As the blank light of the hyper-dimensional drift faded, it slowly transitioned to revealing cityscapes from afar.
Upon setting sail on its grounds, Ben's movements came to an immediate halt, witnessing the horror of which this new realm presented. Pure havoc, all that trenched for ineffable proportions and distances.
Buildings crumbled to bits, roads stripped of their surfaces, the landscape decimated while civilians fled in terror. No matter the attempt, they too were caught in the crossfire, in which dust littered the air under apocalyptic shadows.
The Omnitrix wielder failed in grasping the ongoing cataclysm, as a plethora of bright blue energy spheres flung in a multitude of directions, leaving the remnants of incinerated flesh and concrete huddled over the floor.
Raging fires blazed from higher end points of the city, followed by the bloody screams of citizens and their crimson aftermath.
Once the hell finally plunged, a fair distance away from him, the teen could make out a muscular, humanoid figure.
The supposed "man" appeared gigantic in size, his skin covered in a dark, violet hue. Two antennas protruded out of the top of his bald head, elf-like ears pierced by the sides, the end of his fingers elongated and pointy, whilst also lacking reproductive organs.
The giant soon stumbled towards a tween girl, the poor child rested on her knees, showcasing her bruises and dusty clothes. Her hair cradled by the steaming wind, tears flowing like a river.
The victim's intense cries added but a tone of misery to the pernicious atmosphere, the grieving she poured meant nothing to the fallen.
A fair distance beyond the spotlight, the heroes Lightning Max and Smile Man lifelessly slept over the surrounding rubble beneath their backs, the latter being what they'd sought to remove as to save the endangered citizens.
At the end of the day, the despicable monster's arrival shredded their futile attempts of heroism. To the beast, they were as worthless as the rest of the human race.
"Mommy! Daddy!" The young girl cried, the overflowing trauma present in her heart would've devastated even the bravest of adults, it was quite miraculous how she could hold her tranquility together for so long.
Ben's irises trembled viciously, his hair too brushing by the haunting wind, hands slowly clenching down to balled fists. In spite of the warrior's will, they now began to rumble with faint sparks of electricity briefly shining by the passing seconds.
Without warning, his instincts flared to signal his focus, transforming his mortified expression to that of pure, uninterrupted fury.
The Omnitrix's neon faceplate radiated under an emerald glow, to where the energy now spread under his reinforced skin, traveling throughout his nervous system until it came into contact with the latter's energized brain.
His eyes fell dead blank, unbeknownst to the sight of any possible spectator, the Omnitrix and it's bearer had fully intertwined into a single entity.
_"Celestialsapien amplification now locked with Omnitrix core, user consciousness fully connected."_
Lime flames suddenly erupted from the hero's empty sockets, followed by a similarly colored flash of light.
In his place now stood a blue-skinned humanoid velociraptor, wearing a sharp, cone-shaped stylized helmet, colored black on the upper head and amidst the chin, whilst the sides were shaded in green, his face present within.
The alien's facial features were striped in stylized black lines around his sharp green eyes and dark lips, a white pointy downwards facing triangle located in-between the face and helmet, while at the back of his waist danced a long blue and black striped tail.
Three dark, blue claw-like fingers laid forwards from his triangular palms, equipped with black fingerless gloves, alongside dark blue pearls attached to the end of his raptor heels. The back of his wrists and feet protruded like armored blades, he wore a black bodysuit that expanded over his shoulders and just above his ankles.
Both upper arms, thighs, wrist gloves, and lower legs displayed two green and white stripes, the midst of his jumpsuit presented a thick emerald line that ended in an arrow, with another significantly shorter arrow directly below equipped with white lining traced around the waist. The Omnitrix symbol stood over the center of his chest.
"XLR8!" He exclaimed, forcibly slamming his palm onto the floor, blasting bits of debris away. His leg muscles clenched as he flipped down his visor, covered in the same dark coloration as his helmet, albeit the shiny green "X" mark placed in the middle of the faceplate.
Before the purple monstrosity could grasp the prodigious pleasure of trampling the child, a faint blue blur zipped before the man's eyes, whilst having stolen his victim.
The air bent as a result of the ensuing speed, producing a gush of wind to sway by the giant, clearing to reveal his conflicted face.
XLR8 stopped his catch as soon as it began, safely holding the frail girl in his arms, rendered unconscious from the ubiquitous trauma.
"Sleep..." He informed peacefully, setting the young one on the ground, who appeared to be resting by her side. He patted her head softly, a hint of sorrow read over his blank mask.
The giant tilted his head to the east and glared at the Kineceleran curiously, acknowledging both the speedster's capabilities and the sheer balls he carried to perform such a risk.
"You're a fast one, who are you?" He asked bluntly, under the vocals of a deep, masculine voice. His left eye gleamed through the shadows, nerves retracted underneath the bottom of his face, producing an uncomfortable gurgle of flesh in the process.
The alien lifted his visor as he turned to face the man, both glaring daggers at one another, in a manner that seemed to enlighten the environmental fury blazing around them.
"Someone who's gonna make you bite the dust!" He hissed fiercely, a voice that sounded high pitched and agile, accompanied by a squeaky bounce playing alongside it like a rhythm.
The giant merely snorted in disgust, raising an eyebrow in demand, was he getting this right? Did this monster seriously go out of his way to save a pitiful human? An insignificant child nonetheless?
"What is this?! A monster playing hero?!" He demanded shockingly, never before did the beast conceive the idea of a monster guarding human life.
In a mild instant, the blue raptor's mood turned 180 as he crossed his arms in dispute, expression shifting to a more sagacious look. He couldn't help but snicker in delight.
"Monster? Really? I assume that's what you identify with, yes?"
The giant's hysterical proclamation only amused the alien, who kept his guard up like a smug teenager, that being who he really was.
"Well then, since you have revealed to me your role, I shall present you mine! I came into being upon the pollution man brought upon the Earth! My name is Vaccine Man!" He shouted querulous, placing his right hand over his chest in dignity.
"The Earth is a single living organism, and these filthy humans are nothing more than a disease producing bacteria, eating away at her precious life force!"
As he continued his speech, his body began to contort and expand in size, taking the form of an increasingly twisted incarnation, veins beginning to bulge underneath his disheveled muscles.
The circumlocution of the morphing process produced such florid phenomenal pressure to the degree that it shook the very milieu of their stand point.
"In order to wipe out humanity and their evil civilization built upon her surface, the Earth and her infinite wisdom has given birth to me! You are a monster and yet you decide to assist these imbeciles?!"
Vaccine Man had grown exactly as to what he intended to be, towering over the raptor in a bewildering form. In response to this declaration, the alien swiped his claws against each other like silver blades, its elongated rhythm indistinguishable from that of a regular sword unleashed under the grip of its holder.
The beast's reformed tyrannosaurus jaws, steel claws and mandibles, including his blood red eyes failed in enforcing his opponent to prevail against his primitive philosophy, little did he know what awaited him thereafter.
"You clearly don't realize your purpose do you?! You're just assisting these parasites in destroying the very world of which you thrive upon--"
*BAM*
A shockwave burst out of seemingly nowhere and blew the beast into lifeless smithereens, the resulting force vanquished the hellish cloud cover, and soon fell the split chunks of monstrous flesh.
