Cell vs. the Universe, Part 3
Invasion
"Cell is nothing more than an arrogant fool."
Queen Maxima always felt purposeless. Even the royal life of a warrior species is still royal. She never really had to do anything, yet she could do anything. Up until adulthood, she always saw herself as nothing more than a puppet, where the generals go to war, the administrators make the laws, and the queen is just there to look pretty. Instead of living a lush life in Almerac, she decided, like many of her allies today, that it was her divine right as a powerful being to conquer lesser.
She didn't really believe that.
As a grown woman, she spearheaded Almerac's unstoppable armies and conquered everything around the solar system and beyond. She enslaved billions, conquered trillions. Some of the things she did in the name of her people still bubbled in the back recesses of her mind like an unforeseen dagger, striking when she least expects it.
With her region solidified and too big to fail after coalescing these past few years, she is now back to where she started. She is nothing more than a glorified doll, the 'model citizen' the people should look up and strive to. In reality, her glory days were cut short decades, not because of the administration tying her hands in a not, but because she chose to stay put. She decided to live that meaningless life of parades and motivational speeches, to dine with off world governors and 'royally sign' laws that only help the people on paper. It was a decision she couldn't reverse in this new governmental system, and she hated making it every day.
But today, something different caught her attention. Instead of going to her many advisors or interplanetary affairs spokespeople, this man decided to talk to her directly.
"He might be an arrogant fool, but he did have the power to back it up. He did kill Peraxxus after all."
"Peraxxus! Peraxxus! Who the hell cares about Peraxxus!" She hollered back. Moments like these remind her that diplomacy should be left with the politicians.
Maxima sat atop her royal throne bought by her spoils of war. Before her was Gravyen, the third and the last remaining of Darkseid. Both of his brothers, Orion and Kalibak, were assigned the same task of helping his father obtain the anti-life equation. After years of fruitless searching, Kalibak defied his father and died on the spot by his father's near omnipotent omega-beams. Orion saw this as fuel to work even harder. Eventually, even he gave up on his search and tried to formulate a more sophisticated coup.
Orion gathered the same powers of the universe who live today: Maxima, Mongul, Peraxxus, Sinestro, hell, even Zod was invited to join. But when it was time to do the deed, only Zod showed. Everyone was too paralyzed in fear of fighting him that they couldn't realize that if they all fought together, they have a good chance of winning. In the end, his death was the most traumatizing thing that Grayven was forced to witness.
Perhaps, if Maxima wasn't too fearful of Darkseid's wrath, the universe could have been a better place. Maybe, if she didn't enslave and massacre people by the billions just some short years back, she wouldn't be so distressed over everything.
"You're missing the point. He started off as weak as those Earth peasants just months ago. Now, he was able to murder Peraxxus with ease. He had enough willpower and fear to take off a ring designed to control him. Isn't that worrisome?"
The slow trickle of doubt nudged Maxima. She desperately needed the time to think things over and wrestled the innumerous thoughts circulating in her head. Her mental struggle manifested physically when she uncomfortably shifted in her chair, her eyes filled with stress and the weight her world.
Grayven noticed all of this, using it to his advantage.
"If he comes right now, do you think your stretched thin armies are going to stall him? Do you think you can stand up to him?"
There it goes again… She thought, as a twist of pride, doubt, and an overreaching sense of fear gripped her heart and tossed it around.
She breathed slowly, weathering out the storm inside her mind.
Maxima studied his face for a bit. The deep scars that clung to his face were recent. Why would he stick his neck so far to help his father?
"You really must love Darkseid to drag yourself to this side of the universe. All this for that fangled old zeta-beam project? What's it to you if you have boom tubes?"
"That's unimportant."
"Of course it isn't to you. You don't want to remind yourself of how Orion was more of a man than you'll ever be."
"He is not a man; he's a corpse."
After the bare minimum amount of time to think it over, she sighed.
"You'll have my answer tomorrow. I'm still busy with all this placation for a few off-world military installations."
"I understand. Have fun doing work from the pity party. Just remember what we've said here."
Grayven walked out the door with a guard escort. When the tall throne room doors closed on him, she felt an overwhelming amount of relief.
Queen Maxima eased her tenses and relaxed on her chair. Now that she has the time to think about it, of course, she would never give him the zeta-beam. What he likes to forget is that she is a mature woman, not easily swayed by the right words or snarky comments. Even more troubling, someone who won't express their plans is doing so for a reason, and usually, that reason is detrimental.
