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

[The Republic of Atria]

Xander stepped through the Boom Tube with Otis, Naja, and the Masakis right behind him. The Motherbox took them right in the middle of The Celestial City: Home of the New Gods. Normally a quiet, peaceful place, but now it seemed to be on high alert and molbilzing it's armies. "Wow. Looks like we picked a bad time to visit." Otis commented. Fortunately, Xander's motherbox seemed to calm down once they got to New Genesis. Otis could tell since Xander dind't have the look in his eyes like he was going to take someone's head off. He actually looked relieved.

Then Orion decided to investigate the intrusion. He recognized Otis as the one who killed Darkseid, his hated father, but wasn't too happy to see Xander. The last time they met, Xander wound up beating his face in. Orion respected him as a warrior, but was more interested in Otis. So he pretty much ignored Xander. "I've heard of you, Slayer of Darkseid." He said. "I only wish I could have been there to watch you kill him myself. Darkseid was my father..."

"To be fair, it was mostly self defense." He shrugged and went pale when Orion mentioned that Darkseid was his dad. "Oooohhh... Please tell me you're not mad about that."

"Of course not. Darkseid was a menace. Nobody will mourn his death. By the looks of things, you've taken his Omega Effect for yourself? Even more impressive. You would be a valuable ally in what is to come."

"Can I get a rundown? I don't usually do a ton of fighting. They do." Otis motioned to Xander, Naja, and the Masakis. "I'm kinda just the backup. Which is cool with me. I'm a pacifist." He explained, not expecting the reaction Orion gave him. Which was to laugh. Otis was confused until he realized that Orion probably thought he was joking. He wasn't.

"You're serious?" Orion asked when he saw Otis wasn't laughing at him. "How can the killer of Darkseid and wielder of his power be soft?"

"Happenstance and coincidence? I didn't want the Omega Effect. I kinda had it forced on me. Then it kinda grew on me. I'll help you guys, don't get me wrong. If push comes to shove, I'll fight. But you guys are the harden warrior veteran guys. I'm just a guy who got really lucky. I was in the right place at the wrong time. Or the wrong place at the right time, depending on how you look at it. Anyways. I don't do most of the fighting. I usually do the healing and moral support." That wasn't what Orion wanted to hear. He wanted to hear how Otis was a vicious fighter. Obviously besting Darkseid meant he had some combat ability, and he wanted to see it.

So, Orion reluctantly turned to Xander. "I take it you're here for your malfunctioning Motherbox?"

"That was the original intent, yes." He said and the two men looked at each other, just waiting for the other to make even the slightest move towards the other. "But, if there's something going down. We probably should help. If it's got everyone here on edge, then clearly it's a genuine threat. I've got plenty of resources-"

"We welcome the Slayer of Darkseid. We don't need you, human." Orion snarled. Xander and he glared at eachother for close to ten seconds, before Otis broke the tension.

"You guys gonna kiss or what?"

[The Republic of Atria]

"Alright you two..." Naja muttered and pulled Xander away by his ear. "You two can beat each other to bloody pulps and measure your dicks after we solve whatever is causing all this stress. Alright? Can you wait that long?" Xander grumbled as Naja let him go. "Good. I love you, you big lug. But you need to calm down. You've been so fussy lately. And things haven't even been that bad."

Orion, not willing to let Xander off after his wife just pulled him away. "And just like that your lover comes to your rescue. How adorab-" Xander hit Orion. His first shattered Orion's helmet and bruised Orion's nose. The red coated man bounced across the ground and against a building, grinning through his bloody nose. "Did I strike a nerve?" This resulted in Xander flying at Orion, leaving a bright golden streak across Supertown as he charged at Orion, only to run into Orion's fist and be smacked into a building to Orion's left. "What's the matter? Lose your touch?" He asked, jumping into the air with intent to smash Xander with both of his arms, only for Xander to counter with an uppercut.

"Should we... You know... Do something?" Otis asked and watched as Xander and Orion continued to trade blows. Each blow sounding like thunder. "I mean... We're all supposed to be on the same side... Right? I'm not missing something?"

"Xander... Doesn't like the New Gods. They're not bad people. Sure they could use some manners, but they're by no means evil. It's just Xander can be a tad bit aggressive. And Orion is also a tad bit aggressive. I suppose it's better they get it out of their systems now than just let it stew." Naja muttered, whilst rolling her eyes at how immature her husband was being. After two more minutes of Orion and Xander trading blows, she decided to intervene just as she saw Highfather Izaya approaching. He seemed to have the same idea that she had, which was to grab the fist both of them were gettiong ready to throw at their respective opponent. "Alright. You've proved your point. What's with you lately?"

"Enough of this foolish behavior! Both of you." Highfather commanded. Xander wasn't of any interest to him beyond him and Orion not smashing up the city in their dick measuring contest. Otis was, however, of much more importance. "You. Child. You are the Slayer of Darkseid? Yes... You wield the Omega Effect. I have heard stories of how formidable Earth's champions proved to be. But to actually slay my brother. I'm impressed with you. I take it these are your underlings?" He asked, waving his hand to the Masakis, Naja, and Xander.

"They're closer to friends." Otis said and crossed his arms. "I don't have underlings."

"Very well. You will be useful in what is happening. Universes have died. Well before their time. Based on the tests we have conducted, it seems that they underwent a heat death. Their usable energy was depleted billions of years before it was supposed to. We don't know what's causing it, but something is robbing them of their energy at an incredible rate. We've yet to find out what's causing it, but with you here, we should have very little issue in dispatching this threat."

"I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. I'm a pacifist man. I'll fight if I have to, but the whole reason everyone else is still here is to do the actual fighting part. If they, and by extension you, can't handle it, then I'll step in and see what I can do. I really don't like fighting. Fortunately, I have a ton of friends who don't mind, and or love it. So I'm just the backup, last resort BFG in the event shit gets really bad." He explained once again. Even he was starting to get sick of it, but he genuinely could not stand fighting. Highfather was not amused.

"Boy. Listen to me. You wield one of the most powerful sources of cosmic energy in the multiverse, and you choose not to use it? You are a god, not a child. You must act like one. You must-"

"I'm here purely of my own volition. If you don't like how I do things, I understand and I'll leave." He said quite firmly, opened a Boom Tube and was about to step through when Highfather spoke up to stop him.

"Wait... We cannot turn down your aid." He was hoping to have Otis lead the charge against whatever this could be, but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

[The Republic of Atria]

"It's fine. If we can't stop whatever is causing this nonsense, then Otis'll step in." Naja explained. While she had total confidence that Otis could do what needed to be done if it came down to it, Xander didn't share the same sentiment. Yes, Otis did kill Darkseid, but that was with the Justice League backing him up quite a bit. If not for them, he would have been killed before he got the chance to get his lucky shot in. On top of that, he had never seen Otis actually do any fighting before. So he had no idea what, if any, combat experience he had. Just relying on the Omega Effect alone would not be nearly enough to win a fight if things were really as bad as were implied. But it wasn't like he was going to object to Otis actually lifting a finger to fight rather than sitting on the sidelines like he normally did. Xander was not a fan of Otis' pacifistic tendencies even if the kid was a genuinely good person. What good is power if you don't use it to help people?

"That's pretty much the deal." Otis confirmed. "I used to not get into fights at all, no matter what. But I've relaxed that a bit. I get that sometimes violence is necessary, but I still prefer to avoid it if at all possible." It was true. Otis used to completely and utterly avoid physical confrontation, but there was more than one reason why he was a pacifist. He always told everyone that it was because he didn't like violence. Which was true. For the most part. However, since he received the Omega Effect, he became even more antsy about violence after seeing what Darkseid could do to some of the mightiest heroes on Earth with minimal effort. He didn't want to become anything like Darkseid. He didn't want to become infatuated with violence so much so that he set out to find it. Just sitting back and enjoying his life was what he wanted to do, but with all that power, it would be stupid not to use it to protect the Earth.

"Very well." Highfather reluctantly agreed. While he would have preferred the Omega Effect being in the hands of a capable warrior, rather than just some human who refused to fight unless he absolutely had to, there was also the benefit of no more Darkseid. While Otis had some flaws that made him seem weak, it was certainly better than him being a tyrant who slaughters innocent people on a whim. "We are waiting for this entity to begin it's siphoning of a universe's energy. Once we locate it, a boom tube will be opened and you can aid in dispatching this threat. I will be send many of my warriors and Orion as well. Destroy this entity without hesitation. If he can decimate universes as easily as we believe, this will not be easy. Any questions?" He asked, just as the detection equipment picked up just what they were looking for.

