Mark felt his speed slightly fall after going at an incredible speed for quite a while when suddenly he felt a disturbance up ahead. Yes, it had finally happened. The end of snake way was right before him. The white road had turned into a tail end and that was it. Mark stood at the edge and looked around. Nothing. Fear suddenly struck him, had he been going all this way for nothing? He looked up. To his relieve he saw a small planet hanging above. He flew up there.

As he got closer the planet's gravity started to pull on him, which was strange as it was very small. Eventually he couldn't resist against the force and was flung straight at the planet. He landed hard on the ground but on his feet, though it was very hard. He couldn't even stretch his knees and squatted on the grass underground of the tiny planet. It must have been 10 times heavier then he was used to. Next to that he was already used to Namek, which was twice as heavy as Earth. He tried to move and with great effort he managed a few steps. He looked around. He saw the curves of the small planet very clearly, it couldn't have been more than a kilometer in circumference. There was a road though so he decided to follow that.

Eventually in the distance a house doomed up with a tree next to it and a red car on the road. Struggling to get there Mark decided to go to the tree first as he saw apples hanging from them and he was hungry(which was strange as he was dead he didn't think he needed to eat). When he got to it he tried to reach to grab one but he was so heavy he still couldn't stand up straight. He took a few seconds to concentrate and tried again. This time he managed to grab the apple. Suddenly though the face of a small brown monkey popped up from the leaves of the tree in front of his nose. Mark was startled and let the apple slip and it fell on his head. It came down like a ton of bricks. As he cried out the monkey laughed. It came down from the tree and started hopping around him with its arms up. It didn't seem to be affected by the intense gravity at all. Mark rubbed his head. That'll become a bruise he thought. He looked at the monkey dancing around. Then he looked back at the house. Strange, there seems to be nobody else around. Finally his knees gave in and he went down onto his buttocks.

"Hello?" He yelled. He looked back at the monkey. "Could it possibly be that you are King Kai?" He started to laugh, nobody with half a brain would think that. "So where is your master?" He then asked as he looked around. The monkey stopped dancing and stared at Mark. It then started screaming like crazy, stomped on his chest and ran off behind the house. Perhaps he had understood Mark. Mark managed to get back on his feet, although he was still squatting. He went to the car. It was an old 50's Cadillac. Strange, it looked awfully Earth like, couldn't be a coincidence. From behind the building he suddenly heard mumbling.

"Crazy bubbles, screaming to me like a raging baboon. Gotta give him less treats and bananas, that monkey has way too much energy." Mark heard a voice say. It got closer and Mark went around the building to meet it.

A small but wide blue figure jumped up when he saw Mark come around the corner, squatting. He was going faster then when he first landed but his knees simply didn't want to listen.

The blue man had a big black robe on with a strange symbol on it, he had black glasses on and had a small moustache, though he had no nose and a little mouth and he had a round, black cap on where 2 feelers came out.

"Who in the blazes are you? I guess bubbles was not going crazy after all." He asked angry.

"My name is Mark. I have been send here by King Yemma to train under the great King Kai." Mark wanted to bow but as he was still squatting he didn't dare going face front into the grass and not being able to get back up again.

"Ah i see. I am King Kai. So you made it across snakeway then if you have met King Yemma. Well... why are you squatting like that? Bend your knees upright, you're a bipedal being as it seems. Stand up straight."

"I can't, the gravity is too heavy." Mark responded.

"Well where are you from?" King Kai asked.

"Earth." Mark responded although that was not entirely true of course.

"Earth?" King Kai sounded surprised. "Hm. Let me think... Oh yes, the Humans. Oh they have gotten early types of metaphysical development now. Yes, i suppose they are able to cross the snakeway. Hmmmm." He walked around Mark in a quick tempo. "Try to jump up." King kai suddenly said.

"Say what? I can hardly stand!" Mark shouted, nearly forgetting he was talking to a cosmic entity that probably didn't appreciate emotional outbursts.

"You know chi, i sense that. It has been taught to you as I also see you are not a mutant or magician. Not being able to stand up straight is just a physical disadvantage though. Your powerlevel gives you the ability to jump, so jump. Concentrate." King Kai said calmly.

Mark did as he said. He concentrated and then took his best shot. He shot up into the air for about 20 meters before he dropped down again. He landed on his feet again, hard. Man, that was a disappointment.

"Well, that went quite well i would think." King Kai then said. "Come inside, tell me about your journey over here and then we can discuss training. I suppose thats what you came here to do anyway." He walked towards the front door and opened it. Mark could straighten up better and better. He suddenly realised something.

