In this chapter, Demon Cyborg will exclusively be referred to as "Genos" by the narrator.
Midori stands on the edge of the ruins of the street that was obliterated by Hindenburgio. Two weeks went by and Midori returned, construction was slow, maybe because Metal Knight didn't care for Civilian Property. Midori was standing on top of a building, overlooking Construction Workers try to map out how to rebuild the restaurant, the same one where he tried to eat dinner with Fubuki. He closes his eyes, and he thinks back to the explosion, the shockwave that was followed by fatal shrapnel and ultra-hot fire was closing in behind Midori as he was running to Fubuki in super slow motion. He knew if he didn't make it to Fubuki in time, she was going to die. Glass was already puncturing his skin, the pain didn't bother him though as he had one intention in mind, get to her… He touched the back of his neck since it was burned the worst in the explosion. His concentration was broken by someone tapping him in the shoulder, he turns to see Zombieman, one of the heroes he was paired up with or the day.
"Dude, you're radiating electricity…" He said as he points to Midori's hands.
Midori was confused, until he looked at his hands, when he saw stress electricity surging from one hand to the other. This made Midori jump a bit as he thought he had all his emotions under control, he quickly waved both of his hands rapidly to dissipate the electricity. He let out a sigh as he pinches the bridge of his nose to regain emotional control. The Pale Skinned hero offered Midori a cigarette, which Midori promptly grabs as Zombieman lights both his and Midori's cigarettes with his lighter. Midori wasn't one to smoke, but something is telling him that he should take this one. The detective instincts of Zombieman kick in as he notices that something is wrong.
"Warmonger, you've been looking down all damn day. If I gave enough of a shit I would ask if you're alright…" Zombieman takes another drag. "But alas… I don't…"
Midori just glanced at Zombieman in the corner of his eye and turned back to stare at the ruins of the block. He didn't say anything for a full moment as he contemplated. He stopped thinking to turn back to Zombieman.
"Well, I was just remembering what happened on this block, I was having dinner with this one chick…" Midori said, coolly.
"Oh- hold on now, is this the first time I hear that a hero isn't too busy to go to dinner with someone." Zombieman said, intrigued. "Who'd you eat dinner with?" He asked, putting his lit cigarette back into his mouth.
"Oh, Class B Rank 1, Blizzard of Hel-" Midori was interrupted by Zombieman shooting out all the tobacco and ashes in his cigarette out of pure shock.
He coughed a bit before turning to Midori with an oddly crazed look on his face.
"You're dating Blizzard?" he yelled, which was unlike him because hes such a nihilist that he is always calm, cool and collected.
Midori slowly pushed Zombieman away from him.
"Dude I'm not, chill out… She just asked me if I wanted to go on a dinner with her…"
"WHY?" Zombieman screamed.
"Uh…" Midori scratched his cheek. "I- I don't really know…" Midori's face gets flushed with redness.
Quickly wanting to change the embarrassing subject he sees a man followed by a fireball sprinting at supersonic speeds down the street. Midori recomposed himself.
"Here comes Demon Cyborg." He stated, still trying to recompose himself.
Zombie Man looked over the edge where Midori was looking at, confused. "Huh? Where?" Suddenly a gust of wind picked up, causing Midori and Zombieman's hair to flow. "Oh, there he is…"
Genos looked at both Zombieman and Midori with an extremely serious face.
"I have found an open place for us to spar, Warmonger…" The blonde cyborg said.
Midori perked up, dropping his cigarette and stomping on it, finally, something to take his mind off of the restaurant attack. Sparring with Genos may be the ultimate distraction from a near fatal, excruciating encounter. Zombieman drove while Midori and Genos sprinted to the desolated area. It was open, not as open as the A City Wasteland, but it was viable for high octane, high adrenaline fisticuffs. Midori looked around the terrain, sandy as A City, but not as hot, which is great news for Zombieman so he won't be roasting in the sun just to watch two newbies battle it out. He takes out a speaker from his car and places it in the hood of his car, he pulled out a small little microphone from the back of the speaker.
"Alright Ladies, remember, nothing below the belt, keep going until one of you passes out or taps, and uh… I doubt that either of you are immortal like me so uh… Don't kill each other…" Zombieman said before throwing the microphone inside his car.
