Brick let out a sigh of relief as he sat down. Things changed quite a bit ever since the Emperor revealed himself to the Watchtower; the Emperor had the core members of the League assign some of the other heroes to guard duty while the heroes more adept in technology would be studying the Blackstone nugget he gave them and try to replicate it.

Most of the country was now under martial law and several battalions of soldiers under the Global Defense Forces' wing were sent to all the major cities to provide protection from any intrusions from Chaos. China had descended into anarchy and other countries were barely keeping themselves together, the only reason they haven't collapsed was due to their own superheroes.

After a few days, he, along with his brothers and the Powerpuffs, were asked to provide genetic material for the Emperor. IE, some hair, skin, and blood samples. He also asked to talk to Professor Utonium about Chemical X and all its properties, leading the latter to the laboratories. Oddly, he also asked for samples of any aliens or metahumans of the League.

Apparently, the Emperor was conducting experiments on Chemical X and metagenes for reasons he didn't know.

He mentioned something about wanting to recreate something called 'Gene-Seed' and that he was going to give a presentation on his universe and what something that he called the Imperium was, in about an hour.

But there was something that was bothering him; last night, Megaville police had gotten several reports of disappearances. Many of the disappearances were just vagrants or nobodies at first, but then reports came in that several members of various affluent families had disappeared as well, one of them being Professor Membrane's daughter. Reports of more disappearances came from all over the country and even from other countries.

Investigations were launched immediately after due to pressure and bribes by the concerned families of those who went missing, but despite their best efforts, they only found a fraction of the missing people and they were all found in various states of mutilation. The victims were too traumatized to provide any information on the identities of the kidnappers but did manage to give the investigators the location of where they were.

This led to raids on a series of warehouses provided by the victims, that lead to the arrest of over 300 people and the discovery of half of the missing people who had all been killed by the kidnappers. They had apparently been kidnapped for a cult, but the states of the bodies horrified the police, but it isn't accurate to call them bodies when they were more akin to mush than bodies. But they still hadn't found the other half, which included the professor's daughter.

Yet as they cleaned out the crime scenes, the investigators found books and papers burning in a pyre and some of the cultists had thrown paint and blood onto the walls, as if they were hiding something. The one image they were able to recover was that of a purple silhouette of a feminine figure with the lower half of a serpent, large, feathered wings, and horns on her head.

The cultists that were arrested are now awaiting trial but it's likely they'll get life in prison if they didn't get the death sentence.

Brick snapped out of his thoughts when Weasel told him it was time to go to the presentation. He grumbled and walked down the halls stoically, with Butch seemed apathetic with his arms behind his head, and Boomer... just being himself. The Powerpuff Girls came walking along but unlike before, Brick didn't feel animosity when they were near.

He didn't know why though.

Estalius placed the lock of Brick's follicles into a beaker before pouring in a solvent to break it down into its most basic components. The hairs dissolved in a mess of bubbles that turned the solvent a bright green as he stirred the beaker in his hand, before he poured the solution into a chemistry set. He watched the satisfying process of the solution travelling through all the tubes and flasks filled with various chemicals and mixtures before it ended with a black liquid filling an awaiting beaker.

The Emperor examined the liquid for a moment, swirling it around with a stirrer and muttering, "Interesting."

He set the beaker into a miniature refrigeration unit after pouring a small amount into a culture vial, before dabbing a swab in the vial and swiped it on a slide. He then placed another slide on top of it and put them under a microscope before peering into it.

It showed several human cells floating through a black sea, small sparks of bioelectricity streaking through the blackness as the cell still underwent mitosis, albeit much slower than normal cells. Focusing more, the Emperor could see that the cell has small protrusions resembling spikes covering the membrane and nucleus.

Estalius pulled back from the microscope, with a clenched fist to his lips, repeating, "Very interesting."

He then put up a recorder and began another entry; "Entry #5. According to the logs of Dr. Megalos, Chemical X is a super-reactive agent that has the potential for energy development and growth. And according to Professor Utonium, the creator of the agent in question, Chemical X was designed to work with other ingredients to provide balancing components to the power yield in quantity embedded. Therefore, when Pure Strain Chemical X is ingested and overloaded without other ingredients in a given subject, it lacks the absorbing factors to make the powers given to the subject permanent, thus allowing its effects to eventually wear off and physically exhaust its consumer."

"Upon learning this, I've decided to conduct some experiments involving this and the 'Metagenes' that I've heard through the grapevine. I've managed to separate the agent from Brick's genetic material and I'm hoping to isolate certain Metagenes for further experiments when I begin my later experiments. But there is a problem I've found; Chemical X's potency may have mass amounts of unpredictable and uncontrollable results. That and I may need to resort to more... alternative means of getting my results." He was about to end it there when he remembered to add on last thing, "There is also the possibility of Chaos corruption, but I'll cross that bridge when I burn it."

The Emperor finished that log, but as he set it down and turned to get some more chemicals for his research, the chronometer showed that his presentation was five minutes away. The Emperor muttered an F-bomb as he hastily grabbed the hard-drive he put his presentation on and jogged out of his lab, once again thankful that chronometers were invented.

Speaking of which, he better get used to calling them 'clocks' and not 'chronometers' as he'd sound like a stick in the mud if he continued to.

Estalius adjusted his tie as he entered the auditorium again, seeing the crowd gathered up to hear about what went on in his universe. Given they were highly scrupulous, he knew this was going to be a long day.

"Hello, everyone." He greeted them pleasantly, "Because of requests, I've decided to inform you all of my universe. But bear in mind, I am going to be skipping a few details because if I explained every single detail, the conversation will be so long that it'll be finished just before the Wave will arrive and we'll all be fucked. So, I'll be covering the bare minimum that is required."

The audience smile, curious on what this new universe could behold.

"The empire that I founded is the Imperium of Man; an imperialist bureaucratic empire that in fact spans the entire galaxy." The Emperor began explaining, showing the Imperial Palace through his powers to imprint the image on the hard drive into the screen, much to everyone's awe, "Earth, or Terra as it's called in the 41st millennium, is the capital world of the Imperium. It is run by me but due to the actions of a certain someone that I refuse to fucking mention, it is run by a council of 6 known as the High Lords of Terra."

He continued by showing the front lines of a massive army, who's soldiers are equipped with green body armor and green laser rifles, "The military for the Imperium separates into many groups but the ones that are usually deployed are the Imperial Guard, standard regiments of foot-soldiers equipped with Lasguns, laser rifles that can be powered by a myriad of sources, and flak armor, body armor that is reliable and easy to produce. The Guard are also bolstered by many armored vehicles and armaments."

The next image showed what the audience only described as juggernauts; massive soldiers clad in mechanized armor, holding guns that seemed like they would break the bones of any normal man, "These are the Space Marines or the Adeptus Astartes. One of my greatest accomplishments in genetic enhancement. They are called in if the situation becomes dire. The Space Marines are usually split into sects of 1000 or Chapters at a time."

Professor Utonium raised a hand, "How does someone become a Space Marine?"

The Emperor then gained a tired expression as if saying 'Oh, god, I wish you hadn't said that', muttering, "Oh boy. Strap yourselves in, cause this gonna be a long fucking explanation."

Some of them seemed confused but prepared themselves for the long explanation from the Emperor, who took a breath and began. The scene changed to what they assumed was a Space Marine specialized as a medic, extracting two bulbous glands from a dead Space Marine's neck and chest.

"The process of creating an Astartes is a long and arduous one. Initiates must undergo 'trials' to be proven worthy of joining the Chapter. Bear in mind, trials vary wildly from Chapter to Chapter. If they survive these trials, the initiates will then undergo genetic screening as to remove the possibility for rejection of the enhancements. These enhancements are 19 distinct organs are called Gene-Seed, which are used to genetically augment an initiate's body beyond normal limits. And because I assume you're all curious, I'll explain all nineteen;"

"The first Gene-Seed is a secondary heart, also known as the Maintainer." The Emperor pointed to the left breast of the figure that came on via hologram, "This is the first and least difficult of the implantations. It resembles a smaller version of the normal heart and is implanted in the chest cavity and connected to the rest of the circulatory system. Its function is to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the muscles by increasing the bloodflow well beyond what normal human is capable off. If the primary heart is damaged or destroyed, it can take over all its normal functions until they can get medical attention."

"The second is the Ossmodula or Iron Heart. This organ is implanted in the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, thus integrating into the endocrine system. The organ secretes a specially made version of Human-Growth hormones. This, along with microscopic ceramic-based minerals laced in their diets, acts to grant the skeleton superhuman strength and massive size compared to a baseline Human male. During this time, the rib cage will fuse into a solid mass of bulletproof, interlaced bone plates. The resulting structure protects the Space Marine's organs from damage in a way the normal Human skeleton never could, though at the price of producing greater difficulties for the medics when they must perform surgeries on a Space Marine's body cavity."

"The third is the Biscopia or Forge of Strength. This organ is implanted into the chest cavity. It secretes hormones that stimulate the muscles, causing them to keep up with the growth and strength of the skeleton. The result enhances the Space Marine's physical ability and survivability to superhuman levels, should he survive the trials to become one. The first three are usually implanted at the same time to allow for each to work in tandem with one another, promoting the growth of the novitiate."

"The fourth is Haemastamen or Blood Maker. This organ is implanted in the main blood vessels like the aorta, femoral artery, or the vena cava. As the second name implies, this implant increases the production of blood and alters its biochemical composition to carry oxygen and nutrients more efficiently. This causes the side effect of having a Space Marine's blood to be a lighter shade of red and it also regulates the actions of the Biscopia and Ossmodula."

"The fifth is Larraman's Organ or the Healer. This organ resembles the human liver but the size of a golf ball and is implanted in the chest cavity. It creates synthetically made enhanced platelets called Larraman's Cells. Should an Astartes be injured, the implant will release the Larraman's Cells into the circulatory system, attach to the leukocytes, and clot the wound, but forms scar tissue in seconds. This causes Space Marines to be seen as invincible, as they can survive wounds that would kill regular humans."

"The sixth is the Catalepsean Node, or the Unsleeping. This organ is implanted in the back of the cerebrum, just above the brain stem. If the Astartes begin experiencing sleep deprivation, the Node can shut off specific parts of the brain, allowing for them to continue fighting. Though extended periods of use can cause hallucinations and psychosis. A Space Marine squad is on record for 328 hours of active combat duty."

"The seventh is the Preomnor, or the Neutralizer. This organ is spliced into the digestive system above the stomach. The implant acts as a 'pre-stomach' or second stomach that allows the Astartes to digest and eat otherwise poisonous or indigestible materials. The implant is also capable of biochemically analyzing indigested materials and neutralizing most known and unknown biochemical and inorganic toxins. Deadly poisons are either neutralized or isolated from the digestive tract, or the implant itself will be isolated and vomit up the toxin. In rare cases, the implant will reroute the poison to another implant that I'll get to."

"The eighth is the Omophagea, or the Remembrancer. This organ is implanted into the spine cord and then wires itself into the central nervous system, directly attaching it to the cerebral cortex and the stomach. It allows the Astartes to gain some of a person's memories by eating their flesh. Because it is implanted between the thoracic vertebrae and the stomach wall and is designed to absorb information and any DNA, RNA or protein sequences related to experience or memory. It quite literally allows a Space Marine to "learn by eating." Four new nerve bundles are also implanted connecting the spine and the stomach wall. The Omophagea transmits the gained information to the Astartes' brain as a set of memories or experiences. This enables the Space Marine to gain information, in a survival or tactical sense, simply by eating an animal indigenous to an alien world and then experiencing some of what that creature did before its death. Though certain mutations have caused some Chapters to gain a craving for blood or flesh."

The audience collectively grimaced and voiced their disgust but Estalius didn't acknowledge them as he continued.

"The ninth is the aptly named Multi-Lung, or the Imbiber. The organ is a third lung implanted into an Astartes' pulmonary and circulatory systems in the chest cavity that is able to absorb oxygen from environments usually too poor in oxygen to allow normal Human respiratory functioning. Breathing is accomplished through sphincter muscles implanted into the trachea, allowing all three lungs to be used at full capacity. In toxic environments, a similar muscle closes off the normal lungs, thus oxygen is absorbed exclusively by the Multi-lung, which then filters out the poisonous or toxic elements. The implant has highly efficient toxin dispersal systems."

"The tenth is the Occulobe, or Eye of Vengeance. The organ sits at the base of the brain and is implanted at the base of the brain and is connected to the optic nerve and to the retina. The implant can adjust the rod and cone cells of the eye via hormonal and genetic stimuli, allowing for the Astartes to see low-light conditions. Because of this constant adjustment, the Astartes can adapt their sight to whatever environment they find themselves in."

"The eleventh is Lyman's Ear, or the Sentinel. This organ actually replaces the ear instead of being implanted in the eardrums. The new ears are structured in a way that can filter out or enhance certain sounds, along with making them immune to dizziness and motion sickness. It was named after one of the scientists that helped me work on my Primarch Project."

"The twelfth is the Sus-an Membrane, or the Hibernator. This organ is originally implanted into the cerebrum before the membrane envelopes the brain, integrating itself into the neutral architecture. Normally, it doesn't do anything on it's own but if a Space Marine is mortally wounded in combat or makes a conscious decision to want to activate, it'll activate, putting them into a state of suspended animation. Until given proper chemical treatment and hypnotic auto suggestion, they will stay in that state. The longest one has stayed in this state is 587 years."

"The thirteenth is the Melanochrome, or the Skin-Shield. The organ is implanted into the lymphatic system and controls the production of melanin. If exposed to absurd amounts of sunlight or UV rays, the implant will produce vast amounts of melanin, darkening their skin in matter of minutes. This protects against damage that UV rays have on DNA. Mutations in this implant has caused a few chapters to either gain pale skin like the Blood Angels or extremely dark skin and red eyes like the Salamanders."

"The fourteenth is the Oolitic Kidney, or the Purifier. This organ is implanted in the abdominal cavity, and it becomes part of the excretory system. It acts as an emergency detoxification organ, capable of purifying the body at a quick rate if a poison or toxin too powerful for the immune system to handle. However, this will render the Astartes unconscious due to its fast-acting nature. Under normal circumstances, the implant will act as the same as the normal kidneys."

"The fifteenth is the Neuroglottis, or the Devourer. This organ is implanted within the Astartes' upper nasal passages. It allows for the chewing, tasting or smelling a substance a Space Marine has found to biochemically test it for toxicity and nutritional content, essentially determining if the substance is edible or poisonous. The organ also allows the Space Marine to identify extremely subtle odors with the same fidelity as the average canine bred for tracking, allowing him to even track his quarry by smell or taste alone."