Vaccine Man's untimely demise rendered his remains so utterly eradicated, that what splashed down to the gorey floor were but the polluted green fluids of the giant's insides. The beast's toxic liquids soaked the already disgusting floor, boiling from the velocity that impaled him.
That sudden turn of events shook the Omnitrix wielder in the very center of his core, his confident smile collapsed into unprecedented horror, as the smoke dispersed to reveal a new figure in play.
In front of him now stood a bald man in a yellow jumpsuit, wielding a white cape attached to buttons beside his neck, over his collar bones and spreading behind his back, he wears a black belt connected to a golden-plated circle in the middle, along with red gloves and boots covering the end of his arms and legs.
The man's right arm pointed forwards as it apparently had been the one to strike the violet calamity into oblivion.
His face appeared rather concerned at first glance, though as he narrowed his eyes to his steaming fist, all which followed was subsequent frustration.
"Not again... all it took was one punch!" He fell to the ground in immediate despair, open palms striking the floor, "DAMN IT!!"
XLR8 gawked at the immense boom of the baldy's introduction, could such a simple man in a ridiculous superhero costume really inflict this much damage?
"H-how did you- do that?!" The Kineceleran blabbered, signaling the newcomer's attention as he gathered himself up to face the voice, realizing it to be the same supposed "monster" that saved the girl previously.
"Oh, you're that monster that saved the kid, aren't you? Seems pretty odd to me that you'd go out of your way to guard someone rather than kill them."
This left the raptor puzzled, what was this talk about monsters roaming the Earth? Even with his supernatural thought process, he couldn't deliver a plausible explanation, merely itching the back of his helm in awkwardness.
"Well, sir, I don't really have a way of properly telling you this. After all, I'm not what you believe me to be."
"What are you informing?" The man inquired, "I mean, it is cool that you'd rather save someone instead of killing them like other monsters do."
Both saviors stood still as statues, a man and beast were now stuck attempting to figure out a solution to their crossover, it was only then that the Kineceleran realized what he'd been sent here for.
"Say, are you supposed to be a hero of some sort?" He asked confusingly, seemingly grasping the baldy's poor focus.
"Yeah, I'm a hero for fun. What about you?"
Hero, for fun? What could that possibly even mean?
"For fun? Is that really the only reason as to why you save people?" The raptor questioned in a disenchanted tune, clearly not too pleased with the newcomer's explanation.
The Caped Baldy didn't seem to display critical emotion, how couldn't he though? Even the bearer of the Omnitrix could not prepare himself to witness such a scene, so how could this man possibly manage it?
Regardless, the baldy disproved the shape-shifter's statements, "I do take my job seriously, if that's what you believe, I've been a hero for 3 years now." that was enough to reassure the speedster.
"That's quite... relieving, I suppose." The alien deadpanned, before an emerald light blasted before the raptor, prompting the man to shield half of his view with his wrist.
Once the sudden blaze faded, it allowed the newcomer to pick up his senses and spectate the alien's new appearance, he felt... oddly surprised, ironically.
Standing before him was a 16 year old brunette, about 2 inches shorter than his own stature, with gorgeous shaggy-like hair and bright green eyes.
He wore a white hoodie with green outlines situated at the end of his wrists, the texture of his whole zipper, as well as the outline of the hood, while the number "10" was sketched in the same coloration over his left pec.
His other defining wear included brown pants and shoes covered in the same green texture on their surface, while the bottom and shoe laces were striped blankly white.
Although his expressionless face led him to appear entirely apathetic, the man could feel surprised every now and then, and so to witness a supposed "monster" shifting into a human certainly caught his attention.
"Wait... so, you're just a kid?" The hero wondered, appearing far more perplexed than ever.
Ben merely snickered in delight, somewhat astonished that such an assumption would be one's first guess when meeting him.
"Sure, but I've been in hero work since I was only 10 years old, I've come quite a long way since then. My name is Ben Tennyson." The Omnitrix wielder declared.
In turn, the man placed his thumb and index finger up his chin, attempting to recall any events that seemed reminiscent of a shape-shifter.
He lowered his head down for a moment, glued to a cramped space of thoughts, before drifting his focus back at the teen.
"Wait, so if you've been a hero for all this time, how come nobody knows you?" He questioned curiously, although the same could be said for his booming presentation.
The young hero shrugged his shoulders in response, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, the awkward feeling hinted over his face.
"Well... that's because I'm not exactly from here. It's a long story, really, but it may involve something like alternative dimension stuff."
"Oh?" The baldy's eyebrows raised astonishingly, "That would explain how you transformed into that blue monster raptor on wheels, how exactly do you do that?"
The emerald chad placed his hands within the pockets of his hoodie, "That I can explain later, right now I need to figure where I can reside for the time being, do you know a place where we can discuss this in private? I don't feel like I want my identity exposed again."
Today was certainly an odd day for both of them.
"Oh, sure. Just follow me, City-Z is known for being a pretty chaotic place, so sticking around here isn't exactly gonna help."
The man gestured a thumb behind him as a final sign of direction, his lecture somewhat relieving the younger hero, but regardless of his intention, Ben was still troubled by the distinct area. Especially since the tween he'd saved was now alone in an unfamiliar tomb of a city.
"Wait, what do we do about all this?" He waved to the remnants littered around them, "Not to mention this little girl, she'll die if she stays out here."
The caped hero picked up on what he meant, now obviously he wasn't known for being on time in situations like this, but he knew he couldn't just let helpless civilians fall to the clutches of death.
"Isn't there at least someone we can call?"
Suddenly, it occurred to the young hero what he'd forgotten earlier, a memory more remarkable than any present star.
"Hold on, nevermind, I may have a way to fix this." He refuted calmly, instigating a smirk as he eyed his left arm.
The following statement confused the Caped Baldy, until Ben's celestial wrist began to glow excessively, bathed in a beautiful green hue. Then, without warning, raised his whole arm and widened his palm, releasing a shockwave of similar texture.
The area's remnant landscape immediately froze its haunting breeze, before it suddenly began to turn counter-clockwise, the entire section of the city reversed from its forsaken condition until it returned to its former glory.
What's more intriguing, all wounded or dead civilians recovered from their injuries, slowly regaining their consciousness.
Both heroes were equally shocked by the results, the Omnitrix wielder himself could not even comprehend the extent of his new capabilities.
He recalled what Paradox told him earlier, this fresh cosmic power inevitably grew to enhance his biological composition and alien forms, so there was a lot for him to catch up on.
Although it seemed that the effects escalated further under training and activity, so his frame would slowly adapt to the new physical changes.
"Woah." The bald man moaned, whereas the brunette carefully surrendered his arm and glared at it gleefully, now awestruck at the limitless potential he wielded.
That feeling turned out to be the polar opposite of what he felt originally, what would his earlier years of youth feel if he knew he'd be forced to bear the burden of such a curse?
The shape-shifter partially rejected the existential dread flowing through his mind, it'd be better if he found ways to prepare himself for this dazzling adventure, speaking of which...
"So, where do we head off to now? Uh--"
"Saitama, that's my name, just follow me so I can lead you to my place." The sudden interruption caught Ben off guard, but he figured it'd be better to ignore it, who knew what else awaited him out there?
The teen felt rather skeptical of this particular "hero" he discovered, there wasn't enough speciality about this particular man other than his tremendous strength, but he shook the feeling unequivocally.