"Oh i see. I suppose you don't have many visitors since i am the only one who has crossed snakeway since King Yemma." He said. King Kai stopped as he entered the house and turned around. He then started to laugh out loud. He had a snort of some sorts as he laughed, like a warthog.

"Not many visitors? King Yemma told you that? Don't be silly. Just because not many people come up on snakeway doesn't mean i don't have visitors. Never heard of teleporters, astral projection, time benders or multi dimensional beings before? I have visitors many times, but to your Earth mind only a few a year might not seem like a lot. But when you are immortal, it is busy enough. Even last year i had a visit from someone from Earth, the one you know as the Spectre. Yes, he has been here many times. Come inside now please. Come bubbles." King Kai went inside, the monkey passed Mark and ran inside as well.

Inside it looked like a 90's american household, with an old-fashioned TV and all. Mark didn't want to ask why he had it, he might insult him. Mark sat down at the dinner table, where King Kai was already sitting. Bubbles had its own chair.

"Would you like something to eat? I bet coming all the way from snakeway gave you quite an appetite." King Kai asked. Mark did feel hungry now he thought about it.

"Well, i do feel hungry. But isn't that weird, as i am dead and all?" He replied. King Kai just smiled.

"You still have your body, probably because you are a great warrior that had overcome a great evil, you can tell me about that later. But anyway your body isn't used to being dead, so it still remembers it has to eat from time to time. Sleep is a different matter though, your body won't notice that. You still feel quite awake after years. Sit there, i'll be back with some dinner." King Kai stood up and walked into the kitchen area. After a while he came back with a bunch of bowls of food. Mark digged in, it was the best food he ever had. King Kai brought in bowl after bowl and plate after plate. Each time he sat down but noticed Mark had already gulped it all up and stood back up to bring more. Eventually Mark hinted he was full by now, the table was stacked with bowls and plates, all empty. King Kai sat back down at the table.

"Phew, i don't remember humans eating that much. But i suppose you got a lot of energy stored up in you, a lot more than the average human." He said, while puffing.

"Actually I'm not human at all. I'm a Saiyan." Mark responded. King Kai looked up in surprise.

"A Saiyan? You mean from planet Vegeta? I didn't think there were anymore left. But yes, now that you mention it you have that Saiyan look on you. But without the tail i didn't link it."

Mark told the entire story of him growing up, Clark, Earth, the JLA, Raditz, Namek. everything. After the story King Kai stood up and walked to the window.

"Hm, so you went to Namek to meet your fellow Saiyans huh? and then you met Frieza and fought him? No wonder you got killed. I suppose you want to know what happened after your death?"

"You can tell me?" Mark asked.

"Of course i can, i can see everything whats going on in this part of the galaxy. Can't look at all of it at once though."

"Thank you. I would love to find out what happened to Frieza and my brother." Mark went to King Kai who turned to the window. The antenna on his head started to move.

"Now, where is Namek again? Ah, there it is... Wait, no. Oh my, its gone. Planet Namek is destroyed."

"WHAT!" Mark yelled out.

"Relax, your brother is more than capable of surviving a planet's destruction, so is Frieza for that matter. Hmmm... Ah yes i see now. The yellow star. They turned the orange star Namek orbited into a yellow one. It destroyed the planet but it gave back the power your brother has. Frieza didn't stand a chance against that i suppose." King Kai said. Mark smiled.

"Well if they managed to do that Clark is still alive and Frieza defeated. The Namekians had already evacuated. I suppose we won!" Mark cheered. King kai stayed calm.

"Namekians are a strong people, they can survive. Its good the green lantern corps got involved in the planet trade business. Perhaps they can put an end to King Cold's organization for good finally. It's unfortunate Captain Ginyu has escaped though." He said. Mark stopped cheering.

"He escaped? How?" Mark looked out the window, as if to see what King Kai saw.

"Well he does have a body switching ability you know. All of his kind do, none of them still have their own body, including Ginyu. They just choose the strongest. But he was more than a match for the 2 rookie Green Lanterns. He overpowered them halfway to Oa. That is the Green lantern corps home world."

"You can see Oa as well? Do you know all the planets?" Mark asked boldly.

"Sure i do, of this part of the galaxy. There is a Kai for each of the 4 sectors. Oa is in the center ,we can all see it" King Kai responded.

"Do you know about Planet Krypton?" Mark asked. King Kai shook his head.