"The sixteenth is the Mucranoid, or the Weaver. The organ is implanted into the central nervous system. On its own, the implant is inactive. However, when a specific chemical treatment is applied, it begins secreting a waxy protein laced substance that begins hardening upon contact with the skin. This seals their pores, acting as a cocoon suspended animation or layer of insulation if they're in especially frigid environments or even protect against the vacuum of space."

"The seventeenth is Betcher's Gland, or the Poison Bite. These two organs are implanted multiple locations around the mouth, including in the lower lip, in the salivary glands, or in the hard palette. They work in tandem, allowing the Space Marine to consciously turn their saliva into a corrosive, blinding acid. For offense, the Space Marine can spit this attack at their enemies, blinding, burning, or killing them. For other purposes, the acid allows them to chew through things that nobody could chew through or begin breaking down things that normal saliva can't. Due to various reasons, this implant has atrophied in a number of chapters."

"The penultimate one is the Progenoid Glands, or the Gene-Seed. These organs are implanted into the neck and chest of the Space Marine. These organs will react to the other implants via hormones and produce germ cells similar to sperm or egg cells, that have similar DNA to the other implants. After five years, the gland in the neck is ready for harvest and the one in the chest after ten. When a Space Marine dies, an Apothecary will extract the Progenoids as so the chapter can produce more implants."

"The final implant is the Black Carapace, or the Interface. This organ is an organic neuroactive, fibrous material that is implanted directly under the skin of the torso. After a few hours, the material will spread through the rest of the body, creating invasive neuro-bundles that allow for the Space Marine to interface with their Power Armor, making it seem like it's a second skin. Bear in mind, it is possible to wear Power Armor without the Black Carapace, but it will act more cumbersome."

When he was finished, the audience had expression of intrigue, fascination, horror, and dumbfound, or all of the above.

"Any questions?" The Emperor called out.

He got one from Professor Utonium whom had an unnerved expression, "You said that the 2nd and 3rd released specially designed Human-Growth Hormones. Those kinds of hormones are released during puberty. So, by that estimate, does that mean..."

The rest of the audience caught on and stared at the Emperor, their faces set firmly to horror.

"Nnnn... Yes." Estalius wanted to deny but realized there was no point.

"THIS IS DONE TO CHILDREN?!" Nora Wakemen utterly screamed, while several others voiced their outrage to an unfazed Emps, who just rolled his eyes. It may seem heartless but when you've done this almost a million times, you just grow numb.

"One," The Emperor said out loud, silencing the others, "It's due to how the Implants function. Some of them are grown invitro while others are injected into the body via germ cells and virus machines and are grown through the Astartes natural process. Because of this, the Gene-Seed has to be implanted before and during puberty as so the body adapts as easily as possible. And because the implants are neuroactive, the implantation process requires them to be awake and their minds not dulled by painkillers."

Everyone now has absolutely horrified expressions, causing the Emperor to then sigh and say with a deadpan tone, "And now I'm just realizing I should have kept that last part out."

The outrage returned a million-fold, before Superman raised a hand, silencing them again. The Man of Steel then approached the Master of Mankind, a look of utter disappointment on his face while the Emperor remained stone-faced. The two stared down at each other before...

"How many?" Superman asked quietly.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"How many boys go through this?"

He hemmed for a second before answering, "A few million. Given there are usually over a thousand Space Marine chapters in the Imperium currently."

Horrified whispers went around the room while Batman and Superman remained stone-faced before Wonder Woman shouted, outraged at the Emperor's nonplused attitude, "'A few million?!' How can you stomach these acts being done to millions of children?!"

"Yeah!" Buttercup agreed, "Who the hell lets their kids go through this shit?!"

The Emperor just gazed blankly at the Amazonian Princess and the green Powerpuff, before he let out another tired sigh, "It's not that simple. The Imperium has a variety of worlds, all with different cultures. This, along with the widespread belief that I am a god, which I keep insisting I am not, fucking damnit Lorgar, causes people to see the Space Marines as Angels of Death. Furthermore, they see allowing for their sons to join the Chapters to be a great honor. And same goes for the regiments of the Imperial Guard. They're taken from their homes at whatever age to fight for the Imperium. Being a guardsman is like being fed through a meatgrinder until it stalls. Literally, the Imperium goes through Guardsmen like you go through toilet paper."

At seeing their repulsed looks, the Emperor sighed again, "I know. But what we do, we do without choice. If we were to lay down arms, stop sacrificing psykers for the Golden Throne, and stop boys from becoming Space Marines, humanity would cease as easily as a candle being snuffed out. The Orks, the Dark Eldar, the Tyranids, or especially Chaos would feast on us like we were fruit ready to be plucked. If a billion lives are sacrificed to ensure that all of humanity once more may live, then so be it."

Now, everyone seemed confused. Not confused like one was confused about a question or statement, confused as to how such a place can exist that considers the deaths of billions to be an acceptable lose.

"Continuing;" The Emperor continued, apathetic to their moral crisis, "New advancements in Gene Seed resulted in the Primaris Space Marines; Astartes further enhanced by three additional implants. The first are the Sinew Coils, or The Steel Within. This organically grown durametallic coils will reinforce the sinews and due to them being able to contract with incredible force, increasing the strength of a Space Marine even further and adding another layer of defense."

"The second is the Magnificat, or the Amplifier. It is a thumbnail sized lobe that is implanted into the brain's cortex. The lobe will begin secreting special hormones that will increase the body's growth functions and will intensify all of the other implants. Fun fact, it is actually the right side of an organ I engineered called the 'God-Maker.'"

"Wait. What happened to the left side of the God-Maker?" Blossom asked, curious as to why they didn't use the left of the God-Maker if they already had the right side.

"Nunya." Was the only respond she got as he shifted through his papers a little.

Blossom blinked, "Nunya what?"

"Nunya fucking business." The Emperor deadpanned, before continuing as if that didn't happen, "Moving on: The final implant is the Belisarian Furnace, or the Revitalizer. This organ is implanted into the twin hearts of the Space Marine. While mostly inactive, if the Primaris is undergoing extreme stress or is fatally wounded, the organ will expel a hyper cocktail of self-synthesized chemicals that will stimulate the body along with aiding in the rapid regrowth of tissue, bone, and muscle. It does take a bit of time to 'recharge' after use."

All of them were back to being fascinated and this continued for a while as the Emperor bequiffed them with the minimum requirements needed to explain the Imperium. When he was done however, he asked that the Powerpuff girls and the Rowdyruff boys, along with Superman, Batman, Brisbaine, Weasel and Utonium to come with him. The group that he requested, minus Batman, Brisbaine, Weasel, were confused but went along with it as the audience disbanded.

"Dam-I mean, man..." Buttercup stopped herself from swearing before she murmured as they walked down the hallway, "I knew the universe that the Emperor came from was harsh but, yeesh, the Imperium sounds like a place where you'd killed if you even breathed wrong."

"Tell me about it..." Butch muttered in agreement. Bubbles seemed uncomfortable as did Boomer, only Brick and Batman along with the doctors kept their composure.

Blossom just kept her head down and voice low, thinking about what the Emperor told them about the Imperium. It was unbelievable to her what humanity had become in that universe forty thousand years later. When did humanity abandon their ideals? When did the people of the Imperium throw away any sense of decency or comradery? When zealous faith overrides common sense? When did everything go to something that hell doesn't even begin to describe?

"I-I just don't get it." Blossom blurted out, getting the other's attention, "Why do they hate aliens, mutants, and psykers? Why are they scared of innovating? Why are they so cruel to others? Why..." Words failed her as she hung her head.

The others didn't blame her, Buttercup even patted her on the back. The things that that they heard about the Imperium had chilled them all to the bone; a thousand Psykers being sacrificed to the Golden Throne, the Assassin Temples, the Inquisition, the xenophobia ingrained in ever citizens mind, even their utter hatred of mutants. The Emperor at least gave them all the reasons for such things but they were still confused as to how things became as such.

The Imperium of Man seemed worse than any regime that ever existed, and it most definitely was, even the Nazis weren't as bad as them. Yet from what the Emperor had told them, the Imperium was the only civilization of humanity that could survive in their overwhelmingly hostile universe.

Any other thoughts were silenced as they saw the Emperor standing at the entrance of a room. He greeted them politely before opening the door to reveal a large room with grey walls that were strung with cables and wires. The elephant in the room were six large gestation vats that resembled pods and two highly decorated and advanced thrones that had various sensors on the back rest and seat.

"Thank you for coming," The Emperor thanked them before explaining, "I've created these devices, with some help I admit, in hopes of improving the situation that plagues us." He motioned to the pods, "These are what I call the Mirror Vats. They're gestation pods that allows one to send their souls into the Warp. The fluid will reflect any changes they go though in the Warp."

"Cool..." Boomer looked awed, before looking at the Emperor, "What are they for?"

"Well, that was what I was getting into." Estalius continued as he looked at the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys, who were worried at his gaze, "While your powers are very impressive, I can't help but think that you six are not mentally prepared for... what is to come. And Batman, Brisbaine, and Weasel agreed."

The three mentioned nod, before Brisbaine began, "The pods will mirror your physical growth that you experience through the Warp. Our plan is to have Batman and the Emperor physically and mentally groom them so they can be better prepared. Batman and the Emperor will go with them via the Silver Thrones. These devices will allow them to enter the Warp but without the physical mirroring, allowing them and you six to experience ten years of growth in ten hours. During that time, the Emperor and Batman will, as I said, groom and enhance them into more suited fighters."

"What we are trying to do is make them better. If we give them the proper training and growth, they can become better fighters against the forces of Chaos." Weasel continued, motioning towards the six transhumans, "Because of they are nearly reaching puberty, we feel that now is the best appropriate time to begin these enhancements."

The end of the explanation left everyone stunned. Superman had a stunned expression that was both interested and horrified. Utonium looked utterly devastated at the thought of his girls missing out on their childhoods, while the girls seemed divided; Buttercup looked excited, Blossom seemed unsure, and Bubbles was both. The Rowdyruff Boys on the other hand, seemed rather contemplative; Brick most definitely seemed interested, as did Butch, but Boomer seemed unsure.

"Believe me, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't feel it was necessary." The Emperor stated with his hands up, "I just feel if the girls and boys mature both physically and mentally, they can be better at helping us deal with Chaos and its intrusions. Again, I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it was necessary."

Professor Utonium had such conflicting feelings in his head. On one hand, the Emperor was right, and given that he explained that the Chaos Gods would likely take advantage of them because of their powers. On the other hand... To spend the rest of their childhood being groomed into soldiers, not leading normal lives.

"I'll do it." Buttercup's voice rang throughout the room with all eyes on her, "I'll go through with the procedure."

Lots of them gaped at her before Brick said, "Me too."

The gapes then were directed at him too before one by one each of the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys agreed to undergo this procedure. The Emperor thanked them before giving them each a black box and said, "Thank you. Put these suits on while we prepare the Pods and the Thrones. They're made of a pliable material that'll shape itself as you grow."

The six all nodded and walked to the locker-rooms nearby to change into the suits. As they did, the Emperor explained to Batman, Brisbaine, and Weasel about how his plan will work in the long run. Utonium was almost comatose from what the Emperor said and what his girls would go through in those ten years.

"Here." The Emperor gave Superman a device resembling a pocketwatch, the latter looking at it curiously before the former spoke again, "It'll act as an emergency measure. If anything goes wrong during the ten hours we're out of commission, press the red button and it'll pull us out."

Superman nodded but before anyone does anything else, Professor Utonium grabbed the Emperor's arm.

"What will you do?" He asked, voice hollow and desperate.

"Pardon me?"

"What will you do to them during the ten years?" He clarified to the Emperor.

Estalius sighed before he answered, "All that I can. Despite what you think, your girls are just as susceptible to Chaos corruption as anyone else. Them and the Rowdyruff Boys. What I'm doing will ensure that they won't. Don't you want them to stay free of the grasp of Chaos?"

"No, just..." Johnathan falters at trying to convey his feelings on this before he grips the Emperor's shirt, practically begging the shard of Master of Mankind's intelligence, "Please. Don't let them become like the Inquisitors. Don't... Don't let them become like those that treaded down a damned path."

The Master of Mankind only stared at him for a second before taking a breath and giving the professor the only answer he could give, "I only promise to try." Utonium only nods dejectedly. It was something at least.

The six came out a minute later, dressed in black bodysuit-like garments with details of their own personal colors.

3 minutes earlier...

Just as they entered the locker room, Blossom asked to talk before they dressed into what the Emperor gave them. Suffice to say, despite agreeing to it, they still had mixed feelings.

"I still can't believe that I agreed to this." Blossom thought out loud as she zipped her suit up, before she sighed, "I guess that's how persuasive the Emperor is."

They all nodded before they addressed the elephant in the room.

"Buttercup..." Bubbles asked her sister, now dressed in the black suit as well as her two sisters, "If we do this, we won't have a normal life."

The green PowerPuff seemed to hesitate but relented.

"Well, I don't... want a normal life." Buttercup admitted, rubbing her arm as if confessing a deep dark secret of hers, "I want to fight bad guys. I want to fight monsters across other dimensions. I... I don't want our lives as superheroes to end and the rest of our lives to be so freaking dull."

Blossom and Bubbles looked at each other with shocked expressions when they heard this revelation.

"Look," Buttercup interjected, before any misunderstandings came up, "If you guys don't wanna do this, I get it. Going through with this... It's a tough choice, but I think the Emperor needs all the help he can get, and he even said himself that he wouldn't do this if he didn't this was necessary. Sure, he's an asshole but I think he means well."

Her sisters looked at each other again, before looking at Buttercup with determined expressions. Blossom saying, "Let's do it."

Buttercup smiled before they all gave each other privacy in order to change. Blossom, after making sure neither of her sister were in sight, quickly tiptoed into the restroom and walked to the center of the room, looking at her reflection. After a moment, she breathed out.

"You can come out."

Dexter exited one of the stalls, his expression calm and collected as usual. Blossom turned to face him and opened her mouth to speak, but the words died before her vocal cords could even produce them. She tried once more but the boy genius started before, she could.

"I know," Dexter said, surprising Blossom, "I... I helped him make the pods and the Silver Thrones and the suits. The Emperor came to my house a few days ago and asked that him and I build them for continuation of his plan. Look, the Emperor wants to help you guys get stronger, but if you go through with..."