Midori walked about 90 feet away from Genos, they stared a nodded at each other before going to their battle stance. Midori, more of a heavy hitter than a technician put his fists up, ready. Suddenly Genos's body began to glow orange, thrusters behind him. Midori took out a knife (yes, the same one he took from a Hindenburgio pilot) and slit his hand open, causing Electricity to bounce off of him. It was a race to see who can transform the fastest to get the first punch in. The winner of that race… was Genos, who uses his back booster rockets to propel himself towards Midori with his arm extended for a punch. Midori sees this and rolls out of the way, only to be met with a powerful stomp from the Cyborg. Midori dodges this, but the ground around him rises as the stomp caused the ground to crack.
Genos came at Midori with punches, which Midori tried to block them, but one lucky one clocks him in the chin, which send Midori flying. Finally, the Stress electricity surged and dissipated, making Midori land on his feet graciously.
Beta Form: Activated.
Midori's white glowing eyes glared at Genos, who stepped back a few times after witnessing the spike in power level. Midori suddenly rushes him, which caught the blonde cyborg off guard; Midori hardened his legs to kick Genos that much harder. The cyborg ducks to not get his head kicked off, but the force off the kick caused a massive amount of sand and dust which flew around everywhere. Genos scanned the area with Infrared vision to locate Midori, but he could not. Is he too fast? Cold Blooded? Impossible…
"GOT YOU DUMBASS!"
Genos looked up to see a brightly colored suited hero bearing down on him with one foot extended, reeling for one hell of a kick. The cyborg barely dodges the "Kick from Hell," as Midori's foot contacts the ground a massive sonic boom ripped through the lands, making Zombieman block his eyes so dirt and sand won't get stuck in it; the dust cloud instantly dissipating. Midori didn't stop there, he continued to pummel Genos with MMA style kicks and punches, which Genos either blocked or dodged. Midori's last kick launches himself upward, ready to pounce; however, Genos's arm turned into a thruster and pointed at Midori.
"Incinerate!" the blonde cyborg said quietly.
From his hand, a massive fire ball launched towards Midori. All time seemed to stop as this fireball approached him; the heat and size of the ball of flames caused Midori to have a flashback, the restaurant, the race to Fubuki. He panics and hits the ground hard, barely dodging the fire blast. Midori thinks for a moment, what the hell just happened. He remembers he is in the middle of a sparring match against Genos, and that over thinking will cause his defeat; he grits his teeth, angry at Genos for making him remember the blast. He begins surging again, much more intensely than last time, and he rushes Genos. Midori jumps in the air, screaming in unadulterated rage, leering at Genos, who pointed his blaster up to aim at Midori.
Midori snapped his head up to the sky, seeing a Stress Electrical Bolt, coming down to strike him.
"Incinerate!" Genos screamed as another ball of fire blasts towards Midori.
It was at that split second the electricity strikes Midori as he enters the incineration ball. Genos looked at the ball, shocked as Midori took it head on. Did I go too far? Did I kill him? Suddenly reality slaps him in the face as Midori, not even phased continued to fall towards Genos with his right arm cocked back, ready for a killer punch. Genos studied Midori as he descended.
"Buildup of Kinetic Energy in his right arm- oh no"
Genos jumps backwards as Midori's fist made landfall. The sheer explosion of energy coming out of Midori's right fist caused the ground to ripple and spike into jagged rocks. The resulting shockwave was so massive that Zombieman and his car were sent flying; causing the car to land directly on top of a prone Zombieman, crushing him. The shockwave also caused windows to shatter in the nearby City L, where Saitama, Tatsumaki and Atomic Samurai were all sharing tea.
Genos stood there, stunned, his hair is all blown back. He looked around him, the once flat terrain was now covered in stalagmites, pillars of land now protruding from the ground. The power of Warmonger. Genos realized that Midori wasn't where he was originally standing; he scanned the area, through stalagmites and pillars, but couldn't trace him. Suddenly he feels a presence behind him, but he could not react. Something was preventing him from turning and firing his incineration canons.
"Overthinking will cost you the battle…" Midori growled in the ear of a petrified Genos.
Genos never felt scared while battling monsters or other humans, fear was a foreign concept to him. But this… this was something different. He shakes his head, but prematurely fires his Adhesive Trap from the back of his heels. Midori stopped for a moment to try to move, but he was stuck.
"What is this?" Midori spoke quietly, but loud enough for Genos to listen.
"I did not think I needed to do this, but your speed is far superior to mine…" He turned to face Midori but made the mistake of doing it with his eyes shut. "So, I used an ultra-sticky adhesive that will stop anything in its tracks, including ninja-" Genos opened his eyes to notice that Midori was not there. Instead, there were only orange boots stuck in the glue trap.