"No, that's West galaxy, I'm the deity of the North part. I will contact West Kai, see what he can tell me about Krypton. i do know about the Kryptonians though. They where a presence here in the North as well, millenia ago. All of their worlds have died long time ago, some got conquered, others starved or were obliterated by comets or Super Novas. Now lets see. Ah, and there is Earth. Very important world you know, lots of energy coming from it. Logical of course as it's actually the resting place of... Oh my." King Kai suddenly turned his head.

"What? What is it?' Mark asked impatiently.

"Terrible, terrible news. It appears Darkseid has once again taken interest in the planet. This is not good. I see your brother is back home though and.. There is a Namekian with him as well."

"That must be Piccolo. Haha, he must have gone with him. That's great news. But Darkseid, man i hoped we were rid of him for good." Mark sat back down.

"Rid of Darkseid? Oh no, he is one of the new gods. He won't quit from his goals. I think it's about time we start your training. There are more forces than just Darkseid who have their focus on Earth right now." King Kai said.

"More forces? Like what?" Mark asked.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers of, better clear your mind and focus on here and now. Come outside." They went outside and walked a few paces away from the house. Mark was going slow but he managed to keep his knees more straight now, and he noticed it was easier to just throw his legs where he wanted to go, making a big thump on the ground when he took a step.

"Right then. Your first task will be to catch bubbles. Bubbles, are you ready for a nice workout? I hope so, its been a while. But I'm sure you will find him to be quite a challenge to catch." King Kai grinned.

"Catch him? But i can't even run! Oh, i suppose i can manage it eventually, it won't be easy though."

Mark looked at Bubbles and Bubbles started hopping away. Mark followed him, trying his best to keep his balance as he thumped across the grassland of King Kai's planet. King Kai watched them. "That after only a few hours on this planet is impressive. Perhaps he is the one to learn." He whispered.


Superman was on the ground, he had his eyes closed. He felt blood dripping from his head over his brow onto the ground. He managed to open one eye. They were in the middle of Manhattan, the place was a war zone. There were multiple tears in the asphalt and a lot of destroyed and burning buildings. Superman knew it could have been worse though, the civilians got out safe. He saw Piccolo. Man, piccolo. He had seen this man fight against Doomsday, Clayface and the crime syndicate but all this time he had been holding back, just like Superman always had to. But he had surprised them all right now.

Piccolo was standing in the middle of a large crater, he was three times as large then he was normally, his species had that ability and he had shown it many times before. He showed off another ability, his arm was stretched 4 times its normal length. In the grip of his hands hang Steppenwolf by the throat. He was all beaten up, his armor cracked in several places, his sword was probably sticking out the ground in the Sahara desert as far as Piccolo had flung it. He was mumbling something. He was begging for mercy.

"Mercy?" Piccolo said. "You want me to show you mercy? You are a monster that has threatened this world, one in my protection, threatened my new friends who have saved my life and that of my species and you have threatened the innocent mortals that live on this planet. I will not."

Piccolo tightened his grip, Steppenwolf could be heard choking. Piccolo screamed and thrusted his other hand through the armor of Steppenwolf. Blood came dripping out of the armor. If Superman didn't know any better he might think Piccolo was trying to kill him but he wasn't. As a new god Steppenwolf could easily survive such brutal wounds. Piccolo had his own understanding of 'disabling' a foe when Superman requested it of him. This was an effective way. Granny Goodness was already out, being buried under a few tons of metal had done the trick, after Piccolo concussed her and cracked all her ribs.

Superman remembers he was floored by Darkseid. His fight could have gone better. He looked over towards the hill a few miles away. There lay Hal Jordan and Wonder Woman together. They were unconscious as well. Flash was hit with a staff Granny Goodness had with her that made him run uncontrollably and he disappeared. Superman saw with his x-ray vision Batman was still alive, but Darkseid threw him through the streets and he was trapped under the city between a lot of power and gas lines. If he makes one wrong move when he wakes up he will blow into millions of pieces. Aquaman hasn't shown up yet, nor Cyborg, Superman was worried about them as well. Darkseid was no pussy, ten times stronger than either Steppenwolf or Granny Goodness. Superman turned his head to where he had seen Darkseid last. In the rubble he saw movement. The fight that was about to go down was too much for this planet Superman feared. Piccolo can't hold back and his powers exhaust outward violently, unlike Superman's powers which are kept within limits by his body. Piccolo had done nothing but train during his stay here on Earth. He had surpassed Frieza, that's for sure. Frieza had the power to destroy a planet. Piccolo could do it twice over now, take the moon with it too.

If it was enough to overpower Darkseid however, Superman didn't know. Superman needed to find a new tactic. As a New God Darkseid has nearly limitless stamina, he had thousands of years of experience in combat and a nearly invulnerable body. He also wields the omega effect, increasing his powers significantly.