Questions were better off asking later, at their current stand, it'd spark overflowing complications if they were to express their experiences.
For now, the legendary beings made their way down a road of peculiar events. While the bearer of the Omnitrix rummaged through his eventful past, Saitama too followed behind, a memory of flame clicked in his head.
I remember now... that day.
3 Years Ago...
"Argh!" A woman's frightened screech shook the plain streets of Z-City, succeeded by an odd tone of giggling.
"A monster!" Another civilian yelled, this time being a young man, with him hurried his wife, fearfully carrying their infant in her arms.
As the scene slowly drifted closer to the unsuspecting eye, what now stood before fallen groceries and a baby's stroller was a handsome young man, black messy hair loomed over his dull, yet sharp-peering brown eyes, equipped with a suitcase, wearing a dark-grey business suit, and a blue tie.
While the rest of the civilians cowered in distress and fled, this particular individual ignored the shabby milieu around him, although it appeared as if his current position meant no stake in his matter.
Loud thuds approached him, what now appeared before the careless man was a bulky eight-foot monster with a crab-esque. His upper body represented that of an fit, humanoid crustacean, wielding large claws and a bright red carapace.
His face supported two nostrils above his thick, gorgeous lips, two eyestalks protruded from the sides of his head, of whom ended in large, elliptical circles with diminutive pupils.
Though what appeared rather odd about the monster were the remainders of his body, more specifically, his legs. He wore a pair of white briefs around his waist, this being that his legs still retained a human frame. Though they were rather muscular, along with being overly hairy as opposed to a natural man.
"Are ya sure you don't wanna run away?!" The crab demanded, in a lousy cowboy-like tune, lifting his right pincher and itching the back of his skull.
The beast's idiocracy was noticeable from just his appearance alone, stupidly dancing side to side as he continuously "gigged."
The somber man lightly lowered his head and released a faint sigh in irritation, something about his attitude separated him from ordinary civilians.
A regular man would fear his life coming to an immediate end, that being understandable too, who wouldn't feel anxious to face such a lunatic? Yet, despite those natural repercussions, this individual chose to defy them?
Catching a glimpse of the man's uncalled arrogance, it was for this reason the crab lowered his posture to study the bystander.
"Bet you're a new business man hating the daily grind!" The beast taunted, "I consumed too much crab and so turned into this! Crablante!" the newly introduced monster stood to his full height once more, arms raised and claws tapping in exquisite fashion.
"Normally a person would be shitting their frail pants by now, so how come you're not running? Gig gig gig. You got a death wish or something?"
To answer his question visually, the man blatantly stared back into the hybrid's wide eyes, an expression reading; "Are you kidding me right now?"
"Well, not quite." He admitted thereafter.
"Hm?"
"You can't be a business man when you're unemployed, I was on my way searching for a job."
The following conversation seemingly interested the abomination, rather than striking the civilian as what a monster would do, Crablante found the speech to be widely enlightening.
"I was offered another interview today, and got rejected royally."
While the bulky mutant suspiciously examined the man, another male about two houses away arrived from an alleyway, managing to catch a quick glimpse of the mutant. He wore a greyish-brown business suit, gripping a suitcase in his left hand.
The excruciating fear automatically struck him upon catching sight of the contorted beast, taking a cowardly pose as he shuddered unnervingly, "Crab monster!" he exclaimed fearfully, stumbling and nearly tripping on the way back.
"I could care less about my own situation right now, let alone what might occur in the future." The edgy man concluded.
The scene viewed the edge lord from his west angle, closely fixated on his straight face, whose expression remained glued to his persona.
"So I'm in no mood to flee just because you're here."
The monster, shockingly enough, continued to gig in satisfaction once more.
Shattered flower pots and vases littered the concrete doorstep of the surrounding canopy, the moss plucked and dripping in fresh blood.
No doubt the half-hybrid incarnation was responsible for the havoc, as darker blood stains coated the end of his thick, crushing claws.
"So, what happens now, Crablante?" The unemployed man inquired tirelessly.
The smug lips of the giant widened in glory, his cold pupils shrunk visibly in aquiver at the daring question.
He gestured his right clamp to the lonesome individual, "Your eyes are cold and lifeless! Not so different from mine!" he stated, retracting his arm back. "Since we have something in common, I'll let you off the hook this time!"
Ironically enough, that's exactly what he did, drifting right by the young man without any killer intent whatsoever.
"Besides..." Crablante began grimly, both turning their heads to face each other from their backs, exchanging nuanced expressions.
The monster's circular stalks grimaced at the painfully bored, dead stare of the unemployed fellow.
"...right now I'm off hunting different prey!"
What's he implying?
"A brat with a big chin!"
Not much for prey, if you ask me.
Despite posing a major threat to regular civilian life, the mutant politely ignored the onlooker, as both shared similar qualities and currently followed separate quests.
Still, it was a major claim to make, so it'd have consequences for whoever this supposed brat was supposed to be. The abomination fiercely made his way through the area, unbeknownst to him, the man still observed his pace from afar.
"And when I find the little crap, I'm gonna rip his arms off! Gig, gig gig gig gig!"
So much for a monster.
The gloomy civilian now focused his attention back to his original direction, not really caring what destination he'd ought to arrive at, his deprived features still hung over his blank face.
Tall, blocky apartments were what caught most eyes during the early environment of City-Z, some stood shrouded and abandoned, others rich and feisty.
As the lone man strolled through the streets, he suddenly halted to a stop directly next to the entrance of a park, glancing at the figure that caught his eye.
Sure enough, what followed his line of sight was none other than the big-chinned brat himself, his short, black hair and butt-chinned form was all that the man could reasonably process within his mind.
The wandering child wore a blank t-shirt and orange shorts, the right of his blue shoes planted over a green-striped soccer ball.
"What are you looking at?" The brat questioned plainly, now leaving the young man at a stand of realization, one that'd likely be his last.
His facial features contorted to an uncomfortable wince, and his usually dull pupils froze to a stop, their position remaining unchanged thereafter.
A big chinned brat! If he's caught, he's dead!
His expression now swapped to a more drowsy, concerned look.
"Hey kid, did you mess with a big, crab monster earlier?"
In response, the boy bounced the ball into the grip of his hands, merely glancing back at the man sheepishly.
"I found him sleeping at another park, so I drew some nipples on his chest."
The edge lord's heart skipped a beat, presenting a glare of horror at the ass-faced toddler as a streak of sweat rolled down his west cheek.
There's no doubt it isn't him! He has no idea what he's done! What do I do?! I could still help, but...
The skinny boy blinked in confusion, locking eye contact with the dead-end doomer, "Uh, you doing good, mister?" his brow raised in question.
The man's tired gaze was the only response he received, whose face had reverted back to its natural structure.
This kid is weird looking, not really my business anyway. I'd be better if I just left him.
The arrogant child lightly bounced the ball within the palm of his hands, allowing it to repeat the process via the use of his knee.
The man smiled in relief, lowering his head and shutting his eyes.
I mean who really cares anyway?
He would eat those thoughts that following day.
While the edgy individual drifted his focus back to the streets, a swift breeze of air struck the boy's view and nearly destabilized his balance, it was then he laid his eyes upon the monstrosity that was Crablante.
The beast rose to his full stature and dropped his death stare at the defenseless youth on the floor, his wide grin sent a chill under the child's spine.
