should be back any minute now. Thank you for coming. Jason is going to be so happy. Oh, my name is Irene." She said and offered to shake Naja's hand. Naja of course shook it when a car rolled up the drive way. "That's them. Here, wait in the hallway. I'll tell you when to come out." Naja agreed and hid around the corner when Jason and his father walked in with some groceries. They talked for about a minute, but Jason himself seemed rather quiet. Probably sad that he had to go grocery chopping on his birthday. "Jason... There's someone here to see you." Just after she said that Naja walked around the corner.

"Hi, Jason. Your mother said that you wanted to meet me?" She said nicely. It was a few very long seconds of Jason staring at her silently. "Is there... Something wrong?"

"Y-You're the real Naja?"

"Last I checked, yes." She said and offered her hand to him. "Check if you don't believe me." Jason grabbed her hand. Of course he had no way of knowing what her hand really felt like, but it certainly felt real. His face lightning up seemed to confirm that she was indeed the real Naja.

"You came... I can't believe you came." He said staring at her and hugging her. "This is the best birthday ever!" Naja was a little taken back by his affection, but returned the hug nevertheless.

"Why would I want to disappoint a fan? I didn't even know I had fans." She replied. "Come on. We've got all day. Let's have some fun."

[The Republic of Atria]

Jason's parents brought out the cake and they all sang happy birthday to him. Naja included while sitting next to him. It felt good seeing someone happy. "Happy birthday." She said. "Oh! I almost forgot, I got you a present." She said and gave him the box. "I think you're going to like it." Jason excitedly opened the box with an exasperated look when he saw what it was. It looked just like her costume, but clearly made for a child. "I had it made special. It's practically indestructible, and when you grow, it'll stretch. I hope you like it." She explained while he looked it over.

"This is awesome! Thank you!" He replied obviously enjoying his gift.

"No problem." She said patting his back. "So what do you want to do first? It's your birthday." They spent a few hours playing typical party games and just generally having a good time, with Naja answering questions that he had regarding what it was like being a superhero. Most of it boiled down to finding a way to end the threat at hand and getting the tar beaten out of you until then. "I like it, but don't get me wrong. I can't remember the last time I went to do something and didn't go home without a broken something. It's fun, and most everyone is really nice, but it hurts."

"I guessed. Is it fun though?"

"It is. For the most part. You meet a lot of interesting people, make a ton of friends, and see the world in a different light. I wish more people were like you. Not everyone likes my whole snake look. Not like I can change it. Though people are getting over it." She said.

"I don't get it. Why would you want to help people who don't like you? You're strong. You don't have to help them if all they do is be mean to you."

"Not everyone is like that. And that's just what we do. Police officers aren't popular, but they still keep people safe. It's the same concept. Not everyone likes us, but in the long run, people are safer. Come on. Let's have some cake."

[The Republic of Atria]

Naja spent the entire day with the young boy. It felt good to have a fan. She never thought that she had a following. "Now I've got a question." Naja asked. "What makes me your favorite superhero?" She asked. "I mean, most people like Superman... Or Thor. Wonder Woman is a good one."

"Yeah, but you look the coolest. And you actually came to meet me." He replied. "And... You're really nice."

"I've met both Superman and Thor. They're both really nice." She smiled and watched as the sun started to go down. "I think that's what everyone's problem is. They never slow down. It's always trying to stop the planet from exploding. No one ever stops and takes some time off." She was mostly referring to Xander, but there was probably some truth in there as well. "Thanks for inviting me. It was a lot of fun."

"I'm just happy you came. Thank you so much."

"No problem. How about some fireworks before I go?" He offered and fired several little blasts into the air the exploded much like fireworks. Jason was enjoying it quite a bit. It went on for about twenty minutes until it was clearly night and Jason was exhausted. "Someone looks tired. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah... I did. It was a lot of fun." He replied. "You made me so happy. Thank you for coming. Really. I know what they say about not meeting your heroes. But if there was an exception to that rule. You'd be it." Naja couldn't resist giving the child one last hug before she left.

"Tell you what. I'll come to your birthday every year. How's that sound?"

"I'd really like that." He replied. "Goodnight and thank you."

"You're welcome Jason." She said and waved good-bye as she flew off to go home. Even if she brightened just one person's day, it was worth it. "Xander? Are you home?" She called into her house, but no response came. "Of course not... Why would he be home?" She muttered and decided to watch some television to unwind. As soon as she turned it on, the news played, talking about an incident in North Korea. And Otis. "Oh my god..."