His words failed him as he continued to speak until he finally faltered. Dexter didn't know which way to put it, but Blossom did: If she went through with this procedure and the Emperor's tutorship, they'd never be together. For him, she'd be gone for 10 hours. But for her, it would be 10 years. Even if even if they still had feelings for each other, he'd still be 12 while she'd be both mentally and physically 22. They both know what would happen if they tried to be together like that.

She sighed with a sad but understanding expression, before it all came pouring out, "Don't worry, Dexter. It's gonna be okay. I won't let anything happen to you! I'll always be by your side, even if it's not as you want! I just want you to know that I...I..."

He interrupted her by putting a hand on her shoulder, smiling, "You don't need to say it."

Blossom was silent before her face melted into a wistful smile and tears streamed down her cheeks. She pulled Dexter into a hug that he returned. For this one moment, nothing else mattered except them and the things that would come.

"So, this is how we spend the rest of our childhood?" Butch asked Brick from where he was as the three undressed and put the garments on in separate parts of the locker room for privacy, "Being trained by Batman, which I admittedly like, and the Emperor, which I absolutely do not like."

Brick ignored him like he usually did while Boomer just hummed happily.

"Look," Butch started while leaning against the wall and looking up at the ceiling, now dressed in the long undergarments he was given, "I know we've been trained to be a special task force ever since the Men in Black recreated us, but still; Who knows what either of those two will put us through?"

That actually caused the two to pause and look at each other. They hadn't thought about that.

"Don't worry about it." Brick kept his professionalism, "Something needs to be done to give us a sharper edge. And it seems that the only one who know to effectively combat the Chaos Gods is the Emperor. So, I say we should do it."

"Yeah!" Boomer agreed, being his usual cheerful self, "It could be fun! Cheer up, both of you!"

Brick and Butch rolled their eyes at this but shook it off as they had a job to do.

After dressing in the bodysuit-like garments the Emperor made, the boys and girls all slowly walked out of the empty locker rooms, thankful that it was only the Emperor and Batman in the room whom both looked away in respect.

"Professor?" Bubbles asked her father, who looked at her curious before she hugged his leg, tearing up, "I'll miss you."

Utonium was surprised but he remembered that for him, they were only going to be gone for 10 hours but to them, they'd be gone 10 years. He hugged her back as did Blossom and Buttercup, saying goodbye to their father. The Rowdyruff Boys look at them in slight jealousy before they saluted Brisbaine and Weasel, whom saluted back.

After they said their goodbyes, the six were ready to begin as they climbed into the vats; the material they were laying on was soft and pliable against their skin, automated arms placed sensors on various parts of their bodies before a red light scanned them two or three times. Then the lids of the pods closed, hermetically sealing with the hydraulics hissing, other machinery humming and whirring.

Buttercup saw the Emperor and Batman sitting down on the Silver Thrones; the latter putting on a silver tragedy mask, and the former putting on a golden comedy mask before holding up a rectangular remote and pressing a red button with his thumb.

Almost instantly, the two collapsed onto their thrones unconscious, with the remote falling into Emps' lap. Buttercup heard something bubbling and flowing through several holes when suddenly her pod slowly filled with a dark blue syrupy fluid. At first, Buttercup was a little scared but forced herself to calm down even as the fluid reached her mouth and nose. Despite her instincts telling her not to, Buttercup forced herself to breath it in as it lapped at her lips.

The fluid flowed down her throat, and to her surprise, she found she could actually breathe. It was an odd feeling, floating in this fluid. Its dark color prevented her from seeing anything and she couldn't hear anything either. It wasn't an unpleasant experience though as the fluid felt as warm and welcoming as a hot bath after hours of brawling.

Suddenly, everything went white as a golden aura enveloped her.

Buttercup's eyes fluttered open.

She was now in an open field with beige crops and a blue sky with patches of clouds and a yellow sun shining down on her face. Just like how the world was before the Maw of Annihilation had torn them from their peace.

Buttercup groaned and sat up from the grass, she was dressed in her usual outfit albeit with a golden sigil on her shirt: a two head eagle with its wings spread wide in a sign of reverence. She could feel the wind gliding through her hair, the rays of the sun against her skin, and the coarse feeling of the crops gliding against her palms.

The girl couldn't help but gaze at the sky in longing as she hadn't seen it in almost a month as the words issued from her lips, "Whoooooa."

Suddenly, the winds had blown in the opposite direction from where she was standing. Buttercup turned to see the crops parting to reveal a pathway stretching from where she stood but ended at a golden landscape. No. Not a landscape. A golden continent spanning city composed of technology she'd never dreamed of. At the center of this impossible thing, was a massive column of golden light.

Without thinking, Buttercup slowly made her way to the city through her ability to fly.

Hours of flying passed, yet Buttercup didn't notice as her eyes were locked on the city. Sections of the city varied in both length and height, the smallest spanning states and the tallest reaching higher than any tower yet invented. Her enhanced senses made it all the more unbelievable; she saw what she could only describe as a sea of people, vast in the quintillions with just as many of faces, all unique and together. Her hearing picked up hot oil and smelted metal piping through durametallic lining and rough, intermittent patches of dialogue from those below.

Was this Terra? Was this the Emperor's palace? Question after question flew through Buttercup's brain as she continued to fly towards the column of gold in what she assumed was the center of the palace. Yet there was a feeling that she couldn't shake. A feeling like she suddenly weighted a million tons, yet she was lighter than the air or clouds, a feeling like this unfathomably vast thing from beyond the veil was extending its reach ever closer from behind. Its unseen tendrils coiling around her as a voiceless song was speaking in honeyed tones and whispering deadly promises.

Whatever that was faded when her gaze caught five more airborne figures streaking with a unique color, pink, sky blue, green, blue, and red.

Buttercup's awestricken face turned to one of eager competition before her speed increased into one of near light. She speared through the sky and would have caught the eyes of the sea of people if they had a chance at seeing her, her sisters, and her others. The rest seemed to notice as they increased their speeds as they blitzed through the open spaces of the city until they were but 400 kilometers short of the column of gold.

Just as they reached the center of the palace though the underground and the entranceway, for more than a few mere moments, the 6 stopped and just glazed at the Investiary that lead to the Inner Palace.

It was something of absolute beauty; composed of golden architecture seemingly impossible to construct with normal hands, massive interconnecting pathways filled with priest and pilgrims holding torches and singing religious hymns, while giants festooned in gold armor over with red robes and wielding techno-spears that could cleave a tank in half. The overpass that leads to the Palace was crowned with a statue of a golden eagle, while the towers and gothic buildings surrounded the Inner Palace like a vast garden of awe-inducing construction and machinery. Statues of Imperial Heroes decorated the exterior of the Palace, and the entire underground was awash in golden hues with green radiantly lighting the lower hives.

The Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys were stiller than the long extinct deer being caught in the headlights of a careless or surprised driver of a locomotive speeding down a highway.

"It's... It's beautiful."

For once, Boomer's words issued from his stunned lips didn't cause anger or exasperation from the others. The Palace seemed as it fell from the heavens with the angels ever building extensions and beyond. It took three minutes before they could shake themselves out of the stupor that the Palace had put them in, then flashed towards the space that the column of gold occupied.

They landed at what they could only assume was the nearest spot to where they could land; an open space with a stairway leading to a massive gate that had a craving of the Emperor slaying a massive dragon or serpent, guarded by two Warhound Titans that, to their surprise, opened the gate with their Power Fists. The open spaces of the parting gate revealed blinding golden light that nearly burned out their retinas before their sight managed to adjust in time for them to enter the Sanctum Imperialis.

Words could do no justice for the breathtaking sight that was the Throne Room. The halls, architecture, and decorations all paled in comparation when their eyes landed onto the Golden Throne. Sitting there was the Emperor himself; an emaciated yet still muscular giant of a man, dressed in red robes with gold details that covered his lower half. His eyes were closed, and his head was forward with the chin to his chest while they could see the minimal expansion and contraction of the abdomen, indicating that he was breathing.

The Throne-bound Emperor was quite different looking than Estalius. For one, he had a large but well-kept beard that went to his stomach, but his hair was just as long, the difference being that both his hair and his beard were white as gleaming pearls. On his head was a corona made of golden leaves and a shining golden halo sitting from behind, his face was incalculably old with a sharp jawline and stern face. In his muscles were thick ribbed cables that had fused to his skin, yet his face showed no pain, his presence was kin to a blazing sun or flaring inferno.

His eyes opened ever so slightly while his head raised, revealing luminescent golden eyes that seemed to pierce their souls and his lips curled into a tired smile.

"About time you six got here." The Emperor spoke in a deep voice that was laced with an incredibly grandfatherly tone. Behind the shadows of one of the armrests, an unchanged Batman walked into the light with an almost amused expression.

"Indeed. It seemed like forever that we've been waiting for all of you." Batman stated, arms cross and with the absolute barest traces of a smile.

The 6 transhumans all looked sheepish, some more than others, before the Emperor spoke again.

"This is where you will live and train for the next ten years of your lives." He announced with a tone of absolute authority, forcing their postures straight and reminding the Rowdyruff Boys of the military that seemed long dead, "The oncoming decade will be brutal, unforgiving, and unrelenting. You will be reforged in both body, mind, and spirit! You will be tempered blades ready to strike Chaos in its blackest heart! You will be there when Chaos will draw its last breath! Say now my chosen six: will you stand here and burn bright like the stars of the universe?! Or will live on your knees and watch as all burns?! SAY NOW, MY CHOSEN SIX! WHAT WILL YOU DO?!"

The six were stunned from the speech, as if Yahweh himself had come down from the heavens to deliver this speech before they all gained the hardest and most determined of expressions. They all saluted with their right arms before yelling in the firmest of voices.

"WE STAND! FOR THE EMPEROR!"

The Master of Mankind gained a very pleased expression, "Stand indeed. Now, to begin what will consume a decade. SIGISMUND! TARVITZ!"

Two Astartes then emerged from behind the Golden Throne.

The first was a sturdy, thickset Astartes, his hair a dark blonde with a patrician face that echoed the same austere lines as his Primarch, Rogal Dorn. His face was only marred by a scar from under his right eye that ran down his cheek all the way to his jawline. His eyes were coloured a bright, sapphire blue that matched the colour of the ocean. His power armor was black as the night sky with the pauldrons being marked with a black cross. This was Sigismund; First High Marshal of the Black Templars and the former champion of Rogal Dorn.

The second is a more lean, thinner Astartes, his hair a silver glint with a handsome face that echoed the once noble visage of his Primarch, Fulgrim. His face was only marred by a single metal plate that covered his left temple to his forehead. His armor was a deep purple with golden decorations of wreaths and Aquilas, on his right pauldron was a golden wing. This is Saul Tarvitz, captain of 10th Company of the Emperor's Children legion and leader of the loyalists on Istvaan III.

"This is them?" Sigismund asked the Batman, who nodded. Nonplussed, Sigismund examined the six young Transhumans with a critical eye, making them slightly nervous, "Young. Very young. Yet brimming with potential. I will take the males. Tarvitz will take the females."

The others nodded in agreement while the Rowdyruff Boys seemed nervous but didn't protest as Sigismund lead them to another hall along with the girls being led by Tarvitz.

Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, Brick, Butch, and Boomer collapsed onto their beds that they had assigned them, panting heavily, muscles and bones strained, and in the case of Buttercup and Butch, nearly heaving out their organs. Bubbles and Boomer would have cried but they were too tired to. Blossom and Brick were the worst out of all, so sore and tired that it felt like they could sleep for days.

The last three days were brutal.

For the Rowdyruff Boys: on day one, after being given their new uniforms, Sigismund forced the boys through a portal to a planet the former said was called Murder. There, they had to fight these metal-skinned insectoid aliens that swarmed them. Their exoskeletons were so hard that punching them nearly broke their hands when they tried to punch them, so Brick had them all used their energy projections to kill them. That worked, along with their heat vision, allowing them to wipe out all the aliens they could before Sigismund pulled them out.

At first, they thought that'd be it, but the Black Templar surprised them by throwing them to a world called Lorn V, a planet of perpetual winter where they had to fight numerous metallic skeletons whose frames could somehow regenerate most of the damage, they inflicted on them before they finally went down, all the while avoiding the various green blasts from their guns that disintegrated whatever they hit. After 12 hours, the boys were pulled back to the Palace again.

When they thought that was it, the Rowdyruff Boys were then requested to fight Sigismund by the Astates himself. After all they went through, the boys thought that this task would be easy. Oh, what a thought that was. For almost a day, even when they went all out, Sigismund dodged, ducked, dipped, and dived away from all of their attacks to where they could only get a number of tags on him that could be counted with one hand. Then the High Marshal actually started counterattacking.

While he pulled his punches on them, it left the boys terrified of what he could do if he went all out.

The Powerpuff Girls didn't have it easy either.

Saul assigned one Powerpuff to a world where they would stay for 3 days: Buttercup was sent to Baal, Bubbles to Nocturne, and Blossom to Inwit.

Buttercup started fighting mutants and monsters on Baal almost an hour into her stay there. Hordes of bloodthirsting mutants poured out of all of Baal's cracks and crevices by the hundreds, only to be set ablaze by her blasts of energy, ripped to scraps by her hands, or rendered to piles of blood and sinew by her strikes. By the end of the first day, Buttercup was drenched in the red, blue, green, and yellow blood and viscera of a thousand mutants. Same with the next two days. She was hard pressed to even sleep due to the absurd amounts of adrenaline pumping through her veins. Horrific it might sound, Buttercup actually enjoined those three days, a fact that disturbs her greatly.

Bubbles managed to survive Nocturne with the help of some Salamanders initiates who found her while hunting for Firedrakes. The planet was nearly unbearable from the heat to where she had to change clothing to what the natives of Nocturne wore when the heat raised to such heights, even if the flames couldn't injure her due to her invulnerability. The Firedrakes of Nocturnes were like the dragons of the fairytales that the Professor told her before she would go to bed. The natives of Nocturne were some of the nicest people that Bubbles had ever meet, they took her in, gave her food, and even told her tales of the Primarch Vulkan and how he came to save them from the planet's wrath.

