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

[New Rnclave]

Hiroshi: Two days later in Hell

"Damn it." Hiroshi muttered under his breath, the shattered ridge line trembling slightly. They'd been playing cat and mouse with Dabura for hours now. The ridge that had stretched on for hundreds of miles, was destroyed, the action mocking the Hybrid.

Even now, Hiroshi could feel doubt gnawing at him. They'd been sear high for hours now, and every time they 'caught' him, he was long gone, a barely visible group of strong ki's kilometers away from him and growing. They'd embaressed him more than once. This whole experience was an embarrassment for all he cared.

Levitating into the air, blindingly white fire burst to life around him, opening and closing his fist as he looked off towards the demons they'd been hunting. He was barely stronger then he was when he'd first arrived, and was no closer to achieving Super Saiyan III then when he'd come.

It didn't help that he couldn't find Oniyo. He'd tried contacting his uncle multiple times now, and had only been met with silence. In fact, barring the throughs of destruction around them, it was oddly silent. Sure he and Glacia had missed the group they were after every time, but they'd seen a few of hells denizens so far. Yet here, he could see, or sense, anything for several hundred miles.

Sighing in frustration, Hiroshi turned to begin his flight to the next destination the demons and chosen, when he was met with something else.

Slowly descending from the air, the warrior who had been following them for miles made himself known.

" So you're the worms nephew." The hulking blue brute commented. Orange hair danced in the wind, the breeze picking up across the hostile wasteland. " I've been waiting for you."

In a blur of motion, four figures took their positions around the giant. From what Hiroshi could grasp, they were all the same species.

" My crew has been waiting for a proper opponent to come here. You're our first one so far."

It wasn't difficult to harden his features. These idiots wanted to fight him here if all places? They were all weaker then Garlic has been, and yet they wanted to challenge a clearly superior opponent? Turning his head, he nodded to Glacia, signaling her to power up. Flicking his eyes upward, he saw other figures make themselves known.

" Now, now Bojack, I do believe I've been waiting longer then you have for this moment, it's only fair I get to fight our new visitors before your gang has their way." The strange creature remarked casually, crossing his arms to stare at Hiroshi, looking last him to lock eyes with Glacia. " Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cell. I am perfect. All though I will be the one to exact the lions share of vengeance upon you. Although I must ask..." Cell spoke, his smirk becoming even more obnoxious. " Why bring an Acrosain with you? Aren't they much weaker than you Saiyans now?"

" The monkey must be desperate for companionship." A new harsher voice laughed.

The cold Crimson eyes he met were one he'd seen more fitness then he'd ever wanted too. Growing up he'd been on the receiving end of the glare a few times, and seen the madness of this tyrant demonstrated on Namek.

" F-Freiza?" Hiroshi muttered, taking a half step back before composing himself, gritting his teeth before locking eyes with the tyrant.

" He seems quite scared of you Freiza." King Cold uttered, quietly laughing before smiling st his son. " It is amusing though, fear of our power trascends even the power of a Suoer Saiyan."

Five figures made themselves known as they imaocted the ground around them. Had it been 3 years ago now, Hiroshi might've been shaking in his boots, but now, he was confident he could defeat Freiza, his father and the Ginyu force all at once without breaking a sweat. It was the others gathering around that worried him.

" This was the Saiyan I 'lightened up' on Namek. He was a upstart if I'd ever seen one. He tried to hold me off while they used the Dragon Balls and failed quite miserably." Freiza cackled. Growling, Hiroshi clenched his fist, barely able to restrain himself.

"King Cold and Frieza... it must be my birthday." Glacia laughed at that moment, not even caring enough to rebute Cell's remark. The two of them were much more important to her. "Sorry Hiro. These two are mine." She pushed Hiroshi out of the way. "You know, when I heard you were dead, I was disapointed. I had rotted in your hell of a prison for so long... One of the things I was looking forward to when I got out was to tear your tyranical heads off and use them as footrests. But now..." She had a murderous glint in her eye as she looked at the two of them. "I'll see if I can come up with something a little more... creative for you two. After all I want to make the most of such a special occasion." She remarked.

Hiroshi: Hell

"Glacia!" Hiroshi warned, pulling the Acrosian back before she could advance too far. " You're not the only one with a grudge against Freiza and his father, but we've got bigger fish to fry, and I'd rather not get ganged up on while you fulfill a petty grudge."

Staring Glacia down, Hiroshi heard a devilish laugh echo from Frieza.

" How pitiful." Freiza remarked, casually flipping his hand flamboyantly. " This monkey can't even control his lackies. But father, do you recognize this woman?"

Cocking his head, King Cold smiled devilishly at Glacia. " No I don't. Just another pretty face I suppose, all talk. We all know where the real power is among the two of them."

Wincing, Hiroshi glanced around the assembled warriors. While not numerically in their favor, raw power went to him and Glacia. But for sure he needed to end this soon before more arrived. More specifically Broly.

" Well it's just you batch of idiots then? Let's see if we can't break a sweat-"

" Calm down boy. The entire party hasn't arrived yet." Another set of voices boomed, one more familiar then the other.

Walking into view on opposite sides, Hirshi realized they'd been boxed in. On one side, Dabura stood proudly at the helm of the assembled party. On his left though, shaggy black hair and a snapping brown tail made itself known.

" Boy have you grown. A mighty warrior you've become." Oniyo remarked, uncorking his arms and allowing golden energy to explode around his frame. " It's a shame you've taken the wrong side."

"Oh it's you." Hiroshi growled lowly, clenching his fists at his side. " If this is the side you've taken Uncle then I have no choice." Cracking his neck, Hiroshi glared at the Mature Saiyan. This wasn't going in his favor. He was losing his composure and more and more Warriors were arriving it seemed.

Closing his eyes to focus, Hiroshi let out a shallow breath, his concentration broken by a twin set of cackles.

Are you fucking with me right now?

Shimmering into view, the two set down in a warped bubble of hellish energy. It only made sense now. The two strongest denizens of Hell would assemble a group like this, or at least Dabura and Garlic would. He already knew why Garlic was here, and if he could hate the demons guts more he would. But the yellow midget was a surprise. As far as he knew, he'd done nothing to this little shit.

But at the same time, the odds suddenly felt incredibly stacked. Before, he knew Glacia and him could deal with these fools, and gang up on his uncle and Dabura if they caused problems. But now, Hiroshi wasn't so sure. Looking around, he could see a tactical failure in his part, letting these people entrap him. If anything, this meant he had to move at top speed once this started, and dispatch the likes of Cell and Friesa quickly.

" Hello again Hiroshi." Garlic cackled, licking his lips as he stared down the Saiyan. " It's been quite awhile. Me and my friends have a message we'd like you to send to Supreme Kai."

" That's right!" The yellow one squawked." Let that little blue shit know he has something to fear, especially one I get my Majin Buu back!"

Bracing himself, Hiroshi let his eyes flash emerald, his hair sharpening skywards. Clenching his fists tight, his muscles expanded before tightening against his frame, goldeneye energy expelling around him. With the he familiar pulse of his Super Saiyan Aura around him, Hiroshi let out a shallow breath, before ramping up his power.

[Tomia]

-Snip-

Mars had gone up to the roof over an hour ago to check on Kiris. She had been training for a long time and it was getting dark so the team had began to worry so Mars had run up to check on her. He had found her passed out on the ground, and looked over her with a frightened expression on his face. Him and Kiris had grown quite close over the past few months and though Mars had never dared to admit it he had feelings for her. So he was quite worried about something happening to his crush teammate. Once he made sure she was not physically injured he had picked her up gently in his arms and carried her downstairs to her room where he laid her down in her bed to rest. He sat down in the spare chair in her room and had been sitting there, waiting for her to wake up.

Mar's appearance had changed slightly since the formation of the team. His hair had grown out a bit longer and wilder and he had grown about an inch and a half as well. His face had thinned out slightly and his build had become more muscular with the exercise and training he had been doing since he joined the team.

Mars nearly jumped out of his chair when he suddenly saw Kiris lift her head from her bed. He had a relieved look on his face as he spoke to her. "Hey Kiris, glad to see you up. You passed out on the roof during your training. Do you remember anything that happened up there?" Mars asked, trying to figure out what had happened to make her lose consciousness.

Disney World
The thug was unable to resist Sarah's abilities, despite his desire too. "There are three collections of bombs in the Magic kingdom." He confessed dutifully. "One inside the giant hat in the center, one under the Tower of Terror, and another inside the big castle. That's where Anarky's HQ is." The thug said, telling Sarah everything she wanted to know. John couldn't but smile at his new girlfriend. "Well, I guess I shouldn't have underestimated you Sarah." He said to her with a grin. "Now, we have to focus on disarming these bombs. How should we go about it? Split up and go after the bombs individually? Or take them out one at a time?" He said, asking the group's opinion.

Cora
Cora was surprised when Katie suddenly reappeared in the feast hall. She excused herself from Serene and Darian and stood up and turned to her, grinning at her girlfriend. "Hey sweetie, you ready go or something?" Cora asked before she saw that Katie looked preoccupied with something. "Katie? You okay? Is something wrong?" Cora asked, frowning a bit with concern.

Nico
Nico saw Cat hesitate and thought for a moment she might believe him, before she reverted back to her old position. Nico frowned deeply at Cat's words. He was really hurt that his sister wouldn't believe him. "Cat, I'm your brother. Why would I lie to you? You think I want to believe it either? I would give anything for it not be true, but I saw what I saw. I saw men unloading guns into our house. What happened between us sis? We used be so close but now you barely ta..." Nico was interrupted by shouting and sirens as police cars began heading toward the near by Jump City Bank. "Nico froze, he knew he needed to help, but he couldn't do that without exposing his powers to Cat. He decided he had to go for broke and hope his guess about Cat was right. "You know you're not alone Cat. I'm different too:" He told her, letting a bit of his had break apart into sand and fall onto the table as his hand quickly reformed. He knew other people were around so he spoke quietly and hid the sand with his other hand.

[The Republic of Atria]

As it turned out, news spreads quickly in space. The second he stepped on an alien planet, he was immediately pointed out as the one who killed who killed Darkseid. Which he thought would be a good thing. But most everyone thought that he was worse than Darkseid since he was the one who killed him. Saying he was from Earth didn't help one bit. Even the toughest and most hardened aliens were diving through windows to get away from him. So Otis was left in a deserted alien diner, despite not having done a single thing aside from show up. "Huh. It's worse than on Earth. How is that even possible? I haven't even done anything..." He muttered and sat down. "I didn't even know that had diners in space." He looked around and an older alien woman who clearly worked there was the only one left who didn't run screaming at the very sight of him. "Huh... You're the first one who's still here."

"If you were gonna kill me, you'd have done it already. Dunno what got them all worked up."

"So you know about the Darkseid thing?"

"Yeeep. Might wanna cover your face though. You're plastered everywhere. People are da'st pissed off that an Earthling was the one who killed Darkseid." She said and started going through the belongings that people left behind when they ran for their lives. "Lots of stuff happens on that little rock. Heard aliens ain't so welcome though."

"It depends... Isn't that stealing?" He asked and she just laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You kid. Ya went and killed Darkseid. And now you're wonderin' if what I'm doing is right. I ain't gonna lie. No one's gonna miss that bastard. Girl's gotta eat. And these cheap bastards don't tip for crap." She said collecting as much money as she could carry. "Now. Did ya want something to eat?"

"I... think I'll pass. Not really that hungry." Seeing the universe with his own eyes for the first time was rather jarring. Medusa was right about i being dog eat dog. Kill or be killed. Luckily for him, he was one of the biggest fish in the sea, so he didn't have to worry about the being killed part. By the same token, everyone else was terrified of being the killed part. Just as he left the diner, he saw a ship land. He stopped for a moment and out stepped none other than the Guardians of the Galaxy. "Ummm... Hi? I swear it's not what it looks like."

"You're telling me... That this chump is the one who kicked Darkseid's ass? I don't buy it for a second." Rocket said aiming a blasted at Otis who really didn't feel too threatened. Instead. Otis said one of the worst things he could have said at that moment:

"Is that a talking Raccoon?"

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

"You know how many Super-Villains there are for every Super-Hero out there? Twenty? Fifty? It was only a matter of time before someone organized all that latent talent. We got our greatest minds together and worked the whole thing out. The best people on our side for the best people on yours. This is the end."

Old Men

"You? You were a Super-Hero?"
"Don't go spoutin' it off to everyone. You want to get me killed? 'Sides, I ain't no Super-Hero anymore. Sit down. Let me tell you a story."

---

They took out the big shots first. A week before the attack, Quicksilver was smuggled onto the Watchtower with enough Kryptonite to kill Superman four times over, Captain Cold finally spilled the beans on Flash's secret identity, and someone had the bright idea to give Loki the Infinite Gauntlet and a yellow power ring. It took Valka two weeks to kill him, wrecking Asgard in the process, and when she finished, she fell into the Valkasleep a second later. The Executioner murdered her in her sleep. Damn dishonourable little...