[The Republic of Atria]

When it seemed that no one had any questions, several boom tubes opened up to the universe that was just about to be completely drained of its energy. The boom tubes lead the group that consisted of: The Masakis, Xander, Naja, Otis and Orion. A force to be reckoned with for certain, only to be further reinforced by one thousand New Genesis warriors. However, the other end of the boom tube was far from a pretty sight. The Earth was scorched and completely void of any living thing. The sun was a dull red rather than it's normal bright yellow. The stench of scorched air and death clung fast to the world. Xander and Naja had the willpower to ignore how bad it was, Otis however almost began to feel sick with the amount of death and destruction that had been caused. "Oh... Man... What the hell did this?" He asked half to himself and half to everyone else.

"That would be me..." A man replied shilw stepping out of some burning wreckage. "This universe was flawed. So I'm bringing it down. You can skip the heroics, I'm-" He cut himself off when he caught a look at Xander. "And what do we have here?! Another me? I've only met a few other mes. Most of them didn't even have powers. You though... You're stronger than the other mes. Won't really change much."

"That's the source of all this destruction! Kill him!" Orion shouted and led the charge of his New Genesis warriors against the blue man. It didn't last 10 seconds. Orion flew straight at Alt!Xander and was backhanded with such force that he was sent clear of the city. The warriors were immediately vaporized by Alt!Xander's eye beams.

"That was very rude of them." He sighed and shook his head. "Luthor told me that New Genesis would be getting involved. Not that big a deal. At worst you're a speed bump." Alt!Xander smirked. "Alright. Let's do us all a favor and skip the heroic speeches and go right to the part where I kill you all." Xander attacked first with a right hook that didn't even connect. Alt!Xander had grabbed him by the wrist. "Yawn." Alt!Xander said, clearly bored with having to swat what was to him, gnats. With one swift motion, AltXander ripped Xander's arm clean off and then with one straight punch into Xander's gut, his fist went straight through until he forced it to the right, ripping Xander almost completely in half. Only a small section of the left side of his abdomen kept his leg attached.

It was Naja's turn and she was pissed. To the degree where the only thing that she was capable of saying were angry grunts as she tried to hit Alt!Xander with her claws. "Now..." He said stepping to the left. "Who're you supposed to be, exactly? I'm no psychiatrist, but you seem slightly upset on how I just killed that version of me. So are you like his girlfriend?" Naja thought she saw an opening and swung at Alt!Xander with her left, only to have it caught. "Yeah... Looks like I struck a ner-" He was caught off guard by what she did next: A groin kick. Even though he was stronger and faster than Naja in virtually every way, a superhuman kick to the groin still hurts. When he staggered, she went a step further, and drover her thumbs into his eyes, claws extended.

Alt!Xander hollered in agony as he tried to get Naja's thumbs out of his eye sockets, but she further kept her grip by driving her other 8 fingers into the sides of his skull and kneed him in the stomach, repeatedly. "Hurts, doesn't it?! The more you thrash around, the more I'm going to shove my claws into your brain! You're a goddamned monster! How many people have you killed and why?!" It seemed that she actually had things under control. Alt Xander stopped moving much as blood dripped from the many new holes on his head. Which made Naja make the mistake of letting her guard down. "Tell me, or I'm going to rip your head off right here and now." Regardless of what he had to say for himself, she was probably going to rip his head off regardless.

Once Alt!Xander felt Naja relax just the smallest bit. He spoke. "Complicated..." It was very difficult to explain with the brain damage he had at the moment. "I take a universe's energy. Give it to Luthor. He starts doing his bullshit I don't understand." He snickered a bit despite being in quite the tremendous amount of pain.

"And what's so funny?"

"This." Alt!Xander replied and thrust his arms up with such speed that they severed poor Naja's arms at the elbow, which freed him from her death grip. One he pulled her dismembered arms out of his head, the wounds immediately sealed and his eyes had grow back. Naja was almsot spraying her green blood all over the ground. "So you're his wife and or fuckbuddy? Ewww. I almost feel sorry for him. What the hell kind of guy would want to be with... Whatever the hell you're supposed to be? Some kind of snake woman? Disgusting." Naja staggered back to her feet, with her healing factor already beginning to repair the damage to her arms. Only for Alt!Xander to half ass karate chop her neck. It was enough to decapitate her. "Good lord. You're all lucky I'm here to clean up this crap. Which one of you poorly dressed idiots and/or freaks is next?"

Otis watched as the events unfolded. That was clearly an alternate version of Xander. Though much, much more terrifying and with wite hair and dark blue skin not too different from his. He liked Xander and he liked Naja a little bit more. Mostly due to them both being of Inhuman lineage. And how nice she was to him. He didn't know why, but he could tell that Naja was more hurt by the cruel things Alt!Xander said about her than the physical damage he did to her. That would heal. And it was still Xander's voice that said it. Evil doppelganger from another universe or not.

[The Republic of Atria]

"But... But..." He stammered. That meant he had a day at best.

"It's okay Otis." She said holding her son. "We've got long enough for us to talk."

"No... You don't understand..." It took a few minutes for him to explain that he had power now. A lot of power. The power of gods. If he could do everything that he's done, why couldn't he bring one person back to life? "I'll find a way. I swear I'll find a way."

"Otis..."

"I will! Then..." He started tearing up. "Then I'll bring dad back and we can be a family again! I can do it! I know I can! I just have to-" He tried to finish, but was interrupted by his mother.

"Stop. Otis. People die. It happens. It's life. Even if you did find a way, we would just die again at some point. I love you. Your father loves you. He's so proud of the man you've become. You've done more than most people could ever dream of." She explained. Despite what she did in the past, upon reflecting on it, she felt terrible for the things she did to her only son. But seeing how he turned out made both her and his deceased a father so proud of their son. "You killed an evil god. Most people don't even see one, let alone find, kill and take their power. We're proud of you. I can't make up for everything I did. I really can't. You deserved so much more." She was hugging her son and Otis was returning it with his own. "But you've grown so much, changed so much. You've done more good for this world than we can understand. How many people did Darkseid kill? How many lives did you spare by killing him?"

"I don't know... Probably a bunch." He didn't feel bad about killing Darkseid. Who would? Even Darkseid's own father would have probably killed him at some point if he hadn't. "I just... I just don't want to be alone anymore... I want to be a family again. We can live here! I've got a home, I've got a good job, I've got money... It'd-It'd be just like the old days!"

"It's okay Otis." She replied trying to comfort her son. "I've been a terrible mother. I wish I could take it all back." By now Otis was bawling his eyes out. For the first time when he was, she was there to try and make him feel better. "We're both very happy Otis. We want you to be happy too. You don't need us to be happy. You're a superhero Otis. A good one. You don't understand how proud we are of you. You've grown into a great man. Kind, caring, generous, strong..."

It was better that at least he got to speak with his mother before she went away for good. He couldn't stop her from leaving, but at the very least he got to say good bye. He turned to Darkseid. "I hope it hurt, bastard. I want to kill you. It would be so easy..." He hissed with his eyes smoldering with the power of the Omega Effect. "But... I'm not kind of person. You're going to live with the fact that your power is mine, forever. You will never get it back. Your power is in the hands of a stupid child... That probably hurts more than anything I could have done to you." He snickered a bit before letting out a long, deep breath. "Merry Christmas Darkseid. Have a nice life as a flower."

[The Republic of Atria]

Apokolips

"After several hours of thinking and coming up with nothing... I may or may not have come up with something." Killian said clasping his together.

"Why do you insist on pestering me?"

"Hey, you clearly suck at this whole taking over the multiverse thing. I'm trying to help you along. See. The biggest threats are Hadri, Valka, and Otis. They're all friends and if one gets into trouble, the others will be there to help. And considering that they're gods, it won't be long before they pop up and kick your face down your throat. What you gotta do is find a way to divide and conquer. Now follow along. This might be too much for your primitive mind to comprehend." Of course he said it in the smarmiest way he possibly could, just to annoy him. "We'll start with Otis. And would you look at that? The Necromancer brought his mother back so she could spend one last Christmas with her son. Unfortunately, Otis is out dealing with other nonsense that's too dangerous for her to be there. All it'll take to push him over the edge..." Killian presented a mother box.

Khan figured out what Killian was trying to do. "I see. You place the motherbox in his living quarters for his mother to find, which will take her to where her son is fighting a very dangerous foe. Which will likely result in her death, and cause the child more emotional pain. Which will likely put him at odds with the other two primary protectors of Earth."

