Roadogsc: I wouldn't tell what she'll do, but just be aware; do you think that Saiyans have an actual understanding of advanced Earth technology other than the basics? And at this point, I'm ignoring Black as I'm just getting annoyed by him. And thanks!
Guest: Hehe, there's definitely going to be more of the Woods family. I can see the appeal of writing in past tense, but I don't write because I'm not a fan. But thanks for the suggestion!
Thunrady: Let's just hold our horses before we jump ship to her fighting big villains.
A long time ago, in space
A white ball with a cosmic tail zoomed through the empty void of space. All around the ball were glimmering and twinkling stars and purple auras. The ball shot passed a luxurious jungle green planet with a few spots on the ocean blue. Small cracks of a teal blue connect and intertwine with these bodies of water.
The ball itself continued its voyage across the galaxy. The quiet void brought no sound. It was full of nothingness. The comet zoomed passed it all, the desolated planets, exploding stars, the collisions of planets.
Its journey will be lonely across space, but maybe one day; it might find somewhere to crash.
Present Time
"Ok kids, breakfast is ready!" Zuce's head lifts from burying itself in her own arms. She wipes off a tear under her left eye.
All the kids playing the sport immediately drop their activity and race towards the voice. Zuce searches for the voice and sees that a medium height woman with a green apron covering her body is calling for the children. She steps aside as the children cluster up the white stairs. The red-bricked house is two stories high with a porch and several cotton chairs lying out on both right and left side. The roof is titled on both sides.
As the last of the children race inside, the woman closes the door. Zuce only stares as she sees shadows of the kids running around through the window of the door and the other bottom floor windows. She breathes out a sigh. She rests her chin on her folded arms. The morning wind blows through the strands of her black hair as she sits.
The door under her slides open, but Zuce doesn't bat an eye. But down on the ground, Mason scans all around his backyard but no sign of that girl. Turning his head back to Sarah, he sees images of costume designs. Currently, she's looking at a red, white, and blue design.
Once more, he glances in both directions but no sign of Zuce. Maybe she went around the house? Or is she hiding behind something? Mason walks before taking a right and in his direction is a massive playground filled with slides, swings, and stairs.
"Zuce? You there? Would you like something to eat? Nothing wrong with that." But no response. Guess she isn't there. Mason sighs and turns around. He hates hide and go seek because Sarah would hide in the most elaborate places. Sneaky little devil she is.
But being the weirdo as he is, something catches his attention. He tilts his head to see that the lost girl is sitting on the roof. His eyes widen and he rushes below her. Did she climb up there?
"Hey! Are you alright?" The girl's eyes focus on him as her head tilts. She simply shrugs.
"Yeah? Why?" A small chuckle escapes from Mason.
"O-ok. How did you get up there?"
"I flew up there?" Mouth, drops, eyes, widen; Mason can't believe what she is saying, but with people like Superman and Wonder Woman, maybe she's telling the truth. It is a possibility or that she's extremely acrobatic to get up there. He shakes his head and stares back up at her. What a fascinating lot he has come across. From a different planet and she can fly? What else can she do?
"Could you come down here?" She stares, the cold dead stare along with the black pupils makes Mason shiver, but he stands firmly.
"Sure…" Standing up and walking off the edge, it seems to be that she's going to fall and do the superhero landing, but instead, she slowly descends with her right foot leading. The descent makes her seem to be in control. She lands softly and without bending the knees as well. Another chuckle escapes from Mason. Holy shit, another one of them. What other powers does she hold? Super strength? Speed? Multiple thoughts starting running through his mind. Theories pop up left and right without a restraint. Mason starts mumble while Zuce stares at him. He's in the same state as she was when she was lost in thought.
"What do you need?" Her voice snaps Mason back to reality and out of his session.
"Sorry. *Ahem* What would you like to eat? I'm sure all those days sleeping left you with an empty stomach. Come on in and I'll cook something up." But Zuce shaking her head answers the question.
"Thanks, but I'm stuffed." But that just pops another confused look on Mason's face. Suddenly, the image of the little green bean sprouts in Mason.
"What was that little bean, was it? That you ate?" Zuce digs into the brown sack and holds the bean with the index finger and thumb. She positions it right in front of Mason, and he squints to see a tiny green bean.
"It's a Senzu bean; it restores the body and fills the stomach for about 10 days." Mason holds his hand, and Zuce drops it onto his palm. Mason holds the bean close and sees that it's shaped almost like a pea. Mason glances at Zuce.
"And this doesn't have any bad side-effects right? No curse, no 'You're gonna die in 3 years" or any of that shabang?"
Zuce's eyes glance up. She scratches her chin with a hmmm. It was… Yamch- no, uhhhh, Yamch?- again. Argh, it was one of those orange Gi folks.
"I think… if I remember correctly… this one guy got fat because he ate too many. A pound for each bean he ate… I think. But as long as you don't exceed your limit, you should be fine. What? Are you asking me for permission to eat it?
"Can I? It's just out of curiosity from what I witnessed with meeting you and all that whole thing of being an alien. I'm thrilled to have met someone extraterrestrial and I'm sure my daughter is too. You know, meeting an alien was part of my bucket list and now, check that off my list." Mason sees a little smirk out of the corner of her mouth. Everyone likes to hear some gloat about themselves.
"Well, thanks. It's nice to meet you guys. And, yes, you can." Mason pops the bean in and chews. *Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch* His facial expression changes to puzzling as he chews more into it. He swallows.
"It tastes like fi-" But his body increasing in size interrupts. His body grows bigger and bigger as the seconds go by. His deltoid, biceps, pecs, abs, etc all exponentially bulge out. The shirt and pants he's wearing can't seem to hold it all in. They seem to be on their last limb as to contain Mason's ever-growing body.
"W-hat, what is happening?! Mason glances at his body. "OHHHHHHH MYYYYYYY GODDDD!" But right after, his body immediately deflates and he is back in shape once more. Rapid breathing, eyes darting around everywhere, but they set once laying upon Zuce. She stood there, witnessing the whole ordeal without saying a single word. Zuce could feel his panicked but yet excited stare as she paid no mind to him. Their eyes meet and Zuce shrugs her shoulders.
"What?"