North Korea

There was just... Nothing. At least for a few seconds until Otis came to. He felt weak and sore, which was something he hadn't felt in a long time. At least until he saw his Inhuman body and looked down to see that he wasn't in his body. "Oh... Oh no..." He muttered. This was bad. This was very bad. "Listen!" Ots stammered. "I know you're scared. I know you're angry. But you don't understand what you're doing."

"I understand perfectly. You and all those so called protectors. Heroes. Where are they now? Why are they not helping us? We are suffering! I feel incredible. I feel like a god."

"I know... You're right. But that's why I came here. I wanted to help everyone. I know you have the power to do what you want, but listen. Let me take my body back. I promise I'll put an end to this. Please. You don't understand what kind of power you're using. It's dangerous." Otis said and the person who jacked his body thought for a moment about what he said.

"I can do anything?" He asked and surrounded Otis in a spherical barrier and lifted him off the ground. "I will return your body once I have rid this country of that fat bastard. He claims that he is god? I will show him what a true god is." Otis felt his stomach sink at the thought of his body being used like that. The man wasn't wrong, but by the same token, he also had virtually unlimited cosmic power to do whatever he wanted. And what he wanted was revenge. It was a massacre. Otis would have been jealous at the man's handling of the Omega Effect if he wasn't so terrified at the same time. Tanks, bullets, men. They might as well have not existed for all the good they did. It didn't take too long for Medusa and Kim to see his rampage since he came to them.

"Bolt?! What are you doing!"

"Medusa." Otis said from his new body. "That's not me."

"Correct. My name is Sung."

"He's an Inhuman who can swap consciousnesses on touch. Which in this case, happened to be mine."

"Yes. And now I will finally end this. We will be free. No more fat bastard to control us and treat us like unwanted animals." He said and Kim lifted into the air and as Sung was about to crush Kim with telekinesis, he was hit by the stinging pain of a flying magic hammer.

[The Republic of Atria]

Otis dropped when Sung's concentration was broken by a Thunder God's hammer. "Oh. Right. Things can get worse." He moaned and staggered to his feet as both the Avengers and Justice League flew down to attempt to restrain Sung. "Wait! Stop! That's not who you think it is! I'm the real him!" Of course his lack of ability to put his thoughts into words under stressful situations, along with the fact that no one was listening to him being far more focused on the angry god, was not helping his case.

Iron Man decided to speak first against Sung, whom he, and everyone else, thought was Otis throwing a temper tantrum. "Kid, just calm down and we can talk this out. We don't need anyone to be turned into ashes."

"I am not a child." Sung responded and let out a massive telekinetic blast. "They call you heroes, yes? You are not heroes!" He hissed as the entire group of men and women was sent scattered across the ground. "Were you really heroes, we would not be suffering under the rule of this fat monster!" He yelled, referring to Kim who was trying to make a getaway only to be tackled by Otis with Medusa coming to his aid. All the guards were dead, Otis just hoped that he wouldn't be killed in the crossfire.

"Is this part of the plan? Cause if I'm being totally honest, I kinda hate it." Otis muttered. Superman and Thor knew what they were up against. They had no choice but to use most, if not all of their strength to attempt to subdue the mad man. Fortunately for them, they were combat experienced and the man they were fighting wasn't. Superman flew, using his incredible speed to create a distraction while Thor went in for the kill. Slamming Mjolnir into Sung, again and again, until Sung, only with minor bruising caught his wrist and flung him against the Man of Steel. Sung took two steps forward, and his eyes began to glow. "Those two are in for a world of stinging..."

The two bright red beams fired from Sung's eyes, but without a target, they just flew in random directions, destroying everything and anything they touched. Mostly ground and empty buildings, but Sung was all too delighted to have found a new ability. Otis however decided that something needed to be done before Sung killed someone. "Medusa, can you get me anyone's attention? I think I've figured out how this guy's power works, but I need to touch him. And the second I go anywhere near them, I'm liable to get blasted, or pounded into mulch. And then we're all screwed."

"Agreed." Medusa replied and pulled the nearest person she could grab with her hair, Batman.

"Medusa? What's going on?" He demanded as she put him down.

"That is not my subject. Bolt has had his body stolen by a vengeful man."

"That's me." Otis replied waving his hand.