"Well, holy shit. I am slightly impressed. You are capable of thinking without the use of strangling someone. And that is exactly the plan. Boop." He said teleporting the motherbox into Otis' apartment. "And now... We watch the fireworks. I'm surprised at Otis's resolve if I do say so myself. Normally someone with the amount of baggage he has is well on his way to becoming a supervillain. And yet he's still... Him. Oh well. Don't worry Connie. We'll find his breaking point if it kills you. Hopefully it doesn't. There's so many puns I've yet to make with your name." He said and sat back watching the events unfold with Yuga Khan.

Otis's mother was wandering around his empty apartment when she her a strange noise. Her curiosity got the better of her and she found the small device tucked away in Otis's room. She saw Otis use it before, when he left because he insisted that there was something that he had to attend to. He insisted that it was too dangerous for her to come along and didn't want to risk getting her killed. But she was confident that whatever it was that he was dealing with, she could help. She grabbed the Motherbox and without skipping a beat, it opened a Boom Tube to where Otis was located. She didn't how she knew he was there, but she felt like it was true. However, she quickly realized that she really should have listened to Otis when he said it was too dangerous.

All she saw was a red sky, a man fighting another man with blue skin with red eyes, and a city that was engulfed in smoke and fire. Otis immediately noticed her. "Mom?! No no no no no! How did you get here?! You're not supposed to be here! We're almost done! Here. I'll take you home. Where did you get that mother box? It's too dangerous-" Just as he said that, Alt!Xander fired a beam at Shimura, but it missed and wound up smacking into Otis. He was tough enough to shrug it off, but his mother sure wasn't. The shockwave to him was more like a small slap on the back, however due to the Omega Effect greatly increasing his durability and strength, he didn't realize how powerful it really was until he saw his mother get knocked away like a ragdoll. Otis could feel his heart sink. "NOOO!" He shouted and ran over to his mortally wounded mother. "MOM! NO!"

"Otis..." She stammered weakly. "I'm... So sorry. I... Should have listened. I... Just wanted to spend a little bit with you..." She put her hand on his head. "I love you... So much. You've done great things, and you're going to do even more... But... Otis." She gasped for a few breaths before her dying words were able to make it out.

"Anything Mom... I love you."

"Kill that son of a bitch for me..." She trailed off as her heart finally stopped. Otis held her lifeless body and held her close while sobbing. He had lost his mother... Again. It stung. It felt like his heart just got ripped out of his chest. He gently laid her body down and wiped his wet face before taking a few deep breaths. It hurt. That much was certain, but at the very least he got closure. He got to say goodbye, they were on good terms up to that point. So that made it slightly less painful. But one thing Otis was going to do was make Alt!Xander pay. He was opposed to violence as a personal rule he made for himself, but as with every rule...

...There are exceptions.

[The Republic of Atria]

Otis opened his eyes and let out one last deep breath. Kazuko had tried to stop him, and while the attempt was valiant, it was futile. Alt!Xander was still very much alive, and very very angry. Otis was standing about twenty feet front of the group. Alt!Xander paid him no mind, not thinking he was a threat since is mother just died and Otis seemed way too out of it to be paying attention. So he flew straight towards Shimura and Kazuko, intending to finish both of them off for good, only for Otis to grab his cape and yank him back. Otis was quite a bit stronger than he looked. "No." He said firmly, but seemingly calm and collected. Right before throwing Alt!Xander away from them. This caused Alt!Xander to slide across the ground with his feet digging into it. "If you want them, then you're going to have to go through me. And I'm not going to stop until you're just a greasy smear on the bottom of my foot."

"Ooooooh... Scary-" Alt!Xander mocked only for him to miss the part where Otis Moved right in front of him and kicked him square in the chest hard enough that he was sent flying through the entire city. The buildings that weren't collapsed certainly were after that. What remained of the western half of the city was now home to the worlds largest set of dominoes. Alt!Xander stood up, gripping his chest. Otis hurt him. Otis actually hurt him. Not something he was going to let him get off with easy. He smashed through the rubble he was buried under and charged at Otis as fast as he could, only for the blue creature to side step him and slam his foot into his side, cracking every single one of the ribs on Alt!Xander's left abdomen, and sent skipping across the water like a smooth stone. He flew out of the water looking for Otis in the empty city with his enhanced eyesight, only to feel someone tapping his shoulder.

"So close." Otis teased and when Alt!Xander turned to face him, Otis poked his finger against his cheek. "All you do is charge at people. That's what? Thrice?" Alt!Xander responded by throwing a very powerful punch at where he swore he saw Otis floating, only for the air from where he punched to level an entire city block. "You're strong. But you sure as hell don't know much about fighting do you? You just keep brute forcing it because no one ever really had the strength to stand up to you on even footing. See, where I'm from, I didn't have all this power right from the get go. I was pretty insignificant on my planet. I had to learn how to fight and fight really well. Even though I was a pacifist. What's the phrase? Speak softly and carry a big stick?" Alt!Xander responded by blasting a massive wave of energy where Otis was standing. The wave vaporized everyone for several miles and Otis was behind him once again.

He turned around ready to fight Otis, only to be blasted by bright red energy beams. It was like a fly hitting a bug zapper. Otis caught him by his foot before he hit the ground. "See. I've been watching. You're trying to end the fight as quickly as possible. Only reason why someone like you'd be doing that is if you think there's a chance you could lose." Otis flew over land and dropped him about 20 feet to the ground. "Which leaves me to the conclusion that you're getting weaker. All that energy has to come from somewhere. And from what I was told, this universe is approaching heat death territory levels of energy shortage." He smiled. "You're running on fumes. Shimura and Kazuko forced you to spend more energy than you were supposed to. Me?" The red energy covered his hands and Otis used to to turn the sky from red to blue and stop the fires that were raging across the planet. "I'm just getting warmed up. Let's go."

Alt!Xander threw a flurry of punches at Otis. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Otis was right. The universe was dying because he spent too much of his energy killing it. Otis met every single one of his blows with a kick. Until one time he didn't causing Alt!Xander to stumble, and Otis kicked him in the face hard. Enough to shatter his nose and send the evil, blue, man flying across the sky, hitting the ground with enough force that much of the ground uprooted in a pile behind him. By the time he opened his eyes, the next thing he saw was the bottom of Otis's feet as they slammed into his head. "You think I'm a pacifist for MY safety?! I don't like hurting people!" Otis wasn't quite sure if he could be heard since Alt!Xander's head was flatter than a pancake, but it felt good to say it and get some payback for his mother. Alt!Xander stood up with his face snapping back into place in quite a creepy way that made Otis cringe.

AltXAnder was now well passed angry and into absolutely livid levels of fury. He took swings at Otis who was dancing around his attacks and blasting him into ash with the Omege Beams again and again. Worse yet, he started to sing.

Let's go, let the room get chiller
Let's go dirty mother killer.

Go ahead and try to hit me if you're able
Cause you've figured now that mercy's off the table
I can tell you're getting really sick of trying
But I think you're just mad you keep dying.

You're not gonna win, we'll be here together
Fighting in this empty city forever

I know you'll just regen each time I beat 'cha
But I'll always be right back here to meet ya.


It was at this point Otis switched up his attacks. Moving from the Omega beams and the occasion counter kick to jusst slamming him around with Telekinesis, and impaling him with telekinetic spikes. Alt!Xander was starting to slow down more and more as Otis causing significant damage to his body. To the point where it was getting harder and harder just to stand.

This is where it stops...
This is where it ends...

If you want to get past me, well you better try again...

It was then that Alt!Xander stopped. He couldn't beat Otis. At least not with him moving. Otis did say he was a pacifist... "Please. Stop. You-You win. I can't take it anymore. I give up." He begged.

Otis's face softened a bit. "Al...Alright. You want me to spare you?" He offered Alt!Xander a hand, but as soon as he grabbed Otis's hand Otis's eyes flared up.

"You didn't spare my mother, so get dunked on." He said and poured on the Omega Beams, full power.

[The Republic of Atria]

There was seemingly nothing left of Alex. Otis stopped when there was nothing but a smoldering crater. "And stay dead." His motherbox was warning him about the imminent heat death of the universe and that he really should get out of there before then. He gently picked up his mother's corpse, not once looking back at the destruction that was caused by their fight. "Let's get out of here. It's about to get really explodey, and I'm allergic to having a universe exploding in my face." Even with his dead mother in his arms, he did his damnedest to keep his spirits up. Even if he felt like just sitting there and letting the universe take him with it.