Darkseid emerged from the rubble, looking stone cold as ever. "Lies, Folly, Death. That's what Earth is made of. This planet is not worthy of my presence. But these humans must have the potential i seek. Even though they seem so weak and fragile, their lives and their deaths will serve me well."

Darkseid walked slowly towards Piccolo. Superman was out for the count, his head felt like it was about to explode and his body felt as if he had broken every bone in his body. He had been away from the sun too long. Superman suspected Kryptonite was also involved because he didn't have so much trouble holding down Darkseid the last time.

"Their deaths as well?" Piccolo said, turning to Darkseid. He dropped Steppenwolf onto the ground. He increased to 5 times his normal size, he was just as large as Darkseid now.

"Yes, Namekian. The anti-life equation will kill this little species. Once i posses it these humans will be the first to die. They won't even resist, that way i know it has worked. Once i own the equation i will pay a visit to your namekian family. They might make excellent slaves. I will pour the equation into their brains and they will obey me forever." Darkseid smiled. He didn't do that often.

"Well, you don't have the equation yet. If it even exists." Piccolo said and charged Darkseid head on. He steered him into the direction of Central Park, to minimize structural damage.

"Oh, but i do know parts of it Namekian. The Kryptonian won't listen of course, his physiology is too complex, the words won't do a thing. But you. Your body is new, and shaped like a plant. Yes. You will feel the pain." Darkseid talked as they sparred across the battlefield. Darkseid allowed Piccolo to come close. Darkseid was no match for the brutal strength of Piccolo. Piccolo was the first in his kind to come to this level of power. He was a unique being. Not even a new god could match his force, his speed. Like Mark's his powers were still in the increase too, who knows how far they can take it? Piccolo was getting the upper hand while Darkseid let him be beaten and beaten untill suddenly Darkseid grabbed Piccolo by the head. Surprised Piccolo couldn't pull free for a moment, and a moment was all Darkseid needed. Superman could hear him whisper in Piccolo's ear.

"Fear plus despair equals failure." Then Darkseid let him go. Piccolo stopped dead center. It wasn't the actual words Superman noticed, it was also the way he said it. It was calculated to the last breath. Darkseid drained the hope out of Piccolo. Piccolo turned facing Superman. He shrunk back to his regular size. Though he was a mile away from him now at the edge of Central Park Superman saw the coldness in Piccolo's eyes, like there was no soul anymore.

"Excellent. Now, Namekian. You will tell me all about the dragonballs, we will gather them and then I'll find the equation." Darkseid walked over to a patch of grass next to a dirt road in the park. He picked up the 3 star Dragonball Flash had gotten earlier. Flash had tried to hide it when Darkseid landed but he didn't have enough time so he just threw it away from the top of the JLA building. Darkseid must have seen it fall. Darkseid then walked to the body of Steppenwolf all the way back to where Superman was. He walked calmly and Piccolo followed him. Superman desperately tried to rise, but it was hard. If he could reach Piccolo he might be able to save him from Darkseids influence. It wasn't the full equation that caught him, Superman need to only tell him about his people and why he went to Earth.

Darkseid stood over the body. "Rise uncle. Your wounds are not that severe, your healing goes fast. I am in need of your service still." He looked over at the body of granny goodness. "You i have little use for, begone. Servants, take her back to the ship. I'll decide what to do with her after I'm done here. Go."

Darkseid had taken along several slaves of his from Apocalipta that obeyed every command, even torturing themselves or killing each other. They looked just like humans, except no clothes at all and thin, boney bodies. It took 8 of them to drag Granny Goodness back to the ship.

Meanwhile Steppenwolf slowly got up again, blood was dripping from his side. He grunted with every move. He was on his knees now and didn't seem to manage anymore than that.

"Namekian. Heal my uncle." Darkseid said.

"Yes, my lord." Piccolo replied and moved over to Steppenwolf. He hovered his hands over him and a bright light healed his wounds. Next to being a great warrior Piccolo was, like all Namekians a magic user as well. He was only classed a level 2 by the magical community but his healing was quite effective. Besides conjuring up some basic metals and some molecules he couldn't do much else of significance. Steppenwolf stood up with ease now. He then started to bash Piccolo in the face untill he felt he had enough. He then spat on Piccolo. Piccolo didn't even react to it.

"That was for my sword. He'll make a nice little pet my lord." Steppenwolf said.