"Yes, the man who stole his body has the ability to swap consciousnesses. It just so happened that he took... Bolt's. We must get him closer so Bolt can get his body back. Or-"

"Things are going to get much worse. Superman and Thor aren't going to last much longer." He said and speaking of the devil: Thor was dropped about ten feet to their left and Superman on top of him. "I'll create a distraction." Batman said and jumped out, throwing an explosive batarang at Sung. Which had all the effect of blowing on him, but he turned his attention to Bruce who made him look away from Otis and Medusa. "Calm. Down. You're angry. I get it. But doing this isn't going to make things better." All he had to do was keep Sung's attention on him, and let Otis sneak up from behind.

"I have to do this! You and the rest of your protectors care only for small parts of the world! It is dying! You all have had the power to stop this for a very long time! And yet suffering still goes on!" He hissed. "Men like him are allowed to rule over and do whatever it is he pleases to everyone beneath him! Men! Women! Children! All here are suffering, and no one has lifted a finger to stop it! And now that I finally have the power to stop it, you oppose me!? What kind of heroes are you supposed to be?!" Sung demanded. Luckily for Otis, Sung's yelling covered up any noise he would have made walking over and grabbing him.

"I'm really sorry about this too... But don't worry. I'm going to make everything better. I promise." Otis said and the words echoed in Sung's mind as everything went dark.

[The Republic of Atria]

Otis staggered to his feet, with Sung coming too a few seconds later. "Okay... Dizzy." He muttered shaking his head. "Alright. The natural order has been restored." He said testing his feet and waving his tail around. "I missed you tail!" Several members of both the League and Avengers were getting ready to take the struggling Sung into captivity as he kept on calling them out for not having done something, Otis decided that he had to intervene and teleported Sung behind him. "Alright. Calm down. Why the hell are you arresting him?"

"He killed several dozen people and attempted the assassination of the leader of a sovereign-" Superman spoke but was cut off by Otis.

"First off, the guy was just trying to free his people from a freakin' tyrant. You can't blame him for that! It's no different than what you guys do!" Otis said defending him. "Sure I wish he would just asked me to do something, rather than stealing my body, by the way-" Otis said as Sung kept trying to get back into Otis' body. "-Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice." Now that he knew what to expect, the Omega Effect was protecting his mind from further attacks. "It's not gonna work, but I'm not gonna let you be thrown in prison. You're an Inhuman. We came to save you. And wound up saving... Everyone."

Of course he picks NOW of all times to decide to put his foot down... Medusa thought to herself. She was not going to waste her and Attilan's time and resources fixing a rundown craphole like North Korea. Luckily for her, she wouldn't have to, as Xander and Naja flew down.

"Thanks guys." Otis said slightly annoyed with them. "Couldn't have done it without you." Otis explained what happened to them, and Xander seemed delighted to take the reconstruction of North Korea into his own hands.

"This is perfect. North Korea was a huge problem-" He was about to continue when Kim himself objected.

"You cannot rule this country! It is mine! I control it! I rule everything."

"Fine then. I can play that way too." Xander said and looked at him. "I, the sovereign leader of Praetoria declare war on the People's Republic of North Korea." One second later, with a bright blast of yellow light projected from his left hands, Xander reduced Kim to nothing but a smoldering pile of bones. "There. Praetoria has yet another grand victory. Naja, can you go rally up some aid?" She reluctantly flew off to go get assistance with rebuilding the country, hoping that it wouldn't take too long. "There. The People's Republic of Korea is now under the control of Praetoria." This didn't sit well with many people.

"You can't do that." Superman objected.

"Actually. One of the powers that I have as the leader of my nation is the ability to declare war against another nation. My reason? Crimes against humanity. So yes. I can. Legally. Reconstruction begins immediately." Xander ended the conversation as curtly as possible and flew off to start fixing up the country.

Otis, not really knowing what else to do, lets Sung go. "Well. That makes things better. I think. Xander's pretty cool. He's got some pretty awesome tech and people, and he's gonna make everything good. So... I guess do whatever you want. How was that Medusa?" He asked.

"So much for a diplomatic mission, but this is better. We can work with Xander to find the remaining Inhumans and bring them to Attilan." She said. Sure, it wasn't what she had in mind, but whatever worked out in her favor was always good. She did notice was looking kinda of strange. "Bolt. Are you okay?"

"Yeah... Okay, not really. I'm gonna... Go. Is that okay? Things seem to be under control..."