Those three weren't the only ones, of course- Sentry and Hyperion were trapped in Trigon's dimension by the occults, and the Justice Queens were dragged off-world by the Sinestro Corps. Nobody knows what happened to them, or Xander and Naja, or most of the others, for that matter. Not that anyone with half a brain really cares anymore- It's been 50 years. They all abandoned us, or they're dead, or they're going to be soon. I do know that Red Skull has a trophy case up in his damn mockery of the White House- Cap's shield, Iron Man's armour, Manifest's Blade, countless others. If you want to know for sure whether someone is dead, look for their legacy there.

Gotham is run by the Joker and Two-Face. They killed everyone else, and now rule as the King and Court, respectively. One second you could be following the law to the letter, and the next be in jail for violating a brand new order from the Clown King. I'm surprised anyone is still alive there at all. Metropolis is gone. Not even a crater where it was, one second it was there, and the next, it was gone. Some folks say it was one of Strange's enemies, but I wouldn't be surprised by a damn thing anymore. At Coast City, however, you can very clearly see the crater.

Everyone knows that the Heroes' last stand happened in Vegas. What you don't get told is just how badly we got beat. We took down one. They massacred us. To be honest, I don't know who survived and who didn't. I gave up the fight 49 years ago, kid. The name's Monro. Trophy? Trophy is dead.

Old Men. Old Grudges. New Stories.

[Charmera]

"Chorus and I are of one mind in this. A forced peace is not a lasting peace." Spoke the blade, speaking from years of experience his voice didn't seem to indicate with it's youth, but one could tell this was a being which had been through much. "You seem to talk on how to keep everyone under control. But what of you? You have already shown yourself to be, no offense, monstrously arrogant and incredibly cocksure of your own plan and abilities to manage the entire universe."

"And Since I am being quite frank, I can tell you that I have seen many try to take over the world, the galaxy, the universe perhaps. And It's far too complex and big for one being to manage. No matter what status he or she might claim. And so what happens when you fail? When you break down? Who do we turn to then?"

You know, I think it might have been better to be quiet.

I have not lived all these years in a sword to shut up when I think someone is going to screw up the universe and declare himself god.

Didn't you call me a god or something too at some point?

Immaterial. Suffice to say that if this self proclaimed god cannot take harsh criticism, he doesn't deserve to run anything bigger than a latrine, much less a universe.

Zaki
The slime smiled as she looked at the little robot. "Good. Tell your Manifest if he wants his plaque back, he's going to have to come and ask me for it, and only after we have a polite and civil conversation. Namely about the horde of slimes outside the universe and an explanation of this facility." She spoke, patting the robot on the head affectionately. "Also, unless he starts using the words "Please" and "Thank you". I'm going to be stealing a whole lot more than plaques." She remarked. Walking into the earth room. She looked at them with a frown. I can't decide whether it's going to be good or bad when the invasion comes around that there are so many powerful beings who get on each others nerves on earth...

The construct nodded slowly. "I see now. Before I go on, let me explain what I mean when I refer to Manifest as a God." The construct raised his arm and a large screen lowered behind him. On it, Otis and Darkseid's fight appeared, just before Darkseid's death. "As you are no doubt aware, the New God known as Darkseid is dead. In his death, the cosmic balance was obliterated- A Multiversal constant simply ceased to be. Naturally, the Universe found a way to rectify this." He turned once more towards them, the scene on the screen changing instead to himself just before he became a God. Manifest was lucky there had been a camera focused on him when it happened. He said nothing as the Manifest on the screen simply stood still as black electricity gathered around him and then slammed into him from the sky. "I do not claim that Manifest is a God, visitors. I state it. Manifest is the God of Fragments, and one of the most powerful beings in the Universe at the moment." It allowed a pause for them to absorb this information before continuing. "I am not arrogant, visitors. I am well aware that there are countless beings more powerful than I. The World Dragons, for example. I count several of these beings as my friends. If you want assurance that I will not abuse my position, speak to my allies. I will be asking for their blessing in my endeavour, as well as asking them to take me down if I ever attempt to go farther than I have thus far proclaimed to you." Despite having no facial features, it seemed to smile calmly. "As for being spread too thin- He is the God of Fragments, visitors. He can fragment his own presence to better do his job. I, for instance, am one such fragment."

The Earth room
As she left, the small drone's light turned amber. Shortly thereafter, a metal construct, similar to the one speaking to the other party, arrived. "I apologize, Manifest himself is currently speaking to a World-Dragon, and as such, cannot spare himself to speak. I am a Fragment of Manifest, and thus have his full authority. What did you wish to speak about, visitor? Beyond that, please return the plaque for Experiment-3."

"So you're setting up this house of cards, and if it doesn't work you're just going to have someone put you down? What if they fail to stop you? Or worse, what if someone tries to bring your down and succeeds? What happens to the people your protecting if the system that supported them so long is suddenly gone? When the universal order you make breaks down, the best case scenario is that things will return to normal, the worst case scenario... Someone else worse than you. Someone who isn't trying to help."

"No. This is something that neither of us can support. We will not fight you yet, but you need to step down before you do some real damage. And when the inevitable backlash against this folly comes, we'll be there to say we told you so." Spoke the blade, and then Chorus gave him one last look, before walking towards the slime. Following where Zaki must have gone.

Lisa frowned. "This seems... too familiar. I once met someone who espoused the same things as you. She ended up taking over the world and nearly stripping me for parts. But..." she paused. "You haven't done anything hostile yet. And perhaps I could be a little optimistic and hope you don't." She then disappeared.

Only Julie was left. She seemed thoughtful with a hand on her chin. Then she nodded. "What you're saying makes a lot of sense actually." She remarked. "But... one person alone can't bring about peace." She then paused. "That's why I'm going to offer to help. With all of this."

Zaki
"I did say for manifest himself to talk to me." She replied, then paused and shrugged. "But you'll do I suppose. As long as I'm talking to manifest." She shrank down to her regular nine foot height. She then placed the plaque in his hands. "Now is not the time to go rooting out enemies within you do realise." She remarked, getting strait into what she wanted to discuss. "You have a horde of Xyrixma waiting to devour you all whole. And if your universe can't stop them, then I'm not sure who will."

[The Rebel Alliances]

Ralph the Rat-16 Yrs-Lexcorp, Metropolis

5 Hours Earlier

Metropolis was not hard to find, I walked alongside Etla in the streets as we made our way past crowds of humans, with the time now being early morning, the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon. The buzz of nearby televisions captured my gaze however, as I saw the pixelated image of what was no doubt a chaos emerald. It's glint and cut were unmistakable to someone who has trained himself to spot them, but to other observers it simply looked like just another rare jewel. The bald man who held it up for display on the screen gave a sly smile, as if to disarm the crowd with a glimpse of confidence. I stopped in front of a electronics shop, where televisions were displayed through a window with the news channel on to show off the product to potential customers. I could not hear the television for it being on the other side of the glass, but with the text at the bottom of the screen, informing me on what was being said between this wealthy businessman and the news station, I learned the man who had claimed the emerald was called, Lex Luthor. Through the text and subtitles, he crossed his hands as he excitedly detailed his plan to the news anchor, who was all too eager to understand what vision Luthor had for Metropolis...no, the world. The details seemed to fall between the lines, as I grew impatient to locate the emerald, or rather simply go claim it, as I already know where it is. But there was something, something about this Lex Luthor as he calls himself. Unable to pin anything on it, I could not even begin to contemplate if his desire to improve things using the emerald were genuine, or if he was like so many others, hiding a lust for power behind noble deeds.

In deep thought, I glanced upwards to Etla, who had become my traveling companion for the duration of our quest. Wondering if she was thinking the same things as I. Or if she had ever encountered this Luthor before, or heard of him. I had considered asking if she new anything on him, but decided that would not have much point, as we need to see him regardless for the next emerald. Without a single word, I led her away and to the large monolith which pierced the sky as the tallest building in Metropolis, Lex Corp.

Present

I had expected difficulty in gaining entrance to Lex Corp, honestly I was prepared for a fight to get in. But as soon as me and Etla approached the front entrance, we were met by an intern who informed us both that, Mr. Luthor, as she called him. Expected us. With that surprise, we were whisked away and into an elevator as we ascended the sky scraper and arrived on the highest floor, the one holding his office. Which was extremely wide and with pane windows giving a full view of the city around us. At first glance giving any would be assassin a clear view of everything inside, but I assumed there was some defensive quality to prevent such a attempt. When Lex spotted us, he seemed to bear no surprise at all to being in the company of a rainborn and a talking rat. In fact, he seemed quite comfortable, as he rose he made sure that he was the first to speak. "Welcome to the...City of Tomorrow, as they call it. I would offer some idle discussion, but I believe that you are here for a reason, are you not? Tell me, why have you come to Metropolis to seek me out? And what are your names?" His smile was growing more common, but something bothered me about it. I...don't like it. I do not like his smile. But nevertheless I stepped forward. "I am called Ralph the Rat, and my friend is called Etla...a Rainborn. We seek something that you have recently come in possession of, the Chaos Emerald." A flash in his eyes seemed to confirm that we have clenched his expectations. "That is what I had anticipated. So, you do come from the world where this marvelous power source hails from." He stood from hsi seat now and began to walk around his desk, I took a step closer to him. More authority in my voice.

"Where is it?" A command disguised as a question. He held up a single hand as if to calm me down. "Slow down my small friend. I can see that you desire to obtain the Emerald...something like this must have a protector, and I am to assume that you...are it's guardian?" I then gave a natural and automatic response. "I am." Not aware that I was actually freely giving information away in a interrogation disguised as a discussion. Lex then punched in several keys on a computer and brought up several holographic images of the Chaos Emerald, although from these images it was impossible to know where the jewel was located. "I suspect that there are more of these...Chaos Emeralds as you called them, and that they react to each other. Growing more powerful if they are in close proximity. Is my deduction wrong?" I was growing impatient, as I crossed my arms and gave a very brief one word answer, telling him to get to a point.

"No." The smile grew ever wider, almost literally stretching across his face.

"Of course, I do have a...proposition for you. But before I explain further, I must know. Are you the only one seeking out the Chaos Emeralds?" Eager to hear what he had to say so that I could ascertain if I could reclaim the Emerald diplomatically, I answered quickly. "No, there are others." This seemed to close the deal for him. As he stood up straight and towered over the both of us, exuding a complete feeling of control of the situation. As the holographic panels changed to scenes of the Black Doom invasion of Earth. "Thank you, my furry friend. You have been a great help. I had deduced that this, otherworldly invasion was a product of these Emeralds. But they also have the power to stop this threat as well. For now, they have avoided Metropolis, perhaps out of fear of who...defends this city. But that will not last forever. I can see that you are a pure soul, and desire to protect the emeralds from those who would use them for harm. But tell me my young friend, what good are you truly doing? If you gather this gift to mankind simply to hide it away? In the short time that I have possessed the Emerald, I have already discovered that it's qualities will be able to power this entire city, self sufficiently. Now tell me, if I were to hand this Emerald to you? How would the world benefit?" The man placed me on the spot, and I almost gave the instinctual answer that I could use it to defend the planet from the invasion, but doing so also placed it in risk of being claimed by the forces of the Black Doom.

From the way he looked at me, he could tell what I was thinking, and he gave me a comforting pat on my head as he explained his proposition. "I can see that you desire to help mankind, you and your ally. Allow me to allow you to do so. Partner with me, and together the three of us can work and not only save this world and billions of lives. But secure a future for it. Go and claim the Chaos Emeralds from the grip of Black Doom, and bring them to me where they will be safe from his grip. Once we have them all collected, I will allow you to harness their power to end this threat, and then I ask you to trust me with them, so that we can use the power of the Emeralds to end all need for natural resources on this planet. Imagine it, a world without war or shortage of power, where all can benefit from the power of the Emeralds to enhance their lives, and use this power...for the technology of peace." By now I felt out of my league. As I never even considered such a possibility.

I began to frantically look from him, to Etla...as if asking one of them to tell me what to say. I never once expected the meeting to go like this, and the more I thought about it....perhaps simply defending the Chaos Emeralds were not enough...and if they did get out of control, there is always the Master Emerald...no, it's on New Mobius, it would need to be brought here to act as a check on their power. But could I trust letting Lex know about the existence of the Maser Emerald? He already knows of the Chaos Emeralds. My eyes sunk to the carpet beneath m feet as the weight of the decision lay on my shoulders.

"I...had not trusted anyone with the holding of the Chaos Emeralds since the one I met called...Mad Max..." It was then that Lex addressed me once more.

"Max! I knew the man. A king and a hero. He forged his nation into a real, Land of Tomorrow. But what made him such a great being was not battling cosmic forces." Lex's voice softened. "Instead it was his willingness to make the hard decisions no one else could. If he trusted you, he must have seen that same trait in you. Tell me, can you carry that burden, Ralph the Rat?"

Once more the weight fell upon me. More crushing than any physical force I carried so far. I looked up at Etla once more, and then back to Luthor.

"Could I, speak to Etla in private for a moment? I have...much to think about." He seemed disappointed but did not decline.

"Of course, use this office as long as you need, but I would not take too long. You may have much time...but Earth does not." And with that, he set a small device down on his desk.

"That is a simple transmitter. Just hit the button when you are ready to signal me and I will return when you are done borrowing my office." With that he hastily exited, and I turned to Etla. Looking for some kind of confirmation.