"I FELT AS IF I WAS GOING TO EXPLODE! DID YOU NOT SEE THE SIZE I WAS? HOLLLY SHITTT, WAS THAT A RIDE! WOAHH!" A chuckle escapes from her as some flashbacks of her experiencing the sensational ride she went through. Her new friends did not stop making fun of her for quite a while. Maybe they still do. And then, you were all like, 'AH, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH MY BODY!' 'Oh shut up, Avdol.'
"Almost the same thoughts I had when I first ate one of those. Don't you feel healed and full now?" Mason rubs his belly and stretches.
"Yeah… yeah, I do! Oh my god! It felt bizarre to say at the very least! I feel more alive than I was a young kid!" Mason touches all over his body. He wants to make sure Zuce's telling the truth as to what the bean did. He flexes his biceps and abs, but everything is working properly.
Zuce glares to the skies as she dawdles on her memories. 'Not the face! Please, anything but that!' *Splat* Zuce shoves a pie into Avdol's face and the cream gets all over her face. Avdol returns the favor by grabbing a red cup. She drenches Zuce in a brown liquid and they share a laugh together. 'Come on, new girl, let's change clothes.' 'Right behind you…' "You failed. You let them all die." Zuce shakes her head as her thoughts are being interrupted. Those thoughts echo through her happy mind and Zuce freezes. It… its voice is the same as hers.
"Whis and Beerus never came." Images of a destroyed Conton City flash through her mind. Fire engulfing buildings, trees broken and their leaves scattered everywhere, bodies littered the street. The bodies, the bodies Zuce seems to be focused on as there laid many Timer Patrollers, all with the blanket white stare in their eyes and blood spilling out of their wounds. The streets run red. "You were just another body added to the pile for Zamasu. You and all the others, even with Super Saiyan Blue, you had no chance." Before her eyes lie Chronoa and her own body before Zamasu. Zamasu picks up her bloodied and battered body and a red beam engulfs her. 'I'm sorry, Supreme Kai…' and nothing. His laugh echoes as everything burns to the ground. Chronoa shreds a tear and a waterfall of tears before the same red beam consumes her body as well. Shut up… "You and all the others pride themselves as defenders of time when you couldn't even defend your home." SHUT up… "Everything you know and love, gone, just like-" SHUT UPPP! Almost instantaneously, a mighty gust blows all over the neighborhood. Most of the houses tremble with their windows shaking. The kids eating breakfast stop along with the mother to hear the tremor. A few of the kids have pancakes on the forks and in their mouths, but they all stop chewing.
Zuce clenches her hands into fists. The veins pop out showing a bit of a resemblance to a tree with many branches, the body tenses up like a stone-mountain not willing to budge. Her teeth grip and grind together, and her eyes and expression drop. shut up… She stares at the morning grass and turns and hides her true face from Mason who is still examining himself. Her eyes begin to wail up, but no drop as she's holding back. Holding back the sadness, the fear, the doubt; her sadness her fear, her doubt. The quivering of her lip catches Mason's eye as he looks back at Zuce.
"Hey… is something wrong?" Zuce doesn't look back, but his words catch her back to reality.
"I-it-it's nothing…" But Mason doesn't buy it. He sees the state she's in and she's lying to him. There's more to her than meets the eye. That, of course, is more than her being an alien. Something is tormenting her, but what?
"Come on, you can share with m-"
"Mason, it's nothing. Trust me on this." The whole time, Zuce doesn't bat an eye to him. Just moments ago, she laughed, but what's going on with her? Why the sudden shift in attitude? She shouldn't close herself and ignore all the fun. But where's a problem, an answer is to come. I just don't want to think about.
"Ok, but if you ever need to talk, I'm the guy for it. Now come on, let's head inside." He doesn't want to press her into revealing herself and be the bad guy. Trust between them has to be built over time and once they get to know each other more. All Zuce does is nod and follow Mason to the door. Mason opens the screen door, and they walk in with Mason closing the door.
Sarah turns around to see her dad and Zuce walking in. Her dad walks over to the fridge and pulls open one of the doors.
"What do you want for dinner, honey?" Sarah's eyes sparkle as dad would usually cook his food for the both of them. Usually, it would be sunny side up eggs and bacon but this time, she gets to pick.
"I'll have, uhhhh, eggs and sausage."
"What's the magic word?"
"Pleaseeeeee?"
"Alright, boo. How do you want your eggs? Sunnyside up, scrambled, hard or soft boiled, poached, devil eggs maybe? Or maybe…" But as he lists even more ways to cook an egg, Sarah holds a 'uhhhhhhhhh' as the list is growing and going. But Mason laughs. Zuce, on the other-hand, focuses in on what's on the screen. Sarah is now watching a video called "The Justice League Fighting a Giant Toy Robot". The machine has a man sitting where the head should be. Glimpses of a red and blue blur appear as it slams into the machine's front, but the focus is shaky. The machine falls back, but there're some civilians there and they all brace for impact and scream. But as the robot falls, a green orb consumes them, and it draws them back from the crash.
The machine crashes into the streets where the man controlling it tries to crawl out but stops when a man wearing a black and grey batlike costume appears. He picks the man up, and other individuals surround him such as a green alien with a red X across his chest with black outfit underneath along with a blue cape with two gold buttons or that the one with the green orb has on a green and black outfit with a white circle in the middle. In that white circle is what looks to be a green lantern. He has on a green mask with white shades to cover his eyes.
"Don't worry, I know you liked them scrambled. I'm just messing with ya. Now turn off the laptop, no electronics at the dinner table."
"Ok, dad." But Zuce wants to see more of these people in action.
"Wai- wait. Don't turn it off yet. I-I want to see more of these people…" Sarah stops halfway and reopens the laptop. Mason is getting out the cartridge of eggs along with a black pan, but there's not a package of sausages.
"Ah, shit… honey, we don't have any sausages left. Mom will buy more later, ok?" Sarah complies with several nods. Mason washes the pan all the while Zuce and his daughter are watching more Justice League videos. Getting some butter out of the fridge, he slices off a good piece with a knife and breaks the eggshells on the pan's edge.