Instead of following under Darkseid like a hound, perhaps it would be wise to contact Mongul, maybe formulate a plan to-
An explosion from the far west of the palace whipped out her thoughts. The four veteran soldiers that guard her all looked to her for what to do next.
"Scout the site and contact the garrison immediately. Have all guardsmen at the ready!" She hollered.
"Yes, mam!"
Heavy army boots thumped on the polished marble, as the four veterans ventured diligently towards the area. Each soldier was cladded in thick black armor, with swords that have seen their fair share of battles during the Almeracian conquests. As they got closer and closer, more guards started to follow behind them after leaving their various guard posts dotting the palace. When they can see the smoke and debris, the four became a force of 50.
"Stop!" The leading guard from the queen's throne room yelped out, a sentinel. He held his hands outward to stop anyone from going beyond him. He peered around the corner to see the point blank zone of the blast. Oddly enough, no one was there, just the body of a guard unfortunate to be stationed there during the explosion. The sentinel briefly took a moment to honor the dead man.
After much caution and preparation, the guard motioned his hand forward. The pack followed.
Moving north of the blast site, they hear the faint sounds of the clash of weapons. The security force moved at full speed to help defend their brothers. They turned the final corner to see a pale, hairy man hack one of their fellow guards to death with a hook chain. He was shirtless, or more likely; his garment was ripped apart after fighting so many people.
Two other guards unaware of the friendly force closing in fled the scene, only for one of them to be grappled back for a quick death. When the other saw this, he ran even faster.
"You monster!" The sentinel screeched while the guard's blood splattered across the pale demon's face like war paint.
Lobo turned towards them, threw the guard's corpse out of the way, and smiled. His teeth were caked in the blood of honorable men, same as his hands, face, and exposed hairy chest. At first sight of this man, the lead guard already has an unimaginable hatred for him. Other guards looked and murmured in disgust of this beast in a man's body.
"Die!"
The guard army charged in with close ranks towards their only opponent. The enemy did the same, moving so fast that the sentinel didn't even notice the sword moving straight for his throat.
Even from as far east as the throne room, Maxima hears the cries of her people. Even honorable and powerful men, many of whom followed Maxima in battle, can die a death just as agonizing as their lesser. She could not bear to think of the horrors she sent her veteran guards too, the people who protected her every day, people who followed her no matter what she asked to do five years ago.
Perplexed, Maxima scratched her hair until she could feel her scalp. The faint feeling of a new presence in the room stopped her pondering entirely.
"Sentinel Theodore? Did you subdue the intruder?" She called out in the distance the name of her veteran sentinels, one of her friends. There was no reply.
She scanned the throne room for a hint of life. Darkness smothered the room; it would be almost too easy to slip in undetected. The queen's throne itself is a personification of how she is treated in her self-made bureaucracy: Glamorous, but nothing special. The crystal window panes fill most of the light in the room that shine the light of the sun like a medieval church. The Earth gold imported throne stands out from the marble floor in a way that made everything else look cheap and old.
When she realized the futility of her search, she stopped, muttered something about renovating the place, and stood up.
"Show yourself. Don't cower in darkness like some snake."
As if on cue, the silhouette she swore she saw earlier appeared in dim daylight as a tall, slender alien.
"Who are you?"
The alien moved and is revealed more in the limelight. The figure she once saw a black shadow emerged as a tall, green humanoid with dark spots. After feeling a sense of familiarity, she continued to study his features.
That look...
The being made just the slightest grin as if he knew what she was thinking. There's no doubt about it that this creature is from Earth, that same monstrosity from nowhere that killed Peraxxus for no reason. He became even more terrifying when she realized these things.
"I see. So you're the one called Cell, right? You came here to fight, didn't you?"
The words that formed through her lips went unheard. Cell continued to tower and stalk over her. The deafening silence was only disturbed by the explosions likely caused by Cell's partner in crime every once in a while.
Maxima took these precious moments to analyze her opponent as she got taught. One can be forgiven calling him an overgrown insect from Earth. The few human-like features on his body such as his face are quite beautiful, surprisingly. It's as if a human was inside a shell.
What she recognized immediately was his power. Any attempt to mind control someone with that amount of power is pointless. It's so vast that it's like staring into an abyss, but what's dishonorable about it all was that it wasn't his own. She heard that he had to absorb hundreds of thousands of people to get to where he is now. Guys like him, people who don't work for their strength, don't deserve to fight. Despite knowing this know, there's still has a ball of saliva forming in her mouth, her stomach still gut-wrenched with butterflies.