"Shimura. Grab Kazuko. We can't stay here. This universe is seconds away from death and it'll take us with it." Xander used his motherbox to open the Boom Tube. He went first and Naja stayed back to make sure Otis went through before her. Orion came in behind them. Xander had caught most of the fight. Whatever doubt he had that Otis didn't know what he was doing was gone. If Otis wanted to be the carefree child that he always was, he wasn't going to judge him anymore. Not after what he just saw. However, now came the time to explain what happened to the battalion of soldiers Highfather sent to aid them. "It went... We won. That's the good news. The bad news is... You might want to have a recruitment drive. That and... Try not to be too harsh on Otis. Somehow his mother got involved and she didn't make it. He's... Upset."

Naja watched as Otis laid his mother down on a table and fell to his knees. "I'm sorry for your loss." She said and sat next to him. "But I want you to know that you can talk to me." She put her hand o his shoulder. "Okay?"

"Thanks... That means a lot, but I think I'm just going to go home for a bit. Give my mother a proper burial." Otis spoke softly and picked up his mother carefully. "I'm sure you guys can handle the rest." One boom tube later, Otis was gone.

Meanwhile...

Alex had finally managed to pull himself back together with what little scraps of energy he could pull from the universe. By the time he woke up, everyone else was gone and the universe was finally dying. "Luthor! Get me out of here!" The sun had burned out and Earth was quickly beginning to fall apart. If he didn't escape, he actually would perish. It seemed like Luthor was messing with him, as a portal opened at the very last second, allowing him to escape just as the universe died. "What the fuck was that Luthor?!"

"Opening portals to dying universes is quite difficult..."

"Not that! Those... There were like six of them. Plus a bunch of fodder. They weren't native to that universe. Two of them were new. The others were just slightly stronger variants of them that I've already killed."

"Yes. It seems New Genesis has taken notice of our little excursion. I've traced the people who you fought back to their universe."

"Great! I'll go-"

"No. I would recommend you wait just a moment. There are numerous problems that we have at the moment, and we should solve them before you rush off and get yourself into more trouble. The first problem is that this universe is... Substantially more potent than the other's you've destroyed. In fact, I think it would be a perfect place to finally start our project. The problem for you is that the defenders of this universe are much, much more powerful than the ones you're used to. The blue creature you fought? He's not even the strongest one. Top five possibly. But killing the others would cause more damage to this universe, and I'd rather you keep this one intact." Luthor explained to him. "The second problem is actually, you. The defenders of this universe have vast reserves of cosmic energy to tap into, that's what makes them so potent."

"And... I don't?"

"You use the energy that exists throughout the universe. Put off from stars, planets, ambient energy. And due to the amount required to put these beings down, you would destroy it. In fact your mere existence in a universe causes untold amounts of damage to it, and shortens it's lifespan considerably. But. I have been working on finding a power source you can use without decreasing the lifespan of the universe you'll be attacking." He put his hands together, happy to reveal his discovery. "Anti-Matter. When it collides with matter, it releases untold amounts of energy. I've been working on an armor for you that will allow you to tap into an anti-matter engine I've constructed. It'll make you function at your peak without causing any harm to our prize."

"Luthor, I would hug you if that were a thing that I did."

[The Republic of Atria]

- Snip -

God of Peace Shimura | God of Nature Kazuko

As soon as Shimura jumped out of the Boom Tube and onto New Genesis, all of his attention was upon Kazuko as soon as he felt the energies of the Universe surround his body "Geez, I have to deal with everything today don't I..." Shimura muttered as he gently placed Kazuko to the ground and started treating him, but Shimura knew that if Kazuko was to return to full strength in a short time, he had to be on a Nature-Rich world where his body could unconsciously interact with the environment around him "Kazuko, are you alright my son?" Shimura asked, placing his ear up against his chest, fortunately his heart was beating weakly, which meant that there was still a chance that he could survive the ordeal, but he had to get to Earth as soon as possible if Kazuko's healing factor was to be accelerated. Rearing his head to Xander, Shimura rose up and spoke "Forget about our past transgressions, I need your help Xander..." Shimura stated, opening his mouth once more "I need you to open up a boomtube towards Earth and near the old training arena where both Kazuko and Asumar inhabited, can you do that?"

"Hm? Oh, right. He does look pretty messed up. I think we're just about done here anyways." He replied to Shimura and opened a Boom tube to the location he requested. He genuinely had no malice to the Masakis, contrary to what they might believe. Had he truly wanted to exterminate them, there were plenty of opportunities for him to do so. "Naja and I are going to wrap things up here." He then turned to Highfather. "I'm curious though. Granted, the man was a version of me who turned completely psychotic, but just mindlessly killing universes out of spite? That doesn't sound... Normal. Even if that person was mentally deranged. My best guess is that he's the attack dog for someone who's playing with universes like they're toys. Which means we need to find whoever's responsible and end them as soon as possible."

"It does seem likely that this is the case. We will continue to monitor the events and inform you should anything come up."

"Sounds good. By the way..." He trailed off, really not wanting to do it, but he felt like he had to. "I wanted to apologize for how I behaved on our last visit here. I know I can be a little hot tempered, and I'm genuinely working on it..." Not knowing what else to say, Xander left it off right there. He wasn't one for apologizing and even rarer admitting he was in the wrong. "I'm not perfect. Never will be."

"Given these past events, and your willingness to aid us, even if it means you having to work with people you distrust, is admirable. Your apology is accepted. And you may keep that motherbox as well. As a gesture of good faith."

"See? You can be nice sometimes. Look at that, you're still alive. Wasn't so bad now was it?" Naja teased him. "Come on. We just saved the Multiverse. Let's go get some tacos."

[The Republic of Atria]

"You know who else could use some tacos?" Naja asked as they returned home. She didn't need to explain who she was talking about, they both knew out of anyone, Otis could use a friend at the moment. Rather than using a motherbox to go from Praetoria to Attilan, they decided to fly and not scare him with the loud shock of a boom tube. It took a few minutes, but it was more polite. When they got to his home, the stech of something that had been burned filled the air. It was coming from his apartment. Naja knocked and heard Otis inside.

"It's open. Come in." Was the reply. They opened to find him with an Urn. "Mom said she always wanted to be cremated. I don't know about any crematoriums, so I did it myself. She hated funerals." He said without directly facing the two that entered his room. Placing the urn on a shelf he sat down on his couch and stared at the TV. Which was off. "I've had a bad day. I got into a fight... My mother died for the second time... Yeah... I've definitely seen better days." Despite all that having happened to him, he seemed surprisingly calm.

Naja sat next to him, placing her arm around him. "It's okay. We're your friends. We're gonna help you get through this. When was the last time you ate something? If there was ever a time for comfort food... It's now."

"I don't know... Suicide by ice cream sounds pretty cool..." He let out a small smile at his pun. "Mind if I call a friend? You guys know Julie, right? the Green Lantern?"

"Oh yeah. Sure. I'm sure she'd enjoy some time off." Xander said. "I know her. We were on a team awhile back. Nice girl. She your girlfriend?"

"No! Yes! Maybe! I don't know. She's really nice. And kinda cute. I know a good place where we could go. I need to get my mind off this whole thing for a few minutes. I think we should stay in Attilan. Xander, you'd be the only normal looking person if we were to go outside the city. I'm not in the mood to be stared at."

"I do miss Attilan a bit. Call Julie and we'll make it a double date."

"It's not a date, Okay." He said and grabbed his mother box. The name of the device wasn't helping him forget, but he'd be damned if it wasn't a great piece of technology. "Send a message to Julie." "Hey Julie. It's Otis. Xander and Naja are here asking if we want to go out on the town with them. I've had a rough day and I could use a friend right now. If you're busy, that's cool. Anyways, reply when or if you can." He said and sent the message to her ring.

[The Republic of Atria]

Naja put her hands on Otis's shoulders. "Otis here, has had a rough day. So, we're trying to cheer him up and he thought you'd like to come along." Se could tell Otis had a thing for Julie, and what better way to get his mind off things than hanging out with his crush? "We're gonna get some food, talk, and have a good time. Things have been tense lately and I think it's time we unwind a bit. Sound cool?" She asked. "My treat."

"Hi Julie." Otis waved nervously. "Yeah... Umm... Naja covered most of it. We're eating here in Attilan. So we don't have to worry about getting shooed out because we have a rainbow of skin colors... And half of us have tails."

"If you really want to get technical. Xander is the weird one in the group. No differing skin tone." Naja teased her husband. "No tail... No retractable claws. Just soft pink skin and a dire need for a haircut."