"See, see, that guy is Batman. He has all these cool cars and fancy gadgets!" Mason puts the egg yolks along with the butter. He turns on the flames of the stove and puts it on the highest setting. He grabs a spatula off the utensils rack and processes to weave the butter along with the eggs.
"And that's the Flash! He's super fast! I think he has the best costume ever!" Mason lets out a chuckle as he starts mixing the eggs together. He takes the pan off the stove and points the spatula to Sarah.
"Hey, since the laptop is on and you're looking stuff up already. Look for the current news on the river cleanup."
"You got it, dad!" Mason hears the furious typing of the keyboards as he resumes his cooking. He whistles to an old song back in the 90's. The eggs are turning yellow and forming into shapes. Zuce points towards the screen.
"How about that one right there? It's live right now." Sarah clicks and a video pops with the words 'Live' in the top right corner.
"-as you can see here, Mark, that the Justice League are nearly finished with picking up the trash. It looks to be only a few more huge pieces left, but nothing these fine heroes can't handle." *Clap, clap, clap* The reporter turns to see that Superman lifting several of the giant pieces.
"That's all, folks. The river is clean now." And Superman flies over to a huge dump truck and places the pieces there. He taps the side of the truck, and the truck takes off. He and the rest of the cast fly off while the crowd cheers them on.
The reporter turns around and chuckles.
"Seems that I'm wrong about that. My apologies. But we can thank the Justice League for helping not only at this moment, but whenever we have a crisis; they are here to help us. Back to you, Mark."
Outside near a temporary JL base, 11:49
Superman sees the last of the trucks drive off and takes a right. He dusts off his hands and smiles. Green Lantern joins by his side. Captain Marvel has gone elsewhere.
"Finally done with that, Hal." Hal chuckles.
"You can say that again. I never want to be on cleanup duty ever again. "
"Don't let Batman hear you say that or else, you'll be on it forever." Hal shutters at that thought. Him, out in space fighting against villains suddenly getting a call from Batman to clean up after a huge fight. Superman smiles as he sees Hal trembling, but he pats the Lantern on the back.
"Come on, let's report back to Batman."
They walk back inside. The temporary building has a dome-like appearance. Inside are multiple rooms and a hallway, and at the end of the hallway is a big computer along with a couch to the side. There's a room to the right where it's just a table and three chairs. Hal Jordan crashes on the couch as it's been days that the Justice League has been working on to clean up. There had been a rotation of which heroes will clean up at a particular time as the mess had spanned across the river. These two were on their 6th rotations. Batman wanted to examine the ruins, and these buildings all have the same logo on them, 'Capsule Corp.' No company like that existed on Earth nor was it a criminal organization. It wasn't a space corporation as well, as the ring didn't have a clue and gave Hal nothing of use. The Fortress of Solitude also didn't have an answer to the mystery company.
It's truly a mystery if even when one of the oldest sources of knowledge doesn't know this 'Capsule Corp.' Surveillance cameras show that these ruins appear out of nowhere. Around 6 pm did a huge white portal appear out of the blue and the pieces fell out. And none of the JL technology can seem to track back to the origins. But these ruins did have traces of a strange aura, so there's a clue. All they have to do is scan the residents around the area just to be sure they aren't emitting the same aura. Batman's working on a global scanner to attach to the satellites.
Superman walks to a massive computer screen and types on the keyboard. He steps back and crosses his arms, as the screen lights up. Batman appears on the other side, and he is stern as ever. In the background are the Flash, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg, and Green Arrow. Cyborg is typing on another computer, while the others are standing behind Batman.
"Bruce, we cleared up the rest of the wreckage. How is it on your end? Any leads? How's that project so far?"
"None that I know of. The scanner will be done. I managed to find the frequency of the aura was being emitted. Anybody emitting that same aura is our culprit."
"And once we find them?"
"Bring them here, we need to excess if they are a threat or not. We've dealt with bad and good travelers before." A few of them even joined the Justice League such as Martian Manhunter, Hawkwoman, and Hawkman. It depends on the intention of the person; so far nothing has popped up.
"And if it picks up nothing?"
"Then that's a few million dollars wasted. But it'll help us in the future should this happen again." Being a billionaire, he can afford to use his money like that. Hell, he paid for the entire JL tower with its equipment, rooms, communications, etc. All he needs is people to work on it. It took several weeks, but finally, their main base of operation was established. Full of Javelins, cooking staff, workout room, anything to accommodate the members.
"I hope this doesn't happen again."
"Always a possibility, Clark. In a few minutes, we'll see if anything did come out of the portal beside the rubble. Keep the comms open now."
"Got it, Superman out." And the screen goes black as it shuts off. Superman turns to Green Lantern stretching. His stomach growls and Hal rubs his belly. Hal lets out a chuckle.
"I skipped breakfast. Know a good burger place around here?" Superman shrugs. Hal sighs and walks to the computer.
But outside, multiple police sirens go off and Superman and Green Lantern snap their heads to the sound.
"This is Deputy Mills! The Black Knights are attacking near the Niche Library! We're outnumbered here an- WHAT'S THAT-?!" The radio goes silence as Green Lantern and Superman glare each other. A green glow surrounds Hal and he floats.
"Come on, I think I saw that place a quarter of a mile back west." They zoom out of the sliding doors and take a right. Superman presses into his right ear.
"Copy, Cyborg. This is Superman; we got a bit of problem in the nearby team. Lantern and I are the closest so, we'll take it over."
"Copy, Superman. We got you loud and clear."
"What do you think about this, Clark?" Superman turns to Hal. The two of them are unsure as to what has been going on here. Some people say it's the beginning of an invasion, some say it was probably an accident, but accidents don't leave miles upon miles of trash. Then there's Green Arrow's theory of Earth being someone's personal dumpster. Then, they are those who don't jump to conclusions.
"I'm not sure what to believe in this situation. There're too many factors at play here. But let's focus on this for now."
With their top speed, they see a massive explosion in the distance with the screams of the citizens. From their vision above, they see a massive number of people running for their lives. Lots of people on sidewalks or in their cars turning around to drive out of town. Law enforcement officers are pulling out their injured and taking cover behind their vehicles. But they are not returning fire. They have their guns pointed at the thick smoke.