"Bolt... If you want to talk about something..."

"No no... It's fine. I just need some air to clear my thoughts." He replied and took off. It took no time for the news of North Korea's liberation to go worldwide. Otis watched as world leaders condemned his and Xander's actions, but every person not in a position of power, claimed he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Mixed is the best word to describe how he felt. He was happy that he managed to get heroes to do something other than just stop the giant monster that was attacking this week, but on the other hand, no matter what he seemed to do, someone found a way to manipulate or use him for their own gain. This time it was the liberation of a country that in truth, needed it, but what if it hadn't and someone was just kill crazy? He would be responsible. He just flew into orbit and looked down at the blue ball that was his home. things were so much simpler back then... Punch the bad guy. Turn over to police. Punch out the giant robot, monster, zombie whatever. Call it a day. Why is everything so damn complicated?

[The Republic of Atria]

Xander worked with Medusa and helped round up all the surviving Inhumans while giving out proper shelter and food to everyone. Prisoners were released and the border to South Korea was torn down allowing the people to be reunited with their loved ones. Unfortunately, some of the new Inhumans had responded rather negatively to their transformation, being erratic, nervous, and very uncooperative. Neither Medusa or Xander wanted to hurt anyone. "Who do you usually have to help come them down?"

"Bolt is usually very good with the Nuhumans. But he left about an hour ago." Medusa explained.

"I'm sure he won't mind trying to calm people down. I'll call Naja and see if she can't track him. The amount of energy that he puts off, shouldn't be too hard." Xander replied and called his wife who was helping coordinate the relief effort from Praetoria. "Hey Naja. I know you're probably busy, but we're having trouble calming some of these people down. Can you find Otis and call him over here? Medusa says he's usually the one who helps Nuhumans adjust to their new life."

"Sure." She said unusually curt. Which made Xander make a strange face, but thought nothing of it as he went back to work. Naja did what he asked. Tracking Otis wasn't hard. His energy signature was large, unique, and left a trail. So it was a simple matter of just narrowing it down on Google maps. However, she tracked his trail to Colorado and then it just vanished. "What... Where did he go?" She asked herself and the computer insisted that Otis just vanished right in the middle of Colorado. She called Xander back to report what she found. "Yeah... Otis just vanished. Computer says that he flew over Colorado and that's where the trail ends. There's no concentration of his omega energies. Just a trail and then it just ends."

Xander had a bad feeling about it. There was a reason that he didn't like Colorado. "Okay. What was the last city he was seen over? I might know what happened."

"Umm... Really tiny city. Dinosaur?" Yup. Xander's worst fears had been confirmed, and what little color he had in his face drained when Naja mentioned the name of the city. "Hello? Xander? You still there?" She asked.

"Yeah... Yeah... Okay. Either he's dead or-"

"Dead?! What?! It's Otis! He killed Darkseid! I doubt there's anything in Colorado that could do more than make him a little hungry." She replied. "Besides. The population of Dinosaur is like... Fifty. Tiny little place. There's no way he's dead. Don't be so dramatic."

"Naja, you don't understand. There's a man who lives there. His name is-"

Otis

He flew over the mainland United state just staring at the ground and thinking about his rather hectic day. What were the boundaries of superheroes? Were they restricted solely to their home country, or could they branch out and help anyone? Were they obligated to stop places like North Korea, and free the people? Or just let everyone work it out on their own? It was frustrating. The people loved him, but the politicians were afraid of him and vilified him. He needed to get his mind off things. And what better way to do that than copious amounts of food? He was flying over a very small town and decided that he should grab a snack at the nearest pizza joint. He landed, and walked down the dirt road into the semi-busy pizza place. Everyone was staring at him. "Yeah, yeah. Let's all stare at the alien looking guy. Been there done that. I just want some pizza."

Otis approached the counter, where the man looked him over. "You're that guy... You're the one who went into North Korea and freed everyone?" He asked. Of course the story was much more complicated than that, but Otis didn't feel like talking about it.

"Yeah. You gonna give me the overstepping my boundaries speech too?"

"Tell you what, son. We got these heroes. Superman. Batman. Captain America. Miss Marvel. They didn't do what you did. Sure, they fight the giant monsters. But what you did, you saved a bunch of people. You didn't give a damn what everyone would say about you. You saved them. I respect that. Gonna be honest. I wasn't a fan of your kind. But if just a few of them have half the balls you do, I respect that." He said and offered to shake his hands. "And just for that. Pizza's on the house." He said as Otis shook his hand. "What's your name son?"