"So why are you picking on me all of a sudden?" He asked, crossing his arms. "And as for my hair, try finding a barber that can cut it."

"Because you're boring!" She teased before whipping her tail in front of his face. "I'm just joking you big goon. I love you and all your blandness. At least get a hair tie. Put it in a ponytail. I'll braid it."

"I draw the line at the hair tie. You're not braiding my hair."

"See what I mean? Boring. I love you, but you need to learn to unwind a bit. Have you watched any TV liked I asked you to?" She was making it a thing to try and make Xander more relaxed rather than him constantly working on his projects to get the Earth into a spaceworthy state and saving the multiverse from genocidal psychopaths. By the look she got, it was assumed that he didn't. She sighed. "Did you at least watch the first episode of One Punch Man? I even left it on for you and it's only twenty minutes long."

"Wait, you haven't seen One Punch Man? That's my jam right there. That fight with Boros? Holy crap, that was amazing. Love the Consecutive Normal Punches. Like how how normal punches are strong enough to liquefy someone strong enough to blow up planets? I know there's a comic convention in town next week. I'm thinking about going as Boros. Since he's the only character in the series with blue skin... Julie! You could be Tatsumaki!"

[The Republic of Atria]

"That's cheating." Otis teased and smiled a bit, warming up a bit more. It was good to have friends as good as he had. "Unfortunately, I am not a cyclops. And also unlike Boros, I have sex organs. Which people do not want to see... Most people don't want to see. And reading alien comic books? Yeeees! I love comic books. Which weird because that's how my life feels lately." He sighed. "I need a gallon of ice cream. A bucket of boneless chicken wings. And some time off. Good lord my life has been crazy lately. Apparently, Xander is a huge asshole in other realities. Here's he's just a guy who doesn't know how to have fun."

"I do so! That's completely inane. I enjoy myself."

"Name two hobbies. Work doesn't qualify." Naja challenged her husband. After waiting for about ten seconds of him actually not being able to name even one thing he does to amuse himself when he's not working. "See? I swear, I'm going to make you sit down and watch One Punch Man with me. You're going to enjoy yourself if it kills you. And you're getting on that stage tonight, and you are going to do at least two songs."

"It's been awhile... I'll probably do at least one song. I wonder what your singing voice sounds like?" Otis asked. He realized that Naja was poking innocent fun at her husband for being uptight about everything and not actually doing anything that's fun for her. Which made sense to him, even if he wasn't married. It was helping him forget what just happened. "Let's go!" He said and walked with Julie as Naja practically dragged Xander along with her.

"Absolutely not. I'm not making an idiot of myself."

"Absolutely yes. The whole point of it is that you can't. Few people can. Otis isn't bad. And we've just saved the Multiverse. If you can do that, you can sing two three minute songs in front of people who are going to be half drunk anyways. And if you don't..." She whispered in his eye something inaudible to many, but it made Xander go wide eyed.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

[The Republic of Atria]

"Hold still..." Naja muttered as she grabbed a hair tie to keep Xander's hair from going over his face as it often did. It didn't bother him, but it was annoying enough to her that she was finally willing to do something about it. "Alright. There. That looks nice. I can see your face now. Now go change your clothes. Nothing much. Just a shirt and and some pants. Have you ever washed that costume since you made it?" She asked in a teasing manner, much to further annoy her husband. "Don't give me that look. You've been working non stop for like the past month. I am your wife. I deserve at least a few days with you. That doesn't involve us having to save the world from God knows what. And when we're done, I have a surprise for you. Now go change." She said pushing Xander into his room, sealing the wall behind him to allow for privacy. "I love him to pieces. But he's being so stubborn..."

"Maybe he has a fun allergy." Otis suggested comically. "Like how people get peanut allergies. It makes his throat swell up and we'll have to take him to hospital." Snickering to himself. "He can't hear us can he? I swear if looks could kill... By the way, what's the big surprise? Is it a party?"

"He probably can. And he's harmless. He'll scowl here and there, but he'll get used to it and maybe even crack a smile." Naja replied and shook her head. "It's something I've been waiting on for awhile. I figured tonight, what with everything that's been going on, he needs some time off with something new that I just know he's going to love. Speaking of which... How're you doing? Feeling better?"

"Yeah... I am feeling better. Thanks."

"You ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." She offered and pat his back as Xander came out dressed quite casually: a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She wasn't wearing more than a tank-top and a pair of modified leggings, since finding clothes with a tail hole was quite difficult. "See? You're presentable now. Let's go get some food."

The Source.

"Lemme get this straight." Wyatt asked taking a long drag on his cigarette. "You're basically God. And your little mini gods have fucked up so royally that you don't want them around anymore?" He asked the floating orb the representing The Source. "And to top it all off. You want me to go in there and mop them up, and in exchange I get to use the entire multiverse as my own personal whorehouse?" He smirked. "When can I start?"

"As soon as you wish." The Source replied, transporting Wyatt to Apokolips. The old man took a long drag on his cigarette before flicking it into a firepit.

"Time to do some redecorating. Someone's compensating." He muttered to himself as the firepits of Apokolips died down quite a bit, as was his command. He quickly gathered the attention of Apokolips' current ruler: Yuga Khan. Wyatt responded to Khan's arrival with a very sarcastic tone. "You ain't a fan of pants, are you?"

"Mortal, you will soon learn-"

"Shut your goddamned cockholster. Something called the Source, from what I've gather is basically God, told me to tell you that you're fucking fired and I'm your boss now." Wyatt said firmly, summoning another cigarette. Floating up to Khan at eye level. "Since you and the rest of your ilk are a bunch of fuck ups, I gotta clean up after you. Got it? You do what I say, or I'm gonna turn you into a frog and beat you with a hammer."

"You dare speak to me in such a tone- RAAAAGH!" Khan grabbed his eye as Wyatt gave him a cigarette burn in it.

"Next time, I'll do it to your balls. What the fuck passes for a woman here... Find me something to fuck here in the next five minutes, or I'll just use you. Don't matter to me. I've got redecorating to do. What the fuck is with you people and these big ass fire pits?"

[The Republic of Atria]

Khan was flabbergasted that not only was a human able to comprehend the Source, but that the same human treated him like he was nothing more than a servant. His eye healed quickly, but even by then, he watched as Wyatt tore apart his fortress. He teleported back inside to find the human screaming at his servants. His brother, Steppenwolf, Granny Goodness, Kalibak, Desaad, dozens of parademons and just about everything else inbetween. "What the fuck kind of place is this?! No shitter?! And you're what passes for a goddamn woman?! You're a goddamn dwarf!" All the while his powers were distorting the very fabric of reality just by him screaming at them for not meeting his standards. "And you!" He waved his hand at Khan. "How fucking incompetent are you?! You know what... I'm sorry. I just get a little bit upset when everyone around me is so goddamned useless. Let's start over. My name is Wyatt Walker-"

"I am Yuga Khan! I have taken more planets than years you've been alive! I am-"

"Going to SHUT! THE! FUCK! UP! I don't give a half FUCK who you are! You do what I say, when I say! Even if it involves kneepads and plenty of Listerine." Wyatt hissed. "Alright... Alright. Here's what's going to happen. Khannie. That's your new name. You are going to show me what you use to going around getting your asses kicked, so I can show you how it's done. Don't think of me as your boss. Think of me of being the guy who's gonna turn your skull into a jack-o-lantern and play football with it. The shitty European one. You. Fucker who hasn't shaved a day in his life." He turned his attention to Kalibak. "And you. Scarface. You two are gonna be my assistants. You. Fat old woman. Go make yourself presentable and grow like... 2 feet taller. You wouldn't even reach my dick at that height."

Kalibak and Desaad hesitated. Yuga Khan was still standing right there. It took Wyatt all of a half second to run out of patience. "Alright. Let me put things in perspective. Khannie!" Wyatt snapped and teleported Khan right beside him. Khan tried to move but found himself stuck in place by Wyatt. "I can be a good boss. See? Look how friendly we are." And with that, Wyatt slammed Khan all around the room, further decreasing the stability of the already damaged fortress before smashing him on the ground. It was a horrifying sight to watch as Wyatt slammed his foot on Khan again and again, making a mess out of what was once his skull. "There see? You. Ugly Bitch. Get this garbage cleaned up for me, yeah? And make me something to eat. You two. Come with me."

Kalibak and Desaad decided that the psychotic human that just crushed the skull of the most terrifying god to ever exist, was probably not the one they wanted to disobey. It was how gods came and went after all.