The two of them do the basics, rescuing the citizens. Superman picks up a bunch of people and flies them out of the danger zone, while Green Lantern has people in an orb. One of the people Superman has in his grasp is giddy.
"It's Superman!"
Once that's finished, Superman and Green Lantern land and in front of them are many cars upside down and smoking arising from them. Those cars had exploded.
The gunfire is coming in front of the smokescreen caused by the dead cars.
Hal turns to one of the cops.
"What's going on here?" The cop looks at him with a confused face.
"What do you mean? One of your fellows is fighting the Black Knights! She's kicking butt out there!" Turning back the smokescreen, they see all across the street the bodies of these Black Knights. Some of them are in holes in a few walls, some entrenched in the concrete, and the rest are out. A few of their weapons have their barrel bent or the weapon is completed destroyed.
Superman and Green Lantern glance to each other.
"No one else but us are here right? No one has called in about a problem."
"ORA!"
Amidst the heavy thickened smoke, silhouettes can be made out and guns, as well as they spark a little light. Several of the gang members trying to shooting at someone. Sounds of shotguns, pistols, and rifles go off.
"Shoot her!"
"She's too fast, boss!"
"She's catching the bullets as well!"
"My god, I need to retrain you all because you all have Stormtroo-!" A shadow jumps towards one of the members, and the figure roundhouse kicks him in the head, sending him flying into a nearby wall. The building shutters from the impact. The shadow disappears as bullets start to fly towards them before reappearing before another member. With their fist cocked, they slam into another member and he slams into the concrete.
Once more, they vanish before making their appearance in front of another member. The silhouette grabs the rifle and bends the barrel before laying a kick to the stomach of the poor Dark Lord. He crashes against another wall. The final fighter has his back to Superman and Green Lantern. Hal holds out his ring, and a green beam shoots out. A green orb appears around the thug. He quickly looks around to see a green orb around him. Glancing back, he sees the superheroes standing a bit behind him.
"What the hell?!" The bubble is near closing.
"HA!" But then a bright yellow light pierces the smoke. The last member sees the yellow glow reflecting on Superman and the other guy. He turns around. An explosion goes off immediately.
Suddenly he is launched into the back of the bubble and slides down as the bubble closes. Smoke arises from his chest. His body goes limp.
The smokescreen shows a single silhouette. Then it starts to move closer and closer to them. Hal drops the orb, and the guy plots to the ground. The figure, then, gets into a strange position; their left-hand takes lead along with their left foot. Something surrounds the figure and they dash forward. The dash cuts through the smoke and a huge circle is left in its wake.
Superman holds his hand as he's seeing the picture clearly. A girl surrounded by a white aura is charging at him. She has black hair and strangely enough, she has black pupils. With her clothes, it fits an old Japanese martial artist. And also she's preparing to punch him. He catches the punch, and it generates a huge shockwave. Instantly, all the windows around them shatter along with car alarms going off. Hal braces himself as the strong wind passes by. The ground beneath them cracks.
Both the mystery girl and Superman seem surprised at each other. Superman's hand stings from that punch. Someone at her age holds that much power. And he doesn't even think she's using her full power. She's holding back. The girl, on the other-hand, surprised as someone caught her punch.
"Whoa!" Hal flies back and constructs a huge green fist. The girl vanishes from Superman's grasp. She reappears a few feet from Superman with her fighting position. In one of her hands, there's a yellow orb about the size of her palm ready to be fired at them. But Superman holds out his hands as he stands in the midst of them.
"Wait! There's been a misunderstanding! Lantern, stop!" Glancing back at the girl, she still seems tense and prone to fight. "We're not with the Black Knights if that's what you're thinking. Please, both of you, lower your ring and your yellow ball." Hal glares to Superman.
"You sure? I'm positive that she's going to attack us the moment we drop our guard." But Hal sees it in Clark's eyes. Clark doesn't want unnecessary fighting and that it is all a big misconception. Hal grunts before dissipating his fist and retracting his ring. Hal nods and Superman turns over to the mystery female and sees that she's slowly lowering her attack as well, but the ball is still there. She's still wary that this may be all an act.
"Look, we just need to get rid of this pre-established tension. Introductions are a priority right now. I'm Superman." And he turns and points to Hal. "And this is Green Lantern. We're part of the Justice League. We were on our way here to stop the Black Lords, but it seems you handled it." As he turns around, the mystery girl has her arms and legs together along with her eyes closed. The yellow orb is gone from her palm. She immediately bows.
"I'm sorry!" Green Lantern and Superman both are taken back by this gesture. No one has apologized to which the extent she has as to show consolidation. But Superman lets out a smile. He places his hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright. It was all just a big mistake. No need for big apologies." The girl raises her body back to a normal position and nods. "Now… what's your name?"
"My name is Zuce… and I was hoping you guys could help me."
"With wha-" As if by the grace of a miracle, Superman's and Green Lantern's comms go off immediately. Superman holds his hand. "Apologies, but I got to take this for a minute." Zuce nods and walk around. She picks up the bodies of Black Knights and gathers them together.
The two heroes both press their earpiece.
"Copy, this is Batman. The scanner was ready a few minutes ago and Cyborg did a scan on the local area." Batman's voice sounds a bit, concerning. It has a sense of urgency and caution as well. Batman doesn't usually emit these signs in his voice unless it was groundbreaking. Superman picked up a few details of observation from Batman.
"I hear you, Batman. Anything on the scans?"
"Yeah, what do you have for us, Bats?"
Zuce waves her hand to signal the officers behind Superman and Green Lantern it's safe. Law enforcement officers move in, and they handcuff each of the members. A few of the members wake up to the sudden shaking. Their eyes widen as they realize the situation they are in, but they can't do anything.
"The Dark Lords will come, and in its wake, Judgment Day, my brother and sisters! The Chosen 5 will rein high and mighty; you will all bow before them!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, get in the car!" Several of the officers force them into the police cars as they continue their rants. Even with the window in between, they hear loud muffles.
Zuce shrugs as she has no idea what they're ranting about and walks back to Superman and Green Lantern.
"That's why we're talking. The person in front of you, they're emitting the same energy from those Capsule Corp buildings."
Their eyes widen. Zuce notices the sudden shift within the two and tilts her head. Their sudden change is confusing her.
"Hello? Is there something wrong?"