Blossom trekked for hours through the blizzards of snow on Inwit, again infinitely grateful at having invulnerability but still using her heat vision to prevent her from suffering from hyper-frostbite until she found one of the ice hives that stood against the fury of Old Night before Rogal Dorn came to rebuild and reinforce the planet back to its former glory. She had to steal the hides of skinned creatures gathered by hunters to disguise herself as one of the countless orphans that plagued the hives. The ice-hives level of technology was influx; on one hand, hunters had to go out to the Splintered Lands for food and clothing, while the hive itself was powered by a tower-sized nuclear reactor. The ice tribes did not notice her as she kept use of her powers to the barest of minimums.

After the three days had finished, all three were pulled back to the Palace. The scientists and doctors looked at them over and checked for any signs of injury or malnutrition, but to their surprise, their invulnerability protected them from the fangs of Baal's mutants, the heat of Nocturne, and the cold of Inwit. Same with the Rowdyruff Boys. When all that was over, they were finally allowed to get some sleep.

Suffice to say, they slept like a pile of rocks until they were awoken 8 hours later by a servitor.

Buttercup roared, throwing a punch at a Megarachnid's head. Its metal exoskeleton cracked before its eyeless head caved in and the rest of its body ripped in twain as its grey blood and pink wet flesh spilled to the ground. Another one screeched and poised its sword-like claw to strike only for Buttercup to grab the claw mid-swing and rip it from its socket before impaling it through the head.

She let out a sigh and dust her hands off before sitting down on the dirt.

It'd been at least a year since they'd arrived at the Imperial Palace and it was hectic; Batman had apparently done the same tasks that they did on their first three days and, to everyone's surprise, he survived all of them. He even managed to kick Sigismund in the face!

After that, they'd been put through challenge after challenge, with the in-between parts being the Emperor educating them on the Imperium and Chaos. The concept behind them chilled her to her very soul.

Since the Chaos Gods were basically, for lack of a better term, living ideas and emotions, how can they defeat them? Even as the Emperor explained that now with the opening of the Maw in countless universes.

Buttercup snapped herself out of her thoughts when a Shinning Gate opened. She sighed and walked towards the Gate, wondering what fresh things will come from the Emperor now, and whether or not she can build herself up more to fight what's to come.

As she was distracted however, a massive Megarachnid came bursting out of the tree-sized blades of silver grass, roaring as it charged at her. Buttercup only turned around and before using her heat vision.

The blast hit the Megarachnid on the head, before piercing through the exoskeleton, smoldering its innards, and cleaving it in half. Grey boiling blood and steam hissed out of the now superheated exoskeleton before it fell to the ground, broiling as the pink flesh cooked into a dark black.

Buttercup hmphed with a smile before she stepped through the Gate. She came to an empty golden hall, and it seemed that neither of her sisters or the Rowdyruff Boys had come back yet so she decided to clean herself up while she could. As she was walking back, several more Initiates from one of the Emperor's experiments came marching through while she waltzed to her room. They ignored her and she did the same.

Tarvitz had tasked her to fight in a Megarachnid nest for 2 hours. A death sentence for an Astartes, yet she survived thanks to her invulnerability, but Tarvitz also asked her to not always rely on it as there could be something that could pierce her flesh. But after going through all the other trials that she went through, it was getting easier.

She came to her room; a small room with a bed, bathroom, and desk given to her about 3 months ago. The Emperor told them they had to learn to fight as both a team as well as an individual. Taking off her two-piece black uniform with green accents and a golden Aquila, the Powerpuff Girl got into the bathroom and stared at her reflection.

Buttercup had grown about a foot taller since she'd first came here, her hair had grown to her shoulders, she hadn't gotten scars but only time would tell if that changed. She still couldn't believe that was her looking back at her.

'This much for a twelve... Er, thirteen-year-old to go through.' Buttercup thought before she took a shower.

After cleaning all the dirt and grey blood off her, Buttercup got out and dressed in yet another spare uniform that were stored in the closet. The transhuman girl still had thoughts on her brain so she decided to wander through the halls to clear her head.

But she ran into Saul as she headed down the halls.

Buttercup was surprised and stuttered out, "O-Oh! Hey, Saul! What's up?"

"Everything." The Astartes captain deadpanned before his stoic façade crumbled at his joke as he started to chuckle.

She chuckled too, "Walked into that one."

They laughed for a minute before Saul answered honestly, "As for your question; It's a rather sentimental day for me." He then gained a somber expression and turned his gaze aside to a mural before sighing, "Today is the ten thousandth anniversary of the Scouring of Isstvan III."

Buttercup's expression then turned to one of curiosity and sympathy, the former being about what it was that he was talking about and the latter because whatever it was obviously pained Saul greatly.

The captain of the Loyalist Emperor's Children Legion sighed again and recalled that ghastly betrayal, "It was originally so simple; a transmission had come in, saying that the Planetary Governor of Isstvan III had rebelled and that we were being sent to reclaim it. It was suspicious that four squads of four legions were needed to take one planet but we Astartes weren't made to ask questions. We quelled the 'rebellion' on Isstvan III, but we then received a Vox transmission from Nathanial Garro of the Death Guard."

"What was he say?"

"He said that every one of us would die if we did not take cover. I was disbelieving but then we saw the ships preparing for orbital bombardment. Many of the Loyalists managed to find cover, others and the eight billion civilians of the planet were not so lucky. The Virus Bombs burned away those that didn't take cover. We managed to survive but soon Angron, Primarch of the World Eaters came down to finish the rest of us with the other traitor forces following behind."

Buttercup seemed horrified, "What happened during the Battle?"

Saul seemed even more sorrowful, "We lost. We held out for months but even with our screams of defiance, we knew that our defeat was inevitable. In spite of that, we still held our ground. For every one of us that fell, they dragged a hundred down with them. Hell, I remember Garviel Loken speaking over the Voxcast, yelling that they were the Sons of Horus no more. I even remember seeing World Eater Loyalists charging fearlessly at Angron just to spite him."

"But in the end..." Saul sighed again, "It as for not as Horus teleported himself back to the ship after growing tired of us delaying his plans. My Primarch did not have the courage to face his loyalist sons, neither did Mortarian. In the end, Horus Virus-bombed the planet again, burning the last of the loyalists away expect for Loken and Ancient Rylanor who survived in the deep bunkers hidden below."

Buttercup's eyes were wide and wet with tears, her hands were to her mouth. She sputters out in absolute empathy, "I-I'm so sorry, Saul."

She didn't know what else to say. To lose that that many comrades, ones that he knew for how many years, either dead or betrayed by those that followed the Primarchs to the embrace of the gods. What could she say? What comfort could she give to Saul at seeing the people he trusted with his life betray him? What could she say that would give anything that understood his pain?

Saul smiles wistfully, "It's alright. That battle is now nothing but a memory, now we have to ensure that the four do not tear down the Imperium, no matter what it has become."

Buttercup smiled wistfully as well.

It was 3 hours later that the rest of them came back. Brick had shaved his head, Butch's hair had grown past his shoulders, and Boomer kept his short. Blossom had tied her hair into a ponytail while Bubbles had put hers into two loose ponytails.

Buttercup couldn't help but ponder. None of them had lost their ability to feel, Batman and Dee Dee made sure of that, but still... They had 9 more years to go.

Blossom signed as she walked through the halls of the Palace. After a few hours, she'd finally managed to find her way to the Blood Angel's Fortress Monastery by fighting smarter, not harder like her sister. Most of the mutants didn't have wings so they could only chase her on land and those that did were shoot down by her eyebeams. The Blood Angels were impressed that she was able to survive the outskirts of Baal.

She looked at her hand as it crackled with energy before she clenched it. The Emperor had told them to always be careful around any and all kinds of aliens or worshippers of Chaos, because they'd kill them in the span of a heartbeat. It was maddening to think that whatever Chaos could promise to people for them to do such things, but then again, maybe those people were swayed by desires that the Gods only amped up.

A mirror came by as she walked through the hall.

Blossom was now at least a half a foot taller, her hair was still kept in a ponytail, and she'd taken off her bow and stored it away in her room. She wasn't moody like Butch, or Buttercup had become, neither did Brick, Bubbles, or Boomer. Though the latter seems to have matured more, Bubbles was still herself if a bit snarky, and Brick seemed to somehow both harden and soften at the same time. It was the same with her actually.

Blossom sighed again, 'It's weird how when I look at myself that I can't recognize the person looking back. I'm almost fifteen yet here I am, training to fight a force beyond anything I can imagine.'

She would have gone on a rant about how it was stupid of her to assume that something like this was going to be easy. But the Emperor told her that she had a choice not to go through with this and she chose to do so. If she wanted someone to blame for her hardships, she only had herself.

Hours later, the Emperor summoned them to the throne room. Blossom had arrived at the Gate of Eternity in minutes, in sync with Brick, whom looked as surprised as her but they didn't say anything. Butch arrived seconds later, with Buttercup coming behind and Bubbles and Boomer tied in last.

As the titans opened the gate and they entered, the six saw that Batman and Dee Dee were already there but they were not alone. Numerous warriors surrounded the Golden Throne, each of a differing age and gender, all festooned in golden armor with golden wings composed of either flesh, metal, or flame, and wielding various weapons. Guns, spears, swords, axes, and Bolters were either in their arms or holstered as they all stood at attention by the Golden Throne.

The Emperor seemed like he was still sleeping but his posture showed he was only resting. He awoke when they got close enough, revealing his burning gold eyes once more from his old skull.

"Hello, my chosen six." He spoke in that same grandfatherly tone, causing the six to bow before him, "It has been two years since you have arrived onto my palace, ready to combat the endless tides of Chaos. Your achievements of survival on the trials I have bequiffed you of show your abilities. You have survived the cold of Inwit, the flames of Nocturne, the hordes of Baal, the spiders of Murder, and the trials set by Sigismund and Tarvitz."

The six hid their expressions but some of them beamed with pride at the praise.

"However," The Emperor continued, "The Ruinous Powers are turning their gaze. They see the potential that I see in you. They will attempt to seduce you to their side, and if they do... Then I shudder to think of what may happen."

Everyone else, even the Saints, shudder at what may come if the Girls or Boys or both are seduced to the Forces of Chaos.

"In light of this, I will have to take matters into my own hands." The Emperor stated before his eyes then flared in golden radiance. Suddenly, a number of cables, gears, and mechanisms floated into the Throne Room before they then assembled in front of the Transhumans into six miniature thrones. "Sit on these thrones. I will give you each a minor shard of my soul. They should be able to protect you from the Chaos Gods."

The six were bewildered by the thrones as they all looked at each other, concerned as to what might happen once, they sat down, but they relented and slowly got to the thrones. As they all sat down, more cables emerged from the floor and connected with the thrones before the Living Saints put their hands on the cables, infusing it with their power.

"Wait." Boomer asked the Emperor, looking more than a little scared, "Will this hurt?"

"Only for a moment."

Before any of them could get anything out, infernal power surged through their veins. Warp fire saturated their blood and nerves flared with psychic lightning. The mouth and eyes blazed with gold light and their veins lit up like the sun, their backs arched, and their nerves seized at the power. It spanned for a second before everything became an eerie calm.

Their sight was filled with a path of shinning gold, their hearing filled with the choir of the universe, their touch feels like they could feel every detail of every blade of glass or speck of dust, their mouth was filled with tastes they couldn't describe, and they smelled the scent of the finest roses. Sights of things of what came before and will come, knowledge that was lost the flames of time, uncountable paths to uncountable futures, and the shining light of humanity's potential.

Then they saw four beings swimming in an unfathomable ocean: a green one of rot and decay, a blue one of change and deceit, a red one of rage and bloodshed, and a pink one of pain and pleasure. A few more entities: an amphibious thing that commanded the seas, a flaming blacksmith that crafts infernal things of blood and nightmares, a monstrous rodent with a horde of those like it leaving a path of pestilence, and a god sitting in darkness and destruction.

The entities were ever shifting, in tandem with the area around them, shaping and distorting to where they both brought comfort and terror. They saw a white female figure, amongst an impossibly and vacuous space, screaming as her essence dissolves into the churning ocean of malignancy. Her essence then blackened, burned, compressed, and warped until she became something that defied all sense, yet it still was.

"I SEE YOU!" The thing that was the woman roared as it opened a burning red maw and lunged at them.

The six ended their experience screaming as they reeled from the horrific experience as it ended, panting and dry heaving. Batman, Dee Dee, and the other Saints help them out of the thrones while they try to make sense of what they've seen.

"I know what you saw." The Emperor says almost empathetically, gaining their attention, "That is what I see when I peer into the Warp. This is what I have been fighting since I first began guiding humanity. Now you know the severity should we fail."

Whimpers came from the kid's lips as the Saints assisted them. Suddenly, an aura of warmth spread through their bodies, a thrilling feeling coursed through their veins, golden storms of fire blazed in their very souls for but a moment when it finally faded yet remained.

"It is done." The Emperor began, "The small shards of my soul have now been grafted onto your souls, and with it, you are imparted with a portion of my power. Use them wisely."

The six all looked awed before Buttercup whooped, "WHOO! WE CAN NOW KICK DAEMON ASS!"

"YEAH BABY!" Butch hi-fived her while the other whoop at this, even Brick let out a laugh while the Living Saints and Batman watched in amusement, and the Emperor's lips curled into the barest traces of a smile.

Butch simply breathed in as he and Buttercup sat on two platforms, overlooking the mountains of Fenris. They could see the wolves hunting, chests low to the snow lathered ground with their legs bent and lips drawn with drool-slicked fangs.

By the two was one of the Living Saints; a woman wearing ornate golden armor with flaming gold wings, her blood red hair was tied into a waist length ponytail while her green eye seemed to irradiate both strength and compassion. In her arms was a gleaming golden spear and circular shield bearing the aquila, tucked under her right arm was a helmet of ancient Greece.

"Look beyond the planet. Look with your soul, not your eyes. Feel the planet, feel those that came before and those that will come." The woman, Pyrrha Nikos, spoke to the two, her voice soft and motherly yet strong as a warrior should be.

Butch closed his eyes and breathed, as he felt the surrounding forces of Fenris; The water flowing fierce yet free. The earth moving, powerful yet passive. The wind blowing, unstoppable yet gentle. The flames burning, untouchable yet warm. Butch's power flowed though, as if the very planet was an extension of himself. The wind gathers, breezing softly, unfazed by the howling of the Wolf Daemons loyal to Fenris.

"He sees it." Pyrrha breathes, "Oh, he sees it."

Buttercup does the same, feeling her soul extending its limbs through the planet. Her breath even and steady as she feels her innermost rage sputter out and calm into a tranquil ocean rather than a raging sea.