"I won't keep him long. After i get the dragonballs i will enslave all his kind and make them all watch him die by my hands." He stepped over to piccolo and slapped his face. "Tell me the password for the dragonballs Namekian."

"Its Shenron my lord." Piccolo said.

"Good, very good. Now go fetch them. My uncle will give you the means to find them." Piccolo turned to Steppenwolf who had some sort of device which was given by one of the slaves.

"Get my sword back too." Steppenwolf said as he handed the device over.

Piccolo took it, used it as if he had been for years then shot up into the sky and was gone.

Superman forced himself up on his feet. He had to get to Piccolo. Darkseid wants to get the equation from the dragonballs. He mustn't succeed. He couldn't sneak away now though. Perhaps he could get to Bruce someway. His knees gave out again. He gave a cry in pain. That got the Apocaliptians attention.

"Ah, Kal-El. Almost forgot about you." Darkseid said, rolling the dragonball in his hands. He moved over to Superman. "Where is the rest of your justice league?" Steppenwolf followed Darkseid closely.

Superman stayed on his knees. He knew Darkseid liked that. From a far distance Superman could hear reinforcements coming, he felt stirring in the Earth as well. He needed to stall.

"It is not my Justice League, Uxas. But most of them are here. Diana, is over there." He pointed at the direction Wonder Woman was laying. She moaned and coughed occasionally, he suspected her neck was broken.

"Hal over there." He pointed to the Green Lantern next to her who was totally knocked out, concussed and a very weak pulse.

"Barry is somewhere in the arctic right now, his speed hasn't decreased and is getting tired." He lied. In fact Flash was getting slower and slower Superman noticed, he was slowly getting out of whatever he was affected by. He was in the arctic though, probably for the cold weather to help lose his speed.

"Bruce.. You will pay for what you did to Bruce. You know where he is." He could call them by their real names around Darkseid, Darkseid knew. There was no point to hide it.

Darkseid grunted. "I know about those Kryptonian. I'm talking about the machine man and the little fish."

"Aquaman doesn't care about the surface world. He won't come." Superman lied again. He saw Darkseid believed him though. "Cyborg. Well. He is actually right there." Superman pointed to the West. Steppenwolf and Darkseid both looked over that direction for a few seconds then quickly turned around to the East. But Cyborg had already fired his gun by then. Darkseid and Steppenwolf were blasted across the landscape.

"Nothing like 200 decibel of sound to take down new gods." Victor said as he helped Superman up. "Where is Piccolo?" He asked immediately.

"Gone. Darkseid got to him, he is gathering the dragonballs for him. We gotta get to him, Darkseid wants to wish for the equation." Superman wrapped an arm around Cyborg and scrambled to his feet.

"The balls can do that? Well, I'm sure Piccolo can. We gotta get you into the sun first though my friend." Victor said. "I'll teleport you to the sunny side of Earth."

"Help the others first. Forget me. I can't fight at full power with all the wounded around. Get Wonder Woman out first, be careful as i think she broke her neck. Hal is next to her, get them both to a safe location. Then see if you can find those senzu beans Bulma had gotten from that guy Korin. Contact Bulma, she can get here fast with help from Zatanna or Donna Troy. Do it quickly, i have to get to Batman too. I hope Piccolo will be back soon and i can delay them long enough."

"What will happen to Piccolo?" Victor asked.

"I need to get close to him, get hope back in his heart." Superman answered. Victor frowned. He was a smart man, he can figure it out.

Victor brought Superman over to the side of a building and sat him next o the wall. "You stay here and out of sight. Chances are Darkseid and his uncle will be too disoriented to even find you. I'll get the others out of here. Where is Batman, maybe i can get him out too?"

"He is under a ton of earth and plumbing, you can't get to him. I'll get to him. Go." Superman watched as Cyborg got to Hal and Diana and took them out of here. Then he heard rumbling in the distance, guess Darkseid is pissed.

"Insolence! I will burn this planet, i promise you!" He came storming back. Lightning was coming from his eyes. The omega beams. Darkseid fired them off. They zigzagged through the landscape, searching. Superman turned his head and with his X-ray saw they headed for Cyborg. He quickly used the last bit of energy to fire his own laser eyes through the building and at the beams, bending just enough so they hit Cyborg just barely in the arm. Cyborgs arm exploded violently, he screamed. Luckily he had already put Wonder Woman and Green Lantern down. Superman had revealed his position that way.

"I'm going to kill you slowly Kryptonian." Darkseid said as he kneeled before Superman who could barely move a muscle. "But first, i have a piece of property returning to me." Piccolo had returned. He had six balls with him and Steppenwolf's sword. Damn, Batman has to wait it seems.