"FOUND YOU!!!" He roared maniacally, raising his clamps and preparing to crush the brat into a bloody pulp.
As soon as it struck, however, a dark figure grasped the young one in his arms, swiftly leaping off the ground. The resulting shock launched the boy's soccer ball away from his grasp, as the mutant's eye stalks aimed their sight at the dropped duo.
While drifting by mid-air, the unemployed onlooker was pierced by a dazzling question.
What the hell am I doing?!
Now glancing at his failed attempt to slaughter the little runt, the crab-man rose to a higher pose and lifted his arms, the rage in his eyes seethed inconceivably high.
Who the hell dares?!
The edgy bystander slouched while supporting the youngster with his wrist, who now cowered on the ground on his back, limbs shaking in distress.
"Listen, kid! He's after you! You have to get out of here!" The man informed, receiving a petrified look from the boy below.
Crablante had just about enough fooling around, there was no redeeming it, this loser interrupted what would've been a glorious reliever to his rage.
As the beast approached them, his victims tensed further, the kid in particular alarmed by his savior's interjection to protect him.
The gloomy individual shot another death stare at the boy, "Don't worry about me! Just go!" he informed furiously.
Whether it was the fear of being killed on the spot, or his heart racing out of his control, the butt-chinned brat remained still.
"But, I can't! I gotta get my soccer ball!" He pointed nervously, provoking the older figure to clench his teeth in annoyance.
"Are you serious?!" He exclaimed wildly, and he would've outright roasted the little brat right where he stood had it not been for their current position.
In an attempt to ease his frustration, Crablante stomped on the ball beside him with his foot, the resulting pressure immediately popped the sphere into countless smithereens.
The little boy whined in sadness, witnessing his favorite possession squished like it were composed of nothing but the gaseous properties of a balloon.
"Hey, cold eyes! What's the big idea here? Don't tell me you're trying to defend that stinkin' little shit!" The monster argued, now laying his pupils before the unemployed civilian.
The man's face tightened annoyingly, "Oh, get real dude! You're really willing to slaughter this kid over a mere prank? Isn't that a little overkill?"
Crablante merely blinked in surprise, no longer valuing the relations they both shared, instead snickering at the bold question.
"Well, whatever! I've killed people for a lot less anyway!" He declared brightly, raising his right claw up to where it'd reach his face, irises positioned in their opposite directions. "Whoever dares to comment on my design always pays the price later! No exceptions!"
A past glimpse of the monster's crimes were laid before in front, blood sprayed across homes and street grounds, with the carcasses of men, women, and even the inevitable children crumbled around the roads like decorations for a freak show.
"By the way, that little punk drew ridiculous nipples on my gorgeous crab chest! Add that being of permanent marker!"
The giant's pinchers chomped relentlessly, eyes filled with hell fire, "I got claws! I can't even use a towel to wipe em' off!" he shouted angrily.
Having dealt with enough, Crablante thrust his left arm forward right before the man's face, his claw mere inches from grasping his nose.
"Get in my way, and I'll ensure that job interview of yours turns out to be your last!"
The loner didn't mutter a word, his pissed glare still maintained their aim on the golem's eyes, before he somberly lowered his head to surrender.
Then, suddenly, he began to chuckle underneath his hidden face. Now he was laughing? Both the ass-faced brat and armored abomination were equally shocked from the noteworthy shift in behavior.
The crustacean's irritation was now covered by an idiotic poker-face and a fat lips instigating a perplexed expression.
The gloomy individual faced the immense clamps once more, showcasing the brightest smile he could form, "Man, it just came to me! You look just like that villain from this kids cartoon I used to watch--"
*POW*
His poor choice of words were answered via a heavy swipe from the crab-man's bulky piercers, sending him flying through the sky just like the agonizing experience of an everyday cartoon character.
His landing struck two lockers and a plethora of garbage cans, the kinetic energy blasted concrete off its hinges and released dirty smoke puffing up from the force.
The child shrieked at the horrid sight, before turning to cry out loud as the mutant golem readied another strike, one that'd surely tear his ass out of his face.
"Die." The beast concluded, only startling the helpless youth as he struggled to push himself back.
Luckily for him, a pile of debris flung the crab across his face, leaving a dirty dent on his plated exoskeleton.
Still, it only rendered a dusty scar striped over his skin, and so the towering monster scoped his eyes at the meatbag he'd just thwarted earlier.
"Stop right there." The doomer growled, barely capable of holding his posture as his left hand gripped his knee for support, a streak of blood rolling down his right eye.
"If I watch you kill a kid like that I'll wind up having nightmares." He retorted, managing his own weight as he wiped the blood dangling off the side of his mouth.
Crablante's bloodthirsty poker-face tightened, lowering his arms as they resonated with a wooden creak, the positioning of his straight lips and horrid glance read something in the lines of: "Watcha tryin' to do?"
"You know what?" The man clenched his fists, "When I was a little boy, I strived to be a hero." he gripped his costume hastily, "Not a businessman, but a superhero who could send rotten villains like you flying with one punch!" and threw it off across the ground, whilst still grasping his blue tie.
"Screw looking for a job..." He raised his fist bravely, "...bring it on crab!" and shot one more look of might.
"Oh, a hero, huh?!" The monster smiled sickly, preparing a battle stance, the death claw's entrance appeared dark as the starlight shined throughout the back of its handle.
Immediately, he struck the unemployed newcomer across the cheek, swatting blood off his forsaken lips.
"Ridiculous!" He rebuked, sending a swipe beneath the civilian's chest, "You're pathetic!" those words seemed to have pulled the introvert's trigger.
"You don't stand a chance against me!" Crablante reminded, step by step approaching his combatant as the man readjusted to a crouch, preparing for the final strike.
"Your life ends here!"
Another slam of the beast's claws punctured the concrete, sending debris flying off, but failing to crush his intended target, who hopped off like a brave rabbit.
The man landed on his crimson arm and pounced like a determined predator, leaving the golem one final chance to glimpse at his unnatural courage, his lanky business tie painfully gripped his east stalk.
As the gloomy individual landed, he pulled the beast's bulky head, and whose backs were turned against one another.
The cold man squeezed the tie in his hands, not allowing it to slip past his grasp as the crustacean furiously clenched his muscles.
In a horrific turn of events, Crablante's eyestalk suddenly tore off its attachment and with it came the disgusting flesh bursting forth. Soon, his orange blood and soft intensities flew out like a gory fountain, showering the surrounding area in its mess.
The monster screamed in foremost agony, twitching maniacally as his armor began to wrinkle and crack. What would've undoubtedly dumbfounded anyone watching was the butt-chinned brat simply approaching the restricted scene, glimpsing in awe at the havoc that spewed.
The beast's plates, bones and internal organs now lay over the bloody floor while his claw flinched for its lasting moment.
What now stood before the fallen monstrosity was the unemployed outcast of a proud man, panting steadily as his fixated gaze loomed over the trenched corpse.
Has it really been three years since then?
Upon closer inspection, his lifeless irises soon transcend with a blaze of glory, until they were replaced by the emotionless dots of the present-day Caped Baldy.
Current Time
After that, I trained so hard I went bald. I became so powerful, nobody was left to beat me. I'm the hero I always dreamed of becoming, so what is this? What's wrong with me?