This tranquility continued until both opened their eyes, revealing their irises brimming with green energy and the sclera radiant with golden flames. A golden aura pulsed from both as rocks levitate and the wind rages, a storm of blue lighting flares around them. Then the aura, rocks, wind, and storm mold around them into the shape of a massive wolf that raises its snout into the air.

It howled, the sound reaching into the skies of Fenris and across the landscape beyond. In an instant, a million more howls from the Space Wolves, the Wolf Spirits, and even Fenrisian Wolves themselves echoed throughout the world. All of the planet echoed in howls, as if Fenris itself was howling, calling for the legion of the Space Wolves to be reunited once more.

The wolf construct faded, revealing Butch and Buttercup, who both were panting from exhaustion.

"That... was... awesome..." Butch breathed as he took all that just happened in.

"Y-Yeah..." Buttercup agreed, rendered breathless by the experience.

"That was very good!" Pyrrha beamed happily, helping the two to their feet, "We will begin another session tomorrow. Get some rest and I'll see you later."

The two waved their thanks as a Shining Gate formed that lead them back to the Imperial Palace. They walked back that to those same golden halls they'd all grown accustomed to over the last 4 years before they got back to their rooms.

Butch sighed as he entered his room, got to the bathroom, and splashed some water on his face, before looking himself in the mirror. He was 16, stood 6 feet tall, 2 feet taller than after the first year here in the Imperial Palace, his hair was now bone straight and nearly reached his waist, and he'd gain more than a few battle-scars from a lot of his sessions of fighting.

Not that he was complaining; battle-scars attracted chicks.

He then snapped out of his thoughts and changed into a dark green long-sleeve shirt, black pants, black and green coat. Butch than got out of his room to see Buttercup waiting in the hall, leaning against the wall. She was also sixteen, had grown to at least 5.7 with her hair in a long ponytail with her bangs framing her face, wearing a light green tanktop, black pants, black shoes, and a black jacket.

Butch also realized that Buttercup had become rather... well-endowed in certain areas. He took a deep breath and forced it down as he leaned back against the wall with her, staring up into the ceiling.

"Hey," He started, gaining him a curious expression from her as she turned to him, "About all those years ago? Me being a huge asshole? I'm... sorry."

Buttercup sighed and waved it off, "It's cool. It was all those years ago. Doesn't matter now."

"Yeah, well, I still feel like an ass." Butch replied, leaning on the wall before a thought occurred to him, "Speaking of years, it seems time goes fuck all here, either it goes flying by or it slows to a crawl. Hell, one day felt like it lasted a few minutes while another felt like months. It's like... I don't know how to describe it."

She nodded. It may have been due to the fact that they were in the Warp, one part under the Emperor's influence but still. Buttercup could feel the outer reaches of the Chaos Gods' claws tightening, like needles piercing the skin that was the veil of reality. It still caused a cold feeling to settle in her bones.

"I-I don't know how to describe it either. The best I can say is better get used to it." Buttercup told him, not knowing what else to say.

Butch snorted before another thought came and he questioned her, "Hey, you ever think of Jack? Your teacher?"

Buttercup seemed surprised before a blush crept onto her cheeks, "Oh! Y-Yeah..." She played with her thumbs while trying to hide her embarrassment, "I think about him every day ever since we came here. I think the reason why no manifestations of him have appeared is due to the Emperor's presence or something. But... yeah, I care about him... a lot."

Her blush grew when Butch chuckled, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"What?! No, I'm not-" Buttercup shrieked only to falter when she realized from Butch's expression that he wouldn't be convinced by whatever she said, so she relented with a defeated sigh, "Y-Yeah... I'm in love with him."

"Well, I don't blame ya." Butch actually agreed with her, surprising his female companion, "He's handsome, he's wise, and above all else, he's a badass. Hell, I think he'd be able to throw down with one of the Primarchs."

Buttercup nodded, smiling and blushing at the memory of Jack defeating Commander Destruction effortlessly.

"But," Butch started, causing her smile to fade, "He's clearly into Agent Honeydew. And I know you'll be around his age when this ends but to him, I think he'd only see you as who you were before all this. That's not meant as an insult, I'm just saying that Honeydew and he seem happy, and you wouldn't want him to be unhappy, would you?"

She opened her mouth for a second but then closed it, ponderingly. What would happen if Sensei saw her like this? How would he react to her being as old as he was when she came here? Would she really try to intrude on something that actually made him happy?

"I... No, I want him to be happy." Buttercup decided, looking at her thumbs as she played with them.

Butch smiled and put his arm over her shoulder, surprising her but didn't resist as she leaned against him.

'Great, I'm bonding with one of the people I used to hate.' Butch mentally said as he rolled his eyes but didn't lose his smile, 'Of fucking course.'

Little did he know that Buttercup was thinking the same thing.

Brick roared as he blasted a Catachan Devil in half with his eyebeams. It shrieked in pain before its exoskeleton burst and its innards boiled, singed, and scorched until it was not but ash on the burned jungle ground. Hearing a yell, he turns to see Blossom using her heat vision to burn away a massive Brain Leaf that had its tentacles around her arm and leg. It screeched as it burned, releasing her while it flailed around in agony.

Blossom flew towards Brick as both watched the forest around them burn. It was a small section of the infinite jungles and forests of Catachan but it would regrow in time, just like all the tense and unfathomably deadly biome.

Panting, the two just stopped to catch their breath. They'd been fighting for since the minute they got here and that was 6 hours ago! The two never had a chance to catch their breath until they used their heat vision to burn sections of the forests so the many dangers of the planet could be held back.

Brick then turned to Blossom and asked incredulously, "How the fucking hell to people live here?!" He usually didn't swear and scolded his brothers when they did, something he shared with Blossom, but given that both were under quite a lot of stress from the 6 hours of constant fighting, they kinda needed to vent.

"I don't fucking know!" Blossom yelled, exhausted and exasperated from the stress of the experience.

Just as the fires were about to go out via a diverted river and the mad beasts of Catachan began to descend upon them, they managed to escape via a Shining Gate and Batman, who grasped them by the shoulders and pull them back. The Gate closed just as a massive Catachan Devil charged towards them with a mighty roar.

Brick and Blossom collapsed onto the floor in a coughing and panting fit as Batman and Estalius watched, before the former looked up to the latter two.

"Why didn't you tell me Catachan was that fucking dangerous?!" He yelled, exhausted by the experience.

"I did, but you didn't listen." Estalius deadpanned before mimicking Brick, "You were all like; 'I can handle a jungle.' And I said, 'Catachan isn't a normal jungle planet.' And you responded with, 'It doesn't matter. I've handled worse.'" He then returned to his normal, albeit annoyed, voice, "Well, isn't it a dick in the mouth to be wrong?"

Brick open and closed his mouth indignantly, but Blossom interjected, "He's got a point." He gritted his teeth but relented as Batman offered a hand up which the former took.

Brick was now 6.1 ft., his hair was recently cut to chin length with his bangs parted at the forehead, his face was that of a blemishless 17-year-old except for a scar that vertically ran down from his hairline through his right eyelid and to his jaw. He wore black form-fitting power armor with red highlights and an aquila on the chest.

Blossom was now 5.7 with her hair tied in a ponytail, and she was rather attractive as she had the same blemishless face as the other transhumans gathered in the Imperial Palace. She was festooned in power armor as that of a Sister of Battle's except hers had pink details

The two were admittedly humbled by this experience and vowed to try and not overestimate themselves. The Emperor dismissed them to their quarters and wanted to talk to Batman about something, so that was that for the two at the time being. Brick and Blossom decided to just to look around the Imperial Palace, just because the latter wanted to look at Sebastian Thor's copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus. Something that the Emperor said was bugging her.

After treading through the halls of the gold glided halls of the Palace that lead to the main church of Terra, they managed to find it in the monastery in a tightly locked and decorated box. It was an old yet surprising clean tome that seemed like its pages were made from gold with the scriptures written in onyx dust.

Blossom skimmed through the book until she came to the section she was looking for; the last stand of Saint Ollanius Pius.

"There is an old quote from a Terran philosopher whose name has long since been lost to the sands of time; 'Even when all you have is a stone, with the will to resist there is hope.' No lesser man exemplifies this quote than Saint Ollanius, the mortal that stood between the God-Emperor and the Arch-Traitor." Blossom started reading from the Lectitio Divinitatus, much to Brick's admitted interest as he leaned in to read with her, "During the Siege of Terra, the vilest Horus Lupercal was on the verge of defeat; the angels of the Ultramarines, Space Wolves, and the Dark Angels were on their way to Holy Terra to slay the Traitors that had plagued its most sacred lands. In utter desperation, Horus invited the Emperor to a battle aboard The Spirt of Vengeance."

The illustration showed a panorama of a vast throne room, most likely that of a battleship, colored with reds, blacks, and curious golds. On the margins of the illustration, in the shadows of the room were a legion of black armored beings, who's few visible faces were contorted with hideous expressions, mixing hate, cruelty and fanaticism. But these beings, though wicked enough in appearance, which would have made any regular person shudder at the black suggestions of the insignias they wore upon their armor, were not the main focus. For in the foreground, upon the marble steps leading to the onyx throne, were three illustrations which were unmistakable to all those assembled.

The furthest right, with its golden armor, flaming power-sword, and the Anatolian features of the face, was obviously the Emperor. The second was quite clearly dead, but even death could not mar the features of the noble lord of the ninth, and the cause of the brave son's death was not hard to see, for it stood with one titanic foot planted upon his breastplate. The thing that stood atop Sanguinius' lifeless form was a gigantic demoniacal thing not to be imagined save in the most surreal and blasphemous of nightmares. An immense ink-black apparition, with snake like armor that war festooned with human skulls, and having in it's left fist an immense mace, which was unmistakably Worldbreaker. And in the features of that devil made manifest upon the material plane, were the eerie echoes of Horus Lupercal's own visage.

Brick shivered at the image; sure, the Emperor told and showed them a lot of images of Chaos corruption, but this just made him sick. Blossom seemed equally sickened by what happened to Horus but kept reading.

"The Emperor accepted the challenge and He, Sanguinius, Rogal Dorn, a number of Custodes, and a company of the Imperial Fists legion teleported to the Vengeful Spirit. However, the Warmaster, in his absolute cowardice, used his power to shatter them across his ship. Sanguinius was the first to encounter Horus, but the fifty-five days of continuous battle was fatiguing even the Angel and the Warmaster spitefully slayed the brother that he once had a near unbreakable bond with just as the Emperor found them. Despite His vast and unmatched power, the Emperor was nearly defeated by His fallen son, who had made a deal with the Dark Gods for unfathomable amounts of power and the Emperor's own compassion for His favorite son held Him back."

The next page showed a minimalist illusion of something that stunned both of them; a simple man with his back facing them, dressed in a trench coat that resembled an aviator coat of the first and second World War, dirty trousers, knee-high boots, and a white shirt stood atop a heap of Space Marine corpses with his Lasgun pointed at the enemy. The enemy being Lupercal himself, Talon raised to strike yet the man didn't yield.

"When all seemed lost, a stowaway stood in front of the Arch-Traitor. A simple guardsman, equipped with nothing but a Lasgun, stood between Lupercal and the Emperor. At first, the Arch-Traitor laughed, incredulous that a mere mortal would stand in the way of his victory, but his mirth turned to anger when this mortal, Saint Ollanius, didn't yield even at the prospect of dying at his hands if it meant that the Emperor lived. Horus killed him in a single strike with his Talon but his sacrificed did not go unavenged as the Emperor, touched and reinvigorated by Ollanius' bravery, stood despite his injuries and struck down Horus, shattering the Arch-Traitor's soul and ending the Horus Heresy."

Blossom and Brick looked at each other, stunned that a simple man was brave enough to stand in the way of Horus as he was about to claim victory. The utter balls that he must have had was impressive.

It was then that Blossom noticed a poem under the passage.

Somewhere in the universe, a coin flip lands on its side. Somewhere in the universe, a drop of water saves a life. Somewhere in the universe, a pebble stops a landslide.

Maybe it is because someone believed hard enough. Maybe it is because everything is secretly fair. Maybe it is because the universe is a vast place.

Yesterday, I was very cold. Yesterday, I was very hungry. Yesterday, I wanted to run away.

But not today. Today, I am going to believe hard enough. Today, a pebble will stop a landslide.

Today... I am not going anywhere.

"Impressive, no?"

The two turned to see an aweing sight, a man with black combed back hair, a handsome face, and fiery blue eyes. He wore the same outfit as they saw in the illustration, but it was wreath in gold light with the same corona and halo of gold. He had a humble smile as he walked up, picked up the Lectitio Divinitatus from Blossom's hands and placed it back into the chest. He then looked back at the two with that same humble smile.

To this day, Blossom and Brick deny fainting in his presence.

Bubbles breathed in, sitting in a lotus position. She was now 18 with her hair to her waist and tied into two loose ponytails, a curvaceous figure festooned in Sororitas Power Armor with blue details.

In her head, she was channeling the feelings that came to her like breathing, kindness, compassion, and empathy. They breathed through her like it was her, the power coursing through her veins like blood, her breath steady even as she became saturated with her own energy and that of the Warp's.

By her was a man in the same ornate golden armor as the other Living Saints but his was more advanced looking with his wings seemingly made of hard light that shimmered and gleamed. His face was almost as beautiful as Fulgrim's or Sanguinius', though more inclined to the former given his silver locks. He wielded a large golden hammer that both resembled the legendary Forgebreaker and yet seemed like a weapon from the Dark Age of Technology as he used it with a fluidity that seemed utterly impossible.

This is Robert Bumaro; the leader of the Church of the Broken God, who turned to the Emperor as he came to their universe, just as the Sarkites turned to the Ruinous Powers.

A sky-blue orb formed in front of her, beginning small but steadily growing. Warp lightning flared from her skin and the orb slowly spiraled away, swaying like an unpliable thing draining away. Her eyes opened, revealing nothing but whiteness as gold lightning followed forth.

Then, a yell rang from her throat as Bubbles cocked back her arm before throwing a punch that collided with the orb, sending it spearing through space. It deformed under its own velocity, coiling into a shape akin to a lance until it collided with a statue of Fulgrim. It swirled inward before it detonated, rending the statue to ashes and sending waves of destruction throughout the abandoned world of Chemos.

She let out breath as she fell to her knees, exhausted by the output of energy she used in that blast, before getting back on her feet and gave a petulant and excitable grin.