"Not one to talk, are you?"
"Not at all my queen," Cell said, raising his hands to form his combat stance. "I already spend enough time talking to one dread-headed individual."
It's now or never. To die, in combat like this, is a real death. THIS is how I redeem myself!
With a war yell loud enough for those fighting Lobo on the other side to hear, Maxima lunged forward and kicked him as hard as she could. The android staggered a bit, giving enough time for Maxima to kick him through the marbel wall and into the city.
"Everyone!" She yelped, landing on the ground in a boom. "Leave our vicinity immediately!"
The people always busied around the royal palace, each with their unique stories and professions. There were more market stalls then people at some point. After seeing a weird greenish bug fall out of the palace and their queen coming after it, though, the people quickly dispersed.
Maxima saw him coming upright and formed her combat stance. There was a spark in the air. Maybe it's just her nature, but there's just something about this Cell that made her want to fight him badly.
"That look on your face," Cell grunted. "So I'm not the only one that wants to fight?"
"You're not entirely wrong on that."
"I've seen my fair share of people like you, the Saiyans, Amazonians, and the like. I've fought them all before, so let's see if you bring anything new."
While didn't realize it at first, she was smirking to her heart's content. That small and sudden spark is burning brilliantly in her heart, pumping her blood and invigorating her spirit. She's fought Amazonians before, but if a Saiyan is anything like them, then they're her type of people.
With a grunt, Maxima boomed towards Cell. She fought faster than the speed of light, punching and kicking hundreds of thousands of times a second. With every attack, he was able to block, match, and exceed it. It angered her, drove her to fight even faster. Dust and electrical discharge produced by their speed surrounded them. Objects in their immediate area began to float away, and surfaces that were too close to the fighting started to crack.
Their fists collided again, creating a shockwave that took the whole city district with it. The two reeled back their hands and cranked up another punch, this one with greater intensity. The ground was torn apart, creating a crater where they were standing. If a random citizen were anywhere in eyesight during that collision, they would be impossible to tell from debris.
Each blow the pair parried resulted in explosive shockwave. The transparent field of pressurized air managed to shatter everything around it, excluding the two combatants who created it. One fist managed to come to blows with Cell's face. He spewed blood, his lower jaw nearly misaligned. After he had seen the trickle of his purple blood, he roared, and gut punched the queen in such a way that her insides felt like they were oozing with something. She knelt down, waiting for red stream or vomit that was to come next. When nothing came, she tried to get up and attack more, to keep the fight going for as long as she could.
Before she could even try to move, a strong force pulled her from her crimson hair. When Cell and Maxima locked eyes, all she could see in him was the utter discontent he had for her. It was then when she realized that the fighting they had done was just a mere glimpse of his power.
"So weak, but, you weren't the first to disappoint me."
She wanted to snap back, to scream in protest about his blatant hypocrisy, about his fake strength, but an energy ball he held in his free hand shut her up. At the last moment, she activated her energy barrier before he ignited the explosive ball. A picosecond later and she would just be ash to mix in with the dust blowing around.
For a moment, all she could see is whiteness. Her vision restored bit by bit, to the point where she could see Cell's annoyed face.
"Useful technique, but unfortunately for you..." The words struck an awful chord in Maxima. The venom in his voice already tells her that the things aren't going to look peachy in a few moments. She braced for what's to come.
"You're already dead."
While she did defend herself by putting her arms in a guard, she didn't think of raising her force shield. She was knocked into the sky before she even realized it, and kicked again by the same crippling force as she moved further into the atmosphere. One hit led to another, and she eventually found herself nothing more than a ping pong ball. Each blow had so much force that it made her cough up blood like no one's business. The people that crowded the royal palace earlier now look up to the sky to see the radial blurs of the battle. Some of the stronger folk like the guardsmen were able to watch their leader die an agonizing death.
One last blow forced her spiraling down. She could try to move, but the pain was so much that anything less than blinking is impossible.
Maxima collided with the ground in a quake, a dust cloud sweeping over her. Cell's shrouded figure was already nearing, trapping her with the unholy power of hopelessness. When he appeared from the ash, his angry frown was more or less a manifestation of this discontent he felt the moment their auras met.