Saitama held a plastic tray of crab pinchers in his hand, still and soundless, while others in the store chatted and shopped gracefully.
The origin of his nostalgic memory made sense as of now, the day he'd defeated his first monster, in turn being the same day where he'd begun his training.
A woman drifted behind the caped hero, of course her first glance aimed on his shiny scalp, which induced her to snicker lightly.
The baldly ignored the murmurs regarding his appearance, especially that of a child who wouldn't quit pointing to the man while his mother tried to readjust his attention elsewhere.
Ben suddenly revealed himself as another civilian passed against the hero, casually strolling by as he packed his hands inside his pockets, "So, is this what you do on a regular basis?" he inquired curiously.
The Caped Baldy valued his groceries to a greater extent as opposed to a genuine conversation, but still chose to grant an response.
"I usually go shopping whenever there's a bargain day at the supermarket, oftentimes I'm just reading manga or watching TV for entertainment, although none of them really excite me anymore."
The Omnitrix wielder processed his statement, counting the times when the universe lacked noteworthy moments for him to challenge, resulting in a cycle of chasing after low level threats in Undertown.
Before they made their way down to the supermarket, the newly formed duo originally planned heading for Saitama's house, of which the owner suddenly changed course upon remembering his daily shopping.
They both exchanged wide varieties of information regarding their lasting abilities and origins, but it could only go on for long. The baldy was not fond of stories over 20 words, after all.
"482 yen, please." The cashier required patiently, a young woman with short, black puffy hair, light purple shirt, brown pants, and a green makeshift tie around her waist.
"Sure." The bald hero kindly responded, delivering a small coin to the IAREOKA pad, but noticing it hadn't been enough to accept his purchase. "Oh, hang on a second."
Suddenly, the store faced a heavy vibration from an unforeseen force as isles of food nearly collapsed off their hinges, the lights blinking a sick flicker.
The perceptible rumbling continued once more, frightening the citizens who now packed their belongings and fled the area as soon as they could.
The concrete walls began to form vile cracks, while windows already burst from the sheer mass of resonating terror.
Ben grimaced uncomfortably, his senses had now evolved to comprehend signals from wide distances, he wondered how efficient he'd be if stress increased the proportion of his power.
What's worse, while he paid focus on the incoming threat, his new ally carelessly dug through his wallet despite the cashier having dispersed moments earlier.
The teen couldn't resist an irritated twitch puncturing his eye, a somber frown stretched across his mouth, "Uh, dude, have you not noticed everybody fleeing the store?!" he exclaimed remarkably.
Saitama wandered his head to counter his question, instead receiving a chibi glare from the young hero, influencing him to raise an eyebrow in confusion.
The sound of twisting concrete came to an end, but not before a lurking shadow drifted by the building and shred the store of its surface.
The brunette immediately sprinted to the naked ceiling in a haste, followed by the apathetic man slowly stepping by to witness the commotion.
When peering over to the destruction, in their eyes laid an absolute unit of a footprint formed over a wise portion of the city's perimeter, the teen froze in horror at the mere thought of grasping the composition of such a beast.
Whilst glancing at the remnants of fellow buildings, what soon caught their attention appeared far out of the ordinary.
It was a colossal, muscular man, pasted in discolored skin and a plated bone helmet situated over the top of his head and down from his neck. Two crimson tubes protruded from the center of his chest, running over his collar bones down to his back, of whom now held an exposed spinal cord. Much like Vaccine Man earlier, he did not appear to have reproductive organs, typical for this rating.
His 100 ton-packed steps enforced the remainders of structures to collapse in on themselves, while still producing loud thumps as they traveled across the ground.
"Yes! This is incredible, little brother!" Howled a figure standing proudly above the giant's armored veins, upon closer inspection, he appeared to be a slim, pale man with wrinkles.
His black hair rides thin and parted in the middle, while draped along the sides of his head, and is dressed in a white lab coat, regular black shirt, and dirty green pants.
Visor-like goggles were also placed over his eyes, seemingly due to the thin drug canister he held in-between his fingers, a murky liquid gurgled within.
"I never thought it would work so well!"
Amazing, this power is more than I could've ever imagined! The giant wondered, replaying the recent origin of his unyielding power, disregarding the smoke that polluted the wreckage behind him.
Flashback
My goal was to become the strongest man in the world.
Planted firmly on the wall was a poster showcasing a bald, buff man flexing his muscles whilst keeping a proud smile over his face, it read; "Champion"
The view escalated to that of another jacked man faintly jogging on a treadmill with a breathing mask clutched over his mouth, his methods of training then extended to supported sit-ups and pulling heavy levers to his side.
He appeared to hold incredible stature and fitness, possessing a large torso and powerful limbs, sharp eyes and nearly shaved scalp of grey hair. In allowing room for his prodigious corporation, he mainly wore a blank tank-top and plain jeans.
The strongest man... that was my dream.
In the dark, metallic laboratory soon came the sickening laughter of the scientist Fukegao, looming over a counter equipped with a barrage of colorful chemicals.
"At last! The ultimate steroid! Biceps King is complete!" He exclaimed sadistically, now inspecting his gorgeous accomplishment high within the grasp of his fingers.
The stronger, but ironically, younger man carefully adjusted his position over a thick stool, his exhausted arms hunched over his thighs where he continuously panted.
Sweat evaporated under his forehead, failing to notice his older, wiser sibling approaching him with a sinister grin.
"Hey Marugori, drink this and you will taste the power you've been seeking!" The scientist explained excitedly, presenting his creation to his dimwitted brother.
The younger man narrowed his head to the side, glancing at the chemical in concern, "What? Are you sure about it?" he questioned skeptically.
"Indeed! I added strawberry flavoring to make it go down easier!" The madman confirmed proudly.
"Okay."
Instantly, Marugori's mood took a reverse tow, expression replaced by the insatiable joy of achieving his ultimate dream.
Without another word, Fukegao handed the enhancement over to his little brother, who willingly complied to consuming the abnormal drug despite lacking the knowledge in perceiving its depth.
As he chugged the strange fluid into his throat, the body builder was immediately struck by a burning sensation inside his very cells, which now divided simultaneously throughout his blood stream, influencing his immediate growth pattern as a green aura emanated from his eyes, mouth, and chest.
His genius brethren gawked at his monsterfication, wide eyed and chuckling madly at the sight, "Yes! Wonderful!" he yelled exquisitely.
Present Time
Marugori relentlessly squandered the cityscapes beneath his feet, the beast's hulking frame subsequently heading towards the next city that remained in his path.
"My brains and your brawns, by combining the greatest of minds and the strongest of bodies this world has to offer, the two of us will conquer the Earth and rule it as kings! We're unstoppable!"
The giant's crusty feet stomped over buildings without any sense of direction or regard, their size led to infrastructure toppling over each other like a row of dominoes, others burst like stacks of legos.
Roaring triumphant, the colossal man swayed his east arm to the side, unleashing a cloud of wind that scraped off untraceable amounts of land, all that remained of its former glory were but the remnants of concrete.
Ash choked the air out of surviving civilians, if not eviscerated by the towering death wind, instead faced the fate of painful suffocation that plagued their nostrils, eyes, lungs.