The question was simple, and we needed to be quick.

"Do you trust him?"

[The Republic of Atria]

Xander flew down to Craig when he arrived. "There you are. We have a bunch to discuss." He said and walked with him. "I'm sure you've noticed that Earth isn't exactly the prettiest place in the galaxy. The Kree, Shi'ar, hell, even the SKRULLS are doing okay. They've solved most of their physical problems. Hunger, population, disease for the most part. Apparently they, and the Kree, can still develop cancer. Which is a bit strange. Regardless. I have all this Kryptonian tech... And I have no idea what I'm doing on that front." He explained. "I don't really know the full extent of what it can do. I have theories, but you're the tech guy who can tell me if what I'm imagining is impossible. Namely. Weather control. I know there's a mutant with that ability, so in theory it should be possible to mimic it with this technology."

"I have man power. Right now we're training our many new recruits. Fly with me." He said taking to the sky to Praetoria's training area. "This is where we train our new recruits. I finally gave Zod an outlet, and I have Naja keeping an eye on him. Say what you want about the man, he knows how to fight. But the good news is that for the most part, everyone is invulnerable. Which is good because he can be... Overzealous. Anyways. It's not perfect, but he's not going overboard and keeps him out of trouble." He said leading him to his workshop. "And this is where we keep everything we're not using at the moment. You're a technopath, so you're going to have to let me know if it's all junk, or if we can actually make something out of it. I also wanted to see about manipulating matter. That'll curb resource issues."


Otis

He called Rocket a Raccoon. That was a mistake which earned him several bolts of plasma. "...Was it something I said?" He asked. "If it wasn't for those new God powers I got that probably would have hurt or killed me... So. I'll forget about that. It was kind of funny to see you overreact anyways." He said and Rocket jumped on him attempting to choke him, but Otis might as well have been made of stone. "So... Are you like the mascot or..." He said pulling the creature off of him and holding him out a few feet in front of him.

"How?! How could such a bullshit species KILL DARKSEID?!" Rocket hissed as Otis put him down. "Call me a mascot again pal, and I'll show you-"

"Alright Rocket, cool it." Star Lord said and stepped forward. "He can be a little trigger happy. We got reports that someone worse than Darkseid was attacking. We come to check it out and you're here. Now that I get a closer look... You wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I mean... Yeah. I'm a pacifist. Darkseid was more the exception than the rule. Of course when I did kill him, everyone was complaining to me that I did a bad thing. I was like, What?! It's freaking Darkseid. Who in their right minds is going to miss that psycho? And before Rocket decides to shoot me again, I am every bit as powerful as he was. The difference being that I'm not going to mass murder people for shiggles. I've had a bad few days and just wanted to get away from everything for awhile." He explained.

"How about you come with us?" Star Lord asked solely for the reason that he wanted to keep an eye on him.

"I'm good." Otis replied. "I just want to be alone for a bit. Thanks for the offer though. Maybe some other time." As he tried to walk away, Star Lord stepped in front of him. "Excuse me."

"Listen. I think you should stay with us. Things aren't exactly in the best of conditions at the moment, and you scaring the crap out of people is going to be helping things. Besides. If you're looking to help out with trouble, we're usually there."

"That's really cool of you, but I'm not looking for trouble. I just want to go for a nice long walk across the galaxy and clear my head." He tried to get around Star Lord but was stopped by Drax. Otis closed his eyes. "I'm leaving." He said firmly and floated into the air. At which point he was shot by Rocket. It didn't do anything, but Otis was beginning to get annoyed. "Leave me alone. I haven't hurt anyone and I don't intend to."

"You ain't going nowhere until we say so pal. Now put your feet on the ground." Rocket said ready to shoot him again.

Otis raised an eyebrow. "Trust me guys... You keep this up and you're going to have a bad time."

[The Five Galaxies]

Uriel blinked in surprise as the Hamon energy he had released disappointed and he acclimatized to the ambient energy on the Moon. Being an angel of Final Heaven the innate powers he possessed were just a lesser reflection of his creators own powers, but through them he could sense a powerful presence of a person nearby; it was quite unlike anything he had really sensed before. A powerful mixture of light and darkness in a singular being that felt paradoxical. It practically wounded his sensibilities and he felt compelled to seek it out.

"This individual could have knowledge on how to get me to my home." For a while Uriel could not tell if it was himself or the voice in the back of his head who had spoken.

"In any case," Uriel sighed. "I simply cannot let such a mystery exist nearby and not try to understand it."

Dashing out of the cavern he had blasted into the ground for himself, Uriel jogged across the Moon's surface in the direction of the energy. Uriel subconsciously altered his body to be prepared for combat - he was an inexperienced fighter but the genetic memories of countless species from his own world gave him an edge in instinct. His teeth sharpened themselves, a layer of superdense-muscular tissue built up beneath his skin, and his senses sharpened themselves so that he could feel motion through the ground. At last he came across the source of the light and dark energy, and by the slow pace he had taken to get here, Uriel was sure they were aware of him approaching as well.

"Who are you?" Uriel said, his tone neutral and eyes focused on the man in front of him.

[The Fallen Jedi]

- Snip -

Lord Satera/The Highfather of Mortis

Satera stared down at the planet of Earth with a blank expression on his face, with one eye glowing red, and another glowing light blue, meaning that both Alastir and Spera were also staring down at the planet, while the blue eye showed unsure emotions, the red eye's emotions could be very easily read, it was anger, hatred, and rage against the planet of Earth, Alastir was getting impatient and felt as if he could no longer wait to strike, the desire to attack the planet was growing with each passing second, but before he could do anything he regretted, he heard the voice of Uriel, causing the red and blue eyes to switch back to the golden hue, signifying that the two consciousnesses had become one yet again, Satera's personality taking hold once more.

Slowly turning to the angellic being that he sensed from behind him, Satera's golden eyes made contact with Uriel's, and behind Satera's eyes were a sea of calm and quiet emotions within, but his eyes were still stone-cold serious as they always were, his composure never being lost as he spoke in a brass yet silky smooth voice "Ah, what divine energy!" Satera smiled, rising up, revealing his towering yet muscular form in all of it's majesty, Lord Satera, the Primordial God looking down upon Uriel with a small smile on his face "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Lord Satera, the fusion of Lord Alastir, Lord Spera, and even the remaining consciousness of Lord Ouranos, the last living Primordial Consciousness, and while I too am a Primordial, my fusion stems from both Dark God Alastir and Light God Spera, meaning that both of their powers now flow through me, now that I have said who I am..." Satera continued staring at Uriel with a small smile, his golden eyes lighting up in fascination "Why not tell me who you are my angelic friend."

[The Five Galaxies]

- Snip -

- Snip -

"Ah!" Uriel gasped, taken back by surprise. "A fused being? I've heard stories of beings like you from my creator."

That certainly explained the mystery of the polarizing energies radiating from this mysterious individual; a Dark God and a Light God combined into a single entity. Even Uriel as an angel could not hold back that he was impressed by that; in the Final Heaven there was but a single God without light or darkness and what stories of fusion had been told in passing to the angels had not included any methods on how to do it though Uriel knew some had experimented in secret. That this Universe he found himself in had several Gods and knowledge of fusion made him very curious.

What made him even more curious was when we caught the words 'Primordial Consciousness'.

"My name is Uriel. I'm an angel from the Final Heaven," Uriel hesitated, going on after he felt the divine energy emitted from Satera again. "You truly are a God, so do you have knowledge or ability on contacting other Gods across Multiversal distances? My creator has spoken of something called 'Primordial Consciousness' long ago, it may be that he has heard of you before, or encountered your kind in the past. I am in desperate need of contacting my home Universe, and my creator is the only one powerful enough to return me there."

[The Republic of Atria]

Otis decided that enough was enough and that he was just going to fly away. Which seemed to work. Rocket was taking pot shots at him but they weren't really anything more than a colorful light show. A minute or so later they had gotten in their ship and were prepared to shoot him with that. "Okay. That's it." He said and fired the Omega Beams. For a split second they all believed they were going to die until they saw that Otis had warped them to the Sol system... Several lightyears away. "You asked for it..." He muttered to himself and flew through space taking in the sights and trying to decide where he was going to go next. As he was flying, his cosmic senses began to pick something up. Being him and their use being rather rare, he stopped looking around wondering what could possibly be doing it. It was getting closer and closer and was going quite quickly. He braced himself for the worst when it stopped right in front of him. The Silver Surfer. "Huh... You're making my new senses go nuts guy..."

"Do you not know who I am?"

"To be honest, you look familiar, but I really have no idea." He admitted. "You're here probably because you know who I am, right?" Otis asked. "Please tell me you're not going to fight me. I've told like everyone that I'm a pacifist. I have more power than I know what to do with. And on top of that, I didn't even want it. They were all like: You're gonna be Darkseid and LIKE IT. Of course I had no say in the matter."

"I am aware of the death of the Dark God." He listened as Otis droned on about being constantly under fire despite seemingly having done nothing. He seemed like a good person. "What are you doing all the way from your world?"

"I... Found out someone that I trusted and looked up to, used, lied, and manipulated me. I'm not a weapon. I'm not a killer. I just want to live my life and be me. I've been trying to do that for the last... I don't even remember how long ago that was. You haven't tried to stop me. I'm trying not to lose my temper. I really am, but the longer this drags on, the more I just want to explode. It's the entire universe against me."

"Not quite the entire universe. I understand the burden of unimaginable power and the will not to use it for your own ends. I have explored the universe to a great extent. I can show you the most peaceful areas if you wish."

"You know what? I'll take you up on that. Got anything with a beach? I love the beach." Otis asked and Surfer nodded and took off at incredible speeds. Otis trailed him for about half an hour before they stopped in the upper atmosphere of a beautiful planet. Otis flew towards the beach where he wanted to be, used the Omega Effect to create a lounge chair. "Thank you. I'm probably just going to sit here for awhile... Thank you. For not attacking me. Or lying to me. Or anything else." He said and laid back with his eyes closed. Surfer had left Otis to his devices. Otis was finally getting the peace and quiet that he wanted.

At least until a ship pulled into the planet's gravity a few hours after Otis had dozed off...

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"Oh, I get it, so you're banned from dying." The white-haired kid said after a moment. He was standing next to a red stain on the ground that had been him a few seconds ago, but he didn't seem very disturbed by it, if he even acknowledged it at all. He was apparently more concerned with keeping the dust off his black cloak, even though it really didn't matter if it got dirty or not because literally no one would notice. The truth was that there was a lot of dust floating around in the air of that empty planet, especially because of the crust-rattling impact that had struck it earlier, an impact which, incidentally, had also generated the red stain on the floor. However, oblivious to the earthquakes currently rippling through the entire planet and indifferent to the fate that had befallen him earlier, the child just gave up on dusting himself off and simply attempted to adjust the hood that was covering his head, to no avail either, before finally looking up at the gray titan with blue eyes that appeared to be innocent but in truth held nothing similar to innocence.

"It must really suck." He stated.

The next moment there was another red stain on the ground.

But if there was something that the mighty Thanos of Titan, butcherer of worlds and spurned lover of Death, had learned during the past hour or so, it was that the kid in the black cloak was a pest that was incredibly difficult to get rid of. Sure enough, after just a few moments, he felt something crawling down his back, and no, it wasn't his sins. Thanos gritted his teeth as he felt the kid climb up to his head and then jump off to land in front of him.

"I mean, I'm not saying it's a bad thing or anything like that, but it must be so very boring." The child said as he glanced at the pair of bloody spots that had once been him, though he paid them no mind and turned back to the Mad Titan quickly enough. "Trust me on this. I would know, I'm probably older than you." The boy continued as he crouched on the quaking earth and began to draw a pair of diagrams that quite honestly made no sense, not to the hyper-advanced intellect of the conqueror of Titan, and not to anyone else who might have possibly gazed upon them. Thanos briefly wondered if it was the method of execution that allowed the nuisance to keep coming back, but that was unlikely, considering he had, in the past hour, utilized pretty much every power at his disposal to try and kill him, with no success.

"There! Okay, so, you're banned from death right?" The child said as he stood up. "Well, I'm exempt from it. I'm not really 'alive' in the first place. I looked it up in this internet site where they document superpowers and stuff like that and they said I was 'amortal' as opposed to 'immortal'... though they also kept telling me to stop 'acting in-character' or something like that..." He scratched his head a little during the ensuing pause. "Anyway! It's a really minor difference and in practice it's the same thing pretty much, so, that's why I'm telling you I know how boring it is that you can't die. I've been through it... or am going through it, I guess? I should brush up on grammar again sometime. But, what I'm getting at is, since we're both guys who can't die and know how boring it is to just hang around for the rest of eternity... do you want to be my friend?" The kid finished, offering his hand to the Mad Titan.

The response was quick to arrive.

"NO!"

There was a slam. And then another. And another. It was hard to tell how many there were in total, but, if by chance there had been an omnipresent observer whom one could ask to know the exact number, said observer would likely mention the number twenty-seven. Give or take a few.

"Getting real tired of your shit, Thanos." The kid remarked calmly. Thanos turned to face him.

