Recovery
Combing his unruly hair felt strange.
Nor was the idea of making himself look 'good' in general. Posed by decades of literally having one of the heaviest responsibilities any man would hold as a burden, trying to make oneself attractive or acceptable felt alien.
He had no illusions of being a handsome individual, nor did he consider himself actively attractive both in personality and form for he didn't have such trivial thoughts back then. He didn't aspire beyond being a self-proclaimed savior or a complicated, albeit flawed silver bullet against an enemy mankind was incapable of defeating.
Values instilled in him warped him into something tragic. A legacy that he was not able to complete and an objective that was no longer feasible.
W: Everything okay?
He stared at the notification ping from his phone after wiping his face from a short wash. The sink received droplets of those dews as he came face to face with his reflection. In all likelihood, he didn't like seeing his face. From the thinning hair and morbidly calloused expression, he felt as if memories of a time long before seemingly tried to snatch him back.
A time when he could barely even shave, eat, or even shit for himself.
A time when purpose and meaning were absent, and what made him cling day to day was the hope that his ailments were a sign that he could be something else beyond his limitations. A painful thought that kept him coming, no, limping on in a body that was its own form of purgatory.
Those reminders still stick on his face, his presence, and his demeanor.
This is why sometimes, he felt as if wearing the mask was its own positive dissociation. An identity separate from himself that he always wished to come back to so that he would never see the frail man underneath.
W: You're being depressed again, aren't you? Come on… dad. You're better than that.
The annoying ping of another notification made him frown. Groaning in discomfort he looked at himself again. Wearing a pricey suit that he would not bother to buy at all if not for this occasion and some other trinkets that would make him… acceptable.
Why in the world was he bothering to humor this little charade?
He was at worst, his most painfully honest and brutal critic and he did not like what he was seeing. He looked ugly, stupidly plain, and out of place in this pathetic excuse of dressing up. His parents, at least what he could remember of them, always told him that beauty was beyond that of looks. Yet given how he lived his life in a miserable state of work without finding the time to even humor such prospects, nor did he expect to in the first place, he found those words of encouragement… idiotic.
Pointless, probably as well.
W: You have a wonderful voice, Dad. Always remember that. You could make people feel scared just by speaking in a room. You were pretty cool like that.
He huffed at that message as he picked his phone up and began typing.
D: And pray tell, how does that help me with my current situation?
W: Oh, by quite a lot actually… but the main goal tonight is just to have fun.
Groaning again, he pocketed his phone, wishing to silence the device but he knew it was pointless. She was relentless if need be and after… the event took place, she was now carefully overprotective of him. Miserably so in his case…
"Ugh. Fucking hate this."
…but he had no choice but to utterly go with it. Especially when what was on the line.
Still, it erred him to no end looking at himself at how much he had fallen from grace, personally, with all of these stupid antics.
Living a more mentally healthy, happy life? Sure, why not?
If he were a normal person to begin with, anyway…
W: And rightfully so… Dad. If anything, I want you to be happy. I'm already jealous I can't do much on my end and A is already having fun with hers, so… just do me a favor and just try. I assure you that you won't regret it.
How she could make phone messages have italics to stress some words still felt bizarre to him. Least of all how they were connected. A fact that he was shocked to learn he could not sob or even mourn for. His friends may have been part of the reason why he was more stable today, but given even Keith was no longer with them, they were much more down to their own devices nowadays.
In Rebecca's and Clark's case, they were a lot closer than before.
Which is why now he was in this situation. All because he was the one person in the group who needed something normal in his life and to have something alternative to cling to other than the 'greater purpose' thrust upon his shoulders.
He was no longer the Titan Atlas it seemed, holding the world on his back (at least it was no longer the case for the most part). He was now merely Prometheus, forced to watch the aftermath of his pointless struggle, admitting to himself that any of his efforts were… for naught.
Well at the very least everybody wasn't dead.
And all of his existential crises were just the result of him not adapting to anything 'normal in the first place. Maybe it was that.
Or maybe, he was just an idiot for even doing this.
W: Oh God, Dad stop with the neurotic self-deprecation. Just admit it that you're nervous over something as simple as a date. You can fight cosmic horrors night and day but you're seemingly hard-pressed to walk out of the bathroom and get to the restaurant to meet a girl.
Fuck her, sincerely, fuck her.
Groaning for probably the last time that night, the man specifically known as the Strongest Hero of Planet Earth looked at himself in the mirror and took out the bouquet of flowers he was to bring and tried... tried to smile.
W: See? You're a natural.
He looked ridiculous.
It was nearing an hour as he sat at his table in what this world calls its most prestigious formal restaurant chain around the world. Mostly because of the good food apparently and because according to Clark, they were owned by an 'Underworld Boss whose secret identity is a world-class chef'. The NEPEA act didn't exist here, so things like that despite it being blatantly obvious were legal even in North America.
The infamous GDA was much more lenient than it used to be.
Whatever information was briefed to him by his friends, it seemed that it wasn't totally necessary to initiate protocols as tight as Cauldron had once enacted on Earth Bet here given the threats that seemed, relatively minor to what they once dealt.
Still, it felt odd looking at how cape life and normal life blended nearly seamlessly here with little fear or concern for anything majorly threatening to the civilian population. Oh, there were major threats that existed here. Some were very murderous compared to the more prominent 'gimmick villains' who focused more on being a nuisance to heroes compared to being nefarious and legitimately malicious by nature.