"Otis." He replied.

"Otis? That doesn't sound like an alien name."

"I'm not really an alien... I was born in Arkansas. Something something recessive alien DNA or something. And... Thank you, sir." Otis replied. "That's really nice of you. Most people usually just throw things at me."

"Well, you're always welcome here. How's a pizza with everything on it sound?"

"It sounds amazing." Otis said and the owner of the shop came back with his food. Otis spent the next half hour talking with everyone. Most of them seemed to be okay with him. Questions about his feet were the most common. Jokes were told and overall, he had a great time, and so did everyone else. "Alright guys. I should probably get going. Thanks for the pizza. I might just come back next week. I promise not to eat you out of house and home. I've got a debit card." He laughed and shook hands with the owner of the Pizza shop, Jack, one more time before walking outside and exploding in a bright flash of light.

[The Republic of Atria]

Some time after North Korea...

It was well after the fact that the war on Madworld had occurred that Xander heard about it. Max did help him a long time ago, so at the very least he deserved a visit and maybe some aid if Max would accept it. So he flew across the ocean to the nation of Madworld to see the goings on. He really didn't know what to expect. It was at least a year since he actually visited Madworld, and even then he didn't get a good look since he was focused on keeping his powers from overloading. There were definitely signs of a large battle. One he was almost sorry that he missed since he had to deal with the rest of the planet. That, and he was pretty sure Max would be insulted if he showed up to help him. "It shouldn't be too hard to find him. Look for the biggest shiniest thing that has his face all over it."

If nothing else, Max would probably notice him flying around his city.

Dinosaur, Colorado, ???

Otis woke up and looked around, obviously a bit scared that he just exploded and then unexploded in the same town, but it was completely absent of people. "Ummm... Hello? Is anybody there?" There was something crazy going on. His cosmic sense was going bananas that something was weird.

"Hi." A voice came from behind. Otis spun around to see a relatively normal man, save for his purple and green costume. "Who're you?" He asked.

"Umm... I'm Otis."

"I'm Owen." He replied. "You're a strange one. You taste weird. That's why I brought you here." He said floating over to the Inhuman. "At first, I thought someone sent you after me. Like Victor, or Richards. But you're confused and scared aren't you?"

"I taste weird? I would be lying if I said no. I'm not used to spontaneously exploding and then not being exploded afterwards.. I don't even know who you're talking about. I don't even know who you are. Something's poking my brain that you're someone important. Can I help you?" He asked noticing he still had his leftover pizza in his hand.

"Do you have anything to eat?" Owen asked.

"Ummm... Sure. I've got some pizza." Otis replied and offered him it, only for Owen to gently take it and devour it like a rabid animal. It was almost scary to watch. "Are you okay? I've only seen cartoons devour pizza like that. I'm pretty sure it's not healthy."

"You ask a lot of questions."

"You did kind of kidnap me." Otis replied. "Or explode me."

"I moved you. Different dimensional plane. Fun stuff. You can go." Owen dismissed him. "I just wanted to be certain you weren't out to get me. Because then I'd have to kill you, and I don't want to kill you. You don't seem like that terrible of a person."

"I'm confused. You brought me to you because you thought I was going to kill you? Can we go back to the part where you said that I taste weird? You didn't lick me while I was exploded did you? Cause that's just weird." Otis replied. Owen was a strange man without a single doubt.

"I just wanted to see if you were lying. I know quite a bit about you. I know you killed Darkseid. I know you go around doing things that people guilt trip you into. I looked in your brain. You're much stronger than everyone around you. Why do you let them push you around like that?" Owen asks. "It's not like they could make you do anything you didn't want to. Tell me. I'm curious. Or you can leave. I won't stop you." Owen said floating around Otis in a circle.

"I'm still stuck on the you tasting me thing. But my brain is my business..." Owen had a point. People, particularly Medusa, often got him to do what they asked by guilt tripping him. "I don't know. I guess I just feel like I owe them something."

"What could you possibly owe them?" Owen asked. "You killed Darkseid. He kills universes for sport. And. You're using his cosmic juice. You don't have to take that from them. You could turn them into Chihuahuas."

"I'm not going to turn my friends into small dogs." Otis replied. "As adorable as that would be... Can Just stay here for a few days? They can't find us here, can they?" He asked.