"I have heard more than I cared to hear, rat. This pointless banter ends now. I, Thanos, demand it!" The Mad Titan spoke as he threw out his fist to slay the boy one last time before going back to his ship, planning to evacuate before the planet imploded, which would hopefully take care of the nuisance as well.

Much to his surprise, his fist stopped.

When, after a minute or so, the Mad Titan was able to shake off his surprise and figure out why his fist had not gone through the frail body of the child like so many times before. There, in front of him, he could see the object that his blow had collided with, a disembodied blue aura of sorts that hovered in the middle of the air, before the boy's open palm. His right eye, too, was glowing an unnaturally bright blue, undoubtedly emitting much more light than his left, which was the same shade of blue as always. Frowning, Thanos struck the aura time and time again, but for some reason he could not seem to get past it, which angered him even further. How could this child conjure something that he, the mighty Thanos, could not destroy?

"How?!" The Mad Titan voiced his thoughts. The kid giggled.

"Well, like I said, you and I are the exception, but... things die all the time, you know? Stars, planets, people, animals..." The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "Pangalactic warlords, alien powerhouses, cosmic deities..." He continued, flashing a toothy grin at Thanos. "And all those things that are dead, I get to play with them, y'now?" He explained, evidently being a lot more amused by this situation than he had been during the entire previous conversation with Thanos. "This one's a dragon. They're pretty awesome, you know? I think the scales on this one could shrug off a few more of your hits each, not that I care to test it. He was mean to me, though, so that's why I'm letting you hit him. I don't like having the nice ones get hurt if I can help it. I mean, I can pretty much undo all the damage to them since they're just souls and I can do whatever I want with them, but that doesn't mean theey don't feel it and since they're nice to me I prefer to spare them the distaste of getting hit whenever possible. Some of them are really cute and it makes me feel sorry that they had to die so I try to give them an easy time." The white-haired boy rambled on, evidently upsetting Thanos even more. However, something soon interrupted them.

"Ohoho." The boy grinned. Thanos' cosmic awareness had gone haywire for a moment, signifying that in another part of the universe something very trascendental had just happened, and after a moment, he understood what it was. A very powerful creature had been bested in combat, and its power had been split among several mortals. The boy, however, had no cosmic awareness to rely on, and so, that meant he had come to the same conclusion through other means. Said other means, evidently, coincided with the fact that a very powerful soul had just landed in his arsenal of dead creatures.

"Hey Thanos," The boy called, right eye still glowing brightly. "Wanna see my new toy?" He asked.

Thanos was about to protest, when Darkseid's fist slammed into his face, sending him flying away a good distance, all while the child simply couldn't stop giggling, his laughter eventually breaking out and echoing through the barren, quaking plains of that desolate planet. But eventually, he calmed down, and looked around, scratching his nose as he realized that the planet was going to explode due to the punches any second now.

"Golly, I knew I was missing something. I shouldn't have come to play here without a plan for getting out afterwards." The kid stated, no longer talking to Thanos or anyone in particular. "Oh, well. I don't like bothering you much, but I'm in a pinch. Mirikkalis, mind giving me a ride?" He asked politely.

"My child, you really have the strangest whims." Spoke a disembodied voice. "I would, however, appreciate if you treated my brother a little better next time."

Then, all of the sudden, a spectral dragon appeared in the air in front of him, and the boy was quick to climb up onto it's back. "Fine, fine, I'll stop torturing Sevvaranú." He said as he got comfortable between two scales. "And I told you to call me Necromancer!" He said. The two of them took off.

Seeing them fly away, Thanos couldn't help reconsidering his career path.

---

"Investigate... I suppose you could say that, yes." Hadrimmelis spoke after hearing out Manifest's words, not entirely convinced of the goodwill with which he expressed himself. While it was true that for the most part she had little reason to distrust the man who had helped defend her people from the Builders during the Builder War, but she felt a sinister intent behind the creation of the Universal Fortress that simply had to be explained before she agreed to accept that this was still the same Manifest she had befriended. Much as she would have preferred to just let him be, she couldd not quite discern what he was thinking... and thanks to that she realized the barriers in place; whereas he had some time ago promised, despite the great value that humans placed on their privacy, that his mind would always be open for her, now it was completely surrounded by mental blocks that were also stronger than the ones that had been in place before, likely owing to Manifest's apparent new nature as a God. Slightly annoyed by this turn of events, she smashed through his barriers out of spite, like a cannonball smashing through a sheet of glass. She refrained from doing anything else, though, not even bothering to probe his mind any further, and so her actions would likely only stun Manifest momentarily.

"Now then, this... domain, as you call it." The Black Dragon spoke as she walked further into the Universal Fortress, not bringing any attention to what had just happened. "What is it supposed to be, my friend? What is the purpose you seek to fulfill by creating this... thing? Surely you did not build it on a whim; I am fairly certain there are other means to test your new abilities as a God than to fill empty space with... this." The goddess said.

---

---

Still trying to get her spinning head under control and make sense of what had just happened to her, Kirisvala had not yet paid any attention to her surroundings, and so, when she noticed that Mars was there with her and heard him talking to her, she hastily turned in his direction, and then away, now feeling very self-conscious. During the months that had passed since the mission in South America and the arrival of Rin to the team, Mars had become more handsome, and while she still enjoyed his company (and arguably enjoyed it more than before), it also made her feel a little strange. Nonetheless, she listened to his questions and tried to answer, though there was an awkward pause, since she was at a loss of what to say due to her brief distraction.

"Um..." She started. "I... I was just training, and then... the sky started turning purple, and... I think... a beam went through me, and then I blacked out." She explained a bit nervously. She knew that it wasn't much to go off of, and it likely raised more questions than it answered, but it was all she knew. Well, mostly, at least. "And..." She continued, unsure of what she was about to say but knowing that she had to say it anyway. "There was... there was this voice... telling me to wake up, and... calling me 'goddess of names'." She stated, not sure of what it meant or how Mars would take it.

She then decided to ask something herself. "Did you..." She began, blushing slightly as she faced Mars. "Did you carry me here?" She asked.

---

---

Etla shrugged. "He sounds like one of those silvertongued politician types who like to tell people what they want to hear, but on the other hand, that doesn't mean he's evil or anything, I guess, and I can't really claim to know if he's lying or not." The Rainborn stated. She was not the smartest cookie in the alien robot cookie jar for sure, but she had learned some things after having been staying on Earth for over two years, and so, she could tell that Lex was probably not being completely honest, but as far as saying that he was being completely dishonest, well, she couldn't say that either. Perhaps he did genuinely care about the betterment of the human race, in which case she had nothing against him, though she still would've preferred it if the Chaos Emerald had fallen in the hands of someone less sketchy and more trustworthy, like Craig (her bias there was painfully obvious).

"Still," She continued. "I think we should trust him. Even if he's not telling the truth, he only has one of these, right? And he doesn't seem to be using it for anything other than improving the city, so it's probably safe to leave it here; it looks pretty secure, and there's the blue flying guy to keep watch over it as well. We can gather the others and then decide if we want to give them to this guy or take this one too, right?" She suggested.

[Baxten]

Daniel Cruise

Daniel was sitting on his couch, watching TV while eating a frozen meal. He was awaiting a call about his new home. He saw the progress last week, and was very excited about it finishing. Daniel heard a call on his cell phone, and it was from the home-building people. He answered excitedly, saying "Hello?" The lady replied, saying "Your new house has been finished and ready to move in. I hope you enjoy your new home, Mr. Cruise". Daniel said "Thank you", hung up, and got in his car, going to his new house. It was a twenty minute drive before he got there, but the house was beautiful. He was so excited to live in this new place.

The house was very chic and modern, having the newest amenities installed. Daniel went into his bedroom with his suitcases, and put them on the ground. He went out onto the balcony, looking out towards the ocean and the horizon. He watched as fish swam and leaped from the ocean, and the waves hitting the rocky shore. Daniel was on a secluded cliff, away from the city. He watched the evening sun setting on the glistening ocean, and was struck with awe. He went back inside, and went to his basement in order to see his new, secret base underground. He had built this himself before he called the contractors to build on the plot, and they only way they didn't see it was that he had put layers upon layers of stone there. It had its own separate water and electricity system and its own, much more protected wifi. He had made a hangar to hold aircraft, and two huge stones on the mountain could open up to let the vehicle in and out. Daniel went into his room and fell asleep, amazed by his new house.

[Illica Falki]

"An Oversized Monkey with apparent super intelligence.." Vera Corrects, taking off her helmet and taking in a breath of fresh air.
After stepping through the door she stopped and turned to Xyri. "No, you're not stupid" She states, shaking her head dismissively. She barely noticed Xyri didn't help with the paperwork. It was almost second nature to her, she did most of it theough memory of having done paperwork like it before at the lab. That was apperently one peice of training that stuck. " Don't feel bad about the paperwork, theirs was a mess anyways."

"Not every monkey has a laser pistol and knows how to operate one." She remarked. Then sighed and looked down, awkwardly shuffling her foot, which was kinda comical for someone of her size."Are you sure... like... people think I am. And there are a lot of things I don't know. How do you tell if your stupid? Is there a test?" She remarked, then sighed. "I'm bad at tests..." She remarked, remembering she once went to school. It was a thing she never wished to repeat.

"You may not be book smart, but you are not an idiot." Vera states, shaking her head dismissively yet again "Taking a test wouldn't prove if your smart or not, you'd be relying on someone else to mark the test. And if there's one thing I remember from my time at a lab, they can Never make up their damn mind on what they want you to do."
Vera reaches to put her hand of Xyri's shoulder, before realizing that there's not much for her to grab, sighing before getting back to her thought. "At least you went to school... Everything I learned was in the lab I was brought up in... You had the chance to make friends and learn new things, I didn't."

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars looked up at Kiris and waited patiently as Kiris began to compose herself. He then listened to her answer and was quite puzzled, a flash of purple light in the sky? Random beams of energy? Some weird voice telling Kiris she was the goddess of names? Mars mind was flooding questions and he was eager to have more information but just as he went to inquire further he stopped himself. He realized Kiris had told him all she knew and that questioning her further would only make her more startled. So he decided he'd leave them for later.

"It's alright Kiris, I'm just glad you're safe. Don't worry, we'll figure out whatever it is that happened. When you're feeling better and are rested, I'll do an examination." He blushed at that and quickly clarified. "Just a blood test and stuff, just to make sure everything's okay, it won't be a big deal." Mars told her to try to put her mind at ease. In reality though he had no idea what he would find. He had never heard of anything like what Kiris had experienced before.

He was then caught off guard by Kiris' question and it was now his turn to be flustered. He blushed brightly and stammered a bit before answering. "Well... I mean ya. But, it... wasn't a big deal or anything. I was just, scared you were hurt was all. So I wanted to get you to your room as soon as possible." He said, speaking a little quicker than he normally did, diverting his eyes so that he was looking a bit more at the floor than he was Kiris.

[The Republic of Atria]

Otis slept soundly. No worries. No one trying to use him. Just peace and quiet. At least until he felt something jabbing him. It was enough that he woke up, but didn't open his eyes. "I don't know who or what that is, if you can understand me, go away. If you're a small animal, shoo..." He said waving his foot in the direction he thought it was. He thought whatever it was went away, for about 2 seconds when he felt something trying to cut him. Namely his throat. He grabbed the blade and opened his eyes to a man and a woman. The man having his blade against his throat. Which Otis snapped. "Alright. Two options. You either apologize for waking me up and then leave. Or. We go down the path that ends poorly for the both of you." Both of them backed up a bit when Otis started standing up. "Huh. Okay. You can start on your three part apology... Now."

"An arrogant one. The eyes match those of the Dark one. And his flesh is not so easily cut." The woman said.

"Oh God fucking dammit." Otis said finally having had enough. "You want proof I killed Darkseid?! Here's my fucking proof!" Shouting at the top of his lungs, Otis blasted both of them with the Omega beams. Not enough to kill them, but more than enough to hurt like hell. Both the man and the woman hollered in pain as they bounced along the sand. They tried to get back on their feet to see the red omega energies smoldering off of Otis' eyes. "Is that proof enough, or should I turn them up a little higher? Cause I can do that. Or I could warp you to the nearest star. Or rather, inside the star." He hissed. To which they responded by laughing at him. "And might I ask what's so funny?"

"You cannot threaten someone with what they want..."

"Oh... I get it now. Weird masochist thing. Okay then. How about I kill one of you, and then make the other immortal? I can do that." That got their attention. Otis decided to start burning off some pent up anger by playing a cruel trick across time and space. "I'm feeling nasty at the moment." He said and blasted Proxima, leaving nothing more than a scorched area of sand. To Corvus, it appeared that he lover was killed, but he was about to be cursed with immortality. However, Proxima wasn't dead. Otis just simply moved her to the safest place he could think of: Earth's moon. "As for you... Hmm... Yeah. I'm gonna boost your body's healing ability so such a degree that you can come back from anything that doesn't completely erase you from existence. I told you to leave me alone. But as we say on Earth. Don't kick the hornet's nest if you don't wanna get stung."