She tried to move, tried to find a way out of this and perhaps live to fight another day, but she couldn't move at all. Almost all her bones were broken to a permanent paralyze. Judging the look on Cell's face, he probably figured that out too.
Cell raised his hand over her. Light, cell-sized particles of energy reverberated to his call to amass. It was then when she realized what was accumulating under that creature's hand, when she noticed the pitch blackness that shouldn't exist in that nightmare's eyes, was when something clicked in her.
She started to laugh as hard as she could, tears streaking down her cheeks.
"You think you can beat Darkseid with that power?" Her face crinkled into a smile, her slightly damaged throat making a laugh that sounded more like a croak.
"I've never seen anyone more stupid in my life!"
She used what energy she had left to bang her fists on the ground, with enough power behind them to create cracks on the littered city path.
If there could ever be a moment where Maxima felt contempt with her life, a moment where all her sins are irrelevant, a moment where she could die without any regrets, a fulfilled life, it was now.
"You wouldn't even last ten- "
A large tail invaded her throat, absorbing every cell in her body. The queen could feel it drain her life away, the very essence of her being, nevertheless her body. She looked up. Blackness, blacker than anything she thought possible surrounded his body. She always suspected these things were there, like when she met Darkseid for the first time, but on death throes they were plain to see. Whenever she thought of the bad things she has done in her life, it doesn't even begin to compare with whatever Cell did to get such an aura. She could see his eyes narrowing as if he felt a tang of pleasure by doing this. If she could, she would cringe.
Her muscles closed in on themselves, her insides churning into digestible powder. Despite the fact that this sounds very brutal, she couldn't feel a thing. All she could feel was her body absorbed into the same abyss she felt earlier. Except now, she could tell she wasn't alone. Deep within the blackness, hundreds of thousands of souls cried out in agony. Maxima was going to join them.
And in the last moments, before her consciousness faded into the abyss, she could see Cell's partner come into view. She knew she heard his name from somewhere, but she's too far gone to bother remembering. Flesh Almeracian blood was plastered all around his body as if he just ripped through an army. It stained his hands. It stained his heart, his aura. And what does he do? He smiles. He smiled to his comrade as if he just saved a baby. He has a deep blackness in his aura too; they were meant for each other.
Her vision evaporated. All she could see was the darkness, and the feeling of something reprehensibly evil dragging her down.
Just a short distance away from the battleground, Grayven prepared his small traveling ship for flight through the boom tube.
He was only a few corridors down from the throne room when shit started to hit the fan. The Royal Almeracian guards tried to seize him, thinking that the explosion was his plot to have Maxima murdered for whatever asinine thought train. Only Grayven knew the truth— Cell was here, and he was ready to fight.
The guards were an easy kill for the trained killer, but Cell? Anything and anyone less than Darkseid can and will be put in their place in the pecking order.
He carved his path through the eastern side of the palace while Cell and Lobo fought in the west. After killing all the guards in his way and a politician now and then to screw up Maxima's empire a bit more, he made a run for it in the space docking areas right before Cell crashed in the street. In the chaos, Grayven bolted for his ship, catching only a glimpse of this infamous Cell. That single moment will haunt him for the rest of his life.
He couldn't see it, he couldn't feel it, but there was this unimaginably vast aura surrounding Cell. In that aura was a pitch blackness that rivaled even his father. When he talked about Cell with Maxima, he was only trying to coax her into believing him. Now he knows for a fact that this nightmarish creature is no joke.
His ship only recently left the boom tube portal. Grayven sits in his chair, peering through the window to see the planet Rann, home of this so-called zeta-beam. He clicked a few set of buttons to have a square digital screen of Darkseid beside the window. As always, he looked displeased.
"News to report, I hope?" His voice sounded mighty, even through a digital line.
"I am docking on Rann right now. I'll have the zeta-beam in a few hours or less."
"Good work my son. Report back the moment you retrieve it."
The call closed with a soft click when Darkseid ended it immediately after responding. He had guests to attend to.
While Grayven sat further back in his chair to stretch out, he noticed something that even the video call could captivate. Darkseid's aura is far, far larger than Cell's. Maybe he just sees things when he's thinking about these invisible things that only feel like they're there, but nevertheless, it's still interesting.
Grayven braced himself for the force of entering Rann's atmosphere. His job will be easy, as Adam Strange, Rann's greatest hero, was absorbed by Cell months ago.
Apokolips, in Earth terms, is having a renaissance.