"Bring the person back to base. I'll be there in 2. Batman out." And the comms go silent. Superman and Green Lantern glance to each other. They nod before turning back at the confused Zuce.
"We would like for you to follow us. We have some questions for you."
"Sure, I was looking for you guys as well. I need your help…" But Lantern holds his hand out.
"Please, we need for you to come with us. Immediately."
JL Temporary Base
Zuce sits quietly in a white tiled room. Superman and Green Lantern told her to wait in here, and they had walked out. It's been a few good minutes of her waiting. She's been tapping the table, waiting patiently for anyone to come out of that door and at least, talk to her.
Zuce sensed that more people are on the other side other than Superman's and Green Lantern's energy signature. These energy signatures are not quite to Superman's level, and there are some low signatures.
The room has a door and table in the middle with 3 chairs.
Zuce tries to whistle, but it's coming out as shrieking. She stops after a few attempts, and tarts tapping her feet.
"Hello? I know that there are people on the other side, more than just Superman and that green guy. I was hoping if you people could help me. And not just put me in this room…" But nothing and nobody responds. Zuce sighs and continues to entertain herself with the little things.
On the other side, Green Arrow, Superman, Batman, and the Flash change expression as she can somehow see through the other side or rather know that there are more than just Superman and that green guy. Green Lantern, eating a burger, stops mid-chew as he realizes that too. He also a little offended that he's dubbed 'Green Guy'. Flash stops midway as he was going to steal of Hal's fries. Green Arrow taps the glass.
"She can't see us, right? This glass was specially made to block out any x-ray visions, uh, no offense Superman, but she can see us?"
"Either that or she can sense people. Before I caught her punch, she prepared herself and faced us despite the heavy smoke. She knew that we were behind her and who to go for."
Cyborg is typing away at the JL computer as to who she is. But he shows signs of frustration and curiosity as nothing is popping up for this 'Zuce' girl. She looks human, but those black eyes, black isn't a color the human eye can get. Cyborg groans and stops typing. He turns around to the other members of the League, and they all eye at him for an answer. Seems he's clueless even after they found their culprit. Who is this girl, what are her powers, how did she get here? Simple questions to ask, but difficult when it comes to finding the correct answer.
"Damnit! Nothing is coming up! No parents, background, education, no banking account. She's not in the system, and that facial recognition brought up no matching results. It is as if she just bizarrely appeared out of thin air. I can't get anything." When she entered the building, her belongings were all confiscated, and she had been directed to this room. She didn't resist and went along with their orders. Her wallet had no ID or credit card, nothing, just plain cash. Phone didn't have much use either; she didn't have any contacts or made any recent calls.
With them not knowing her identity besides a name, Flash turns to the rest of the group.
"Batman, it's been a good while. We can't just keep her locked up in here. She's a teenager, and their patience runs faster than me. I think it's time for someone to talk to her. I'll go if needed." Superman nods.
"Agreed, I don't agree with doing this to her. If we're going to assess whether or not she's a threat, I think we need to talk to her. She did ask for our help earlier, and this isn't really the best way to offer aid to her…"
Green Arrow walks back to a table and puts up a brown sack, juggling it before walking back.
"You guys also took her wallet, phone, and her pouches." He slips a corner out to see lots and lots of little green bean. About half-way full by his estimations. He picks one and closely examines it. "I guess this is her food? Boy, you're gonna have to eat a lot of these if you want to be full." He holds it close to the nose and sniffs it. Batman bats an eye to the two of them before resuming back staring at the girl.
"Don't eat that, we don't know what it'll do to you." Green Arrow stops as his fingers dangle above his mouth. His eyes scan both ways before he drops the bean back into the bag.
No signs of erratic behavior, she hasn't shown her powers to them, but from what Superman described felt catching her punch, she could be on a whole other level. As well as her posture, she knew how to fight well. But she also apologized after the tension was cleared for the both of them. How she apologized, bowing the way she did roots to Japanese culture. Same goes for her clothes, well, her Gi. More factors are applying to Batman's mind as he tries to formulate the type of person she is. Clark did say something about wanting their help.
"What did she need help with?" But Superman shrugs.
"I don't know. We cut her off when we put her in a box..." A bit of annoyance echoes in his voice.
"Fine. Flash, Superman, go talk to her." Everyone stops what they're doing. Batman's acting nice for once? They all seem surprised, but Flash the most.
"Me?"
"You volunteered along with Superman here. Play nice now. Keep your earpieces open." Flash lets out a half chuckle as Superman approaches the door. Batman sees Zuce propping herself up as they are near the door. But she isn't batting an eye at the door.
"Cyborg, write down key notes and search up anything or anybody she mentions. You too, Lantern."
"You got it, Bats."
Zuce lets out a small smile as she sees the familiar red and blue. But this red guy, he's new. Zuce sees the golden lightning bolt on his chest, and she tries to think back to when they were looking at superheroes. Gold lightning, he can… uh… run faster than the human eye can see, maybe even faster than that. His name was… Flash, right? They pull up the two chairs on the other side and sit down. Flash coughs to signal their attention.
"Sorry about that, we had to go over a few… protocols. I'm Flash by the way, and you already know this guy, Superman." Zuce nods. "And your name is Zuce? Is that correct?"
"Yeah, it's Zuce."
"And how old are you? And how are your parents?"
"I'm 17. And my parents… they're dead. They died right in front of me. There was an att…" Zuce looks down before glaring back up again.
"You don't have to answer if that helps." The Flash gets a slight nod.
"I was hoping to meet you people. I have a huge situation." But Flash holds out his hand.
"We can get to that if you could answer all of our questions. Everyone's been restless on what's going to happen in the future, because of the incident. We just want to clear the air. Is that ok with you?" She nods. "First, we like to know, are you human?"
"No. I'm a Saiyan." This peaks everyone's interest as they are now dealing with an alien-human look-a-like.
"A Saiyan? What's that?" Zuce scratches her chin.
"Ohhh, how did I put it last time? Ohhh, oh yeah, imagine humans on a different planet except with the variety of hairstyle and eyes. We all have black hair and eyes and that we enjoy fighting. It's in our blood."
Hal pulls up his ring.
"Ring, search for Saiyans."