"Incredible..." Fukegao gasped, eyeing the havoc that spun from the origin of his invention. "Good! Well done! Thousands have perished!" The scientist congratulated, glaring up to his brother in scintillation, before slouching down to a safer position.
"Now then, onto the next town!"
The titan followed his brother's command, driven by his insoluble desire in laying waste to the world, which would earn him his rightful title... and underneath his armored scalp, Marugori's crimson pupils peered over to the next city in his path, fueled by a bloodthirsty urge to kill.
"This is it... this is what I was looking for... to be the Strongest Man!" He smiled wholeheartedly, preparing to claim his spot as the most powerful man on Earth.
"This is an evacuation warning! A gigantic creature of unknown origin has appeared in City-D! It is currently on a direct path towards City-B. All residents, please evacuate immediately!" A female call played through the sirens, alerting crowds of people in their fleeing attempts to safety, surrounded by the crumbling city above them.
"I repeat! The giant is currently heading towards City-B!"
Ben was left horrified at the sight, again. How many of these situations occurred throughout this world? How many of these monsters went around wreaking havoc to satisfy their selfish needs?
It sickened him that these sorts of things were just allowed to roam the world with no justice served, at least he knew what his role in the endeavor was. The young hero jumped off the supermarket as he was covered in a green light once again.
In his place appeared a red, humanoid manta ray-like creature. The interior of his wings were filled in yellow, and spread down to his tail, he had the same colored antennas sticking out of his face, two at the top, and another at the sides, while wearing black shorts with green outlines as well as a green stylized armor placed over his chest to the top of his shoulders, the Omnitrix symbol located on said chest. "JETRAY!!" He shouted, and flew off in a brutal burst of speed to catch the giant dead in his tracks.
"Yes, run! Scatter like rats! Destroy them all!" The mad scientist grinned in victory.
"The strongest man... the strongest man... the strongest man..." The giant muttered quietly.
"So what do you think, dear brother?!" The older man glared at his sibling again.
Then, out of nowhere, another blinding green light flashed to reveal a new giant in place. The same height as the man at 270 meters, his sharp 60 meter fin appeared red at the front, and black at the lower bottom, he had two sets of green eyes, the upper larger, while the lower smaller, the face of his head was painted in white while the thinner parts behind his jaw remained black, albeit the armored muscle attachments. His upper neck appeared in the same dark coloration, while the lower parts were covered in a bulky red armor that made their way down to his shoulders and collar bones, they in turn held two sets of sharp plates extending to his sides with his arms underneath, his wrists displayed stylish, backwards facing armored plates along with blades on top, they were situated in his previous colors while his hands remained clear. The red armor from above extended below to encircle the Omnitrix symbol on his chest and face downwards as a long sharp arrow, with an extra shorter arrow just beneath it, three, deep gill-like linings appeared across his ribs. He was built with tough, two-toed feet and lower legs which were formed in a mixture of his classic colors while the red armor made their way up to function as sharp knees.
His expression bore nothing but rage as his green eyes shined.
"WAY BIG!!!" He shouted, lifting his head up, voice deep and mighty.
Both of the brothers were left to stare at the giant in uttermost fear, while Saitama remained somewhat intrigued, he had arrived on the body-builder's shoulder earlier before being interrupted by the flash of light.
"Big bro! What is that?!" The giant screamed as he stumbled back, nearly tripping, shaking the scientist in response.
"Focus, little bro! He's just another monster, a strong one at that..." The lunatic genius focused his eyes on the To'kustar, both curious and anxious as to where he originated.
"Strong?! Only I can be strong! I AM THE STRONGEST!!" The giant shouted out loud, the Caped Baldy meanwhile closely examined the gigantic alien, now pretty enlightened as to what kind of power his new teammate wielded.
Suddenly, the titan responded, "You're supposed to be the strongest? After what you've just done? You go around demolishing cities and stepping on innocent lives, that is how you prove your level of strength?" his voice echoed throughout the atmosphere.
The giant glared at him as Way Big took a step forward.
"If that's so..." he combined his fist with the other hand as a palm to enclose it, his shadow facing the man while his eyes burned brightly.
"Then you have no right to wield the title of the strongest, not when you go around destroying those who cannot even defend themselves."
He pointed to the scattered remnants of the wrecked city across them, proving his statement.
The man was angry now, never before has he ever felt so humiliated, let alone from the words of a monster! He grit his teeth, and yelled as he launched his left arm to pummel the titan.
The energy from the blast shook the very atmosphere around them, with the scientist huddled behind the armored veins of his brother in order to avoid the catastrophe that struck.
The man focused his steaming fist when it came into contact with his opponent's face, but was left petrified upon seeing the titan completely unharmed by the force. The alien did not even flinch from the shock, his face displayed nothing but disgust as he stared back into the eyes of the rogue body-builder.
Already provoked, the man continuously delivered an onslaught of punches at the To'kustar, using both of his arms at their maximum capacity as he unleashed a relentless fury of blows. The shockwaves traveled around him but never managed to get through his current enemy.
Saitama stared in slight awe at the two as he launched himself up in order to avoid collapsing.
Although the scientist on the man's opposite shoulder struggled to stay on as he gripped the giant's thick veins from behind, "Little bro! Stop! You're going to knock me off!" he exclaimed loudly.
"THE STRONGEST MAN!! THE STRONGEST MAN!!" Marugori roared, not even taking the time to think as he blindly released countless attacks without any awareness towards his surroundings. Eventually though, he was forced to stop as a result of the painful exhaustion.
Stumbling back once again, and heavily panting as sweat had now begun to form on his face, the scientist stood up to take a look at their enemy, and his heart skipped a beat upon witnessing the alien in the same exact position as before. All that power delivered like a row of nukes, yet the To'kustar brushed it off without any care whatsoever.
"H-h-how?! It can't be! I created the perfect steroid! How could this possibly happen?" He stuttered in shock, every word caused him to wiggle violently as he grit his teeth in frustration, fists raised and clenched tightly.
His brother, on the other hand, slowly regained his full posture. Right then and there, a fire burned underneath his eyes, he was furious. The madness blinded him as he unleashed another massive blow, this time, with his right arm. Upon making contact with the alien's chest though, his fist suddenly cracked.
Bones shattered, muscle tore open, flesh and blood blown off. He screamed in agony, having forgotten about his own brother as the shock drifted towards his back, and the scientist was blasted into pieces.
A few of his clothes remained over the man's shoulder, blood pooled all over them. It was only then that Marugori's senses picked up on his mistake, carefully creaking his head to witness what he'd committed.
His pupils shrunk, his mouth let out a quiet gasp but no breathing could be heard thereafter. The Caped Baldy, meanwhile, caught himself on the To'kustar's shoulder as he turned to face the sight.
"BROTHER!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!" The giant screamed, clenching his left fist as he slapped it over his face, lowering his head in shame. "ALL I EVER WANTED WAS TO BE THE STRONGEST MAN!! AND NOW THAT I AM, I KILL MY OWN BROTHER!!!"
Both Way Big and Saitama exchanged deadpanned faces, neither of them moving a muscle, they had done nothing but listen to the man whine and throw a fit in an attempt to prove his worth using nothing but the malicious force of his punches.
By now, the unit of a man could care less about his accomplishments, if he could kill this red-finned reflection of himself, he'd be given the victory he so desperately desired. "THAT'S IT!!! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!!! PREPARE TO BE SLAU--!!!"