The conquests Maxima led has brought a stronger relationship between the two kingdoms. Despite the need of boom tubes, Maxima had a significant number of her elite units trained in Apokolips by Granny Goodness, a gesture of Darkseid's goodwill. As compensation, riches from the spoil of war slowly poured out of Maxima's hands, allowing Apokolips to flourish. Not that any of these things mattered to Darkseid.
Darkseid sat on his throne, brooding alone. All Darkseid wanted was the Zeta-Beam. That Zeta-Beam may be the only thing capable of bringing him to the source wall. There, he can get the anti-life equation and rule the entire universe without the need for these petty alliances, allying himself with inferiors.
Maxima, Mongul, Peraxxus, Sinestro, Zod... they're all his toys. Every one of them is interconnected straight through Darkseid. Only Darkseid united them against oppressors like the Green Lanterns and the Justice League. If it weren't for him, they would fight and war against each other like there's no tomorrow. They will bend their will to him soon enough. All will be Darkseid in time.
His underlings opened the doors to his throne. Zod stepped forth; the gangrene looking guards barred his comrades from entry. He looked as if he was a fish out of water, pale skinned by the almost petrifying fear of contacting Darkseid face to face. Before Zod was allowed to begin work on obtaining the anti-life equation, Darkseid showed him through the canvas of Orion what will happen if he fails him. Such horrors Darkseid committed right then, and there are so indescribable that he quickly became another one of his willing and fearful servants.
Darkseid felt back up his thoughts. Somewhere in between the ideas of invading Earth to the thoughts of executing Cell in his inevitable arrival, came one sentence that brought his attention to full swing.
I have the anti-life equation.
The voice came as an invasive thought, one that spoke in the sweet tune of another. It spoke pleasant verses of things he wanted to hear. It said to him that he could have Superman's head on a platter in days. The more he listened, the more he found himself sucked into something larger, and yet, entirely complicit with it because the voice edged him on.
If anyone were in the room with him, they would notice that his eyes have flared a dark shade of red and that a faint, red like smoke that descended from the sky has imbued in his aura.
There was a particular element in the air that Bruce didn't like. Call it the human version of Spidey sense, but there just something that wasn't right. Nearly a decade spent patrolling the city around these night hours gave him these near-instinct feelings. He looked behind him to the window pane revealing the outside. Far below, he could see the sidewalk bustling with party-goers, night owls, thugs looking for respite, all the like. Gotham's always clambering with people when the sun's down. Not that he can't blame the younger ones, he partied as hard as them back in the day.
Bruce looked back to see Luthor hungrily gobbling his plate of spaghetti. The two sat surrounded by Intergang guards, the only people still either dumb or low enough to still stick with the cesspool that is LexCorp. That, or they just want the money. The only reason why the several-story Italian restaurant even allowed such heavy armament was because of the million dollars Luthor wiggled in his hand.
"It's a bit hard to talk to someone when they stuff their mouth with food the second they swallowed."
The immobilized billionaire tried to speak amidst the mouthful of the spiced Parmesan goodness, but only managed to spout incoherent munching noises.
Luthor ended his endless meal with a loud burp, one that irked Iva, the very guard who shot down the computerized Dr. Nero. She has a scar on her face where Batman beat her the most. Her eyes locked with Batman for a moment while he scanned the room for the umpteenth time. Although it was Batman who paid for the cost of her scar tissue healing in the coming week, she still wants her revenge. Maybe through the form of a paycheck or with his blood, but she will.
"Time is of the essence. If Cell arrives today, what are we going to do? All of the world's strongest heroes are either dead or gone to some off-universe glorified training room. We don't have time to waste sitting here and- "
Luthor lazily placed his finger over Batman's mouth.
"Sssssssh."
He brought his glass of sprite to his mouth and finished the remaining contents. The acidy aftertaste excited him, made him make a loud burp from the overflow of it all. The warm food, greasy yet sustaining, forced anvils on his eyelids and brought him closer to his bed.
"Relax, bats. Cell's probably not coming back until 2100. There's just too many Superman level guys out in the cosmos to keep him busy."
"I wouldn't count on it," Batman lurched forward from his chair, coming as close to contact with Luthor as possible. "Cell isn't like any of the villains we've faced before. He's adaptable, and could multiply is strength and knowledge in the fraction of the time it would take even Superman. If there's even a 1% chance that Cell might arrive soon, we need to prepare for it. That's literally the only reason I accepted your invite."