"Error, doesn't exist." Hal hmms as the ring doesn't give him a clear response. But it seems that they are dealing with an alien.
"And how did you get here?" This causes a bit of a shift in Zuce's body language. She rests her back on the chair.
"Well, I'm not completely sure. I believe I was… teleported here. I-I'm not here because I want to be! But rather, I don't what caused me to be here."
"Can you remember anything before that?" Zuce stares down at the table, and her expression changes. It has become quite more… saddened. She doesn't want to retell her tale, but she has to in order for them to be truly capable of helping her.
"I was fighting off someone proclaiming himself to be god, Zamasu. He had attacked the city, and I was trying to buy time for Whis and Beerus to show up and take care of him. But Zamasu got the better of me, and I barely held out. He had me pinned down with his massive slime arm. All I remember next was this seething pain, then rage, then nothing. I woke up to find out that I was out for 3 days."
"Ring, search for Whis, Beerus, and Zamasu."
"Error, doesn't exist."
"Computer doesn't show any results either." The remaining heroes in the room except for Batman raise an eyebrow. This has all of the heroes present concerned. Batman quietly observes and takes mental notes. No signs of when someone's lying or that she's a good actress. They still don't know much about her.
"Why did he attack?"
"He believed that mortals were always sinful and that we were achieving the status of being gods. We were sinners as he said. From what I heard and read about him… it was god's plan to wipe all of humanity so that sin could no longer exist."
"And where did all of this happen?"
"This… happened in Conton City. I was preparing to go train with Whis after returning from Tolkien Beach and that's when the explosions happened. I secured my dog with another family and rocketed over to the city." Her face draws back, and she stares at the corner. She's holding back, fighting against something. Her hand draws into a fist, and she clenches to the point of seeing her veins. "I can still se-see them. The bodies that were laid out that day: Namekians, Frost Demons, Majins, and Saiyan, they're still rampant in my mind. All of them, lifeless and motionless. I wanted… to give them all a proper burial. But… the city had to come first..."
"You couldn't even give us the respect we deserve! What did you bring to the table? Disappointment! You didn't scratch even him despite that we gave up our lives to weaken him! All you did was-"
Zuce shakes her head a bit.
"Ring, search for Namekians, Frost Demons, Majins, Tolkien Beach, and Conton City."
"Error, doesn't exist." Hal scowls at his ring. These people sound like they're a species from outer space; the ring should have answers as to what they are.
"Still nothing on my end."
"And where is this Conton City." But this doesn't bring her up. She fiddles with her fingers.
"It's on Earth."
"This is Earth. Wait… do you possibly mean-"
"I-I'm from a different Earth."
"There wasn't an attack 3 days ago, unless… unless…"
This all strikes a chord in all of the superheroes there. Earth doesn't have a Conton City. Especially if all these different types of people live here. There are secret places like Atlantis, Themyscira, the Fortress of Solitude, maybe it's a secret place like those? But if someone did attack a place and explosions did go off, surely someone would have reported some vibration. Sensors on the Justice League would have picked something up. But nothing came out of it.
While Flash is trying to make sense of all of this, Superman leans forward. He'll take over the reins.
"What's your Earth like?"
"My Earth is one where superheroes and all of this don't exist. We have groups like the Z Fighters and the Time Patrollers to keep the world safe. They don't have superpowers like you guys do. We fight with Ki and martial arts."
"And what are these Z Fighters?"
"They are Earth's Mightiest Defenders. Just like the Justice League, they fight for Earth's survival and protect others."
"And these Time Patrollers?"
"They're a group of people who make sure time stays corrected. There are people out there hoping to change the past so it affects the future which will lead to the destruction of Earth. I'm one of the Time Patr-" Pausing mid-sentence, it catches everyone's attention. Batman focuses in on the body language. Looking down, not blinking, mouth slightly moving, she's in a deep state of thought.
"One of us! HA! Instead of combining our powers, you faced him alone!"
More people would have died if he gotten deeper into the city. I had to stop any progress he would have made.
"You charged in alone! Thinking that your power would be enough to stop him! You didn't think, but rather because you thought it was selfless of you to act like a hero! Now, look what has happened? Zamasu probably took everyone's lives! Chronoa, Toki-Toki, Xenion, they're all dead because of you! You know it to be true that Whis and Beerus were too late to stop him! Planet Vegeta was destroyed and you were powerless to do anything. Planet Bree, you were helpless. And now, Conton City! You had the power of a god and beyond that!"
JUST STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!
Zuce glances to see that the Flash and Superman are staring at her.
"I-I just want to go back home. Can you people help me… please?" She stares at them with tears wailing up in her eyes. Immediately, she stares down and tries to wipe away the buildup. A few sniffs escape. But they don't pay any attention to it. Right now, everyone's silent. Hal just finished his burger, and this is making him lose any further appetite. Oliver thinks back when he was isolated on that island. Cyborg with his drastic change to half robot half human.
Superman and the Flash glances back at the wall.
Batman presses his comms.
"Superman, we don't have the technology to take her back. From what she described, it sounds like an alternate reality. We've traveled to different Earths that had different versions of us and inhabitants, but not to this extent; this is too foreign to us. I'm sorry…" Clark and Barry both exhale a deep breath. They face the truth as they face her.
Another method would be to simply lie to her face. Lie to a lost alien. Give the person a false sense of hope that their goals will be achieved. It's the safer route for it prevents the person from the harsh reality, the reality of things falling apart. Lying will keep them happy and hopefully; that's only the beginning though. Sooner or later, it will crash and it will explode in a grandeur fashion as they have held up this lie; this notion that they didn't want the person to feel even more terrible. For god's sake, she's on the verge of tears! It would break her heart to tell the truth! What can they do in this situation?
"I'll do it…" Clark hears Barry's whisper. All Clark can do is nod once more.
He eyes Zuce. His finger taps the table, and Zuce glances up. But not to a joyous Superman and Flash, but rather to a saddened version. He doesn't have a smile.
"I'm sorry… but we can't get you home…"
As the words leave his mouth, Zuce's world has already finished crumbling. Her eyes, they widen and shake. Her mouth, they try to formulate words, but all that comes out is gibberish. But then, she stops.