"YEAH!" Bubbles cheered, with her arms in the air, "SUCK IT, YOU SILVER HAIRED PRICK!" She paused for a second before sheepishly turning to Bumaro, "Haha. No offense, Bumaro."

The leader of the Church only gave an amused smile, "It is alright." He then creates a Shining Gate by slamming the bottom of his hammer onto the ground. They both entered the Gate back to the Palace.

Suddenly, a peculiar sight was caught in her vision as she looked back on Chemos before they returned; a small child-like figure with long night-black hair that flowed through unseen winds, crouching in a reef boat drifting through the invisible currents of the Warp. It was in the sky, above the clouds of ash and burnt-out chemical deposits buried below before being upturned by the mines.

Bubbles blinked and the boy was gone, wiped clean from the smoke lathered skies. She shook it from her thoughts as they entered the Shining Gate that led them back to the Imperial Palace.

The Shining Gates were nothing less than a godsent. According to Bumaro, the Gates were created through the same technology as the Warp Drive and the Gellar Fields but in a different conjecture; A tear leading to the Warp would be opened but the Gellar Field would act in the same manner as the Webway, more like a tunnel though the Warp. Another hole would open in the location in the materium while the Imperial Palace acted as a hub of sorts. Despite this, they could only transport a handful of individuals at a time so they can't be used to transfer Space Marine chapters (much less legions).

Aside from that, the Emperor taught them all about the Imperium when they reached age 18. They didn't find any of them boring because of how much it shocked them to their very souls. Apparently, that quote that he'd told them was true.

"If you let me put my thumb on the utilitarian scales, I can get you to agree that you have an affirmative moral duty to torture a three-year-old child to death."

She wished from the very bottom of her heart that that quote came from some zealous fuckwit, but unfortunately no; it came from someone who was one of the saner Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus. The Imperium is, without a doubt, the bloodiest, totalitarian, despotic, bureaucratic, xenophobic, and Orwellian nightmare of a regime in human history. Yet it was only when the Emperor went into detail that all the necessary evils came to light.

Hatred of Aliens? The Orks only want to fight until the heat-death of the universe, the Dark Eldar are quite literally the most sadistic species in the galaxy, the Craftworld Eldar would rather have humanity burn than even breath the same air as us, the Necrons are soulless automatons that have no concept of mercy, and don't even get her freaking started with the Tyranids. The Tau were better, but Chaos could sink their teeth into new ideas. Hatred of Mutants? A lot of them are either hostile or will prey on the normal people.

Use of Servitors? If they used advanced AIs like the Men of Iron, they'd have a fuck load more robot apocalypses. Fear of Innovation? Chaos would immediately try to take advantage of the new technology and even then, it has an alarming history of causing even more problems for the Imperium. Unless you're Cawl. Hatred of Psykers? Untrained Psykers can accidentally summon swathes of daemons and some of only worlds that survived the Age of Strife were the ones that actively hunted down and killed all the Psykers they could find. Many Inquisitors being kill-happy bastards? Chaos is just that bad. Inquisitors becoming Radicals like Kryptman? Their jobs are just that awful and sometimes the cruelest choice is their only one to keep the Imperium afloat.

Hell, even the Imperium's even worse parts made sense when the Emperor taught them all about it.

The Inquisitors have infinite power because they have infinite responsibility. What are the lives of a handful of people or billions when the survival of humanity is at stake?

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism? It's not like you can emigrate anywhere. Unless you manage to get to the Tau Empire or the Eye of Terror.

Disdain for the recognition of Human Rights? It's actually necessary to prevent Chaos intrusions from appearing everywhere.

Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a Unifying Cause? It's pretty easy when the scapegoats are constantly spitting acid on the front door.

Supremacy of the Military? War is everywhere, and failure means the deaths of billions or even trillions. The military is all that stands between humanity and chaotic oblivion. But unlike other fascist regimes, it's not over glorified.

Control of Mass Media? She's learnt a few things from the Emperor that should probably be kept buried. Under at least several million tons of reinforced ceramite and Adamantium. With several Cyclonic Torpedoes ready to go off if Chaos tries to get their hands on them.

Intertwinement with government and religion? Not only is the worship of the Emperor justified, but it's also needed to keep the Astronomicon alit. Without it, a second Age of Strife would come and desolate the Imperium.

Obsession with crime and punishment? When your crimes can summon daemons or desolate entire systems, the state is justified to be interested in them.

As much as she wanted to say that the Imperium were the bad guys (and they would be anywhere else), but in this universe? They're the only reason humanity hasn't collapsed into either extinction or subservience to either Chaos or the Xenos. She was surprised a second Age of Strife hasn't happened because of the Maw of Annihilation.

The Imperium is the bureaucratic nightmare it is in order to avoid infernal strife and Chaos intrusion. However, when the Emperor told them about the Horus Heresy and its effects on the galaxy, it suddenly became clear that this was a good thing.

As one of the Living Saints imparted on her, "In the grim dark future, war is peace."

Bubbles was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard some walking towards her. In that moment, she found that she had walked to one of the gardens of the Palace and was sitting alone at night. She turned to her left to see Dee Dee walking towards her.

She appeared to have aged to a 20 year old but still had her gold blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes with her wings seeming made of pearls. She was clad in the same gold and white dress as when they first saw her all those years ago, though it seemed to have been altered into more like robes. Dee still had the bands on her arms and legs and the rings on her wrists.

"Hey, Bubbles." Deandra started as she sat down, her voice like silk and melodic like a song, "I've been meaning to talk with you for a while. How have you been adjusting to life in the Imperium?"

Bubbles smiled softly, "It's been fine; been getting used to all the responsibilities. The Emperor's got the weirdest set of chores I've ever seen. Aside from showing us the tithe of Psykers needed to keep the Astronomicon alit, other tasks he had us do include wading through the Palace's sewers to purge all the fungi and psychic monsters with the Custodes and Sisters of Silence, helping the Shadowkeepers guard the Dark Cells, and working in some of the factorums for a day or two. Brutal, but kinda fun." She scratched her head sheepishly as she laughed a little, wondering how fucked up she must be to enjoy those things.

"Yeah, the Imperial Palace is nothing if not fortified and well protected. Rogal Dorn saw to that." Dee laughed before remembering something, "Oh, by the way; If you ever speak to Dorn, don't use any metaphors or figures of speech. They all fly over his head."

She nodded to this, remembering what the Emperor told them about how Dorn took everything literally.

"Besides that, I've been worried about how all the things that the Emperor told you might... warp your views." Dee Dee expressed her actual concerns to Bubbles, who blinked in confusion, "I mean that I'm just worried all of the negative aspects of the Imperium have rubbed off on you and your sisters."

Bubbles 'oh'ed in understanding before she revealed her feeling, "Well... The truth is that; while I hate the Mutants and Xenos here, back home, I don't. Superman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, and every other superhero are either Mutants or a Xenos. But they fight for humanity and would rather die than see it perish. I understand what humanity has gone through in this universe but in ours, they fight for us. As for Chaos..." She paused before she sighed and had a saddened expression, "If they're too far gone, we won't have a choice. I just pray those that fell under the God's sway will find peace."

Dee Dee nodded as she gained a similar saddened expression as she put her arm around Bubbles for comfort.

Bubbles sighed as she shook herself out of those thoughts. She missed those times when it was just them beating up bad guys, but she'd come to accept that those times were over and gone. All she and her sisters could do was move on and hope that things would get better after the Emperor does his master plan that defeats Chaos, whatever it was.

Boomer gritted his teeth as he held up the leg of an Imperator-class Titan with one arm, sweating streaming through his pores and strain spreading through his muscles with the soles of his feet digging into the ground.

"How long have I been holding this?!" He shouted to the Emperor and Batman, who were watching his progress in this trial.

The Emperor looked at a stopwatch before shouting back, "Almost 3 minutes! Just seven more minutes, Boomer! You're doing great!"

Boomer moaned miserably.

After the 7 minutes, Boomer collapsed after the Emperor used his powers to keep the leg up as the former got out from under before the leg stepped down. He wheezed and panted but not really as long as last time.

Batman supported him when he saw that he was too tired to stand, while the Emperor noted that he was improving but they still had 3 years to go. The Caped Crusader watched the boy as they walked back to the Palace as they did these in one of the fields of Terra.

"Hey, Bruce?" Boomer got the Dark Knight's attention, as he inquired using his real name, "What have you been doing these pass 7 years?"

Batman looked at the transhuman with the same stoic expression, "The Emperor and I have been planning contingencies for certain... scenarios I suppose you could put it." He then paused and asked, "Speaking of the Emperor, what do you think about him?"

"Well... And don't think I'm being a brainwashed slave..." Boomer mutter before almost declaring, as if it was the only thing in his life that mattered, "I'd follow him to the end of the universe. And the others feel the same way."

The Dark Knight only 'hmphed', "It's not that much of a surprise. The Emperor is quite charismatic, and the fact that he is your mentor figure for the past 7 years, meaning that you and the others have likely imprinted onto him. Granted, he is the leader of the Imperium. If he wasn't beloved, the Imperium would have collapsed before it even left Terra."

Boomer nodded, the Emperor had very much left an impact onto them. How couldn't he? He was what they have seen and been following for since the opening of the Maw. The Emperor, despite his odd sense of humor and his snarky and rude attitude, genuinely wanted the best for humanity. His traitor sons and the heretics on the other hand... While he could understand why half of the Primarchs betrayed the Emperor, daddy issues did nothing to justify the atrocities that all of them had unleashed onto the galaxy and the multiverse.

He kept wondering about how they were going to defeat the Gods, but if he knew one thing; the Emperor's an asshole, but he's also an asshole who know what he's doing.

Seeing him daydream slightly, Batman snapped him out of his thoughts, "I've had many meetings with the Emperor who says he has a way to ensure that we can get his plans for his Blackstone Array ready in time. We simply need to stall any Chaos intrusions for the time being."

"Then let's hope that he can pull that trick in time." Boomer commented as they both got to the front steps of the Imperial Palace.

From the warped realms, the Gods haul.

The voice was calming, a polymerization of sweetened milk and alluring fragrance. It was akin to swimming in chocolate, one anyone else would happily drown in, unable to part with its presence.

From the old lands, The Old Ones crawl.

Blossom found herself walking through the ruins of Megaville; the streets nothing but shards of asphalt, he buildings and homes ravaged with one block after another sporting nothing but gutted, smashed buildings that stand at bizarre angles. The ruined streets ran red with the blood of all with the bodies of the slain or defiled festering in the rubble.

The new lands, the Gods now claim.

The sky was burning with red, pink, blue, and green. Faces were either too few or too many human or inhuman features shown between the dark clouds, horrors not to be described waiting beyond.

The lives before end in blame.

In the uncountable heaps of corpses, sat the bodies of Buttercup, Bubbles, Brick, Butch, and Boomer. It was then that she saw that the bodies of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter were among the heaps.

The blue one controls, the green one teaches.

Blossom steps away from the heap, eyes wide and hands to her mouth in horror. A wind pushes against her hair like a lover's hand. She turned around only for her sight to grasp something that she wished she hadn't.

The purple one desires, the red one reaches.

It was the Emperor; beaten and bloody, screaming into the sky, sword drawn and ablaze with golden flames. Four tendrils of purple, green, blue, and red descended from the sky but he slashed at them, rending them to ash. He raised his sword higher, flames near white in an attempt to match his fury and the things nearly seemed to retreat into the skies.

The treasured brothers, alive or dead.

18 figures surround the Emperor; a knight in black armor, an artist with gleaming silver hair, a builder clad in the armor of a destroyer, a hunter swifter as a flash of white, a barbarian wreathed in the hides of wolves, a stalwart defender with an unbending will, a seeker of justice hunting in the shadows of night, an angel drenched in blood, a builder with hands of iron, a savage set out to devour worlds, a leader in blue armor with a white emblem, a cloaked reaper wielding a silver scythe, a red single eyed giant with ethereal sigils appearing and disappearing around him, a monster clad in black with red eyes decorating all around, a preacher with purity seals etched into his skin, a forger with charcoal skin and burning red eyes, a hunter in the dark with a raven at his side, and a figure clad in green blue scaled armor whos face shifted constantly.

Together, they stand now again.

One by one, the half that stayed in the light drew their weapons against those that fell to the dark.

Move your pieces with care and claim.

Both sides charge and leap towards each other, intending to strike one another down. The Emperor slumped down, using his sword to support himself as the things above smile at his torment.

To them, this is a game.

Blossom screamed as she catapulted from her bed, causing the others to wake up and to join in on the screaming until they all calmed down. They all panted from the force of their screams before their annoyed gazes locked onto a sheepish Blossom.

"OH, COME ON!" Butch yelled angerly, sick of Blossom's horrific nightmare epidemic, "THAT'S THE FIFTH TIME TONIGHT!"

She meekly apologized, almost burying her face into the covers.

They had been sent to Baal in one of the penultimate trials, where they had to get to the Fortress Monastery but the Emperor had ordered them to go on foot as to not relay too much on their powers. As such, when night fell, they had to build their own campfire, shelter, gather their own supplies, hunt their own meals, and someone would have to take watch. So far, everything went swimmingly, but then Blossom kept waking all of them up due to nightmares that randomly popped into her head. Blossom herself didn't know where these nightmares were coming from, as she rarely had them at all since, they came to the Palace.

"Look," Bubbles suggested to her sister, the irony of how the roles had been reversed was not lost on her, "If you cannot sleep, can you at least take watch?"

Blossom sighed, ashamed of the nightmares that were plaguing her, "Alright, I'll take watch."

The other sighed in relief at the prospect of finally getting some sleep, while Blossom grabbed her custom-made bolter and sat outside of the shelter. Still confused as to what's happening to her.

She tried desperately to conceive the reason for the dreams that were plaguing her but she was unable to. Sighing in defeat, Blossom leaned back against the rock that she was sitting by with her bolter in her arms. Her thoughts were interrupted when Butch sat next to her, seemingly grumpy but didn't say anything as he leaned back on the rock.

"...Can't sleep?" She asked.

Butch said nothing but just shook his head. The two just sat in silence for the rest of the night.

Next morning, the four in the tent manage to wake up after getting at least 6 hours of sleep. Buttercup and Brick got out first before Boomer and Bubbles came out as well. Just as they came out, they saw a peculiar sight.

Blossom and Butch were laying back against the stone, promptly out cold. The former was snoozing peacefully while the latter snored loudly with drool flowing down his bearded face.