"And I thought you wanted some quality time," Luthor replied in a childish pout.
Batman rolled his eyes and peered out the back window once more. Three of the oddest looking people walked into view, looking place to place without rhythm or smooth motion, most likely trying to find someone or something. Batman paid them no heed. There're all sorts of creatures roaming this planet looking odder than these folk. What he did find weird before reverting his attention was the blue ribbon incorporated in their outfits. If they were an ordinary gang, Batman would've figured it out by now.
"Day-dreaming Batman? Really?"
"As you can see, I'm trying to protect you."
"As you can see, I have guards that are doing that for me."
"I don't have time for this."
Batman has been sitting down for at least half an hour with heavy equipment weighing him down, so getting up was a challenge harder than Bane.
It was when Batman was no more than halfway up was when two red beams jutted out the window. One beam hit the ceiling and continued towards the night sky, while the other went through the head of one of Luthor's security guards. The beams were incisor level accurate and pea-sized, so it could've been possible that the middle-aged man could've lived if his fellow guards had the time to care for him.
Several more beams came out the window. The guards had already begun to secure Luthor and the perimeter, sometimes dodging red energy bullets by a nose hair. One final blast hurled larger than the rest, tearing open a hole in the restaurant. One guard was knocked down by the sheer force of the explosion, and several others stumbled with their footing.
Two figures appeared from the smoke. One with a trucker hat, half his face removed and baggy trousers, and another one pale, even more muscular, looking as if he fought with the Native Americans 300 years ago.
Guns were drawn and firing, but each bullet managed to do absolutely nothing. Without any serious firepower or artillery, they might as well be firing paintball shells. Most of the guards already know the drill when fighting opponents like these. Five of the dozen armed guardsmen dipped the fuck out, while the inexperienced seven continued to stall as meat shields.
Android 13 started to hold the bullets in his hand and advanced.
Batman, Iva, and Luthor were already in the elevator by the time the firing started. If it weren't for Luthor's disability, they would've already been making their break towards the streets.
"Iva, don't push so hard next time." Luthor gasped out amidst humming and the light reverberations of the elevator going down. "The rush is making my last meal come up my throat."
"Alright, But after this is over, we're gonna need to talk about raises."
"My hands are tied up with money at the moment, you know, with the whole headquarters with documents worth billions blowing up."
"Then how are you able to afford all those soldiers?"
Since he uses a specialized scouter for senior members, Batman was capable of making an alert in Gotham by a few clicks. He also installed a mechanism to call in his many vehicles such as his bat plane. In two clicks, he had his Batmobile roaring out from the bat cave, startling Alfred Pennyworth.
"You have any allies left to call on?"
"No one except the Intergang. Something about trying to kill everyone with C-19 ticked them off."
"No duh."
The elevator clicked open to reveal the lobby, somewhat obscured by a small, purplish man in front of them. The people of the restaurant crowded the entrance doors behind the midget, leaving Android 15 perfect space to kill the three.
"Outta the way midget," Luthor said with a smarmily inquisitive eye. In the distance, he could hear Batman trying to shut him up.
"Die, scum."
The android opened his palm and quickly charged an energy ball. In the last second of opportunity, Batman fished in his utility belt and grabbed a grenade. He lobbed it over despite the persistent noes Luthor yelled out.
Time marched on slowly. The grenade smacked against Android 15's forehead and activated. Instead of the explosion that Luthor anticipated would kill them all, the device made a few churning noises and dropped on the ground. Sparks dangled out and about the instrument before seemingly deactivating.
After the three had stopped marveling at the device, they looked back up to their assailant. His body slumped down, his yellow framed glasses resting on the floor.
"Oh, you deactivated him," Luthor spoke while scratching his nonexistent hair. "I could've thought of that,"
"No, no you couldn't."
Iva pushed Luthor's wheelchair while the three exited the vacated restaurant. The police have already arrived, barricading Italia Explosia with their vehicles. Many of them had smiles and grins on their face when they noticed Batman coming out. There were a few 'we got this in the bag' and 'why did we even come?' amongst the dozen officers. More than three-quarters of them have already seen this scenario play out.
"Batman!" One of the cops called out, standing next to his car with his pistol drawn out. He pushed the desire to throw in the towel and just go home, and binge watch Netflix after seeing the best guardian of the enter the limelight. "I've counted two assailants at the top floor! Get in there and kick some- "
"Get your men to clear out the area. The Justice League is handling this."