Darkness covers her eyes. This is the consequence she has to face. She fought Zamasu to protect Conton City, its people, the Time Patrollers, and for history itself. And this is the price she paid for it. Everyone she has met vanishes as the news reaches her. She will never meet the warm side of her bed, she will never play catch with Scooby, she will never see the faces of all her friends, ever again. Two trails of tears make their way to her chin from her eyes.
"And now, home is impossible for you to reach! Everything you loved and protected, gone! Your life is meaningless now! Without them, you would have never found your place in the world! You cared soooooo much about your friends that you led them to their deaths! Just like how mom di-"
"SHUT UP! HEEEERAH!" In a blink of an eye, Zuce immediately stands and grabs the table by the flat top, her hand crushes the metal. Superman's eyes widen.
"Wait!"
The Flash reacts as she's doing so by reaching to grab her arm, but he feels something, something big coming from her. This enormous pressure is steaming out of her. This raw power, it's unreal! Instead, he turns towards the window, and they see his face full of fear.
"Get down!" Those prepared dive for cover except for Superman as the Flash hides behind him. She turns and slugs the table. The table with high wind tones zooms and collides with the wall. A huge shockwave emits as well as a big explosion. The whole two rooms vibrate, and also with that impact comes a huge debris of smoke. The rest of the heroes try to regain their balance with the vibration, but the rooms, no, the whole building is vibrating. Cyborg lands on his butt as well as Green Lantern while the rest are holding on to something to stabilize them.
Alarms start to sound all across the building.
*Please evacuate the building, please evacuate the building, pleas-"
Batman gets up after the shaking stops.
"Shut the alarm off!" Batman turns around; he recognizes that voice, it's Superman's. Why does he want the alarms to go off? He's not the one who threw a table at a wall. Cyborg gets up and types on the computer. Soon, the alarms stop.
The smoke is clearing, and what's left of the room is a massive hole on the other side, but also a silhouette kneeling. The figure isn't that of Flash's or Superman's. No, their bodies are much taller than that. It's Zuce's. The smoke finally dissipates, and what's left is a huge hole in the wall. Some materials fall off and hit the ground. The sun shines through and the rays of light cover Zuce.
"I-I'm sorry, everyone... You're all dead because of me." But she isn't talking to them is she? Batman storms through the door to see that Zuce is letting her tears flow. She stares for only a few more seconds before she lowers her head and arms to the ground. Batman looks to his left to see Superman and the Flash dusting themselves off before staring back the fallen Saiyan. The chairs are all knocked over. The table is nowhere to be seen. No words come out of her as she stays in that position. Her tears fall to the ground as the room stays silent. She doesn't scream or moan but lets the tears flow. They hear a couple of sniffs.
So has the Hero of Conton City fallen from her grace and glory. Her pedestal crumbles. Once a Saiyan turned Time Patroller to Hero, but now look at her, balling her eyes out. She has failed her job. She has failed Chronoa, the City, Trunks, but more importantly, she has failed her friends. The voices, they're right. She is the cause of the City's destruction. If only she had listened to Xenion, the remaining others would have survived. Her virtuous selflessness led to even more deaths and destruction. Her future will continue on, while those in Conton City won't. She lives while they are dead. All that's left is to dig a hole and die while she still has… what does she have? No friends, she's alone in this world, and she'll be forgotten… Maybe death is the best solution here. To die a nobody in this cruel, unforgiving world. Such is the pathway of tragic heroes.
Sirens go off again.
"AH! This is the Bastion Police Department! Man, if this isn't our shittiest day yet! We are currently being raided by the Black Lords! Several officers down! They want their Black Knights back! They are armed to the teeth! Also, they're preaching something about Armageddon! OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT!?-" The radio breaks and stops sending transmissions. They want to console her out, but… duty calls first. Batman glares at everyone standing around.
"I'll stay here. You guys go help them out. Join you later." They don't question why he's staying behind, instead, they all nod and zoom, fly, or run out of the building.
All that's left in this room is a crying Sai- no, a crying girl who has lost everything. Whose life has shattered before her very own eyes. Despite being foreign to this world, he can relate to her experience. Being responsible for other people's deaths, and how it can affect a person. They beat themselves down and self-torment to repent. Right now in this room stands two people who have lost it all.
"I'm Batman…"
Batman towers over her, and the light shines on his body as well. His brood face doesn't change, but he crouches down beside her. She not only lost her parents but most of her friends, if not all her friends. She saw their corpses, the white in their lifeless eyes, the blood spilling out of their wounds, the stiffness of their bodies, as she towers over them. Her world was destroyed, her sense of youthfulness and vigor, gone in a single day. The once young innocence gone, vanish in this world. Oh, how fate, rather, life can play a cruel hand on just about anyone. The feeling of nothingness, the feeling of regret, the feeling of emptiness.
Bruce bats an eye and places his hand on her shoulder. And he knows those feelings as well. He's been down the rabbit-hole before, dark, alone, scared, isolated from the light. But he climbed out of the hole. Him and Dick.
Zuce turns with tears streaming down. She sees Batman's calm expression while he sees the mess that is her face. Batman reaches his belt and opens one of the pouches; out of it is a napkin. Bruce hands it over, and she takes it. Wiping away the tears of sorrow, she hands it back to him.
"T-h-thank you…" But he closes her fist.
"I was dealt that hand as well. I felt helpless; my whole world was gone in an alleyway. I stood over the bodies of my parents and cried like a lost sheep. But someone was there for me. To guide me. If you try to deal with these problems yourself, you'll fail. But there are always others to help." They may not know each other, but they can share their stories. Two orphans conversing, two outcasts of society make talk with each other. Sharing tad bits of information and making bits of small talk. No useful information for Batman comes out of this, but if it can ease her pain, he'll continue. But, duty does come first.
"Stay here." Not as an order, but rather an advice.
Zuce nods as he firmly shakes her shoulder. Zuce goes in for a hug, and Bruce rubs her back. Batman stands back up. He walks back to the door and opens it, but not before looking back and nodding to Zuce. Batman dashes through the building and presses a button on his gauntlet. A black car revs to life and drives before stopping in front of the building. The driver window pulls back and Batman leaps in and zooms off.
He presses his comms.