"Not unless I let them in... Sure. We could be friends. Though if they do show up..."

"Please don't turn my friends into dogs."

"...Fine."

[The Republic of Atria]

"Xander. What's going on? I don't think I've ever seen you scared before." Medusa said noticing that the color had left Xander's head. Almost like he was sick.

"-Owen Reece." Xander spat. "Better known as the Molecule Man. Quite possibly the only threat I don't have any idea on how to beat. Unlimited control over all forms of matter and energy." He stammered pacing back and forth. "Well. All things considered, I believe I do have a right to be at least a little frightened. Owen Reece is one of the most powerful beings in the universe. The good news is we know where he's at and from what I've read, he's not completely unreasonable. Just... Unstable. And we have to convince him to give Otis up, assuming that Owen hasn't killed him yet."

"I have my doubts that Owen would just kill him on the spot. Bolt is one of the kindest people I know."

"The man we're talking about is mentally unstable and has had a long history with many people. Otis is one of the biggest guns Earth has. Not to mention everything he's done for the Inhumans." Xander said. "Naja. We're heading to Colorado. Meet us just outside of Dinosaur. Hopefully we can convince Owen to give Otis back. And not leave with our atoms scattered across the universe. Hold on tight." He said and grabbed Medusa before shooting off into the sky towards the small city. Naja was already there by the time Xander and Medusa arrived. "Sorry. I had to fly slower since I forgot she needed... Air." Medusa was giving him the stink eye, but was more or less past it. "So... Um... Any ideas. I don't see Owen. And everyone around here just seems to be going about their day."

"Otis. There's a woman with extremely large, red hair, a large man with a ponytail, and what appears to be the lovechild of a woman and a snake." Owen said.

"Do you know who they are? Or are you just not using their names intentionally?"

"Both." Owen replied. "They're your friends, yes? Should I bring them to us?"

"Yes, they're my friends. You're not going to hurt them, are you?"

"Do you want me to hurt them?"

"No! No! Please. Do not hurt them. They're not bad people." Otis said. Owen shrugged and brought the three people into his dimension. Of course it was violent, and they were very startled and confused. "Hi guys. I didn't think you were gonna find me. What's going on?"

"Otis! Oh, thank God, you're okay." Xander said letting out a sigh of relief and doing his best to avoid eye contact with Owen. "So, umm... We're here to rescue you?"

"From what?" Otis asked. "Owen said I can leave whenever I want." He explained. "He's not keeping me here. I chose to stay here. Of my own free will."

"Why?" Medusa asked. "Bolt, we need your help."

Otis was quiet for a moment. "How bad do you actually need my help?" He asked with his tone becoming slightly more annoyed. "Medusa, I know you only keep me around because I'm as powerful as I am. If I didn't have these powers, you wouldn't give half a damn about me." He snapped. "I'm not a weapon, okay? You don't need my help, specifically. Black Bolt is gone. You're out you're biggest gun so you expect me to fill that void. You could just as easily ask Xander and Naja for help. They're both powerful enough. Naja's an Inhuman. Would you help Medusa if she asked?"

"Of course." Naja replied.

"Then why do I have to be the big stick? I don't like fighting. It scares me, okay? I'm scared to fight! There! I said it! I have the power that was used by an evil god. THE evil god. I don't want to be an evil god. I really don't, and using the Omega Effect like that scares me. I just want to be me. Even if me is a... Weird, blue velociraptor... Thing." He said and sat down. "I know you're all here because I'm the closest god, and you're scared of being without me. So... I've got an idea. A challenge. If any of you three can beat me in a round of XCOM. I'll give you half of the Omega Effect. You get three tries each, and you can pick either side. Aliens or humans."

It sounded simple enough. They would more or less get what they came for, and all they had to do was beat Otis at a video game. How difficult could it be?

[The Republic of Atria]

Xander looked around until he was approached by the Mad King himself. "It's been awhile Max. I came as soon as I heard some madness went down, but... Obviously I heard the news a bit too late. I've been busy with this whole North Korea thing and Naja has been acting really weird. Not to mention how many people are upset with my invasion, but enough about me. What happened?" He asked, following Max through the city looking as repairs for it went underway. "I've got some Kryptonian tech. Their crystals are self repairing and meant to withstand superhuman blows. If you want, I can have some over here within an hour." Then Max mentioned that Craig was there as well. "It's been some time since I've seen him. It's a great time for us to catch up." Max was, at best, an acquaintance, but Max did help him out when his powers were overloading, so at the very least, he had respect for the man.