BOOM*
The giant's upper body was suddenly blasted off as his flesh and organs were launched beyond the sky itself, even a tiny piece of the atmosphere got so pressured that it blew off into outer space, the pieces of the crazed muscular man fell as flaming chunks of meat onto the Moon.
Back on Earth, his lower body remained intact for a few short moments until they collapsed backwards, all that was left standing was Way Big. The alien's left arm raised all the way up while his fist smoked from the heat, his expression bore only disappointment, all this effort spent trying to stop an intellectual lunatic alongside his striving idiotic brother.
The giant sighed as he slowly lowered his arm, and took a look at the remnants of the city around him, he knew that there was still much more awaiting him out there.
The alien connected both of his palms together, as his hands shined green and began to widen, forming a bright sphere colored in the exact same hue of energy in-between.
Setting the sphere onto the ground, Way Big moved forward with Saitama resting on his shoulder pads, as the baldy looked back to glance at the deceased man's remains, which had begun to disintegrate.
Right as the titan crouched down next to a broken building, another green light erupted alongside the energy sphere, blinding the area around. After it passed, all the havoc had been cleansed.
There's no sign that the evils of this world are disappearing. That hasn't changed since before I became a hero... so, I guess that means I haven't really made much of a difference, huh?
The duo roamed the streets together in the afternoon, and the bald hero was still stuck with his old memories playing back as he roamed the dark sky. Ben stood right beside him with his hoodie covering his head, hands stuffed inside of his pockets.
I'm gonna have to find a way to get used to this... this place is chaotic. Jeez, my universe was a mess too, but it never got so brutal like this... The teen thought, his eyes staring up into the sky as he and the baldy continued to roam the streets.
Saitama, meanwhile, focused his eyes on the ground as he continued his daydreams. I'm not necessarily sad about this, though.
He looked over to his left and stared down to meet a brown cat with a tan jaw and underbelly cleaning itself. But there has been something bothering me lately... He thought again as he walked over and crouched in front of the animal, reaching his hand out. As the days passed, my emotions grew more distant...
The cat simply meowed as it walked away the moment he attempted to greet it, leaving the hero to simply stare cluelessly.
Ben felt oddly bad for the baldy, he looked to be so lonely, and lifeless... as if, he didn't really see the point in doing anything productive anymore, never felt a rush of excitement that would push him forward.
Fear, tension, joy, anger... I feel none of them anymore... in exchange for power, maybe I've lost something that's essential for being human. The bald man could only glare as his thoughts continued, until the duo were suddenly alerted from mechanical pieces clashing next to them.
The cat had sprinted off as a result. Pieces of garbage and scrap parts swept by the heroes, as they looked over to the commotion.
"VROOM! VROOM!" A car-infused giant spoke as he searched through the same vehicle with his arms, giggling weirdly upon meeting the two, with the baldy slowly tilting his head over to the beast.
"No sense hiding if you saw me!" The monster confronted, and the two heroes boredly glanced at the machinery in disgust.
"I'm Super Custom YO649Z Mk. II!!" Its face widened with insanity, the Omnitrix wielder could give less of a shit than he already did. Familiar adventures played in his head, during the events he faced on his summer trip as a 10-year-old, to crises spread throughout the entire universe and beyond.
Saitama didn't bother to listen to its rambling as he played his thoughts again. Before, I'd have all kinds of emotions whirling inside me when I fought. Dread, panic, rage...
The bipedal car stepped forward as he pointed his finger towards the man's shiny forehead, "If you're thinking of getting in my way, I'll put a street light on that big headlight of yours--!!"
BAM*
The monster's upper body was blown off by the man's iconic red fist, and Ben watched as his parts went flying off. The giant turned out to be so obsessed with vehicles he was even composed of the same material.
The scraps ended up scattered all over the floor, leaving the teen to stare at Saitama's empty face as the man glared down at the iron corpse. But now, I only need one punch to finish it all.
The hero then turned to walk off into the sunset. Eggs over rice seems better for dinner tonight. He thought, leaving Ben to roll his eyes as he followed.
The duo was now present in Saitama's apartment, with the latter cleaning his clothes in the bathroom sink. Everyday I come home unharmed and wash my gloves... the teen was resting on the couch, having fallen asleep earlier, while the bald man headed for the bathtub.
In it, only his knees and head remained visible, with a rubber duck floating in front of him.
When I'm out fighting monsters, I never feel as if my heart is even in it anymore. Then, once he was cleaned, he grabbed his clothes and went to his room, resting by his side as he used the remote on his TV. I mean, I just do the hero thing as a hobby. As long as I get a good kick out of it, in the end, that's really all I care about...
Later, he turned off his light and went to bed, concluding the night from there...
Suddenly, after morning arrived, Saitama was awoken by the sound of his house rumbling heavily. He didn't think much of it as he stared, until a giant monstrous arm blasted through the opposite side of his bedroom wall and leached onto his face.
He pushed the head away and rose up, only to be launched off his feet and through his apartment as he landed on the pavement.
"My house!" he cried out loud.
Suddenly, a gigantic dark figure appeared from behind and struck him, which he managed to catch the arm with his wrist. That was until the force knocked him off balance as he hit the metal railings, tearing a hole as he then slammed into supports that held the road above.
Blood dripped on the floor, a small cut present on the top of his left eyebrow, as he lifted his head to find what hit him. In front of him was what appeared to be the same giant figure from before, and he could make out its design more clearly now. It had multiple mouths for a head, with the front bearing two red dots underneath the shadow.
He's tough... The man thought, now struck with faint concern.
"Just what in the hell are you?" He demanded angrily.
"What are we? That's quite rude, we are the true Earthlings..." The golem spoke, its voice deep and hollow.
"Did you say we?" Saitama asked curiously.
The monster remained still as it continued, "I believe your kind calls us Subterraneans... we suffer from over population..." as it said this, the ground around it cracked.
"Therefore we must claim the world above ground..." Other members of similar appearances made their debut alongside it, leaving the hero to stare at the mass in shock.
"We've learned the surface world is overpopulated too... this is a problem for us... which is why we have decided to eradicate your kind in the process..."
The baldy actually flinched from this, his expression revealing what appeared to be actual fear for once.
Another beast spoke out, the tone of its voice sounding more grim and ferocious.
"Since we began our operation, 70% of the surface dwellers have died at our hands! This is a battle of survival... I hope you can understand that..."
A drop of sweat rolled down the man's face, his facial features screaming but still drifting to seriousness. Although the front member of the Subterraneans was now reminded of the man's durability.
"However, this is unexpected... we have encountered no surface dweller that our attacks could not kill--"
"Oh yeah? Same here!" The baldy proudly interrupted, fists clenched fiercely, "It's been too long since I've come across such worthy opponents... moleman!" a proud grin formed on his face, one he had not displayed in years since then.
The main Subterranean's eyes lighted up in rage, "We are Earthlings!" and immediately punched off a chunk of the support, with Saitama barely avoiding the collision.
Then, he took a balanced battle stance, and yelled as he released his own punch at the beast. Upon contact, the atmosphere stood still for mere moments, until the golem's upper body blasted off in a pool's worth of blood.
"What?! But how?!" One of the members called out, horrified from the resulting damage.
"Human bastard!" The hero only stood there with his right fist laid out, grinning with victory.