"What's the situation now?"
"THEY GOT BIG ROBOTS!"
"I'm five minutes out." The Bat-Mobile hits top speed down the road and all that's left is a red trail
Zuce stands up and looks towards the beams of light. A few sniffs come out, but the tears have stopped. She clenches the napkin. Batman's right; she is burdening herself and trying to stave off the guilt. He lost his parents in an alleyway; she lost hers due to an attack in a village. They are both alike in trying to hide, isolate their true feelings, conceal it with all their might, but secrets are brought out into the light.
"You are nothing more than a shell of-"
"OH SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The collective voices disappear as a new voice pops into her head. The voice, it's coming from behind her, and she turns around. A manlier voice at that. Her mind materializes a tall green bald alien. It has on a Saiyan's Battle Armor. Its dashed pupils stare directly at Zuce. And it's not well pleased.
"N-Nathol."
"OI, CHAMP! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ALWAYS BEATING YOURSELF DOWN? I DIDN'T RAISE YOU TO BE A DEBBIE DOWNER! YOU BLAME YOURSELF FOR THE DEATH OF OTHERS BY CHARGING IN THERE, BUT YOU SAVED MORE PEOPLE BY DELAYING HIM RIGHT THEN AND THERE!"
"I-I don't know if I did. I wa-"
"THOSE OTHER VOICES THAT ARE IN YOUR MIND? THEY'RE FULL OF SHIT! LISTEN TO ME! YOU WANT TO HONOR THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN, RIGHT CHAMP?"
"Yeah…"
"THEN LIVE! FIGHT! CONTINUE TO LIVE IN THEIR MEMORIES! THAT'S HOW YOU SHOULD HONOR THEM! HOW WOULD THEY REACT IF THEY SAW THEIR ROLE MODEL SULKING LIKE WHAT YOU JUST DID A FEW MINUTES AGO? YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GO HOME, BUT DO YOU REALLY THINK ZAMASU LET YOU LIVE? THINK ABOUT IT! YOU ARE ALIVE AND WELL! YOU DID YOUR PART AND YOU SUCCEED! CONTON CITY IS SAFE! EVERYONE IS ALIVE!"
"Sorry…"
"YOU'VE BEATEN A GOD, TRAINED UNDER AN ANGEL AND OTHER POWERFUL INDIVIDUALS, AND A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF I'VE FORGOTTEN ABOUT! YOU CAN CRY, THAT'S NORMAL. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN GIVING UP. I NEVER RAISED YOU TO BE A QUITTER, CHAMP! ARE YOU A QUITTER?"
"No, I'm not."
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT LAME ANSWER?! QUITTERS DON'T RAISE THEIR VOICE BECAUSE THEY'RE SCARED. I SAID, ARE YOU A QUITTER?"
"NO, I'm not."
"COME ON! I KNOW FOUR-YEAR-OLDS WHO CAN GIVE A BE-"
"NO, I'M NOT!" A strong wind creaks the building. The figure smiles cheek to cheek.
"HELL YEAH! THAT'S WHAT'S I'M ABOUT! YOUR MOTHER AND I ARE PROUD OF YOU! YOU MADE SOMETHING OF YOURSELF AFTER SHE SAVED YOU! YOU'RE JUST LETTING LIFE GET YOU DOWN! WHEN LIFE PRESSES DOWN ON YOU, FUCKING STAND UP AND GIVE IT A GOOD RIGHT HOOK! AND TELL LIFE TO FUCK OFF!"
An image of a middle-aged woman with long bangs appears in Zuce's mind appears. She has a big smile before disappearing.
"Heh, she would be… what do I do now?" But the figure scowls at her.
"YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING! YOU PROTECTED HISTORY TO PROTECT OTHERS, GO OUT THERE NOW! TELL ME, WHAT'S YOUR NAME? IT'S NOT GIVING UP RIGHT?"
"It's Zuce."
"AGAIN! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"
"ZUCE!"
"HIT ME ONE MORE TIME WITH THAT! SHOUT IT TO THE SKIES AND LET HEAVEN HEAR AND HELL FEAR! ASK YOURSELF, 'JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM'!"
"MY NAME IS ZUCE!" A white aura envelops her body and she powers up. The whole building shakes again, but not by a table being thrown at a wall, rather by an empowered Saiyan. Another image pops into her head, one of where she's a petite girl and there stands Nathol in his prime. She's saying her name over and over while Nathol yells at to her to be louder. She pops a small smile.
"Hehe…"
"BOOYA! YOU ARE ZUCE. THE DAUGHTER OF CUCE AND BELLI! QUIT SULKING NOW AND GO HELP YOUR SUPER FRIENDS OR WHETHER THEY ARE TO YOU! GO GET THEM, CHAMP!" Zuce having the courage flies just outside the hole and turns around. Nathol dissipates but not before giving a thumbs up. Zuce turns around and bolts towards Superman's energy signature as it's the biggest of them all. Just some motivation and a shoulder to cry on, that's all Zuce needed. It was her mistake to only think about the negatives. That she failed in every aspect. She seemingly listened to the voices, leading for her to beat herself down. But it only takes a few other voices to bring her, to bring her back into the light. She may not be able to escape by herself, but she just needs a few friends. They can help her out with her problems.
And cut! Almost 5 days straight on working on this chapter, going to bed at like 1. Granted that I pre-wrote parts of this story earlier before switching to edit my older chapters. Now parts to discuss.
I was conflicted on adding the last part to the chapter and just ending it at everyone leaving while Batman stays behind. But eventually, I decided to end this chapter on a bit of a happy note. Trust me; it wasn't easy to come to this decision.
Although Zuce now has some courage instilled in her, it's going to take a lot more than just this 1 chapter. A story I like was of Jessica Cruz's Origin and how ironic it was a Green Lantern who surpasses fear has her anxiety keep her down. She's fearful that she'll fail. And as Nathol would say "GET THE FUCK BACK UP, CHAMP!"
I had some much fun writing Nathol's part out. I wanted a pep-talk with Zuce, but I didn't know how to do it without it being boring. How do I do that? Have a loud-mouth of a coach be there for her.
Anyway, I hope this is a good read you all. And I'll see you guys next chapter!
Date 4/2/18