The four all look at each other before smiling and letting them sleep. Brick and Boomer went hunting while Buttercup and Bubbles gathered all the supplies needed to continue their journey to the Fortress Monastery of the Blood Angel's. But they decided to wait for Blossom and Butch to wake up. In the meanwhile, they just talked.

"Fuck, dude." Buttercup muttered as she looked at the desert horizon of the planet, "Without flying, it seems like we have been on Baal for months."

"We've only been here 2 days." Boomer deadpanned.

"I know!" She exclaimed, throwing up her hands and let them fall to her sides.

Bubbles sighed as she stood up and looked over the horizon with her sister, "Well, just be glad we haven't been ambushed by any mutants. If it stays that way, we should be able to get to the Fortress Monastery in a few days." A blush then spread across her cheeks as she whispered so silently that only Buttercup could hear her mutter, "Then we can see all the... iconography of Sanguinius."

Buttercup nodded in understanding as she remembered her and Butch's reactions to seeing that portrait of Sanguinius.

The two eighteen year olds had entranced stares at a painting of Sanguinius during the Siege of Terra, flying above the traitors and daemon with the Spear of Telesto ready to smite the ones who threated the Imperium. Azkaellon was speaking to them on something however, Buttercup and Butch were so entranced by the beauty of Sanguinius that they were frozen in dumbstruck awe at the Primarch's beauty.

'Mustn't... look... directly... at... face...' Buttercup struggled to break free of the trance that the portrait put her in, 'So... beautiful...'

'Eyes below the neckline, Butch...' Butch tried to move his eyes away from the portrait, 'Eyes below the neckline. EYES BELOW THE NECKLINE!'

Buttercup shook the thoughts out as the sounds of Blossom and Butch groaning as they woke up filled her ears. The two got their shit together and the band of Transhumans continued their trek across the deadly plains of Baal.

None of them knew where they had started was at least a quarter of their journey to the Fortress Monastery, yet it was surprisingly peaceful. They encountered a mutant warband or two a while ago, but other than that, Baal was unusually tranquil. It gave them time to actually admire the scenery of the planet, warts and all. It was home to vast plains that stretched beyond what even their eyes could behold, material formations in mesmerizing patterns while they could only wonder what was occurring on Baal Prime and Secundus.

A faint crackling pricked her eardrums. Buttercup turned to see a mutant trudging towards her; Its epidermis pitch black with several red eyes lining its limbs, a blank featureless face that seemed to pulse like a heartbeat. Suddenly, its skin split open in several places as several phallic tentacles slithered out of its muscles, flailing and spurting red mucus.

It screeched and charged at Buttercup, only for her to fire her heat vision without her even batting an eye. The beam hit the mutant directly in the chest before it was reduced to gore that splattered onto the ground. Buttercup only 'hmphed' in satisfaction with a smile before she and the others continued their journey to the Fortress Monastery.

3 DAYS LATER...

The group all heaved in utter exhaustion. Brick and Butch could barely stand while Boomer, Buttercup, and Bubbles all collapsed onto the sand. Blossom was only able to keep standing by holding onto Brick, who himself was nearly collapsing in exhaustion.

"Okay..." Brick stopped to catch his breath before speaking in between pants, "I think... this is it..."

"How..." Buttercup asked in between pants, "Can you... tell?"

"Because... there it is." Brick pointed in front of him.

In front of him was a massive fortress that was intrinsically built on top of a ever spanning desert; mosaics of Sanguinius lined the monastery windows, towers expelled torrents of foul-smelling smoke from the inner cremators of the fortress, a sea of malnourished and dirt slathered people wade through the entrance, and the various Blood Angels Astartes placed around, ever vigilant and ever ready for slaughter.

The two Blood Angels guarding the front entrance seemed to notice them as they stepped aside. Buttercup and Butch kept their heads down so they wouldn't be entranced by the beauty of Sanguinius while the others just looked forwards, ignoring the beautiful iconography.

It was 30 minutes later when they arrived at their destination; the Tomb of Sanguinus.

The tomb was as beautiful as what could be expected by the Emperor's favored son: the walls composed of gold lined with scriptures telling of the Angel of Baal's achievements and victories, gold and ruby decorations of ecstatic beauty that captured the iconography of his sons and their sacrifices for the Imperium, wreaths of flowers, jewels, and weapons displayed around in religious reverence. Mosaics depicting the Siege of Terra and the Primarch's final fight with the Arch Traitor were displayed around the tomb akin to a church, twin Sanguinary Guard Astartes stand at the entrance, and chalices of gold filled with red wine.

But the centerpiece was the body of Sanguinius.

It was incased in a glass coffin lined with gold and ruby, the bedding was of rose petals that held the corpse gently like it was in a mother's arms, and the armor was as pristine as it was ten thousand years ago. The corpse of the Angel was untouched to the rot of time, his golden locks still clean and pure, the skin a color as if blood still seemingly flowed through the veins and muscles.

The six Transhumans are both awed and saddened by the sight of the Angel's corpse, as if one that they had loved with all their heart had been ripped away. It was akin to seeing a brother dead. The thought that Horus willing slayed his brother all for his ambitions made their already absolute disgust and hatred for the Arch-Traitor skyrocket to unfathomable levels.

The successor chapters of the Blood Angels arrived for the anniversary of their beloved father's sacrifice; The Sanguinary Brotherhood, the Angels Encarmine, the Angels Excelsis, the Angels Glorious, the Angels Numinous, the Angels Penitent, the Angels Resplendent, the Angels Sanguine, the Angels Vermillion, the Angels of Light, the Atlantian Spears, the Blood Dragons, the Blood Drinkers, the Blood Legion, the Blood Scythes, the Blood Swords, the Blood Wings, the Brothers of Jarad, the Brothers of the Red, the Burning Bloods, the Carmine Blades, the Charnel Guard, the Crimson Legion, the Crimson Swords, the Cruor Blades, the Death Wardens, the Disciples of Blood, the Exsanguinators, the Flesh Eaters, the Flesh Tearers, the Golden Sons, the Knights of Blood, the Knights of the Chalice, the Knights Sanguine, the Lamenters, the Red Knights, Red Wings, Sable Brotherhood, Sable Knights, Sanguine Host, Scions of Sanguinius, Sons of Sanguinius, and Templars of Blood.

The Chapter Masters lead the way for the ceremony; Dante of the Blood Angels with his Librarian Mesphiston, Malakim Phoros of the Lamenters, and Gabriel Seth of the Flesh Tearers.

It was almost several hours yet none of the squad of six had grown bored. Perhaps it was their conditioning, their reverence to the Angel of Baal, or perhaps the will of the Imperium has become an intrinsically part of them that they'd kill themselves if they grew bored at a ceremony involving one of the Primarchs. After the speech given by Dante, one that description could give no justice, he abruptly asked for Brick to give a speech.

Brick, and quite a few others, were surprised, but he humbly accepted as he stood up from his seat and walked to the golden podium while Dante stepped down and stood aside as he took to the stage. Brick had to steel his nerves and force his voice not to sound meek or nervous as he began.

"I do not know what to say. To be here, to speak the Angel's sons... It is an honor beyond my worth. " Brick started, lips curled in before he continues, making up his speech as he goes along through his nervousness, "Though, to see the Angel of Baal, the one who slew a thousand hordes of daemons, the one who stood against the hated Angron and the more-so hated Ka'Bandha, to see him dead, is more painful than being shot with a Bolter. But it leaves me pondering; Is this our fate?"

The gathered seemed confused at the inquiry as he continued.

"To know, that the things beyond our universe were able to convince several of the Emperor's sons to turn against him." His voice was haunted and hollowed, "To know that they are beyond number and that they now spread to and preying on now over a thousand universes, is this our fate? To be rended to sunder and enslaved by the Ruinous Powers forever more?"

The Astartes and his friends all look at Brick in worry before his expression steeled with resolve and he shook his head in refusal.

"I say nay." Brick spoke with utter resolve and devotion as he unveils the faith that had been budding for the last ten years, "I refuse to believe it. I have to refuse, for the alternative is for me to simply give in the sheer scale of the foe we face. So, I must spit upon the Arch-Enemy and it's abominations." He then spoke like he was Sanguinius reborn in the flames of Strife, "Let them come. Let them taste Imperial Bolt. Let them perish under Imperial fire and steel. Let them test the resolve of the Imperium of Man and of all of humanity! For unlike the Arch-Traitor and his loathsome ilk, they will find that it can never be and will never be found wanting! "

Brick's voice reached a zenith, no longer a cold machine of the MIB but a warrior of burning will for the Imperium. He raised his clutched fist to the sky, yelling, "AVE IMPERATOR!"

"AVE IMPERATOR!" The rest of the audience raised their fists in reverence.

That was all that was needed to strengthen faith that was already as unbreakable as adamantium.

It was finally time.

Ten years of physical, mental, and spiritual conditioning. Ten years of fighting aliens, mutants, and heretics. Ten years of experiencing the utter vastness of the Imperium. And ten years of learning from the Emperor, their time in the Imperium was almost over.

"Well, here we are." The Emperor breathed out as he, Batman, Dee Dee and his chosen six stood atop a ledge that overlooked all of the Imperial Palace, "Time's almost up."

"Yeah..." Buttercup breathed, stumped that their time in the immaterium is almost at an end, "Hard to believe it's been ten years."

"We've seen so many things." Brick looked on as the Sun raised over the horizon Holy Terra.

"We've changed so much." Bubbles added, thinking about all that they'd experienced.

"And we've done so much." Blossom additionally added, arms crossed in thought.

Butch couldn't help but let a smile grace his lips, "I think the Justice League is gonna have some words with us and with the Big E when we get back. Maybe on our new views."

"I don't think the Professor is gonna like how the three of his kids changed." Boomer added while gazing at the sunrise.

The Powerpuff Girls all paused when he uttered those words; they hadn't thought about their 'father' for what felt like years. That and combined with the fact that they had trouble recalling what he looked like disturbed them. But since they were almost ready to go, they'd have plenty of time to make up for the lost time.

Buttercup sighed, "I've been thinking; What happens after we get back to the materium? What is the Justice League gonna think about us now? What is the Professor gonna think? What is everyone else we ever knew gonna think?"

"Well, as I recall; you agreed to this." The Emperor retorted, recalling the league's scruples, "But I think they'd be fine with it so long as you keep the Imperium's views to yourselves. And everything else I've told you."

Blossom blinked, "Wait; what do you mean?"

"I mean, every secret that I told you, every piece of knowledge that I've imparted, you must keep until the time is right." The Master of Mankind clarified to everyone gathered, "If we are to defeat Chaos, we must keep my plans secret so those whom the Ruinous Powers have enthralled will not intervene in them. As with my secrets, for the same reasons."

The six simply shrugged while Batman nodded. Dee Dee had a sad expression of the fact that they need to keep more secrets but knew the necessity. She just hoped that the League would understand. A pulse of white beated from the Sun before a wall of white began forming from the horizon. It grew and traveled across Terra, enveloping the Imperial Palace while nearing towards them. It was almost time.

"Let's hope that we can do enough to by time." The Master of Mankind finished as the wall of white drew closer. They nodded as they all joined the Emperor's side. Despite the oncoming wall of white consuming the Palace, they were not terrified. Instead, they were awed by the beauty of the wall and closed their eyes in acceptance except the Emperor and Batman.

"And let's just pray that Chaos hasn't taken advantage of our absence." The Emperor added in the last minute. *

Everyone laughed as the white enveloped them.

Back in the materium, the founding members of the Justice League minus Batman, Professor Utonium, Jenny and her mom, with Dr. Brisbaine and Weasel were all gathered around the Silver Thrones and the Mirror Vats, waiting as the timer for when they would return counted down to three minutes.

Utonium looked forlorn at seeing his girls all grown up as they floated in the vats while Brisbaine and Weasel seemed curious. The former had accepted that his girls agreed to this, but he was worried what the exposure to the Imperium might do to them. The heroes were, suffice to say, not happy with the fact that the Emperor had talked the six into this, especially given what he's said about the Imperium.

Suddenly, a timer went off, showing 6 zeros. The ten hours were up.

A second later, the vats hissed as the liquid drains, the six all slowly slumped onto the floors of the pod and the robotic arms removed the sensors. Then their eyes open and they all gasped loudly, forcing the long missed air into their waiting lungs before they all collapsed in a coughing fit. The light on the Silver Thrones fades as Batman and the Emperor stirred, the latter pulled the golden mask off his face and helped the former up from his throne. Both appeared drained and unsteady as Estalius seemed to have to force himself awake and Batman seemed slightly more slouched posture.

Utonium and the other heroes had helped the grown-up transhumans to their feet while Superman assisted Batman and Wonder Woman assisted the Emperor as they walked out of the room.

"I believe this requires some... words, Estalius," Wonder Woman growled to the Emperor, who didn't react as they walked out of the room.

After they had regained their strength, they were all moved to the control deck so the League could have some words with the Emperor. Suffice to say, everyone was shocked at the changes the six had gone through. Batman was standing on the sidelines while the Emperor was sitting on a collapsible chair alongside Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, Brick, Boomer, and Butch. The latter six were clothed in white tanktops and black warm up pants provided by the Watchtower's witness center.

After they got dressed, the founding members of the League decided that the Emperor needed to be reprimanded for his recklessness.

"So, let me see if I have this right..." Hawkgirl started before glaring hard at the Emperor, whom wasn't fazed, "You talked these six into ten years of physical and mental conditioning in some of the most dangerous planets in the Imperium? All while forcing them to labor in the Imperial Palace? And to top it off, you convinced Batman that this was necessary?"

"Something like that. Yes." The Emperor curtly replied, not bothering in sugercoating because he was so tired after using the Silver Throne for ten hours.

Wonder Woman's fist was stopped half a foot from Emps' face when she attempted to hit him, coating it in gold as she struggled to move her hand. Only when she relented did the gold aura fade.

"Are you quite finished?" Estalius deadpanned, tired of all this talk of scruples and whatnot. The others appeared to be getting irritated at the Emperor's attitude with Captain Marvel looking like he was ready to attack him as well.

"Look, E; I get it." Flash interjected, hoping not to escalate all this, "Like what you said, this has been done to millions of children for recruitment in the Imperium. But this isn't the Imperium. We have rules and this sort of thing isn't alright." At seeing the Emperor's nonplussed reaction, he clarified, "What I'm trying to say is that whatever plans you have next, you gotta run them by us from now on, okay?"