He turned to see Midori, yanking off the Cyborg's right arm, and using it as a melee weapon, striking Genos in the face, which sent Genos flying. Midori was still clutching the arm as it gained sentience, grabbing Midori in a choke hold. Midori pried the arm off his neck before throwing it at Genos, watching it fly away and reattach to Genos's body with relative ease…
Genos turned around to see Midori, standing there, menacingly. Midori was staring a hole through Genos, with a look in his beaming white eyes. One that screams "I will fucking kill you…" Genos readied himself for anything that Midori will throw at him. Another burst of electricity? Another explosive punch… Another form? Suddenly, the entire place turned blood red. Genos looked around, red, ground red, sky pinkish red, Midori… not red. Suddenly the redness ceased. Midori blinked a few times, the expression of pure hatred, now gone. He looked at the floor… before beginning to wobble a bit.
"The ground is coming up quite rapidly…" he drunkenly said before promptly collapsing to the floor, unconscious.
Genos was confused… a hero with such immense strength, just passed out! Genos then looked at his hands, they were trembling, not out of over usage in a fight, but rather out of fear… Impossible, inconceivable! When was the last time Genos experienced fear? Mosquito Girl? When Saitama almost punched him? When he was accidently knocked out by Saitama and lost all his memories? No… this was different.
"Yo Genos!" someone yelled casually from afar.
It was Saitama, he was flanking Tatsumaki, who was also being followed by Atomic Samurai. They looked at the carnage the two, relatively new heroes caused.
"Whoa… what happened here? Did you fight a monster or something?" Saitama asked, with a confused expression.
"No… we were sparring…" Genos stated as he pointed to Warmonger's body.
"What? You are telling me that you and Warmonger caused this level of destruction by SPARRING?" Tatsumaki yelled, ending her statement with her arms crossed.
"I know it's hard to believe… but it's true…" Genos assured, before turning to Atomic Samurai. "Class S Rank 4 Atomic Samurai, can you please get Warmonger, as I need to talk with Ms. Tornado and Sa- Master Caped Baldy… Privately…"
Tornado turned to Atomic Samurai, and tilted her head, indicating Atomic Samurai to do so… The Samurai just rolled his eyes before walking towards Midori's unconscious body. Genos lifted his still shaking hands to show Tatsumaki and Saitama. They both looked at them in confusion.
"While me and Warmonger were sparring, something in him snapped. And he made me feel something I haven't felt in years…" he looked at the two heroes. "Fear…"
"Huh? Oh give me a break… you got a little scared, boo-hoo. Get over it…" Tatsumaki complained.
"No… this… this was different. Midori started out tame… but when we continued, Warmonger's humanity began to slip, and, eventually he seemed less like a human and more like a being made entirely of untapped rage and hatred."
"Hm…" Tatsumaki scratched her chin as she looked at the floor. "Now that you mention it… the first day of Hero Pairings, he threw electricity nets on both me and Metal Bat. I tried to use my powers to knock out Warmonger, but there was something that was preventing me from using my powers. Was it the net, or just him?"
The three young heroes collectively begin to ponder, until Atomic Samurai broke the silence, walking up with Midori over his shoulder.
"Hey… Isn't there a third member of your group?"
And, as if it were a comedy, from under the overturned car, the group can hear Zombieman.
"HEY! Can any of you help me? I'm stuck down here for god sakes!" the man under the car screamed with a muffle.
Elsewhere
Midori woke up in a bed, but when he looked around, he noticed something off. The room he was in was misty and hazy; the walls, a grey to jet black gradient mostly seen in stores that sell only dark colored clothing. The air was cold, which didn't bother Midori too much as he was wearing his Kevlar-carbon fiber suit. He got out of his bed to look around, eventually, in the distance he sees a tree line. He carefully walks into the dense tree line, it was all covered in oak and pine, but the haze was making it hard to see. No animals in sight, no other fauna except for the aforementioned trees and grass. After a few minutes of wandering the landscape, he sees an orange glow emitting from behind some oak trees. Must be a fire, so he isn't alone. He looked from behind a bush to see if there was an encampment, but instead, he sees a black, humanoid entity, sitting near the fire. The Entity had no face, no eyes, no mouth, no nose… it just a void.
The Entity must have seen or sensed Midori because, while staring at the fire, he started.
"You know what is ironic about Hell, Midori…" he said with a very deep voice; however, it spoke in a soft tone. "Demons themselves… they lie. However, their ruler does not…"
Midori popped up from behind the bush and approached the Entity. He looked around to see the trees had strange cryptic drawings on them, the were all in a strange, incomprehensible language. The Entity turned its head to Midori and gestured him to sit.