[The Republic of Atria]

As soon as they stepped outside, they took to the skies towards Attilan. "You look great. See? You don't have to spend every waking moment of your life in that costume. You can look like a normal person with long hair." She said as they landed in the city. "Now you can finally spend some time with your beautiful wife. Would it kill you to at least pretend you're in a good mood?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you I was." Xander replied. "It is nice that I don't have to worry about something blowing up the planet for the 50th time this week." He smiled. A little, but it was there. "And I'm sorry I haven't been spending enough quality time with you. You're right."

"There's the big ole' softy in there. You're going to love the surprise I have planned for you when we get done eating here and go home. And I'm still going to make you get up on that stage and do a song. You're going to have fun if it kills you." She teased as they landed. "It's nostalgic being here. Everyone here was so nice. Hopefully they're all still nice."

"I can confirm." Otis said as he landed with Julie. "Almost everyone here is still very nice. My evidence is that I still live here. People don't give you weird look when you've got blue skin and a long tail. Not gonna lie though, I love this tail. It's like a third arm over my butt... Okay, maybe not the best comparison, but it's pretty cool. You really should think about getting one."

"Yes Otis. I can just go get a lengthy extension to my spinal cord." Xander responded sarcastically.

"You can?" Otis asked. "You'll have to show me where later. Also, I've noticed your sarcasm has gotten much better. You'll be a normal person in no time at this rate." Xander found it difficult to frown at the young man who just looked... Happy. Otis had certainly suffered much worse than he did and he was the one with a grin. "I saw that. You can smile. I can assure that it won't tear the fabric of reality apart. My motherbox would've told me otherwise."

[The Republic of Atria]

Naja lead him along and the couple sat together with Otis and Julie across from them. Many Inhumans were sitting around and chatting with one another about whatever the conversation topic was that day. "I've finally figured it out." Otis said as he sat down. It was good to be home again. He loved Attilan and it had been gone for who knows how long.

Xander had no idea what Otis was talking about, but couldn't resist asking. "Figured what out?"

"Why you're so angry all the time." Otis said clearly poking fun at him.

"I am not angry all of the time. I admit I may have a temper, but I'm not angry all of the time..." He defended himself, knowing full and well that that wasn't going to stop Otis from going off on whatever tangent he had in mind.

"You're just jealous! See, Me, Naja, and Julie. We are aliens! Kind of. I mean you're actually an alien and so is Julie, but you're a boring ole' human looking one! No claws, no strange features. No multicolored skin. I'm blue, I know Naja can change colors. She turns red whenever she's embarrassed." Naja was about to object, but Otis wasn't wrong. "And the worst part. You don't have a tail. What kinda freak are you?" Otis said and crossed his arms, all too satisfied with himself.

Xander finally caught on fully that Otis was screwing with him and knowing Naja would lecture him if he didn't play along, he figured he might as well avoid that. He sighed. "You got me." Xander said and put his hands up in feign defeat. "I'm just jealous that I don't possess the genetic requirements for a prehensile tail, pointed ears, or what have you."

"Knew it!" He snickered. He was doing his best to get his mind off of his dead mother, and making fun of the leader of possibly the most powerful country on Earth was helping. "Alright. Now let's break the ice even more with a question. If you could have any superpower. Which one would you want?" The question was intentionally stupid. Otis just wanted to see Xander's reaction.

"Are you serious? What kind of question is that?"

[The Republic of Atria]

"Oh, I know it was a stupid question." He admitted and shrugged. "I just wanted to see your reaction to a stupid question. Not sure what I expected to be honest. Hey, look at it this way, people are always going to ask you stupid crap. But, unlike me, they're probably a bit more serious. Speaking of which, everyone and their mother wants to interview you. Every major news station has said that they want you for an interview. And every radio station is asking the same question... Now, I can see why you aren't going, but why don't you have Naja answer them? So you don't freak out on national television?" He asked, intending his last bit to be a little bit of a jab.

"They want me to get to their interview, so that I'll boost their ratings and they'll get more money, twist my words to make it fit with their ideology and make me look like I'm affiliated with their political bullshit." Xander said flatly.

"Wow... Aren't you just a barrel of sunshine. You know, for a guy with bright ass light powers, you can be pretty cynical. Excuse me. You're practically cynicism incarnate." He teased. "Why is it that the guy with the power of a million exploding suns is as depressing as this, and the snake woman is cheery, nice, and hopeful? What do you see in him? Cause he's like Squidward. Except he's not an octopus."

"Don't be mean. He's not always doom and gloom, I swear. He's usually much... Less frowny. Y'know what, this was a bad idea." Naja said sounding a bit hurt, Otis could tell that she was faking, Xander however, fell right into her trap. But by the time he caught up with her, she was already back on Praetoria.

"Annnnnd... Then there were two. I hope Naja's okay... So, how's life been treating you?" He asked Julie.

Xander flew back home, but despite his best efforts, he couldn't find Naja. "Naja... Where are you? Come out... Let's talk, okay? I love you, I didn't mean to be like that... It's just how I am." He asked the empty room. "I know you can hear me. Please come here so we can talk this out. I'm trying sweetheart. I really am." He waited a few moments and was just about to ask for her to come out again, when she heard her call him from his trophy room. He had various trinkets in there. Many of them were objects he was given as a wedding gift.

"In here!" When she called out, it wasn't the disappointed tone he was expecting. In fact she sounded like she was in quite a good mood. Xander went into the trophy room to see her dressed in what appeared to be a French Maid's outfit. Which he found confusing. Even more so, she was positioned ever so that he had to walk around some of his objects to see her exposing herself to him.

"What... What is this? What are you doing? What are you wearing? Where did you even get that?" It took him all of a second to figure out that she did that to lure him there so she could pull this off. "What-" He was quickly silenced by Naja's finger.

"Shhhh. I still have to polish your spear."

"I don't have a spear..."

[The Republic of Atria]

45 minutes later

"Wow... That was fun." Xander said with Naja sitting on his abdomen. "What brought that on all of a sudden?" He asked. Naja had been far more outgoing lately, enough that even he noticed.

"You." She replied. "I'm finally over the problems I had with how I look. You showed me that it doesn't matter what I look like. I'm... Me. And I'm proud of my look. I know you're probably thinking: That's what I've been telling you this whole time! But I finally got it. I'm happy with who I am. And that means you and I are gonna have a lot more fun together. And... Thank you for doing it. You might not know a euphemism if it smacked you upside the head. But you really see people for who they are."

"I'm a biologist, Naja. Deep down, most everyone is the same. Just chemicals-"

"Don't ruin the moment with your science mumbo jumbo. I'm sexy and now I believe it." She said and flopped down on his side wrapping her arms around him with her tail around his left leg. "We're halfway there. Once you start getting past all that cynicism and see that the world really isn't that bad, we'll be golden. Metaphorically of course. If I can get past something like this. You can realize that not everything or everyone is a jerk. I'm not a jerk... I'm pretty certain anyways."

"Okay, okay... I'll try harder. I promise. And you're not. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met. By the way, where did you even get the idea for... That."

"You'd know if you bothered to sit down and play a video game once in your life... Or ever watched a TV show. The French maid thing is like one of the most common sexy outfits. I couldn't tell you why, but that's just how it is. Did you like it?"

"I'd be lying if I said no."

[The Republic of Atria]

Praetoria

The couple spent at least another half an hour just cuddling in their large bed. It would have been longer had they not gotten an alarm about something flying at their home at an unsafe speed with a unique energy signature. Luckily scans showed that it was a person, or rather something that at least looked like a person. "I suppose we should actually find out why a stranger just flew towards our country at mach 50..." Naja said and climbed out of bed to put her outfit on. "Sorry I guilt tripped you, but I think that it was worth it." She did feel bad that she manipulated his emotions like that, but she genuinely didn't mean to hurt him and just wanted some alone time with him. Which was hard to come by since he was completely oblivious to her earlier cues.

"Yeah..." Xander agreed and grabbed his uniform off the floor. He might not be a perfect person, but he loved his wife unconditionally. And with each passing day, he loved her more and more. Within a few minutes they were flying overhead to find a stranger looking around appearing to be rather lost. "Excuse me. I'm Xander, and this is my wife, Naja. Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked the man, who upon closer inspection, was clearly not any alien that he had living on Praetoria. In fact, it wasn't even organic from what he could tell, which made him suspicious. The designed of the machine didn't match any known design from Earth or extraterrestrial that he was familiar with.