The monster raised both of its arms, "DIE!!!" but the man quickly swept by and pounced on one of the other members with an upwards kick, knocking them off, then using another as a spring to propel himself on top of the road.
More Subterraneans chased him in an expanding wave of jumps, the one in front preparing to strike as Saitama leaped, dodging another attack. He landed in-between all three members, who punched him all together as the road beside them snapped off.
A fire shined inside the man's eyes, he quickly tripped all three of the beasts and launched his right arm to strike them midair into the concrete from the extended road.
Another row of Subterraneans pounced, and were kicked off one by one, the hero appeared to be having a field day with the invasion. Dodging and countering every attack the monsters threw towards him.
Then, a super-sized variant of the beasts collapsed on the floor, digging through the road with its fist and shattering the pavement with the man in place of the attack, causing an abrupt explosion to occur and fill the atmosphere in an apocalyptic fog.
Groups of the Subterraneans stood there, more emerging from the foiled ground.
"It's over..."
"What was that surface dweller?!"
"He was so strong!"
"Who? Me?" The beasts gasped and turned around to witness the man fiercely making his way through the scorched ashes.
"I'm just a guy who's a hero for fun! I don't ever lose! And the surface..." He placed his fist over his chest, "...is under my protection!" and yelled in his might.
The Subterraneans sprinted around him, enveloping the area in a circle in an attempt to siege the hero, "Big talk for a waste of vermin!" but the group of beasts were launched off with one strike, as the man jumped forwards and readied his fist once again.
"Guaaargh!" The beast growled in a muffled tone, the attack pummeling him to the ground, as another strike tore him in half. Another golem prepared its fist only to have its ankle shattered, causing it to fall on its knee while the man swept his head clean off.
Layers of bodies were falling and being torn apart as soon as they met the ground, the Subterranean members continued to strike but were effortlessly debilitated and sliced.
Saitama ended up being struck by another massive fist, while he prepared his own attack in turn. What is this feeling coming over me? He thought, punching the larger fist and blasting the monster into pieces. This wild throbbing in my heart... Another attack, knocking the beast off into the ground.
Two Subterraneans stepped forward and used the combined forces of their punch to trap the man in a deadlock mid-air. This rush... this sensation!
The hero blasted their futile attempts, causing both to collapse on their backs. His fist punctured the torso of another, blood pouring out in a splash, as the man could be seen feeling the rush of his life. It's been so long! I've forgotten! The acceleration of a real fight!
As the ashes cleared, the man now stood above the corpses as the king of the hill, panting as droplets of rain washed over him. It's all coming back to me now! This is it!
"Well... well..." A louder, more mighty voice snapped the man out of his thoughts. Then, as a blue hue enveloped the atmosphere, one powerful representation of the Subterraneans revealed itself through the smoke.
This one was built with a bright, maroon skin color, neon blue veins shining across his body, its build appeared more muscular and developed than the rest.
"It looks like you've been taking good care of my children, surface dweller!"
Saitama still wielded his focus, glaring at the beast with a small smirk. This is it...
"Let's see how you fare again the Subterranean King!"
The hero ran full-force towards the giant. This is the feeling... that I've been waiting for! And the two faced each other in an epic shot.
RING*
That was until a loud ringing noise awakened the hero, leaving the baldy to strike the clock aside from him, thus realizing his experience turned out to be nothing more than an imaginary dream.
"So, is that how you usually wake up after a good night's rest?" The man turned his head to his east, spotting the Omnitrix wielder with his left wrist resting over the same sided knee.
He remembered what he'd been told a day ago about the shape-shifter's futuristic wristwatch and cosmic arm.
"Oh, hey there Ben, didn't see ya." The casual response left the teen to chuckle quietly, as he stood up and brought his hand down to pull the man on his feet.
A small grin formed over his face, "So... how was your dream? Gotta say it was quite the experience when observing it myself." he smiled, raising his arms to his sides and then bringing them down to his waist.
This confused Saitama, what kind of power did this boy have? Transforming into "aliens" as he told him earlier, messing with time, and apparently now he was a psychic?
"Wait, how exactly did you view my dream?" The bald hero asked plainly, and the teen lifted his left wrist for examination.
"Let's just say, this arm of mine has something to do with it, I was actually using my most intelligent transformation to see what you were experiencing in your sleep."
The baldy appeared weirded out by this, "So you were spying on me?" his eyebrows raised, feeling a little bit of discomfort as he questioned the brunette.
The young hero merely snickered in response, "My growing power seems to be restricting my natural bodily requirements, meaning it's basically pointless for me to take a nap from now. My biology sorta just takes care of itself, I guess."
The man, in question, held his arms crossed with a concerned expression implanted on his face. He was pretty introverted after all. So having someone spy on him while he slept, in his dream no less, made him feel rather worried for his safety from that point on.
Suddenly, what felt like a small earthquake shook the two out of their conversation, "The surface is our humans! You surface dwellers must die!" a wonky, light-pitched voice called out.
As the two heroes made their way over to the balcony, they could make out what appeared to be a hilariously childish version of what the baldy fought in his dream sequence.
The main figure was colored in a deep maroon tone with bright blue lining running along his body, along with four arms that each held a shiny red hollow blade.
The man-sized Subterranean was flailing his blades around in a ridiculous manner, clearly lacking the experience or structure to fight, while his gigantic army of minions appeared as nothing but deformed moles from the ground.
"I am the Subterranean King! Now prepare yourself for--!"
STOMP*
Saitama leaped off the balcony and squished the king's head with fairly simple effort, leaving his group of dumbfounded children to stare at the baldy. Sweat was pouring down their multi-faced shells.
The man brought up his fists in excitement, "Alright! Now bring it on!"
...only to find an empty hole with a flag that stuck out reading; "We're sorry!"
This left the baldy to glare at the sign in mild confusion, "Huh?" he turned his head over to his right, using his index finger to poke his ear.
Ben's voice suddenly alerted him as he stood out resting his elbow over the railings, "Well, whaddya know? The same enemies in your dreams appear as soon as your own ends, geez, we're having a pretty odd morning today. Wouldn't you agree?"
The bald hero looked up to see the teen smirking down on him, "I would suggest from now on that you don't try to read my dreams anymore, Ben." he explained cautiously.
The Omnitrix wielder waved his hand back sarcastically as he leaped off the balcony to face the man.
"Alright, alright, I won't disturb you next time." He placed his hand on the baldy's shoulder, an innocent little grin lined across his face, clearly it didn't reassure the man.
The baldy could only deadpan as he let out a bored sigh, knowing full well the shape-shifter would repeat what he'd done previously. He turned to face the balcony and casually jumped over it, with the boy merely snapping his fingers to warp to his location.
I've become too strong. The iconic hero's voice called out again, as a small cactus encased in a flower pot stood before him. Saitama loomed over the spiked plant in his summer clothing, while Ben had tied his jacket around his own waist, resting by the wall behind the man as he played music on his headphones.
Cast:
-Vaccine Man: Christopher R. Sabat
-XLR8: Jim Ward
-Saitama: Max Mittelman
-Fukegao (Marugori's Older Brother): Kirk Thornton
-Marugori (Beefcake): Bryce Papenbrook
-Jetray: Dee Bradley Baker
-Way Big: Dee Bradley Baker
-Subterranean King: Kirk Thornton