"The Justice League?" The officer mumbled to himself.
The young officer, lightly stunned by his words, grabbed his speaker from inside the police car and passed along Batman's message to all incoming and stationed Central Gotham police.
Batman looked towards the west. In the distance, two things were about to arrive. Wondergirl was flying towards him while she carried Aquaman. At the same time, his batmobile is about to arrive, its engine guzzling loud enough for him to hear at the end of the block. He struggled on which to walk towards.
"Haven't seen you out in a while," Wondergirl spoke to him while she descended, dropping Aquaman. Batman nodded back as his form of greeting. Once Aquaman was on his feet, he greeted Batman as well with a strong handshake.
Wonder Girl had about a trillion questions for Batman. Where was he these past few weeks, just after Cell left the planet? Why was he with Luthor? Why is there a woman with an assault rifle strung on her shoulder? Why does he look so damper?
After addressing the look on his face for a moment longer, Wonder Woman's student realized she wasn't going to get any answers.
Batman has been working as hard, if not harder than the rest of his super-powered colleagues when Cell terrorized the planet. He was with the rest of them throughout the whole endeavor, from the moment they made their first meeting about Cell, to the moment when their ideologies divided them. But when the history books will reel in, it would be him who is excluded.
Even though he wears a cowl, his expedited aging shows through from the new wrinkles around his exposed mouth.
"Believe me when I say that this isn't the only alert." Supergirl began.
"What?" His eyes expanded.
"There are two other alerts in the east and west side of Gotham. The League is stretched thin, but we'll manage with you here."
Batman looked around the area. The locals and night owls he saw not even half an hour ago disappeared, leaving the streets in eerie silence.
"What's the situation here Batman?" Aquaman said.
"Enemies, likely targeting me or Luthor. There's two on the top floor and a third that I disabled on the bottom. He's probably rebooting right now."
"Alright, we'll take it from here."
Batman grunted a goodbye, unable to muster anything more from this exhausting day. Around the same time, Luthor gave his own goodbyes to Batman for the assistance he's given him, along with a peace offering of a stipend of cash to fix his crusty black armor, to which he declined.
Batman started to prepare his scouter to teleport into the watchtower, yawning as he clicked. Until his invitation to the restaurant, he was working non-stop on ideas to destroy Cell. Without any DNA of Cell or any of his off shot clones, he'll have to find his own way around.
Unless…
"Wondergirl,"
She was talking to Aquaman to discuss a takedown strategy. She stopped and whizzed back towards Batman.
"Huh?"
"Don't destroy them, I might need their parts."
"Yeah yeah, I got ya,"
It didn't take too long for the crew to find the hyperbolic time chamber. The coordinates Trunks set right before the ship transported set the time machine to appear right above Kami's Tower. After decades of neglect, both Kami and Korin's tower lies in shambles, the tower cracked to the point where one would think it would crumble if something too big were to sit atop.
The group was led by Trunks as they searched the many hallways together, trying to find 'the brown door with a gold handle' that Bulma described. They eventually reached it after splitting up, when Supergirl yelled for the group to circle back to her.
"So this is it," Trunks said, clutching the door handle. What he knows of the training room is very little, even less the dangers the room presents, or why Bulma said not to pack any provisions. What he does understand is that the fate of the people watching his resting hand all hinges on this place. He will never abandon them.
What he knows of the training room is very little, even less the dangers the room presents, or why Bulma said not to pack any provisions. However, even the likes of Goku as a child wasn't able to train in such conditions, and Gohan himself unsuccessfully tried the chamber a short while after all the Z-Fighters died.
However, things are desperate. There is no turning back after all that's happened, the hardships and the deadly turmoil over the past months. The fate of the people watching his resting hand all hinges on this place. He will never abandon them.
Trunks looked back, seeing Superman nod at him with approval. He turned back around, took a quick deep breath, and opened the door to a pitch whiteness.
And... scene.
I'll admit, this chapter isn't one of the most jam-packed, but it's definitely building into a climax. Seeds that I've planted in this chapter will decide the fate of the story since we're coming towards the end game. For example, Darkseid being influenced by the 'entity'.
Without the main cast of heroes, there's a lot of B-list and new characters I'll be using like John Stewart, whom we've met a few chapters ago. The next chapter will also show what we're gonna need to be able to defeat Cell, while Cell has some fun with Mongul. Unlike Peraxxus or Maxima, however, he's much more prepared.
STAY TUNED.