"Enough." Called a voice that caught Otis' attention. Thanos, The Mad Titan. "Please return my servant to her proper place." Thanos knew she wasn't dead. Otis rolled his eyes and brought her back as he requested. "Leave us. I will speak to the boy alone."

"See how far saying please gets you?" He asked both of them as they walked back to Thanos' ship. "Since you asked nicely. I'll give you five minutes to speak. You're... Thanos. If my motherbox is to believed. She hasn't been wrong this far. If you want to kill me, gonna tell you right now. Darkseid tried that. He didn't get very far."

Thanos saw right through Otis. Engaging in a physical fight wouldn't be terribly smart. Otis might not be as skilled Darkseid was, but he was young and unpredictable. He could be a useful minion if he played the right cards. "Forgive Proxima and Corvus. They were simply ensuring you were who I believed you to be. Darkseid was a foe of mine that I had yet to defeat. And yet, you, a genetic misfit, was able to do so. However you were able to accomplish this does not concern me.I have an offer to make you." Otis so far hadn't made any measures to attack him, so it was clear that he was listening. "You're angry at the universe for forcing you into this position. Given your location, I take it you simply wanted to be left alone. Come with me and I assure you that you will get the peace you desire."

Otis had enough common sense to know that Thanos was playing him. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... He thought to himself and decided to play along. "Alright. Fine. But the second I see any funny business, I'm warping everyone into the nearest supernova."

[The Starlight]

There is a man, upon a little world which its inhabitants call Earth. And this man, he is not the mightiest hero nor the leader of a cabal, no, this man, he is a good man. A righteous man. A gentle man. And his mind, his imagination, that is his true power. One good man against the world, one good man attempting to save this world from itself. His world was one that was cruel and soul-crushing, with millions drowning in poverty and shame, or in their own debauchery and skewed moral compasses. But there are gems, gems of silver that you can find in all that dirt and mud, and when you hold them up to the sun, their light is blinding. Craig Thomsen is such a man. To the Artificer Absolute of Earth-616, Eternity, the literal embodiment of the universe said this. "Humans are remarkable creatures, and you are among the most remarkable. Across the multiverse, universal constants are nearly impossible to find. One of them, is Earth, it is the center of the multiverse. Another, is myself. And yet another, is the fact that across all the alternate realities, you, Craig Thomsen, remain a good man trying to fix your world, all save one. In one reality you lost your way. " I have lived for millennium, and thus, I have learned many things in my observations. There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man. This is a story of that one Craig Thomsen who went astray. This is a story of what happened when a good man went to war. This is a story of the wrath of a gentle man. And as you read this tale, I ask you to evaluate him and not judge until you have finished reading. And then, tell me this, dear readers. Was Craig Thomsen of Earth-715 a good man?

And who am I?

I am he who watches, silently, without judgement. Always watching, always vigilant, always silent. I see all, and yet, do not, cannot judge the watched.
Diary Entry #74312 of the Watcher.

The Wrath of a Gentle Man

ARGUS Base #13, Level 45
Underneath Henderson, Nevada

It had been a year, since Craig Thomsen had been captured and tortured by the organization known as ARGUS, or Advanced Research Group United Support. Their objective? Force the young inventor to create weapons capable of immobilizing or killing the most powerful of supers. Craig, had resisted, and had, in the last hour, successfully initiated an escape plan that had been created by compiling observations from his 67 other attempts in the last year.

Stepping over the bodies of two soldiers he had incapacitated, the mutant used his technopathic powers to access the camera feed and look at what Waller would throw at him next. What he saw horrified him, and for a moment he stood as a deer in headlights, watching Etla, his beloved Rainborn emerge from a hole she had blasted in the facility, launching herself at the Red Hulk. In that very moment, he was completely vulnerable to any attack. She was too soon! he thought in panic. Over the course of the year, he had accounted for the fact that Etla and the rest of his employees would be looking for him, and he had made his armor turn on its tracking systems the moment it escaped from the signal-jammed containment field it had been kept in. But he hadn't anticipated that she would arrive so soon, and that the Red Hulk would be awaiting her. For a moment longer he watched, knowing that she was more powerful than himself, and yet, he was afraid. The Hulk would only get angrier and therefore stronger from Etla's attacks, but he feared that she did not know that.

And that galvanized him into action, Craig turning his palms upward, and blasting the ceiling apart. He didn't have time to take the elevators, and if he brought down the whole complex down on Waller and her goons, that would be a favorable outcome. The race to the surface began, Craig reverting all of the power in his cores to the flight and speed systems, ignoring the AI's voice which warned that the armor's integrity was down to 35%. And as the AI busied itself with blasting a path straight up for Craig in his argent armor, he watched the camera feed as the small, armored figure that was his love, battling a red behemoth, leaping aside again and again as Ross slammed his fists down, the shining Rainborn delivering a slash each time, Ross howling in pain as his face and chest was marked by a multitude of scars and gashes.

Being focused completely on the fight, essentially flying autopilot, he was caught unaware by a plasma cannon fired at him, which he could not evade as the narrow tunnel created by his blasts allowed no room for maneuver. He coughed out blood, the mouthpiece of his armor opening up on his command, his heart also paining him, as it had been for the last year. But he had no time to worry about himself, and he accessed the camera feed to see something that made him leap up and revert all primary and reserve power into speed: Etla blasting the Red Hulk with light. Behind his armor, Craig's face was set in a frown as he recalled the files he had read, from which the young inventor had learned that Ross could absorb energy. Etla's attack had only served to strengthen him tenfold, and that was proven by a punch that had sent Etla clean through two walls. Craig frowned, connecting his power cores to those of the bases, sending his speed up to 350% of its normal capacity as he raced to reach the Rainborn before it was too late. There were only 3 more levels left...

ARGUS Base #13, Surface Level
Henderson, Nevada

The Rainborn got up slowly from Ross' punch, which had seemed stronger than all the other ones. She made a mental note to not attempt that attack again, which had seemingly strengthened him. Though she had seen a few videos of a being similar to this red one, the other one was green. But what she did know was that he was preventing her from getting to Craig, and he had refused to leave as she had demanded.

2 days after Craig had disappeared, she had started searching, which had proved difficult with her limited knowledge of Earth geography. But Craig's workers had helped her narrow it down, and so, almost every day, she had placed her horned helmet on her head and girded her sword. On some days, she had thought him dead, or worse, and yet, she had sworn to herself that if she could not find him alive, she would at least find her love's body. But there had always been a little whisper, a flame within her that told her that Craig was alive, and she would never stop searching until she found that silly, intelligent, fragile human. But Craig was her human, and she would permit none to hurt him, as long as she had a Core in her body. After a year, everyone, hero or employee had told her that Craig was surely dead, and that she was wasting her time. It had been difficult for her not to summon her sword right there and then and challenge them for insulting Craig's will to live.

Her eyes, shining with an emerald light, spotted the scarlet titan leaping at her, with his fists, raised, Etla, gritting her teeth, raised her greatsword so that the broadside met the fists of the Red Hulk. Her metal boots sunk into the ground slightly, and her arms shook, but she held him there, permitting him no further, her own strength powered by her willpower which had been stoked like a wildfire for a year. Slipping underneath the Red Hulk's fists after they had stood there for about a minute, grappling with each other, she used her greater speed to her advantage, slicing away at the red beast in a manner that reminded her of those cooking shows she watched after she had finished binge-watching half a dozen tv shows. Ross howled at this again, the walls shaking with his voice as his vulnerability was exploited once again.

But it would be a mistake to think that he was fully incapacitated, and all of a sudden, when Etla was in mid-swing, his hand shot out, grabbing the small, armored figure, Etla's sword clattering to the ground. "You hurt Red Hulk! Red Hulk no like this! Red Hulk show you pain!" And then he slammed her down into the ground. And then he did it again. And again. And again, the impact of these four attacks creating a crater underneath the Rainborn. The girl groaned, feeling that her armor had splintered, her vision clearing to see the Red Hulk cocking back a giant, red fist. She lifted her gauntlets to protect as much as her body as possible, but not before she heard a voice, which called out her name. A voice that she recognized. A voice that filled her with so much determination that flat on her back, she held Ross' fist in the palm of her gauntlet easily once it was swung, and then delivered an uppercut to his jaw that made him soar. Her helmet split down the middle to form two shoulder pieces, revealing her face. The Rainborn shouted out his name, in hope and relief, and soon after, she heard her name called out in response, and footsteps growing ever closer. Etla turned, then, to make sure that Ross was finished, and just that moment, she felt a cool metal sword rip through her solar plexus, severely slicing her Power Core. Ross had taken her sword and thrust it into her as she turned, not knowing that he had dealt a fatal blow. The Rainborn's mouth opened in a silent gasp, and then a curse, before she toppled to the ground, Ross growling in victory as Etla fought to keep her eyes open even as everything went haywire within her. And then, behind her, a sheer moment later, she heard someone blasting through the door...

...

Craig's mouth opened in a silent scream as he burst through the doors just as Ross stabbed Etla through the chest, the sword travelling completely through her body. His gentle face contorted in rage and loss as he realized that Etla would not recover, and seeing Ross chuckling at him, he snapped.

With a mere thought the Silverwing armor dissolved into liquid metal and then melded around the Red Hulk, binding him and then flying straight up, past the clouds, all the way up into the vacuum of space, and then released him, setting one of Craig's shields around him as retribution, so that the monster would float in space to die a slow death. Back on the surface level of the facility, Craig cradled Etla's broken body, his vision clouded by tears that seemed neverending. Her gauntlets disappeared as she reached a hand to his cheek, whispering with a hint of a smile. "Found you."

Craig smiled a bloody smile, kissing her softly, trying to see if he could somehow fix her with his powers. But she stayed his hand, knowing that it would be futile. "You stupid, stubborn, mortal, brilliant human. My...human," she said, wheezing, Craig smiling a bitter smile at that, that he would outlive her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, broken, before succumbing to tears again, Etla shushing him. "Not..your fault. Don't...blame yourself, Craig. Keep being the brilliant man you are, and take care of Ihra," she said, as her eyes began to dim.

"I...won't be the same. It won't be the same...without you." he said, brushing some of her hair out of her face.

"This...is not the end. We will...see each other again. Now, human, tell me a poem." And he obeyed, bending over her, and murmuring to her one of the poems he had shared with her a little while ago. His voice was gravelly and cracked, but he spoke on, his voice rising and falling with the stanzas of the poem.

And at the second stanza, those bright, brilliant eyes which shined like an emerald diamond, those eyes shining with the Will of the Rain, those eyes, so vibrant and glossy, full of life and hope, dimmed and faded as Etla departed into the night, never to return. Craig noticed her passing, but for her sake and memory, he kept going, his voice falling to a whisper as he reached the last stanza, his head bowed in defeat. And then, he wept.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

"You know how many Super-Villains there are for every Super-Hero out there? Twenty? Fifty? It was only a matter of time before someone organized all that latent talent. We got our greatest minds together and worked the whole thing out. The best people on our side for the best people on yours. This is the end."

Old Men - Attilan

When the Heroes were attacked, Black Bolt offered Attilan as a sanctuary to what few survivors remained. For about a month, all seemed well- Despite near constant attacks from villainous forces, the Superheroes stood tall and strong in the city. This quickly changed, however, when Magister Karnak led a coup, murdering Black Bolt in his sleep and imprisoning Medusa deep below the city. Without Black Bolt to guide them, the Attilan military quickly fell into disarray, no matter how much Karnak attempted to defuse the situation, and soon, the walls of the city fell. The first villain into the city was the Dark King himself- Dracula, of the Vampires. The city was shrouded in darkness, and since then, the Himalayas have become the rough borders of the aggressive new nation of the undead.

The Dark King slowly descended the circular staircase into the dungeon of the ruined city of Attilan, brushing his hand against the cracked metal walls. His footsteps, clinking loudly against the steel steps, were the only sound this far into the mountains. At last, he reached an ornate doorway, charred by fire and dented by force. Near the top of the entrance, the seal of the House of Agon was once proudly displayed. Now, however, the seal was shattered and drenched in the blood of the last King of Agon- Black Bolt's corpse was crucified at its apex. It was both cruel and deliberate- Should Medusa ever somehow escape, the first thing she sees is her husband's rotting body.

He slid his hand to his side, where a ring of keys was hung, unlocking the door before him using a small scarlet key. As he walked in, he noted with approval that each of the three torches remained unlit. Once, the dungeon had been vast and expansive- Now, it only held three prisoners. "Medusa." Dracula called out, his fangs showing in his smirk. "Come out and greet your Lord and Master."

Slowly, the Queen of the Inhumans limped to the bars of her cage. Her skin was pale and her eyes were sickly, her limbs shacking as she glared with utter contempt at the Dark King. "I... Will never call you Master." She spit blood at him, the shot falling many meters short, but its purpose clear. Medusa's rags, now visible in what little light there was, were caked in blood and dirt, her bald head still black from being burnt so as to ensure her hair did not grow back. "Long live the House of Agon." She muttered, half to herself and half to the Black King.

Dracula simply laughed. "Oh, but my dear..." He walked forward, causing Medusa to wince and turn her head away. "Your House is long dead. I don't think Agon was that big a fan of Vampires." He laughed heartily, grasping the forsaken Queen by the shoulder and compelling her to do so as well. Echoes of royal laughter broken by a Queen's sobs and tears filled the dungeon.

