Cheetah's Narration: Greetings. I am Barbara Ann Minerva, but some of you may know me better as Cheetah. Yes… THAT Cheetah. If you're thinking that an incarnation of Cheetah leading a hero group is about as crazy and ludicrous as it sounds, well… That's probably because it is. Though, that part wasn't really by my full admission. At first, I was just another enemy for the Hero Alliance to fight during Brainiac's siege on my world. Anyone who has followed along would know the one. After Wonder Woman's arrest in Universal Prison, I've been pursuing a young man named David Ishihara, whom I had met and fought during the incident, who was indirectly responsible for Wonder Woman's being exiled from Themyscira and subsequent arrest when the Regime tried to take Brainiac's technology for themselves. Despite his good intentions, his interference left a hole in my heart. Joke all you want about that, but even animals have hearts, don't you know? Anyway, we've met each other and fought a few more times, one of which I actually ended up helping him by bringing in Apollomon of the Olympus XII to seal away the Titans once again. Sometime later, we fought again in the King of Fighters tournament alongside Captain Cold and Poison Ivy, two other members of Grodd's old Society. It was the first time that I managed to get a win in on Ishihara. After becoming champions, we were attacked by a Dynamaxed Haxorus and went to Galar, accompanying the Alliance for a while. That was where we met them, Zacian and Zamazenta. The two have taken an interest in myself and Ishihara, and through our travels, the two have decided to accompany us in our respective endeavors, Zacian accompanying Ishihara, and Zamazenta following me. During my time with the Alliance, my own group was starting to grow in number, and we soon got on our own adventures. We still come back to them when something big happens, though. It's as if Ishihara and I are drawn together by some kind of impending destiny and neither of us can find out what. Just when the thoughts keep going into my head, that was when we got into our next world, along with a familiar face we thought we'd never see again.
"Whoa… What the heck is going on here?" Agito asked as the Dark Cruiser appeared in some kind of hub world connected by four zones.
"I have no idea, but it's definitely someone tampering with the forces of nature." Poison Ivy said.
"I don't think this is from a simple tampering." Toya said.
"Yes, it seems more like someone snatched an artifact and that's what caused this mess." Belladonna said.
"Yes, that would be the more logical explanation." Cheetah said as they saw a familiar figure. "Oh god, him again? I should've figured it was him."
"Eh? Wait a second, I remember some of you!" Wario said.
"Wario? What are you doing here?" Captain Cold asked.
"That's exactly what I would ask you." Wario said. "Don't think that I forgot all that hootenanny back in Marina Island!"
"He still remembers that? Wow, that's a good memory." Luke said.
"But eh, enough about that. Long story short, I picked up this black jewel during one of my excursions, and… I think it was cursed, because the next thing I knew, my castle was gone!" Wario said.
"A cursed artifact? Where have I heard that one before?" Cheetah asked.
"Hey, this is no joking matter! I'm in a real bind, so I could really use the help in destroying that jewel and getting my castle back!" Wario said.
"We don't know if there's anything that can be done about the castle, but…" Cheetah said. "I think we can help with your little gem problem, at least."
"That's more like it!" Wario laughed. "With you lot around, that jewel will not know what hit him!"
The group accompanied Wario as they went through a forest.
"It doesn't seem so bad. A lot of enemies to fight through here." Cheetah said.
"These monsters were once my treasures, but thanks to that jewel, they have become the monsters you see now." Wario said.
"Maybe that's a message about greed." Poison Ivy said.
"Hmm… Nah! Still gonna keep going, even after that jewel is gone." Wario said.
"Ah, we tried." Guy said.
"Well, the least we can do is keep damages to a minimum, I think." Riesz said.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about little old me. Once the black jewel is gone, these monsters will probably turn back into treasure anyway. So… Go wild!" Wario said.
"Just the words I've been waiting to hear." Cheetah said.
"Oh boy, there's that look in her eyes again." Agito said.
"Well, duh. She's a huntress. That's what they do." Captain Cold said.
"Yeesh… Remind me not to get on her bad side, then." Wario said.
"Don't worry. She's actually a decent person once you get past her tendencies." Zamazenta said. "I wouldn't have chosen her if that wasn't the case."
"I guess I'll just take your word for it." Wario said.
They make their way to a sort of arena where they meet a green creature with stone hands. Upon defeating it, they make their way through some ruins.
"This place takes me back to my archeologist days." Cheetah said.
"Yes. The layout here looks very nice." Zamazenta said. "Of course, this being the work of a sentient jewel, we can't exactly take everything with a grain of salt."
"That's kind of the name of the game with sentient artifacts. They're actually alive, and they have wills of their own." Koren said.
"Which is why one has to be careful, should they come across it. Otherwise stuff like this will keep happening." Belladonna said.
"Well said, Belladonna. Nothing good would come of tampering with a sentient artifact." Cheetah said. "That's a lesson I had to learn the hard way."
"Hey, running my own microgame company doesn't come cheap!" Wario said.
"And yet I know some people with more sense than just grabbing every artifact they see." Jade said.
"Not that we're going to see that stop anytime soon." Cheetah said.
The group then battles it out with a sandworm inside some quicksand. After defeating it, they soon meet what looks to be a dinosaur in a bikini.
"What the heck am I even seeing?" Zenji asked.
"What the freak is this all about?" Captain Cold asked.
Cheetah sprints over to the dinosaur's tail, which she uses to reach the dinosaur's head and hammer away at it.
"I've got your back, Cheets!" Captain Cold said as he fires his cold gun at the dinosaur's feet, rendering it immobile.
"You think having that bikini makes you look sexy? Because let me tell you something...it doesn't!" Zenji said as his fist was coated in ice as he slams down on the dino.
"Maybe if you slim yourself to the same level as Cheetah and Belladonna, maybe you'll have a chance. Until then...get the hell out of our faces." Captain Cold said as his cold gun freezes the dino before it shattered, leaving behind a sort of key.
"Hmm? What's this key?" Poison Ivy asked.
"It looks like a key that opens that chest over at the center." Toya said. "I get the feeling this isn't the only piece we'll need to get."
"I agree with Toya. We'll need to get more pieces before we can take the fight to that jewel." Luke said.
"In that case, let's get searching." Cheetah said.