Attilan

Otis felt his face get hot when Julie grabbed his hand and started talking about how she met a guy who, based on the description she gave, was him. Her grabbing his hand didn't seem to help either. "It-It's fine. Nothing wrong with complaining once in awhile. Helps keep the mind free. Or something like that, I'm not a psychiatrist. Well..." He trailed off, clearly nervous. "Most guys I know, which to be honest isn't that many, most of my friends are girls. In fact, all but one of my friends are of the female persuasion... Most guys like the direct approach. You could always... Just tell him how you feel." He had a crush on her, and as far as he could tell, she had similar feelings.

[The Republic of Atria]

oy vey

Alright, where is that clothing shop? I glanced through a few shop signs. Some souvenir shops, a few florists, jewelry was also hiding there, somewhere... Maybe I entered the wrong district. There was a flow of people to the right - looks like they don't want to be here either. I was so busy with this that I did not even notice someone landing behind me, and only when they spoke right to me did I turn around and looked at them.

Xander and Naja, they say? My eyes flashed red for an instant as I scanned them for information. Interesting lifeforms, I must say. And pretty powerful.

"Uh, you don't have to stare at me like that, I'm not going to hurt anyone." I finally spoke with a reply. "My name is Frank. Frank Mayhem. I'm new here, I'm not familiar with the layout, that kind of stuff. Nice to meet you, Xander and Naja."

Well, since we're here, why not ask the main question? They seem to be a native. "Anyway, can you tell me where in the world is that clothing shop? Every moment that I stay with this black uniform, I keep getting reminded of what happened prior to this meeting."

"With a last name like that, how can I not trust you?" Xander asked still suspicious of the android's motive. Frank was seemingly a normal name. Mayhem? That set off some alarm bells in his head.

"Be nice." Naja said, giving her husband a slightly annoyed look. "He's obviously not looking for trouble. Everyone here has superpowers... And thank you. Pardon Xander, he can be a bit rude. Welcome to Praetoria. We're the ones in charge. It was kind of hard not to notice you flying in at the speed you were. Is there something we can help you with?" While she did think it was strange that Frank was there, she was at least willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Xander however was suspicious of the fact that an android not with any design that he was familiar with, and outputting enough power to level a decent chunk of the planet, was on his doorstep without any prior warning that he was going to have a guest. Xander liked order.

Otis

"You-You... Like, like me?" He asked feeling his face get hot. He felt the same way, however his brain and mouth were operating on two completely different wavelengths. "I-uh, do feeling similar ways about you?" That was not what he wanted to say. Come on brain, we're on the same team here! Nice girl likes us! "I... I have been feeling the same way Julie. You're really nice. And the only girl I know who's stuck with me this long, or wasn't so busy being a deity to hang out... Or both." He said, his face still purple. "Ummm... that's my very roundabout way of say that I like you, and that I want to give us a try. If you want to, of course! We could be cop buddies! Like every TV network has! Or Mister and Missus Smith! Except that we don't work for rival assassination companies, and my analogy is starting to fall apart..."

"So I'm just going to go with a clean and clear yes."

[The Republic of Atria]

Homestar

Xander was transported back to his parents and wife without warning, for the second time. "They're not that bad. A tad bit arrogant, but they aren't jerks about it. So... What do you guys do in your spare time?" Xander asked. "You don't seem to have the same needs as most people. So I take it that you have nothing but time."

"Correct." His mother, Navara said. "Many of us partake in exploration. It's a big universe and we enjoy watching things change. Most choose to take an organic form in the midst of a society. Usually a person who was deemed unfit for it. We have the ability to bind ourselves to organic creatures. Granting them our abilities. We act as a guide, or in severe cases, take control of the host. Should they misuse our gifts. Though, it has been down less. Some of us are not prepared for the strange things only organic beings can feel. Pain. Pleasure. Hate. Often times, one of us is mentally overpowered and their consciousness is overwhelmed by an organic with a particularly strong mindset, leading them to fade and die while the creature retains the power and knowledge."

"Huh..." Xander said, interested in the explanation. "You can physically bind yourselves to people? That's interesting."

"Your are doing the very same thing, but you are sustaining your own body rather than sharing it with an organic." His father, Valan continued. "Though we lack the same knowledge of the physiology that is required to keep it intact. We love you." He said finally wanting to just talk and spend some time with his son. "We have waited so long for this moment. We both are guilt ridden for what you ad to suffer through. We hope you understand..." He put his hand on Xander's shoulder. "Were it our choice, we would have raised you here."

"It's-It's fine. Really. I never would have met Naja if I was raised here." He replied and took his wife's hand. "I'm not... Angry. It could be that I'm still experiencing shock from trying to digest all this information, but I'm not upset..."

"Which is very weird for him." Naja teased. "He's all tough and hard on the outside, but he's the biggest softy on Earth once you get to know him. And get past his temper. And-"

"Please stop..." Xander said red from embarrassment. Naja conceded to his relief. "Thank you. I appreciate this. You coming to tell me the truth. I feel better knowing it. I believe it is traditional for a family hug?"

"How do you manage to turn a sweet moment like this into... That. Hug your parents! Love and be loved you idiot! I'm also shocked that I have in-laws that don't hate me..." Naja realized and watched as Xander and his parents put their arms around eachother. Which she joined from behind. She was his wife after all. "See you big loon, there are people who love you."

[The Republic of Atria]

Xander held his parents close for longer than he would like to admit. The simple fact that he had people just like him around made him feel better. And that those very same people were his parents, and loved him. "You know... You can be happy Xander. The universe isn't going to explode if you feel happy or sad or something." Naja said. "I know you can be happy. You should have seen the grin on your face last night. I've only ever seen you smile that big when you proposed to me. After all you've done, you deserve some happiness."

After about a minute Xander finally stood up with his eyes bloodshot. "Thank you. I feel... Good. Relieved? I'm not quite sure."

"That is partly our fault. Or rather a fault in our species. We do not experience many of the same emotions that organic beings do. It's not that we do not want to. It is difficult to understand without a point of reference. Which is why many choose to bond with an organic, despite the risks. You have gone further than we have. Perhaps we may attempt to bond at some point." Navara suggests. "We are proud to call you our offspring. Naja, thank you for helping guide our child."

"He's a big goon. But he's also the biggest softy I've ever met. Act as tough as you want, I know how you really are. Come to Earth anytime. I'm sure he'd appreciate it. Sooner or later, he'll pick up all the euphemisms I throw his way."

"Thank you." Xander said to his parents. "I don't have the words to describe how I feel. I suppose it's that I feel... Normal. And... It's a good thing. Like Naja said, please, if you ever want to come to Earth, I'm more than happy to welcome you and show you around. This was good. I'm happy you came to meet me."

"Go. Enjoy your time together. We are not leaving." His father insisted. "We can discuss this more at a point in the future. You set out with intent to spend time together. We have spend a decade waiting. A few more days will not hurt."

"Thanks... Dad." Xander didn't believe he just said that, but it felt good to say it. "Let's go Naja. We'll be back in a few days." He said and took off flying with his wife. His life was starting to look up. "Next stop is... I honestly don't remember. Our trip took such an unexpected turn... Let's just go into hyperspace, phase out, and land on the nearest random inhabited world."

"That sounds like a great idea." She said and the two did just that, phasing into hyperspace for a few hours, transcending the speed of light by a manner of millions and then popping out after about half an hour. They did find a planet that looked inhabited, however things were not as they seemed. It wasn't good, but by the time they realized it, they were struck by a strange wave of energy, causing the two powerhouses to drop like flies in a bug zapper, left practically comatose. A group of slavers found them on the outskirts of their base.

"Two more. Looks like a human and... Never seen her species before. She ain't that bad lookin' though. They look familiar to you guys?" The lead one asked as they threw the two bodies over their shoulders.

"Nah. Humans just got that look. How much you think we'll get for 'em?" The one carrying Naja asked. "Cause she's kinda cute."

"Dunno. Humans ain't worth that much. Probably something cheap for him. We can probably high roll the girl. People pay a lot of credits for exotic women. Collar them. Put the male to work when he wakes up, he looks like he's a tough one so be careful. We'll see if the girl's worth anything more than just being a pretty face." He commanded.

[The Republic of Atria]

Praetoria

"Clothing shop?" Xander asked. They didn't have much in the way of stores, most everyone did their shopping either off world or in other countries. Praetoria acted more like a living quarters. "We don't actually have any stores that I'm aware of." He admitted. "What we do have is a fabrics storage area. Most, if not all, people here on Praetoria are superhuman. Which means we need clothing to compensate. I can make you something if you had a design in mind." He offered. "I apologize for my earlier outburst. I just wanted to ensure that you had no ulterior motives."