---

Four Hours Later

Dracula opened the exit of the Royal Dungeon, one of the few intact portions of Attilan's Royal Compound. It, along with the Throne room and the King's quarters, were all ruled over and resided in by the Black King of the Vampires. Two guards stood by the Dungeon while he was in it- His advisers and thralls, Maximus and Gorgon, bowed deeply when he approached them. "How fare the citizenry, Maximus?" He asked, almost bored.

"Only one pocket of resistance is left in Attilan, my Lord, and only one of them was ever exposed to the Terrigen mists." Maximus replied. "I have recently begun developing a method for tracking down non-vampiric Inhumans. Progress is... Slow, but promising."

Dracula nodded. "Adequate. Gorgon, the war?" He motioned towards the far wall of the city, where distant explosions could be seen.

"Mobius gathers his forces for a final attack, presumably sometime in the next few days. The traitorous vampires shall be put in their place very soon, my Lord." Gorgon smiled ominously, his fangs glistening with blood."

"Notify me when he attacks." Dracula smirked. "I wish to be the one to slay the pretender. Walk with me, Thralls." He began to walk along the main road of the once incredible city of Attilan, glancing at the destroyed fragments of an old world order. He was forced to stray from the path for several minutes, walking around a vast portion of the roof that had caved in and crushed a portion of the residential areas of the city. At last, he approached the last Hero memorial in Attilan- A hammer, jutting out of the ground, guarded by a kneeling skeleton of its long deceased wielder. He simply watched it for a moment. "50 years you've been dead, and yet still I have not fully recovered from our fight. You were a mighty warrior, Otis of the Inhumans, and one who blended magic and science in ways I did not begin to imagine. When I am full again, your memorial will be wiped away. Until then, feel pride, dead warrior- You are honoured."

Hail the Dark King of New Attilan- Let all fear the name Dracula!

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Kirisvala listened to Mars, smiling softly as she heard Mars say that he was glad for her safety. It certainly didn't make her very happy to know that she had caused Mars to worry, but, paradoxically, it did make her very happy to know that he worried about her like that, it made her feel warm inside to know that he cared about her; it was not that he had given her any indication that said otherwise, or that she craved attention in particular (in general, she did enjoy when her teammates paid attention to her music, but didn't go out of her way to make them listen), it was simply that she was pleased to have Mars' attention to herself, something that didn't happen often, what with his tending to Rocket and tutoring Xyri, in addition to all the heroics they usually did.

Hearing him continue speaking, however, her smile faded away ever so slightly. "Oh." She half-uttered, half-mouthed, disappointment evident in her voice, despite her efforts to hide it, her mood clearly dropping after she heard him state that his carrying her down to her room was not a big deal.

She didn't want to focus on that too much, though, and so, she smiled brightly again. "Well, thanks for your concern." She said to him in a cheery voice, standing up from her bed and stretching a little before looking at him again. "And, um, we can start with the examination whenever you want. I don't feel tired or sick or anything like that anymore." She explained. "In fact I feel... I feel pretty good..." She continued, now evidently puzzled with herself. "...I feel wonderful, actually." She stated. This was, undoubtedly, a symptom of the manifestation of her New Goddess powers, as her physical condition and capabilities had been vastly improved when the godly energy had struck her and taken her as a host. The full extent of her powers was yet to reveal itself, but this, at least, was already apparent, though the Hadrian didn't know any of this, and more than likely, neither did the human.

The pink-haired girl caught sight of herself in her mirror, and frowned ever so slightly. "My hair's a mess, though..." She mumbled half-heartedly. During the past few months her hair had grown some more and was in turn harder to keep in a good condition, though she made all the effort necessary to keep it neat and brushed. Collapsing and then sleeping for a few hours however wasn't very helpful in that regard. Kirisvala had begun to carefully run her claw through her hair, but, quickly remembering that Mars was present, she turned to him, blushing and then looking away, slightly embarrassed at acting like that in front of him. She looked around. "Um, where were we? The examination!" She said hastily, before noticing that her arm was clad in scales, the same way one casually notices they have a pinky toe after years of having it. "Um, say, where are you taking the blood from?"

[Charmera]

- Snip -

Lord Arctico/Cosmic Emperor of The Reformed Planet Trade Organization

"I am Glacia. Formally of Clan Ice. Do you remember me?"

Upon hearing Glacia's voice, Arctico's deep blue eyes widened in shock "That voice..." Arctico pondered in surprize as he rose up from his bowing position and turned, sure enough, Glacia stood before him, a figure kept hidden by her own clothing, but Arctico wasn't mistaken, this energy signature was Glacia's! However, upon hearing her defiant and threatening tone, Arctico's finger flinched at the tone of her voice, this was restricted anger, and even if he didn't know it from her voice, he could sense her Energy Signature was more vibrant than usual, she was ready to fight. Arctico's face fell to a frown as he looked at Glacia "Glacia..." Arctico began as he looked on in a small amount of regret, he left to serve the PTO and left Glacia on her own, something that he regret for years at a time "Yes Glacia, I remember you, my former friend, my ally, It has been far too long since I've seen you face-to-face, I actually thought that you've been dead for all this time Glacia." Arctico said with a small smile on his face, his mind filling up with joy at the prospect of seeing her once more.

However, he noticed that she confronted him at the time that he paid respects to Frost, his father, and many Arcosians came to fear his father as well as the Cold Clan, his family had been filled to the brim with tyrants of all the ages, leading to the oppression of millions upon millions of people, he knew that Glacia had it out on the Cold Clan ever since they took the reins of Cosmic Emperor, which Arctico now inherited "It is not what you think Glacia, this sculpture that you see before you, I assume that you know it is the iconic image of Lord Frost, the one responsible for defeating the Buu Brothers known as Dabra and Kid Buu. But at the same time, is regarded with fear due to his immense power, It was not out of fear that I bow to him, but I bow in respect to him, the very Arcosian who was responsible for my birth, my biological father." Arctico explained timidly and carefully.

Glacia's frowned softened slightly, though that was not evident from behind her mask as she stared down the planet trade emperor. She was angry with him, very much so. So the female arcosian still kept her threatening look on her. "So you're just going to step in like that, become the new emperor and take over? Just because he was your father?" She asked. She pointed at Arctico. "You're just perpetuating the cycle. Your son will take over after you, and his son after him. And we'll be subject to the same Tyrants who happen to be born from royal blood. Nothing will change. One will still rule many and those under will be exploited, another Dynasty born of the old..."

She paused, "You want to know where I was for all those years? I was in prison. The worst prison." She remarked. "I was in agony daily, to the point where my nerves felt like they were on fire. Every day was a fresh hell in that place. But I held on. For you. I thought that one day you would come to my rescue. That I'd be saved." If one looked closely, they might see traces of tears in her eyes. "But after years in that festering hole, I realized you were never coming. That I was stuck there unless I got myself out. So I trained my body and mind for the task, and then broke free." She sighed. "I was looking forward to finding you, until I realized you had become the very people who sent me there."

There was a pause in her speech. "Why Arc...?" She asked finally. "Why did you leave me in there?"

"King Cold and Frieza... it must be my birthday." Glacia laughed at that moment, not even caring enough to rebute Cell's remark. The two of them were much more important to her. "Sorry Hiro. These two are mine." She pushed Hiroshi out of the way. "You know, when I heard you were dead, I was disapointed. I had rotted in your hell of a prison for so long... One of the things I was looking forward to when I got out was to tear your tyranical heads off and use them as footrests. But now..." She had a murderous glint in her eye as she looked at the two of them. "I'll see if I can come up with something a little more... creative for you two. After all I want to make the most of such a special occasion." She remarked.

Hiroshi: Hell

"Glacia!" Hiroshi warned, pulling the Acrosian back before she could advance too far. " You're not the only one with a grudge against Freiza and his father, but we've got bigger fish to fry, and I'd rather not get ganged up on while you fulfill a petty grudge."

Staring Glacia down, Hiroshi heard a devilish laugh echo from Frieza.

" How pitiful." Freiza remarked, casually flipping his hand flamboyantly. " This monkey can't even control his lackies. But father, do you recognize this woman?"

Cocking his head, King Cold smiled devilishly at Glacia. " No I don't. Just another pretty face I suppose, all talk. We all know where the real power is among the two of them."

Wincing, Hiroshi glanced around the assembled warriors. While not numerically in their favor, raw power went to him and Glacia. But for sure he needed to end this soon before more arrived. More specifically Broly.

" Well it's just you batch of idiots then? Let's see if we can't break a sweat-"

" Calm down boy. The entire party hasn't arrived yet." Another set of voices boomed, one more familiar then the other.

Walking into view on opposite sides, Hirshi realized they'd been boxed in. On one side, Dabura stood proudly at the helm of the assembled party. On his left though, shaggy black hair and a snapping brown tail made itself known.

" Boy have you grown. A mighty warrior you've become." Oniyo remarked, uncorking his arms and allowing golden energy to explode around his frame. " It's a shame you've taken the wrong side."

"Oh it's you." Hiroshi growled lowly, clenching his fists at his side. " If this is the side you've taken Uncle then I have no choice." Cracking his neck, Hiroshi glared at the Mature Saiyan. This wasn't going in his favor. He was losing his composure and more and more Warriors were arriving it seemed.

Closing his eyes to focus, Hiroshi let out a shallow breath, his concentration broken by a twin set of cackles.

Are you fucking with me right now?

Shimmering into view, the two set down in a warped bubble of hellish energy. It only made sense now. The two strongest denizens of Hell would assemble a group like this, or at least Dabura and Garlic would. He already knew why Garlic was here, and if he could hate the demons guts more he would. But the yellow midget was a surprise. As far as he knew, he'd done nothing to this little shit.

But at the same time, the odds suddenly felt incredibly stacked. Before, he knew Glacia and him could deal with these fools, and gang up on his uncle and Dabura if they caused problems. But now, Hiroshi wasn't so sure. Looking around, he could see a tactical failure in his part, letting these people entrap him. If anything, this meant he had to move at top speed once this started, and dispatch the likes of Cell and Friesa quickly.

" Hello again Hiroshi." Garlic cackled, licking his lips as he stared down the Saiyan. " It's been quite awhile. Me and my friends have a message we'd like you to send to Supreme Kai."

" That's right!" The yellow one squawked." Let that little blue shit know he has something to fear, especially one I get my Majin Buu back!"

Bracing himself, Hiroshi let his eyes flash emerald, his hair sharpening skywards. Clenching his fists tight, his muscles expanded before tightening against his frame, goldeneye energy expelling around him. With the he familiar pulse of his Super Saiyan Aura around him, Hiroshi let out a shallow breath, before ramping up his power.

"You don't remember me?" Asked Glacia, her fists clenching hard enough to crush diamond. Her eyes swelled with fury. "You slammed me in a hellhole for years on end, and then you just forgot about me?" She asked. "That's it. I'm going to kill you and then use your corpse to beat your father to death." Then she sped towards Frieza, her fist flashing with blue ice energy. She could crush him easily now. After her time in prison had hardened her into a killing machine. "AND I AM NO ONE"S FUCKING LACKEY!" She shouted.

Cora
Cora was surprised when Katie suddenly reappeared in the feast hall. She excused herself from Serene and Darian and stood up and turned to her, grinning at her girlfriend. "Hey sweetie, you ready go or something?" Cora asked before she saw that Katie looked preoccupied with something. "Katie? You okay? Is something wrong?" Cora asked, frowning a bit with concern.

Nico
Nico saw Cat hesitate and thought for a moment she might believe him, before she reverted back to her old position. Nico frowned deeply at Cat's words. He was really hurt that his sister wouldn't believe him. "Cat, I'm your brother. Why would I lie to you? You think I want to believe it either? I would give anything for it not be true, but I saw what I saw. I saw men unloading guns into our house. What happened between us sis? We used be so close but now you barely ta..." Nico was interrupted by shouting and sirens as police cars began heading toward the near by Jump City Bank. "Nico froze, he knew he needed to help, but he couldn't do that without exposing his powers to Cat. He decided he had to go for broke and hope his guess about Cat was right. "You know you're not alone Cat. I'm different too:" He told her, letting a bit of his had break apart into sand and fall onto the table as his hand quickly reformed. He knew other people were around so he spoke quietly and hid the sand with his other hand.

Kaite
"I don't know..." Remarked the mutant. "I suppose I should go. Zaki was just being wierd and we need to get back to the Justice Tower." She shrugged and then took Cora's hand in her own and flashed a smile at her as she head towards the rainbow bridge with her. She supposed she was owed at least one free trip back home.

Cat
Cat's eyes widened as she saw her brother's hand. She paused. She heard the sirens too, and knew she couldn't exactly just let it go. they needed to do something about it if they could. "How did you know?" She asked, not sure how her brother had found out about her abilities, she had been rather careful to not test any of them with him around, or even touch him since she discovered her skills. "If you know, then you know exactly why we can't be close to one another."