The Emperor sighed while rolling his eyes, "Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Guys, look." Buttercup spoke up after hearing all of the venom being spewed around, "We agreed to whatever the Emperor had planned for us. What we saw during our time in there... It made me agree to fight for the Emperor. It's the same with the others."

Her sisters and the brothers agreed with her, gaining them confused reactions from the heroes.

"It was necessary." Brick added in, as he stood up from his chair, "We've learned that we can't pull our punches when it comes to Chaos. We have to nib the bud before it can bloom into something that could result in the planet being in need of Cyclonic Torpedoes."

The heroes paused and looked at each other before they agreed to an extent, with Manhunter saying in a firm tone of command, "Fine. But the six of you are to tell us everything that the Emperor taught you. As for the Emperor, any of your future projects have to be approved by us. If you don't comply, you're off the Watchtower."

When he said that, the other five stood up alongside Brick, glaring at the league with Buttercup stating firmly, "We leave if he leaves." Everyone, including the Emperor, looked surprised at their defense of him, but seeing that they wouldn't take no for an answer, they were forced to relent but not before Wonder Woman grabbed the Emperor by the collar of his sweater, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

"You are treading on thin ice." Wonder Woman growled, not seeing the six glaring at her.

"I've treaded on thinner." The Emperor retorted, deadpan as he grabbed her hands and forced them off his shirt. They all leave, but some of the superheroes feel like this is not going to be the last time they'd have moral conflicts with the Emperor.

The six all got to the locker room an hour later when the Emperor gave them new clothes that he made using a fabricator. They put them on and finally managed to get a look at themselves now that they were back in the materium.

Buttercup was now 5.8 with her ebony hair tied in a long ponytail with her bangs framing her face. She was rather well endowed with an hourglass figure, her face was sharper and heart-shaped, and her eyes seemed slightly darker. Much to her disappointment, she didn't keep any of the scars that she had acquired during her time in the Warp. She was quite attractive as she wore an outfit that really articulated her figure; black pants, green shoes, and a green tanktop with a black skull design under a black hoodie that had a green variant of the Dark Angels' iconography on the back.

Blossom was now 5.9 with her ginger hair reaching her waist while her bangs framed her face. She had a slightly more modest figure than Buttercup's but was still well-endowed, her face was attractive for one her age with her eyes being a darker shade of pink. She wore black pants with a pink shirt under a red coat that the Imperial Fists' iconography on the back.

Bubbles was now 5.8 with her blonde hair reaching her shoulders. She was the most modest out of her sisters but still had an hourglass figure, her face was sharper and her blue eyes had grown a shade darker. She wore blue shoes, black pants with a sky blue shirt that had a black rose design with a black jacket with the Salamanders' iconography on the back.

Brick was 6.4 with all of his ginger hair tied in a ponytail that reached his waist. He had a muscular build better than a man his age, his face seemed sterner with a sharper jawline and a goatee, and his red eyes seemed to glow slightly. He wore black pants with a red long sleeve shirt under a red jacket that had the Blood Angels' iconography on the back.

The one that changed the most was Butch. He was 6.5 with his black hair reaching below his shoulders and a full beard on his stern and hardened face. He had a more muscular build than his brothers and like Buttercup, he was annoyed that none of the scars that he got during the decade he trained had carried over to the real world. He wore dark green and black combat boots, black pants with a dark green shirt with a flaming green skull under a jacket that had the Space Wolves iconography on the back.

Boomer was 6.3 with his blonde hair in a crew cut. He was a little bit leaner than Brick with his face softer than Butch's but was still hard, and his eyes slightly darker. He wore blue shoes, black pants with a dark blue shirt with an Aquila design under a black jacket with blue details and the White Scars' iconography on the back.

After they got dressed, the Emperor called them to one of the more secretive areas of the Watchtower. They exited the locker rooms and slowly made their way to the area that the Emperor ordered them to go, trying not to look suspicious to the heroes or the crew of the Watchtower. When they got there, it was a simple storage room, yet it didn't have any cameras or any of the crew around.

It wasn't perfect but it'll do.

The group descended the staircase and entered the storage area, where they saw the Emperor standing with Batman. The former had changed his outfit to where he was wearing white pants, a black long sleeve shirt with gold colored tie under a gold-colored vest, black shoes, and a new lab coat. The latter was still in his usual costume.

The six all stood at attention when the Emperor came near, who nodded in approval. He and Batman had their commanding presence on full display as the former grace them with his decrees.

"Thank you for coming." The Emperor greeted them, "To get to business; because of the League, I am forced to do my more... unethical experiments in secret. As such, I need you all to ensure that no information of my experiments gets out. Aside from that, Chaos is gonna try to influence the League thanks to this incident but again, it was necessary."

"But remember; we must keep the tide of Chaos back at all costs until we complete my work." The Emperor commanded, "Because I've imparted a small portion of my power to all of you, you're immune to Chaos corruption and can remove and sense it to an extend but the others aren't and can't. So, if any of the people around you show signs of Chaotic corruption, use my power to cure them or, if they're too far gone, kill them."

The six nods in obedience.

"To give you an edge, Dexter and I will create Power Armor for you." He continued, which definitely caught their interest, "It'll be more advanced than any Power Armor that the Imperium has ever created. I'm not gonna say what it'll be though."

"Then why say say so?"

"Because I want to." The Emperor shot back with a smug smirk.

The six rolled their eyes, having grown used to this kind of humor from the Emperor.

"But until then if the League asks about your experiences during the ten years, don't say anything about my secrets. Batman and I don't trust them with this information." The Emperor changed his tone to a more serious tone with Batman agreeing, "We need to have the League focused on the physical threats of Chaos while we continue as planned."

They nodded before his expression softened as he continued, "But, for now, just talk to your friends and family. You guys must be aching to see them again. Since Chaos didn't take advantage like I'd expect, I'd say we earned some rest."

Everyone that had gathered nodded with a smile, at least they could rest after ten years of hard labor. They departed to rest and see what happened during the ten hours they were gone. The other heroes and their friends were gonna freak when they saw them as adults.

Unknown to all of them, a cockroach that possessed a blue carapace with golden etching and glowing eyes attached to long tentacles was watching the entire conversation from a vent. When they left, the tentacles retracted into its body before it scurried away to parts unknown.

The Daemon World of La'Magra

Sitting on a silver and impossibly beautifully decorated throne was a Daemon Prince of Slaanesh; her lower half was that of a serpent's clad in an impervious organic armor of purple carapace-like plates with a golden blade at the end, her upper half being clad in the same plates yet lined with gold and had the appearance of an impossibly beautifully woman with dark purple hair that reached her chin and curled horns facing upward. The last feature was the pair of purple feathered wings that rest on her back.

This is Azula, the Mistress of Perfection.

Azula smiled as she leaned against her decorated silver throne on her Daemon World. So far, according to Zim, their plan was coming along finely, but with the Emperor arriving to the world of the Justice League, the plans have changed.

Not that she was miffed, mind you. It just gave her more time to indulge in her own pleasures.

Steps pricked her ears as she turned her head to see Gaz walking towards her. The girl had changed quite a bit since she'd been allowed to enter the Warp; firstly, she was now a shapely 18-year-old with her cubic purple hair having become bone straight as it reached to her shoulders, her irises had become purple with black sclera, a common mutation with the Slaaneshi. She was dressed in a purple, gold, and black leather uniform with no sleeves and elbow length fingerless black leather gloves with purple studded bands, knee high boots with black pants. Her outfit was asymmetrical, one section was a different color or different style yet was still appealing to herself.

"Ah, Gaz." Azula purred as her aspirant came to her throne, "Are you ready?"

She nodded as a sadistic grin.

Azula grinned back. It had been 5 years for Gaz ever since she'd entered the Warp, during the first two days all she did was play her Game Slave. After that, she grew bored with it and began exploring other pleasures. The same as everyone else that fell under Slaanesh's wing, Gaz turned ever inwards, indulging in whatever she wanted, however she wanted, whenever she wanted. At first, it was different tastes or smells, then more pleasing sights, then the drugs and pleasant feelings entangled like the rest of them forever more. She soon abandoned her Game Slave entirely, mostly because it was possessed by a Daemonette.

Ever since, she treaded down the same path Azula did all those centuries ago, but that mattered not as they now had all the time they wanted.

Azula's aspirant walked to a ritual circle on the open floor of the atrium with several people bounded and gagged in razor wire, sitting down cross-legged with her eyes closed. Her lips then began uttering blasphemous words as the circle began to illuminate. Azula got off her throne and slithered near the ritual of her aspirant, for once in interest.

She continued to issue the blasphemous words from her lips as the area seemed to grow darker, the air thicker like a stilling malaise, and a feeling of pleasantness crawled up the spines of those bound in wire. The sacrifices all seized in both agony and bliss, eyes rolling into the back of their skulls, and blood spewing from their wounds. They seized in a final surge of pleasure before they fell face-forwards on the ritual circle, blood flowing into the circle.

Moments after, a shadow of something flailed above her; an androgynous figure with twin pairs of arms, pincers in place like two hands, hooves in place of feet, flawless flowing hair, and curled horns on the head.

Tendrils of pink lashed from her soul and onto the shadow, wrangling the struggling daemon down into Gaz's very being, entrapped and bound with her to do as she wills. Gaz felt nothing but utter rapture as the Keeper of Secrets' power surged through her veins, her eyes blazed pink while Warp lighting of the same color flared around her in pulses of blissful essence. The thing inside her illuminated her veins as she breathed out a pink mist.

Suddenly, Gaz's entire body shifted, clothing and flesh melting away, twisting, blurring, and somehow sinking into the rest of her body. A moment later, she stood with her hide a shade of grey, darkening to purple at the ends of her larger set of arms and by her knees. She had to crouch and lean forward to stand comfortable in the open courtroom despite her increased size and wingspan.

Her body became laden with muscle beneath her hardened flesh, sexual characteristics vanishing into a body designed only for combat. Bony plating covered her face completely, the edges of the helmet forming ridges below her chin and up the sides of her face, meeting in a point behind it. Jagged slits in the surface revealed a pink bioluminescence beneath that seemed to function as eyes, the same light showing in the webbing of her four bat-like wings.

Her smaller pair of arms, almost small enough to be human sizes, intertwined their fingers across her stomach as she stood on legs that were reduced to bony, gapped structures near the feet. Even crouching, she was near six feet tall.

"Intriguing..." Azula hummed to herself, in interest.

Gaz then slowly returned to her human form though her clothes now consisted of a leather top and black loincloth as she falls to her knees, barely able to stand from the feelings roiling inside. Gaz managed to crawl to the side of Azula's throne before she fell unconscious, her back against the right arm of the throne that was decorated with copulating figures. Unseen to her but seen to her mistress, the Mark of Slaanesh on her arm blazed like pink flames as runes of pleasure began forming all around her skin.

Before she could give further interest, the purr of a motorcycle caught Azula's ear. She turned her serpentine body to the entrance of her palace; a black Assault Bike decorated in skulls, weapons, and Slaaneshi sigils, with a daemonic aesthetic, the wheels black with purple radiant details. Speakers blasting Daemon Rape (more unpopularly known as Slaaneshi Rock N Roll) were lined with golden faces, pikes with skulls, and exhausts emitted purple smoke at that smelled strangely pleasant.

The one riding it was ever more intimidating; a large yet lanky man clad in a black leather uniform that concealed every part of his body, lined with belts, spikes, and studs, polymerized with a black duster. Adorned on his head was a helmet resembling a skull with two forward facing horns and twin white streaks resembling gashes running from the back of the head to the jaw.**

A pleased purr issued from Azula's lips combined to a pleased smile, "Doomrider." The name of the one she summoned before Gaz came.

"Lady Azula." Issued a deep and garbled filtered voice from the Slaaneshi Cyclist as he got off of his Assault Bike, the tone doing nothing to hide the snark laced within. "How may I repay thee for allowing me to enter your most graceful presence?***"

Azula grinned at her ego being stroked despite his smarminess before she flipped her flawless hair and purred in her voice that would have seduced any non-Slaaneshi to her dark and thirsting will, "Doomrider, I am here to ask a favor. And I promise, it'll be worth your time."

Doomrider's expression was hidden from sight due to his mask, but the fact that he was still in her presence signified that he was interested. Grinning, Azula extended her hand as it produced a ball of pink flames before it dispersed to reveal a device resembling a backpack. It was composed of three large canisters, the right one containing a green fluid, the center one containing a red fluid, and the left one containing a brown fluid, all connected by large metal pipes and red rubber tubing to a larger skull.

"No way." Doomrider breathed in amazement as he took the device into his hands, "A Commorite Stimm-Rack?!"

"The same as Lucius the Eternal's. Loaded with same drugs as well." Azula grinned as she knew this would get her a favor from him, "So, what do you say?" She offered in a sweet voice, "I give you this and you do me a favor."

She could feel the grin from under Doomrider's mask, "I'm listening."

Azula let an ear-to-ear grin spread across her face.

And that's all for now folks!

To give voices for the adult Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys: Blossom is voiced by Laura Baily, Bubbles is voiced by Tara Strong, and Buttercup is voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Brick is voiced by Crispin Freeman, Boomer is voiced by Roger Craig Smith, Butch is voiced by Troy Baker.

I promise that I made the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys adults for a reason, but I want it to be a secret for now.

Also, say hello to the new Doomrider! After some time of thinking, listening to a bunch of music videos, and rewatching the Speed Racer live action film (which I think is absolutely fantastic), I decided I not only want to add Doomrider but also want to create a new one. Don't worry the original Doomrider will appear but later.

One last thing; each chapter is gonna be like an episode of a cartoon, like how Iron117Prime writes a fic. So, it'll feel more like a cartoon series that way, because I find it more satisfying to write like this. And its structure is a kin to a semi anthology; there are chapters that don't follow the cast and are meant to build the world and Chaos' effect on it.

*Fun fact: I was originally going to have Chaos attack the Watchtower while the Emperor, Batman, the Powerpuff Girls, and the Rowdyruff Boys were out of commission, but I decided to cut it due to writer's block. I had an inkling on how to write it in at first put I couldn't find a way for it to fit naturally.

**Think of the Batman Who Laughs' uniform with studded and spiked gloves and the black version of Ichigo's Vasto Lorde mask.

***Cobra Commander's voice from GI Joe Retaliation.

Anyway, see ya in chapter 4, folks!

And to the Guest that wrote all those numerous and long ass reviews; I just wanna say thanks as not only did they give me new ideas and material, but they were really fun to read.