"You had quite the day Midori, that Cyborg almost had you beat… Ultimately you trying to access another, higher power cause you to pass out and well…" it extended its arms and looked around. "You are here now…"
"Who are you and where am I?" Midori began to interrogate The Entity.
"We are in your dream Midori… but… you are also somewhere else entirely." The Entity stands up. "Do you think you are ready to access powers hitherto undreamt of?"
"What? The hell does that mean?" Midori yelled, angry at The Entity for speaking in riddles.
The Entity just sat there for a minute, as Midori's rage just grew and grew. Then it raised its hands, and waved them in a venn diagram like motion, suddenly purple fire materialized out of his hands. The heat from the sudden fire spawn was so intense, it caused Midori to recoil backwards.
"Let me try to put it in more simpler terms for someone who can't understand me…" Suddenly the entire Entity is glowing with ultra-hot, purple fire.
"Tell me, O, Midori. What are your forms?" The Entity boomed as he began to float.
Midori was confused, terrified, and confused again! What was this thing talking about?
"What are you talking abou-"
The Entity threw a fire ball at Midori, who swiftly dodges the attack. Angered by the Entity's sudden hostility, Midori tried to go into his beta form, but nothing was happening.
"The fire that I have summoned is as hot as a sunspot. NOW! What are your forms?"
Midori thought for a second, forms? Does he mean my Transformation Forms? He turned to the Entity.
"Alpha and Beta!" He yelled, before getting struck by another fireball.
He was sent flying, crashing into another tree and comedically crumpled to the floor. The impact hurt like hell! Is this actually a dream? If he dies here will he die in real life?
"You are lucky that your armor has such high integrity… otherwise you'd be vaporized. The next time however… you won't be as lucky." The Entity approached Midori. "Now tell me… What are your forms?"
Midori began to panic as anything that he says might get him vaporized.
"Uhh… UH! BETA, ALPHA, AND…"
A red glow caught Midori's eye, he looked at the direction to see a tree that had the strange carvings on it. He saw a particular symbol, one of a almost complete circle with protrusions on the sides at the bottom. Midori didn't know what that symbol was, but it seemed to be talking to him. Cryptic Whispers began to sway Midori to speak…
"Omega…" he unconsciously whispered to himself.
The Entity landed on the ground, no longer glowing with fire. He approached a still prone Midori, and stood over him, radiating power so dense that it can be cut with a knife.
"Congratulations Midori… You have now unlocked your newest, and so far, most powerful form… Omega." The Entity spawned a fire projection of the Omega Symbol. "However, in order to access it, you must first defend the earth against a disaster that has the potential to wipe out billions… Only then, can you unlock it."
The Entity lowered it to Midori.
"I will now transport you back to your reality… I wish you good luck and farewell…"
Midori stood up quickly.
"Wait! You didn't tell me who you were…"
The Entity stayed quiet, pondering.
"All questions about me will be answered eventually. O, Midori."
The Entity raised its hand and snapped its fingers, causing everything to go black instantly. Midori just floated in the empty space for a minute, looking around and staring into oblivion. Suddenly he felt himself blast backwards at Mach speed. He seemed like he was being thrown into space as all the shadows around him began to get specked in white dots, almost like stars. However, when Midori tilted his head up, he saw another black being… Not the Entity from before, rather, one with a face covered in hundreds of eyes and thousands of teeth. Midori attempted to scream but nothing came out of his mouth.
Midori yelled and sat up in a cold sweat. He panted before slowly turning his head to the right to see 5 heroes staring at him. Atomic Samurai and Zombieman were playing chess; Zombieman seemed to be wearing one of Saitama's t-shirts, probably because his clothes were destroyed when the car landed on top of him. Saitama was playing video games; Genos was doing dishes, and Tatsumaki was reading a book.
"What happened, what did I miss?" Midori asked frantically.
Genos bluntly stated everything that happened during the fight and revealed that Midori did something that others could not do. Midori covered his face with his hands, embarrassed that he got so carried away in such an insignificant spar. He excused himself to the restroom, to splash some water on his face. He took off his face mask and goggles and did so. He looked at himself in the Mirror and noticed his eyes were different. Instead of his normal dark brown eyes, they were black with two white halos. This freaked out Midori but decided not to scream so he wouldn't attract more attention to himself.
That night, Midori decided to buy himself a few pairs of aviators so no one would notice his sudden change in eye color. He also decided to shave his beard completely. He laid in bed that night thinking about what happened and decided the events in the forest and his encounter with the entity is merely a dream. A Dream he wishes he never has again.