[The Fallen Jedi]

Glacia's frowned softened slightly, though that was not evident from behind her mask as she stared down the planet trade emperor. She was angry with him, very much so. So the female arcosian still kept her threatening look on her. "So you're just going to step in like that, become the new emperor and take over? Just because he was your father?" She asked. She pointed at Arctico. "You're just perpetuating the cycle. Your son will take over after you, and his son after him. And we'll be subject to the same Tyrants who happen to be born from royal blood. Nothing will change. One will still rule many and those under will be exploited, another Dynasty born of the old..."

She paused, "You want to know where I was for all those years? I was in prison. The worst prison." She remarked. "I was in agony daily, to the point where my nerves felt like they were on fire. Every day was a fresh hell in that place. But I held on. For you. I thought that one day you would come to my rescue. That I'd be saved." If one looked closely, they might see traces of tears in her eyes. "But after years in that festering hole, I realized you were never coming. That I was stuck there unless I got myself out. So I trained my body and mind for the task, and then broke free." She sighed. "I was looking forward to finding you, until I realized you had become the very people who sent me there."

There was a pause in her speech. "Why Arc...?" She asked finally. "Why did you leave me in there?"

Lord Arctico/Cosmic Emperor of The Reformed Planet Trade Organization

There was a pause in her speech. "Why Arc...?" She asked finally. "Why did you leave me in there?"

Arctico's breath was quickly taken away at this single statement before he clenched his fists up by natural impulse, causing the Power Cosmic he obtained from Frost to burst alive alongside his normal godly aura, his anger becoming evident when she mentioned about her being tortured, he knew who would be responsible for it "Frieza..." Arctico hissed inwardly as he looked down and fell into his thoughts "If someone ever brings him back to the material plane, I will show him my wrath and make sure he suffers!" Arctico growled in anger, they dared to torture an Arcosian?! Their own flesh and blood? This would not stand at all, but alongside anger, another emotion began to show, tears began to fall down Arctico's eyes as he realized the depths of Glacia's words, she waited for him, Glacia waited for HIM, and he did not come to rescue her in the time of need, he had been so distracted in serving the PTO during his time of uncertainty, and now? His past actions were coming back to haunt him as he looked at Glacia with a saddened frown on his face, wiping the tears that fell from his eyes.

"G-glacia..." Arctico spoke with only a small whisper, sorrow still being evident on his face as he spoke to one of his few friends who stood by him during his early days "I'm sorry Glacia, I didn't know what happened to you, I was so engorged in my time of uncertainty that I was thinking about what my future would hold for me, the day that I joined the PTO was the low point of my life, my thoughts betrayed me on every turn and I didn't know what to do. I should have looked for you, but I was so idiotic to think that you were still safe, still secure..." Arctico slowly walked up to Glacia, the frown still on his face, stopping until he was only half a foot away from her "I'm sorry Glacia, for everything I did wrong, but I promise you, as the new Cosmic Emperor of the PTO as well as the Emperor of the Arcosian Race, things will change, I will wipe Frieza's, King Cold's, and Cooler's Legacy off the face of the PTO and the Arcosian Empire, and instill a new legacy, one of peace, and freedom, but I just need you to trust me." Arctico explained, his features softening with each word spoken.

[Charmera]

Glacia's frowned softened slightly, though that was not evident from behind her mask as she stared down the planet trade emperor. She was angry with him, very much so. So the female arcosian still kept her threatening look on her. "So you're just going to step in like that, become the new emperor and take over? Just because he was your father?" She asked. She pointed at Arctico. "You're just perpetuating the cycle. Your son will take over after you, and his son after him. And we'll be subject to the same Tyrants who happen to be born from royal blood. Nothing will change. One will still rule many and those under will be exploited, another Dynasty born of the old..."

She paused, "You want to know where I was for all those years? I was in prison. The worst prison." She remarked. "I was in agony daily, to the point where my nerves felt like they were on fire. Every day was a fresh hell in that place. But I held on. For you. I thought that one day you would come to my rescue. That I'd be saved." If one looked closely, they might see traces of tears in her eyes. "But after years in that festering hole, I realized you were never coming. That I was stuck there unless I got myself out. So I trained my body and mind for the task, and then broke free." She sighed. "I was looking forward to finding you, until I realized you had become the very people who sent me there."

There was a pause in her speech. "Why Arc...?" She asked finally. "Why did you leave me in there?"

Lord Arctico/Cosmic Emperor of The Reformed Planet Trade Organization

There was a pause in her speech. "Why Arc...?" She asked finally. "Why did you leave me in there?"

Arctico's breath was quickly taken away at this single statement before he clenched his fists up by natural impulse, causing the Power Cosmic he obtained from Frost to burst alive alongside his normal godly aura, his anger becoming evident when she mentioned about her being tortured, he knew who would be responsible for it "Frieza..." Arctico hissed inwardly as he looked down and fell into his thoughts "If someone ever brings him back to the material plane, I will show him my wrath and make sure he suffers!" Arctico growled in anger, they dared to torture an Arcosian?! Their own flesh and blood? This would not stand at all, but alongside anger, another emotion began to show, tears began to fall down Arctico's eyes as he realized the depths of Glacia's words, she waited for him, Glacia waited for HIM, and he did not come to rescue her in the time of need, he had been so distracted in serving the PTO during his time of uncertainty, and now? His past actions were coming back to haunt him as he looked at Glacia with a saddened frown on his face, wiping the tears that fell from his eyes.

"G-glacia..." Arctico spoke with only a small whisper, sorrow still being evident on his face as he spoke to one of his few friends who stood by him during his early days "I'm sorry Glacia, I didn't know what happened to you, I was so engorged in my time of uncertainty that I was thinking about what my future would hold for me, the day that I joined the PTO was the low point of my life, my thoughts betrayed me on every turn and I didn't know what to do. I should have looked for you, but I was so idiotic to think that you were still safe, still secure..." Arctico slowly walked up to Glacia, the frown still on his face, stopping until he was only half a foot away from her "I'm sorry Glacia, for everything I did wrong, but I promise you, as the new Cosmic Emperor of the PTO as well as the Emperor of the Arcosian Race, things will change, I will wipe Frieza's, King Cold's, and Cooler's Legacy off the face of the PTO and the Arcosian Empire, and instill a new legacy, one of peace, and freedom, but I just need you to trust me." Arctico explained, his features softening with each word spoken.

The female Arcosian paused as she took in what he said, her face still hidden by the mask as she walked towards him. "I-! You-..." She had not anticipated this. Her emotions betrayed her. She realised she wasn't mad at Arc, she was angry at herself. He didn't even know she was in trouble. And now with this heartfelt apology and promise, Glacia found her conviction waver, and her old self take over. "Dammit Arc..." She remarked, pulling the male into a hug. Embracing him, "You have no idea how damned hard it is to stay mad at you..." She replied. "I know how you feel about Frieza. I've wanted to tear him apart for years. Him and every one of his putrid family." She remarked.

"We've both changed since we last met... hadn't we? An idealistic young rebel... and you..." She paused.

[Mavorpen]

"As you might expect, upon the arrival of Ego, every military presence on the planet scrambled. An entire planet entering our orbit screams alien invasion." Reed Richards said. Jamal and the Fantastic Four sat around a circular table in what he assumed was Reed's lab.

"I know, but I swear, I had nothing to do with this." Jamal quickly stated.

"Calm down, Nova. We believe you. It's just that, we were under the impression that you were the last remaining member of the Nova Corps." Sue stated.

"I am -- or, was. It's... it's complicated. Things have changed, Mrs. Richards. Worldmind has taken control and he began recruiting people without my knowledge." Jamal said.

"As you know, Nova, we have encountered Ego in the past. He is a very significant threat, and if Worldmind has made him a Centurion..." Reed said.

"No, Worldmind would never do that, Dr. Richards. I agree, Ego is too much of a threat."

Reed hesitated for a second. "You misunderstand me, Nova. Ego is indeed under normal circumstances a threat, however, what you've told us alters things considerably. If he has become incorporated into the Corps, is this not a good thing? The Nova Corps has always represented a significant and important force representing peace and stability, especially in this galaxy. The revival of the Corps is good news for all races, and yet it appears that you feel less than delighted. Why?"

"I..." Jamal sighed. "I can't really explain it in a way that you guys will fully understand. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm calling you guys stupid or anything -- I'm never doing that again after what happened with Worldmind a few minutes ago -- it's just that, you guys haven't gone through what I've gone through. The cosmos is a volatile place right now, and I'm not sure throwing another army into the mix is the best idea. I mean, when you become a Centurion, you get handed so much power all at once, and you even get all sorts of expertise instantly patched into your head. Despite that though, it's no substitute for real experience. With how quickly things are moving, it's inevitable for them to have to learn the hard way. I can't stand to watch recruits get slaughtered again. I don't want them to go through what I went through." Jamal buried his face into his hands, his voice breaking up. "I just can't..."

"So you believe that Worldmind is being premature and reckless with his decision to recruit without your input?" Reed asked.

"Exactly." Jamal said, looking up. "I'm just really worried."

"If I may..." A new voice rang out. Tarcel then entered the room. "Excuse the intrusion. The Worldmind is concerned that Nu-Xandar is causing alarm. He wishes to speak to you with a holographic link."

"Of course." Reed said. "It is always a pleasure to converse with your Worldmind."

Tarcel held up his right hand and a holographic projection of Worldmind appeared. "[Hello, Doctor Richards. I request that the Fantastic Four calm any potential adverse reactions to our orbital status. We present no threat. Rather, if anything, we provide an additional layer of security for the human race.]"

"I would be happy to relay this to the governments of the world, however, I must question you about the lack of the expected adverse gravitational effects upon Earth that under normal circumstances would be caused by the close proximity by an such as Ego."

"[A simply gravimetric dampening field.]"

"Oh, of course! Tell me, have you superimposed your sentience upon--" Reed began before stopping himself short. "Ah, I'm getting sidetracked. Worldmind, Mr. Rider has expressed reservations about the Nova Corps. And, to be fair, I recognize his apprehension with its current state as being legitimate."

"[Please, Doctor Richards, I believe that transparency is crucial for maintaining a good relationship with Earth. You may access all of my data reserves if you like. I can assure you that recruitment has been 100 percent voluntary.]"

"Indeed. We were chosen and we answered the call of our own volition." Tarcel stated.

"I wasn't suggesting that you guys were being brainwashed." Jamal chimed in.

"[There's more. On multiple occasions throughout our history due to extenuating circumstances, we have been forced to house the entirety of the Nova Force in one individual In one such case, a man named Garthan Saal housed it for significantly longer than any other previous host, and it resulted in insanity. Jamal has currently been doing so out of necessity for months now and I fear damage has been done.]"

"WAIT!" Jamal protested. "Are you seriously suggesting I've gone crazy?"

"[No, merely that your mental faculties may have been impaired by the duration and level of the stress.]"

"THAT'S A LOAD OF SHIT!" Jamal shouted, inadvertently releasing energy in multiple directions and destroying some of the surrounding devices in the lab.

"Woah, ease back kid!" Thing shouted, reaching out for him with Human Torch activating his flames.

"I... I'm sorry." Jamal said, calming down and shutting off his release of energy. "I didn't mean... Damn, am I really going crazy?"

"[You have carried the Nova Force too long. I fear it has made you ill. It is the only explanation I can think of for your baffling opposition to the revival of the Nova Corps. ]"

Jamal turned to Reed. "What do you think, Doctor Richards?"

"Well, I'm not a psychologist, but in my opinion, you simply sound stressed. And understandably so. Still, Worldmind's analysis is reasonable and compelling. It is best that you accept his care if there is even a small chance that you have suffered psychological harm."

After saying goodbye to the Fantastic Four and apologizing for destroying some of Reed's equipment, Jamal left their headquarters with Tarcel, heading to Ego. "You aren't upset, are you, Nova Prime?" Tarcel asked.

"No... It's just... hard. I'm sorry if I've been too hard on you guys. Being faced with the possibility that you've gone insane is, frankly, frightening." Jamal said. The two entered Ego and flew through the interior until they were once again before Worldmind. Jamal walked up to the projection and held up his hand.

"[Commencing download.]"

Suddenly, Jamal jerked his arm away. "No... this isn't right."

"[Jamal, download the Nova Force into the repository. You must do it now. You must comply.]"

"No! Something's off. I can't let you do this, Worldmind!" Jamal ran down the stairs but was cut off by the Centurions. "Guys... don't--"

"[Restrain him.]"

Immediately, the Centurions collectively piled onto him in an attempt to restrain him. It didn't go over well for them, however, as Jamal easily knocked them away by releasing a powerful burst of energy. He then attempted to flee, rocketing off into the air.

"[Jamal, you leave me no other choice. I'm sorry, I am removing the Nova Force.]" Jamal was encased in a bright yellow light and he screamed out, falling to the ground.

Getting to his hands and knees, naked, he muttered out, "W... what did you do?"

"[I have forcefully removed the Nova Force to the repository. Due to your mental health, you can no longer be entrusted with the role of Nova Prime or Centurion. You will be taken home with a teleport beam.]"

A beam of energy surrounded Jamal and the next second, he found himself on his apartment's balcony. Gritting his teeth, he screamed out, "DAMN YOU, WORLDMIND!"