Otis

To say that Otis had beaten them soundly would not be doing it justice. Medusa and Xander had never played a single video game in their entire lives, both of whom were frustrated when Otis wiped their entire squad in two turns. Naja fared better. She actually managed to last the longest and even killed several of Otis's squad-members before she inevitably lost. "Okay. First off, you two need to play video games more often. Xander, dude. Cover is your friend. Except when grenades are involved. Rifles are the lowest damage primaries in the game. The only class required to have one is the Support. Everyone else gets either an LMG, sniper, or shotgun. Medusa, I swear you didn't even try. It looked like you intentionally ran into my Overwatches without your Assault, which clearly had Lightning Reflexes. Naja. You actually didn't do that bad. I have hundreds of hours on this game and you actually got a few lucky crits. And that was a good flank."

"May I ask what the point of that was?" Medusa asked.

"I'm always doing what you guys want me to do, so I wanted you all to do something I wanted to do." Otis replied. "And no offense, but you guys kinda stink at it. But since you actually went along with it without complaining, I'll give you the Omega Effect anyways." Otis said and true to his word, channeled half of the power of the Omega Effect into Medusa. "This may sting a little. Or not. I'm not a doctor." It felt like she was lit on fire for a few seconds until snapped out of it. "Calm down. It's not gonna hurt you. Don't do anything dumb with it. I can take it back at any time. There. You got what you wanted. Now you don't need me anymore."

"Bolt..." Medusa tried to defend her reasoning. Yes, she did mostly use him as a tool to scare the hell out of the Kree and Skrulls, but she really didn't know how Otis really felt about it. He really was scared that he would wind up as Darkseid 2.0. Now she had more power than she could have ever dreamed of having, and she felt terrible.

"What? Isn't that why you came here? To rescue me from Owen so you could use me like your big gun? Who by the way, is not nearly as bad as everyone says. I don't want to fight and use my powers for things like that. And you want me to. I found a happy medium. You get the power you want, and I don't have to run around wondering if one day I'm just going to snap and go down the crazy path. Both of our problems are solved. Goodbye." He said and Owen teleported them back outside. "Man... I sounded like a huge whiny asshole."

"So you stood up for yourself. But they got what they wanted. If they don't come back. Then you're right. If they do, then you're wrong and say sorry." Owen said. "The look on Xander's face when you blew his squad away was hilarious. He looked red."

"Yes. He went through four controllers..."

[The Republic of Atria]

"That could have gone better." Xander muttered after Owen removed them from his dimension. "But we're not dead, so that's good too. Regardless if Otis is here or not, we have work to do. We'll have to make due without him until he works out whatever it is he's going through. Medusa, I recommend that you, at some point in the future, go talk to him and figure out why he's so frustrated. He's a valuable asset and I'm not willing to lose him to Owen Reece. And I'm certain that you're not fond of that either." He explained. Of course Medusa wasn't exactly happy with his pinning of the situation on her.

"What are you talking about? I've treated him with nothing but respect even before he killed Darkseid. He has been a member of my royal guard even before then. I expect him to fulfill the duties I require of him."

"Have either of you ever considered talking to him?" Naja asked. "And by that I mean listening to him more than saying things to him. He's just a kid, and scared that he's going to hurt someone. He probably wants someone to talk to who doesn't intend to make him feel better just to use him a few minutes later. Which is probably why he's staying here. Owen probably isn't going to try and use him. He has no parents to ask for help and hasn't for several years." She told both of them off. "He's a nice kid, but you two don't see him as that, you see him as a weapon. Something he's made very clear that he doesn't want to be. Instead of trying to convince him to do something. You should probably find a way to help him move past his fear."

After a moment or so of both Xander and Medusa thinking about it. "Sounds like you know how to do just that." Xander said. "Neither of us really know what he's a fan of... And we're both busy trying to keep the world from killing itself. Can you help him out? Obviously he doesn't want to see me or Medusa." He said.

"That's..." She closed her eyes slightly irritated on how they both missed the point. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Great. Love you." Xander said and kissed her cheek. "If you need me, I'll be rebuilding North Korea and telling off the UN. Good luck!" He said as he and Medusa left. She just stood there, annoyed.

"God forbid you actually try to help an emotionally stifled child..." She muttered.