"Place them there. Do with them what you need to do to grant the wish." Darkseid threw the dragonball he had to Piccolo who caught it and then dropped all of them on the ground in front of him. Piccolo stretched out his arms. As he did the stars in the sky and the moon all disappeared.

"Shen..." before he finished the word he was pushed in his back hard by something unseen. Then the dragonballs all disappeared without a trace, the sky turned back to normal.

"Stop." Darkseid said calmly. He teleported, a trick he didn't use often. Superman could easily find where he appeared again, the Flash was a bit too late though. He crashed right into Darkseid's body. Flash was probably still affected by the shot that got him moving erratically or he would have dodged. Darkseid grabbed him by the throat.

"Where did you hide the dragonballs now human? Steppenwolf, did you see where he hid them?"

"Negative my lord. Shall i beat it out of the red lightning bolt?"

"No, i have a better idea." Darkseid smirked. From his armor he produced a small box, like a chinese puzzle. A boomtube Superman knew, Darkseid had used them to get here the first time he tried to attack Earth.

"Why can't we just take the dragonballs and return back home and do the ritual there? No meddling from this weak race or the aliens that call it home." Steppenwolf asked.

"Because they won't be taken from the planet they are made." Said Piccolo. "Not by spaceship, not the strongest cannon, not teleportation could take these balls away from the Earth's atmosphere. The magic is ancient, powerful."

"Indeed they are. That's why i have to destroy them." Darkseid said. Superman's eyes got bigger. He means to destroy them?

"YoucannotdestroythemtheyaretheonlywaywecangetMarkback." Flash said, even his voice was still affected. "Iwon'tletyouiputtheballsinthespeedforce." After hearing that Darkseid threw Flash away.

"Hit him again with the compound from Goodness." He said. "Make sure its enough to stick with him this time."

Steppenwolf smirked. "He will probably speed all the way back into the start of the universe."

Suddenly they felt a rumbling noise under the ground. A few seconds later again.

"What is it now? All this delay is unacceptable. The compound will take too long. Here speedster. Catch." Flash was back up and zigzagging, but his speed only seemed fast, you could see only flashes of him but they wer slow still like he was fluxating in and out of time. Darkseid threw the boomtube at him. When it hit him it exploded. Flash disappeared with a scream. All that remained was the box which fell down at the edge of Central Park. A few seconds later though the box lit up like a flashlight and the Flash emerged. He stopped. He was dripping in sweat, his suit was all torn up and he was skinny to the bone. Around him on the floor lay the 7 dragonballs. Flash looked at Superman, the expression on his face was of utter defeat and fear.

"I'm sorry Clark, you have no idea what i have been trough. It was horrible, i must have spent months in there, years. Eventually i figured out the only way out was with the dragonballs. I was so lonely and it was so hot and hostile. I am sorry." He dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Its alright..." Superman said quietly. He didn't blame Barry, he saw his pain in his eyes.

"Enough of this! Piccolo, summon the dragon." Darkseid's eyes were glowing again.

"Shenron!" Piccolo said out loud. The balls started to glow, the sky turned black. When the sky was fully black a lighting bolt shot out of the balls. The dragon was different than from the one of Namek. Superman had seen the design in the statue, it was long and sleek. Not all muscles like the other one. It had a more traditional Chinese dragon sort of look, it was glowing slightly just like Porunga did. Its huge head hovered in front of Piccolo. Its body was streched out all above Central Park and even around some of the tall buildings at the edges.

"Why have you summoned me. Tell me your wish now." The giant dragon said with booming voice. Superman never heard Porunga speak, but then again he wasn't there when Porunga was summoned.

"Steppenwolf. Your sword." Darkseid said as he walked over to Piccolo near the dragon. Steppenwolf threw the sword at Darkseid who caught it without looking. Darkseid looked up at the dragon.

"Time to die dragon. My father told me about you. My ancestors feared you, i don't. However, I do believe you have the power to take the equation away from me. This i cannot allow. You must end." Darkseid raised the sword. "Now." Darkseid jumped up, he brought the sword up to above his head and then slashed. The flaming sword shimmered in the light of the dragon, which roared as the blade hit its scales. The sword ricocheted off the scale with little harm done. The dragon's body moved in the direction of the sword, limiting the damage. Darkseid hacked again and again. He grabbed part of the dragon's body and thrusted the blade onto it. This time the sword got through the scales and blood was seen pouring out of it. The blood was silver coloured, strange, like liquid mercury. The blood doused the flames on the sword, a lot of smoke rose from it. This caused the blade to cool off fast and it splintered apart. Darkseid roared in fury and continued to attack the dragon with his fists but now the dragon was fighting back. Superman looked around as saw that everybody was watching in awe as the dragon and Darkseid were fighting. Steppenwolf was staring too and in shock about his sword being destroyed.