"Don't let the brash attitude fool you. Xander is actually pretty decent with fabrics. He did make my costume." She said. "And it's lasted a good many fights. He could easily open a clothing store if he wanted to."

"It's a hobby..." He shrugged. Xander did enjoy working with fabrics, though he likely couldn't explain why.

Bumphoque Nowhere

The slavers placed electronic collars around the necks of both of their fresh catches, as well as thorwing rags on them, just enough to cover their private areas. "Damn that neural stunner workers good. They're out cold. No pun intended boss." One of the slavers said. "How long are they gonna be out? And what do you wanna do with their clothes?"

"Hmm..." The boss muttered and took both of their costumes and attempted to tear them, but found that they were quite strong. Even for him. Not a single thread tore when he tried. "Analyse this fabric. If it's as durable as it seems, we may be using it for armor. What is it with Earthlings and their gaudy costumes?"

"You got me, boss. Probably something to do with their superheroes."

"Even better. If they're stronger than average, we can fetch an even better price. They'll make great soldiers. Do your best not to damage them too much. No one likes damaged goods. Particularly the woman."

"You got it boss."

[The Republic of Atria]

"Oh... Well, at least you told me that now. I'd hate to find out if they came knocking on my door demanding you, but I can sympathize. I had a similar problem not too long ago." Xander admitted. "If you need help, you're welcome to stay, just don't stir up any trouble, and let me know if they catch up to you. I'll help you shoo them off. Now what kind of outfit are you looking for? Were you looking for something simple, or what?" He asked, wondering why an android was concerned with his appearance in the first place.

Naja watched as Xander managed to have a conversation with a stranger that didn't involve threats, violence, or both. Meeting his parents seemed to take the edge off of him. Which was good to her. "There's plenty of room, just find an empty place and mark it as taken. This is probably one of the safest places in the universe. Minus the racial tension... Turns out you really can't make people who've grown up hating eachother, stop hating eachother."

"But you can make them stop killing eachother. A combination of both honey and vinegar works much better than one would have you believe. I give them powers and a way to keep their people safe, they stop murdering eachother over stupid bullshit that happened thousands of years ago. Same shit, different species."

Ass end of the galaxy

Xander groaned and staggered to his feet after about an hour of staying unconscious. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was greeted by being shocked quite painfully. He wasn't sure what was more shocking: the actual baton being used to smack him, or the fact that his powers were not working. "Ow! You son of a bastard!" The fact that his powers weren't working properly didn't sink in until he got smacked across the face with a stun baton again. With enough force that he was on his back. Then things started to sink in. "Alright. I get it. The important question remains: What did you do with my wife, and which part am I going to rip off of you when my powers come back?" That earned him another smack.

"That woman was your wife? Niiice. I wouldn't worry about her. Now get on your feet. That vibranium ain't gonna mine itself." He said and prodded the man along. "You may notice the collar around your neck. Thing of it as an incentive. See, I can make it explode, or I can shock the crap out of you. Like this." True to his word he shocked the daylights of out Xander which caused him to trip and smack right into the dirt, only for the slaver to grab his hair and pull him to his feet. "So I wouldn't get any ideas. Now get to work." He hissed and pushed Xander into a group with the other slaves of various races.

He wasn't concerned with losing his head. That happened on a regular basis, but his powers were working then. He wasn't sure that without them functioning properly, that he would survive having his head exploded. He could feel them, but it felt like they were drained. Heavy labor wasn't going to help matters much either. His mind just hoped that Naja was fairing better than he was. At least she had powers outside of the ones he gave her.

Fairing better is relative of course. When Naja awoke, it wasn't to being smacked by a stun baton. Rather she felt someone feeling her up, which she responded to by kicking the bastard in the groin. "I really hope you didn't do anything else... For your sake." Just as she was about to claw the man within an inch of his life, she felt herself yanked onto the floor. "Urk!"

"Alright, that's enough out of you." He said and pulled Naja to her feet. "You're gonna be a good little girl. You're in luck though. Don't think we've seen we someone like you around these parts. You'll fetch a nice price."

"You're intending to sell me?"

"We've got buyers lined up for tomorrow. So don't get too comfy."

Naja rolled her eyes. At least until she realized that not only was Xander like in a similar predicament, but that he was going to kill a lot of people when he got the chance. Which meant she needed to find a way out before Xander killed everyone and someone innocent got hurt. Unfortunately, that seemed to be something that would have to wait until her powers came back. Which would take at least several hours. "Yeah... This is gonna suck..." She muttered to herself.

[The Republic of Atria]

Naja played along as best as she could. While on Earth she was deemed a freak, apparently she was found to be very attractive in space. Normally she didn't mind being called names. But at least they weren't trying to grope her or otherwise. She had lashed out and scratched the hell out of one patron too many, to the degree where they shackled her arms and legs to keep her from repeating it again. She could barely stretch her arms out halfway and couldn't take more than a small footstep. This was not fun and she almost couldn't wait until Xander decided to raze it to the ground. She even considered doing it when her powers came back. The energy was building back up, but it wasn't nearly enough to be able to put up a fight worth anything. It would be a few hours at least before she had enough juice to fight back.

"You know, the more you fight this, the harder they're gonna make it on you." A woman told her as she was walking by. "Especially if you keep scratching them like you are. Even if you do get out, where are you going to go? They're the only ones with ships."

"Give me a few hours. I know what I'm doing." She was starting to see why Xander had no problems will killing people if he had to. Some of them are just disgusting. Normally she would just camouflage and wait out the time, but she could only hide herself, not anything she was wearing. "If I can help save the universe, I can survive a few hours in this crap hole." She muttered.

"They're not gonna kill you. I've heard them talking about you. You're either gonna be their highest priced indentured servant or barring that, keep you here to help relieve stress of some of the workers. You'll get used to it."

"Ew. No. I'm married." She replied. "And I'm not winding up someone's sex slave. In a few hours, this'll all be over and I'm going to get everyone out of here."

"Awfully big words for someone in a collar and chains. You're not the first one claiming that they can break this place open, and sure likely won't be the last. Take my advice, behave and at least pretend to be interested. The willing ones are always treated better." Her words failed to stop Naja. All she had to do was wait for her powers to come back. After spending another few minutes wandering around the brothel and trying to avoid as many people as she could, she did overhear that the males were pretty much being used as slave labor... Which made her wonder how Xander was doing.

Xander

He was having a better time fitting in than Naja was. All he had to do was hit rocks with a pickaxe and push heavy carts filled with vibranium. The downside was that the energy he was expending to preform his heavy labor was definitely slowing down the regeneration of his energy. He needed a way to recharge or he was never going to get enough strength in a decent amount of time. What set him over the edge was that he heard some of the guards talking about a woman they just brought in. Her description sounded just like Naja. Which normally would have sent him into a bloodthirsty rage killing everyone in his way, but he lacked the strength for a rampage.

Which meant he just had to be more discreet. His parents did say that he could absorb energy and that was how he got so strong. Given that his collar hit him with electricity whenever they turned it on, which was a form of energy. In theory his body could process it and it would help him recharge. The downside was that it would hurt like hell. Not that pain ever stopped him from doing something before. He looked at nearby guard and shouted at him. "Hey!" And then threw his pickaxe at him.

It missed, but it was enough to get the guard to shock him. It hurt like hell as he fell to his knees. Luckily his hair was still tied back, otherwise it would look awful. "Heh... It tickles." This earned him yet another shock of even greater intensity, but his plan was working. There was enough for his healing factor to kick back in, albeit at a slowed pace. "Best you got?" He said and tried to lunge at the guard, who them just turned the shock collar all the way up. Xander looked like he was having a seizure and the other guards came running to see what was happening. All the while Xander was still being shocked.

"This one's a toughie..."

"Alright. Turn it off before you short circuit the stupid thing. These things are cheap as-" Speaking of the devil. Xander had grabbed the collar while it was pumping him full of enough electricity to power a few houses, and like the guard said, the collars were cheap and it short circuited, causing it to unlock and fall right off his neck.

"Dumbasses." He said and grabbed the collar, before jumping into the woods several hundred feet away. He ran as fast as he could to put as much distance between him and the camp as he could. When there was at least a few miles worth of space, he sat down to rest in some nice bright sunlight. A half an hour or so and he would have enough energy to fight. "This thing must have a good battery..." He muttered and did his best to carefully take the device apart. The more energy he could absorb, the better.