[The Fallen Jedi]

- Snip -

Lord Arctico/Cosmic Emperor of The Reformed Planet Trade Organization
Soundtrack: Arctico's Love

"We've both changed since we last met... hadn't we? An idealistic young rebel... and you..." She paused.

"I know Glacia..." Arctico whispered, tears beginning to gather within his eyes as he suddenly realized that he still loved Glacia, he never stopped loving her, but after forgetting her for so long, how could they ever be together again? Arctico let out a shaky sigh as he relented and allowed a few tears to fall from his eyes "You never changed, even if you did suffer in Prison without myself even knowing, I still love you." Arctico sniffled as he too wrapped his arms around Glacia, bringing his head down into the crook of her neck and stayed there for the longest time "And I never want to let you go, I don't want you to ever re-visit that fate, I want to protect you and keep you safe for as long as fate will require it..." Arctico slowly rose and looked at Glacia with a relieved expression on his fate "Do you think It's possible for us to be together as we were so very long ago? After all I abandoned you to, leaving with the PTO and leaving you to your fate by yourself, because I think I still have feelings for you... I can't be certain if my emotions are trying to betray me, but I still feel that spark within me when you're around." Arctico admitted as his eyes opened up to Glacia, allowing his hidden emotions of compassion and love to flow forth.

"Please, Glacia, I don't know If I can lose you once more, If I do, I will most certainly feel alone once more..." Arctico asked, he was afraid to lose her, if he knew that she was somehow alive, he would have traversed the ends of the Universe in order to find her, in order to fall into her loving embrace, Arctico discovered that this is what he truly wanted, a companion and a friend to embrace when they were at their lowest point, someone to console when a loved one passed, Arctico wanted to be with Glacia for the rest of his life, he could not be alone any longer, even with Lt. Xero as a friend, it was not the same as Glacia.

[New Rnclave]

Lord Arctico/Cosmic Emperor of The Reformed Planet Trade Organization

"I am Glacia. Formally of Clan Ice. Do you remember me?"

Upon hearing Glacia's voice, Arctico's deep blue eyes widened in shock "That voice..." Arctico pondered in surprize as he rose up from his bowing position and turned, sure enough, Glacia stood before him, a figure kept hidden by her own clothing, but Arctico wasn't mistaken, this energy signature was Glacia's! However, upon hearing her defiant and threatening tone, Arctico's finger flinched at the tone of her voice, this was restricted anger, and even if he didn't know it from her voice, he could sense her Energy Signature was more vibrant than usual, she was ready to fight. Arctico's face fell to a frown as he looked at Glacia "Glacia..." Arctico began as he looked on in a small amount of regret, he left to serve the PTO and left Glacia on her own, something that he regret for years at a time "Yes Glacia, I remember you, my former friend, my ally, It has been far too long since I've seen you face-to-face, I actually thought that you've been dead for all this time Glacia." Arctico said with a small smile on his face, his mind filling up with joy at the prospect of seeing her once more.

However, he noticed that she confronted him at the time that he paid respects to Frost, his father, and many Arcosians came to fear his father as well as the Cold Clan, his family had been filled to the brim with tyrants of all the ages, leading to the oppression of millions upon millions of people, he knew that Glacia had it out on the Cold Clan ever since they took the reins of Cosmic Emperor, which Arctico now inherited "It is not what you think Glacia, this sculpture that you see before you, I assume that you know it is the iconic image of Lord Frost, the one responsible for defeating the Buu Brothers known as Dabra and Kid Buu. But at the same time, is regarded with fear due to his immense power, It was not out of fear that I bow to him, but I bow in respect to him, the very Arcosian who was responsible for my birth, my biological father." Arctico explained timidly and carefully.

Glacia's frowned softened slightly, though that was not evident from behind her mask as she stared down the planet trade emperor. She was angry with him, very much so. So the female arcosian still kept her threatening look on her. "So you're just going to step in like that, become the new emperor and take over? Just because he was your father?" She asked. She pointed at Arctico. "You're just perpetuating the cycle. Your son will take over after you, and his son after him. And we'll be subject to the same Tyrants who happen to be born from royal blood. Nothing will change. One will still rule many and those under will be exploited, another Dynasty born of the old..."

She paused, "You want to know where I was for all those years? I was in prison. The worst prison." She remarked. "I was in agony daily, to the point where my nerves felt like they were on fire. Every day was a fresh hell in that place. But I held on. For you. I thought that one day you would come to my rescue. That I'd be saved." If one looked closely, they might see traces of tears in her eyes. "But after years in that festering hole, I realized you were never coming. That I was stuck there unless I got myself out. So I trained my body and mind for the task, and then broke free." She sighed. "I was looking forward to finding you, until I realized you had become the very people who sent me there."

There was a pause in her speech. "Why Arc...?" She asked finally. "Why did you leave me in there?"

Hiroshi: Hell

"Glacia!" Hiroshi warned, pulling the Acrosian back before she could advance too far. " You're not the only one with a grudge against Freiza and his father, but we've got bigger fish to fry, and I'd rather not get ganged up on while you fulfill a petty grudge."

Staring Glacia down, Hiroshi heard a devilish laugh echo from Frieza.

" How pitiful." Freiza remarked, casually flipping his hand flamboyantly. " This monkey can't even control his lackies. But father, do you recognize this woman?"

Cocking his head, King Cold smiled devilishly at Glacia. " No I don't. Just another pretty face I suppose, all talk. We all know where the real power is among the two of them."

Wincing, Hiroshi glanced around the assembled warriors. While not numerically in their favor, raw power went to him and Glacia. But for sure he needed to end this soon before more arrived. More specifically Broly.

" Well it's just you batch of idiots then? Let's see if we can't break a sweat-"

" Calm down boy. The entire party hasn't arrived yet." Another set of voices boomed, one more familiar then the other.

Walking into view on opposite sides, Hirshi realized they'd been boxed in. On one side, Dabura stood proudly at the helm of the assembled party. On his left though, shaggy black hair and a snapping brown tail made itself known.

" Boy have you grown. A mighty warrior you've become." Oniyo remarked, uncorking his arms and allowing golden energy to explode around his frame. " It's a shame you've taken the wrong side."

"Oh it's you." Hiroshi growled lowly, clenching his fists at his side. " If this is the side you've taken Uncle then I have no choice." Cracking his neck, Hiroshi glared at the Mature Saiyan. This wasn't going in his favor. He was losing his composure and more and more Warriors were arriving it seemed.

Closing his eyes to focus, Hiroshi let out a shallow breath, his concentration broken by a twin set of cackles.

Are you fucking with me right now?

Shimmering into view, the two set down in a warped bubble of hellish energy. It only made sense now. The two strongest denizens of Hell would assemble a group like this, or at least Dabura and Garlic would. He already knew why Garlic was here, and if he could hate the demons guts more he would. But the yellow midget was a surprise. As far as he knew, he'd done nothing to this little shit.

But at the same time, the odds suddenly felt incredibly stacked. Before, he knew Glacia and him could deal with these fools, and gang up on his uncle and Dabura if they caused problems. But now, Hiroshi wasn't so sure. Looking around, he could see a tactical failure in his part, letting these people entrap him. If anything, this meant he had to move at top speed once this started, and dispatch the likes of Cell and Friesa quickly.

" Hello again Hiroshi." Garlic cackled, licking his lips as he stared down the Saiyan. " It's been quite awhile. Me and my friends have a message we'd like you to send to Supreme Kai."

" That's right!" The yellow one squawked." Let that little blue shit know he has something to fear, especially one I get my Majin Buu back!"

Bracing himself, Hiroshi let his eyes flash emerald, his hair sharpening skywards. Clenching his fists tight, his muscles expanded before tightening against his frame, goldeneye energy expelling around him. With the he familiar pulse of his Super Saiyan Aura around him, Hiroshi let out a shallow breath, before ramping up his power.

"You don't remember me?" Asked Glacia, her fists clenching hard enough to crush diamond. Her eyes swelled with fury. "You slammed me in a hellhole for years on end, and then you just forgot about me?" She asked. "That's it. I'm going to kill you and then use your corpse to beat your father to death." Then she sped towards Frieza, her fist flashing with blue ice energy. She could crush him easily now. After her time in prison had hardened her into a killing machine. "AND I AM NO ONE"S FUCKING LACKEY!" She shouted.

Cora
Cora was surprised when Katie suddenly reappeared in the feast hall. She excused herself from Serene and Darian and stood up and turned to her, grinning at her girlfriend. "Hey sweetie, you ready go or something?" Cora asked before she saw that Katie looked preoccupied with something. "Katie? You okay? Is something wrong?" Cora asked, frowning a bit with concern.

Nico
Nico saw Cat hesitate and thought for a moment she might believe him, before she reverted back to her old position. Nico frowned deeply at Cat's words. He was really hurt that his sister wouldn't believe him. "Cat, I'm your brother. Why would I lie to you? You think I want to believe it either? I would give anything for it not be true, but I saw what I saw. I saw men unloading guns into our house. What happened between us sis? We used be so close but now you barely ta..." Nico was interrupted by shouting and sirens as police cars began heading toward the near by Jump City Bank. "Nico froze, he knew he needed to help, but he couldn't do that without exposing his powers to Cat. He decided he had to go for broke and hope his guess about Cat was right. "You know you're not alone Cat. I'm different too:" He told her, letting a bit of his had break apart into sand and fall onto the table as his hand quickly reformed. He knew other people were around so he spoke quietly and hid the sand with his other hand.

Kaite
"I don't know..." Remarked the mutant. "I suppose I should go. Zaki was just being wierd and we need to get back to the Justice Tower." She shrugged and then took Cora's hand in her own and flashed a smile at her as she head towards the rainbow bridge with her. She supposed she was owed at least one free trip back home.

Cat
Cat's eyes widened as she saw her brother's hand. She paused. She heard the sirens too, and knew she couldn't exactly just let it go. they needed to do something about it if they could. "How did you know?" She asked, not sure how her brother had found out about her abilities, she had been rather careful to not test any of them with him around, or even touch him since she discovered her skills. "If you know, then you know exactly why we can't be close to one another."

Hiroshi: Hell

Mere seconds after Glacia dove at the pair of tyrants, the situation immedeitly devolved into a clusterfuck of the worst kind. Not that the beginning of combat didn't excite Hiroshi, but he was hesitant to throw himself into custody most against his uncle and the men he'd brought to the party.

Pulling his aura in, Hiroshi breathed out shallowly, building up tension in his stance, his energy bubbling in his core, before he thrust his arms out from his sides, golden fire peeling away layers of broken rock, throwing tons of rubble and dust away from him.

Phasing into view hundreds of meters above the rising ash cloud, The Golden warrior calmly leaned back, two huge blue arms swinging towards him like pincers. A swoosh of wind and force rolled from below him, a very surprised white Acrosian screaming in agony as he was batted away. Glancing back at his opponent, Hiroshi caught a meaty blue fist in a clean motion, his palm locking around the appendage as he yanked Bojack forward, locking his other arm around Bojack's and snapping his knee up below the elbow, the sound of bones breaking echoing through the area.

"Bido! Buj-"

Not even letting him finish, The Hybrid snapped his head forward, there heads colliding viciously. Whipping his body backwards, he kicked upwards, launching the pirate skywards. The sonic boom had barely echoed across the plain before Hiroshi pointed his plan at him, azure energy swirling before expanding rapidly, the bolt rocketing at Bojack.

Time slowed as the pirate screamed, the scorching wave impacting him and exploding.

"Boy oh boy." Oniyo laughed from behind him. " Maybe losing your daughter to Broly did something for you after all, you certainly don't mess around anymore." Dropping his guard, Hiroshi stared back at his uncle, their blue-green eyes meeting, a smirk growing across the mature Saiyans face.

" Why are you siding with these 'demons'. You've been selfish before sure, but you've never sided with people like this. You said you'd accepted your punishment,you can't just go back on it! You admited your itself that the Saiyans deserved their fate, yet for whatever reason you think yourself great enough to avoid paying for your sins?" Hiroshi answered, scowling at Oniyo.

" Hiroshi, I-" Oniyo stopped suddenly, drawing in a breath before looking up at him. " There's things at play that you're just going to have to live with. You can accept them or try and fail to change them. Knowing you, you're going too fight this out."

"Seems about right." The Golden warrior answered, blitzing at older Saiyan, both phasing from sight at the last moment.

Freiza

Inky back smoke hung around them as Freiza finally stopped rolling, the entire left side of his face a swelling, purple bruise. Struggling to his feet, Frieza stared back at Glacia, barely contained malicious in his Crimson eyes. Breathing in a shallow, furious breath, Freiza closed his eyes, letting his temper simmer down before opening his eyes.

Something glinted behind his hellish red orbs, a plan formulating in his mind as the world raged around him. Slowly raising his hand, his index finger flicked out, a glowing red orb in the end of it.

"You know, I didn't recognized you before, but I do now,Glacia. I remember that idealistic trash you used to go on and on about. But you know what I remember distinctly? How soothing the screams of a bitch like yourself can be. I suppose anything is better then that drivel you used to spew." He commented pointedly, a barrage of Crimson bolts exploding from his finger as he hopped back, screaming viciously.