The dragon used its long body to keep Darkseid busy while Darkseid was literally trying to pull the dragon apart. He was focussing mostly on the dragon's wound and tried to grab underneath the scales. The dragon snapped at his opponent and clawed him on all sides. Darkseid's body was too dense though and the dragon's claws didn't even put a scratch on him, no matter how sharp its claws were. The dragon had physical strength and mass on its side fortunately, Darkseid couldn't force the dragon into any hold or direction. Even though it was only recently created it was based on old magic and very powerful. They grabbed, scratched and hurled around Central Park. As everyone was watching Superman saw this as the opportunity to get to Batman. He slowly crawled over to a sewer pothole and jumped in. With his X-ray visions he scanned the lower levels of the city. Batman wasn't far away. In fact, it looked like he had moved away from where Superman had last seen him. He saw him actually moving, working on something. He moved over to him through the big sewage canals. Eventually he got near to him, his ribcage was hurting pretty badly and he was still limping but Superman could still keep himself upright. He saw Batman in some big lights in the middle of an intersection of canals working on a device. Batman was all covered in blood, both his legs and his head were covered in bandages. Nonetheless he was on a ladder hanging stretched across the device with a welding machine.

"Bruce? What on Earth are you doing?" Superman asked.

"Superman, meet Brainiac." Batman stepped down from the ladder and revealed the rest of the device. Superman saw it now, it was a humanoid robot sitting on a strange sort of chair, hooked up to it with all sorts of wiring and tubes. The robot had a metal human skull for a head but the body was more like a reptile, with only 3 fingers on its hands and feet like a frogs hind legs. Superman studied it with his supersight but his powers were drained, he couldn't see through it anyway.

"What is it? You build this." he asked.

Batman laughed out loud. "No, i didn't build it. I think its alien in origin."

That didn't surprise Superman or anyone on Earth anymore. Him, Mark, Piccolo and now Darkseid are already on it, what is 1 more alien?

"I had to reconstruct its entire skull though, as it was missing. Took me ages to find a way to interact with its complex circuits. But with help from Dr. Briefs i found out enough about it. Clark, i think this alien came here to warn us."

"Warn us of what?" Superman asked curiously.

"Of Darkseid. I think it was specifically made to prepare Earth to fight against Darkseid or any Apocaliptan for that matter. I think whatever planet it came from was attacked by Darkseid and destroyed and they build this robot to reach out into the universe and prepare whatever planet that was in danger next and so have the means to defeat him. I think it was even meant to be the robot itself to do the honours. Thats why I have been fixing it. Clark, this robot has been down these sewages since they were build. It was damaged upon entering the atmosphere for unknown reasons and it deactivated because of it. I mean to set it loose on Darkseid, see what it remembers. Dr. Briefs has analyzed its algorithms and says its power output is off the charts, and his charts go a long way."

"And you hope it can defeat Darkseid and his minions?" Superman asked. Batman only nodded.

"But wait a minute how did you know it was here in the first place? How did you manage to crawl yourself out of that mess Darkseid put you in? How are you even breathing?" Superman walked around the device. Superman saw several exhausts on it in the back, some human made and other alien. The ran across the ground to all exits of the intersection, Batman had been busy.

"You think Gotham is the only base of operations for me? Come on, i thought it became clear i have many resources you don't know about since we defeated Giganta in Metropolis. I have caves all over the USA, including right here in New York City. Plus, have been in constant contact with the Capsule Corporation since Darkseid arrived. Dr. Briefs has an extensive database about Apocaliptian technology I have used on this robot. Now, please let me finish. I'm almost done." Superman let him work. He was tired, he needed the sun. But he couldn't give up, Mark wouldn't give up. If Darkseid kills the dragon all hope they had will be lost again. The Namekians might decide never to create dragonballs again.

"I need to go back up there, can't leave the others to fend for themselves. Not against Darkseid." He finally said.

"You won't be any help, you need to wait, for the sun. Meanwhile I have finished this little thing, time to activate it again." Batman responded as he jumped off the ladder like he was in top shape. Superman walked over to him. Batman turned some knobs on a device next to the robot and then simply flipped a switch.
The air became static, ionized. Superman heard a faint buzzing noise in the robot. Its eyes glowed green. Then it moved. The tubes connecting to the chair let go and it stood up. It didn't say a word yet. It looked around a bit first. Then a large bang rattled the sewer and the robot looked up. They heard beeping sounds from it mouth, then some English, Spanish and Chinese. Then it spoke.

"Earth, space sector 2814, destination reached. Priority threat detected. Continue four step plan of prepare, counter, survive, rebuild... Initiated. Level 10 threats on planet, four. Threats not enemies of main target. Suggestions, neutralize level 10 threats first. Analyzing, two counts of rehabilitation, 1 count entombment, 1 count extermination. execute." Then the robot blasted through the sewage roof. Batman and Superman stared out the hole.

"What did it mean four level 10 threats?" Superman said.

"He must mean Steppenwolf and Granny Goodness. The other two i do not know, Doomsday perhaps? Maybe Black Adam?" Batman shrugged. He started to climb out of the sewage through the hole.

"You think that's wise? Going through that hole?" Superman asked.

"You want to go back from where you came? This will be much shorter and we need to find out what is going on up there. The robot destroyed all my equipment with that little stunt. It might see the dragon as a threat, can't let it destroy the dragon." Batman said, halfway up the hole already. Superman spat, then he began to climb.
As they reached the surface the sky was still black, good. That meant the dragon was still alive. Batman held out his hand as Superman crawled from the hole. He accepted it gladly, he was hurting all over. Thankfully because of his brother he had trained under these type of conditions before so to be able to survive better if his powers had gone. Mark had suggested it after the ordeal with Metallo. He had been regularly staying away from the sun and then survive without his powers. It now proved its usefulness.

"There are the dragon and Darkseid, looks like it's a stalemate. There is Steppenwolf fighting Cyborg. Where is Brainiac?" Batman said.

"Over there, near Darkseid's ship." Superman pointed. The robot was hovering just a few feet away from the ship, which was landed on top of what was left of the JLA building. The robot formed a gun from its hand and fired on the spaceship. It blew apart in one gigantic explosion.

Superman balled his fists. "There were some of Darkseid's slaves in that ship, plus Granny Goodness. Guess he meant extermination on her."

"Or that is his idea of rehabilitation." Batman said.

The robot went into the smoke that was once the spaceship and emerged carrying Granny Goodness in one arm. He dropped her from the top of the building down onto the ground, Superman sensed she was alive. Then he turned to the fight in Central park. It just hung there watching. It looked like it didn't seem to understand what it was seeing.

"Excuse me! Hello mister Superman?" They suddenly heard a voice from behind them. They turned around. In front f them stood a man with a head full of black hair and a scar on his face wearing an orange jumpsuit with blue cloth collars and a Turtle School symbol that they recognized from the World Tournament last season.

"You are Yamcha aren't you?" Superman asked.

"Uhm, why yes i am. You must have learned that from Bulma. Did you see her a short time ago? What did she say?" Yamcha asked.

"Nevermind that now. Why are you here?" Batman asked.

"Oh, i'm sorry. i have brought with me some senzu beans for the fight and to join in if that is alright with you."

"Thank you, we can use the help with more evacuation of the civilians from the island and even beyond. This fight might expand beyond just Manhattan. I'm afraid your abilities are a little unimpressive against Darkseid." Superman said. Yamcha took a small brown bag from his blue belt and emptied it in his hand.

"There are only 3 of them I'm afraid. Not enough for all the JLA. The evacuation is nearly complete, the Capsule Corporation is giving all help they can give, just like my former baseball team and a few more organizations. It's in good hands. I wish to help more though."

"Good, you should take these to Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern. Superman, you should have one too." Batman said.

"They don't work on him." Said Yamcha to Batman and Superman's surprise. "Korin said his physiology is way too complex to be healed by these beans. Only the sun can heal him. You take one Batman, i'll take these to the others." He handed Batman one bean and then flew away over to Cyborg. He watched the battle between the Dragon and Darkseid all the while. He didn't seem shocked or afraid. Good thing, he might be useful. Superman turned back to Batman. Batman stared at the bean for a moment.

"Eat it." Superman said.

"I don't like taking medicine i don't know anything about." Batman said.

"Come on, you can trust Yamcha, he is a good man. I can tell. Plus Bulma was always enthusiastic about these beans. Just remember to chew." Superman said. Batman took the bean in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. His muscles seemed to swell up for a moment and he had a surprised look on his face.

"I, I feel fine. This is amazing. I feel healthy, like never before." He looked at his arms and legs. He tore the bandages off. "Right, let's get you to Piccolo." He then said. Superman nodded. They ran off.