The protectors were no slouch either, their highs were consistent with what the best the Protectorate once offered and in some cases were on Rebecca's level or more, but they lacked a certain hard-pressed quality that kept most of the unruly supervillain folk in check.
The Triumvirate and Protectorate were never perfect in achieving the same as well, yes, but any one of them gave a certain depth of intimidation that forced some people to act nicely on the principle of alerting their ire.
Only one hero in this world seemed to give off that aura, and it was the alien.
No, not the harmless extraterrestrial in this world's equivalent of the Triumvirate, but the solo, one-man mission individual that was this Omni Man.
"…" he paused as he looked around the busy restaurant. Wishing to take his thoughts elsewhere as he saw people of various kinds enjoying their nights. From couples to families, it seemed the energy was much merrier than his current situation.
Looking at his watch he noticed that it now struck the one-hour mark.
He had not eaten yet for he was still waiting for his date but found himself… lonely.
He continued to stare at the closest couple beside his table who were flirting like mad with each other, his enhanced perceptions and senses occupying one of the slots made him quickly realize that the two were exuding a degree of pheromones that would probably lead to a wild night in the sheets.
"Hm." He hummed as he thought about that last word. He looked away from the couple as he saw the empty chair across him and the lonely flowers sitting awkwardly in her chair because he had no knowledge of proper etiquette in interactions such as this.
There was no need to back then…
But seeing the smiles, faces, and joy that seemed to make this night something to remember for most people here, he found himself overwhelmed with a sense of longing. He frowned as he looked at his watch and towards the empty seat before him.
A bottle of wine was placed on his left that was nearly finished and a glass that was half-full.
He realized that he had been drinking alone all this time while waiters awkwardly looked at him as they passed by noticing that he was in fact… alone, for the rest of the night.
His date had not arrived, nor did it seem like she would ever come at all.
It left David with a sense of shock to his senses as after all his musings about his own worries, affairs, and focus when pressed into something as simple as a date, he found himself strangely disappointed. Not in himself, mind you… but for the fact that this was his first time…
…and nobody came.
Much as he wished to deny it, it ragged on him as he continued to stare at his watch and heavily sighed. Anxious thoughts started drifting into his mind again as the usually chatty companion he had who frequently messaged him on the phone was silent for the whole thing.
Glancing at the couple again and their pearl-white smiles, he imagined himself in that position. Not because he yearned for it, but… because after forcing himself to watch nearly every person that he knew around him became a lot lighter, calmer, and happier while he continued as is felt oddly lonely and hollow.
He had once sacrificed his own happiness to save the world, yet now when he tried to find some degree of happiness for himself, he was left with nothing.
He wasn't a stickler for love, that's for sure, but perhaps wishing for normal, human interaction outside of his friends was something he needed to fix his neurotic, anxious self.
"Excuse me…" he said to the closest waiter after placing money on the table.
Or perhaps it wasn't meant to be for his case.
Flying across the emptier parts of the Houston plains, David lamented on his own silence.
He hovered himself over one of the larger rock formations and sat on it as he watched in the distance the lights of the closest city. Where city folk lived on with their own mundane lives, peacefully getting by day to day with little to no issue while he was here, thinking.
Thinking of what better things to do in order to distract him from his own thoughts.
His companion had not sent anything back yet, he figured that they were-
W: I hope you enjoy tonight, Dad. Try not to make it awkward.
D: The hell do you mean by that? Nobody came.
W: Hm? Is that what you really think?
He was about to text back when a gust of wind almost near-instantaneously manifested behind him by a few meters and through his enhanced perception and senses a silhouette of a woman formed in his head.
Instantly, his mood became sour.
D: You have got to be fucking kidding me.
W: ;p
"Warrior. I hear you are this world's champion. It's mightiest, as the words amongst the stars say… so rejoice! The Viltrum Empire commends you. Our peacekeeping Imperium sent me to welcome you to the fold. Your feats are worthy and steadfastly remarkable to become one with our-
David flew away, not even giving a shit or facing her entirely.
Much to his expectation he felt her becoming appalled and insulted at his actions.
With her flight speed, she seemingly appeared in front of him.
"Halt! You will stop this instant. I come in a measure of peace! And you spat in my face as if I were insignificant. Have you no shame?" she said.
He looked at her through his mask. Adorned in mostly white attire, hugging her admittedly well-maintained female form and sporting a face that looked beautiful, if not dangerous… David felt unimpressed. After seeing so much in your life, something as beautiful as a human-looking Amazon who can fly, and punch stuff was abysmally low on the scale of things he would find himself being impressed with.
Ignoring her again he grunted as he flew around her, increasing his speed slightly until she angrily grabbed his cape. Prompting him to stop.
"Foolish human! You are facing a Viltrumite! The most powerful species in the universe. Far lesser people would wish to be in my presence just to take one look at me, yet you ignore me as if I wasn't there."
He turned to her, still silent, and sighed. Seeing that she caught his attention she smirked and let go of his cape, placing both hands on her hips as she proudly introduced herself.
"I am known as Anissa. One of the champions of my homeworld Viltrum. Protector of a dozen planets. A legend in many of them. As an impromptu ambassador between our two species. I wish to meet the man who this world praises with such intensity for both his prowess and power." She amicably said as she offered him her hand.
He stared at it.
"And I should care… why specifically?"
He saw her eye twitch. Oh, he wanted this night to end already.
"No… I'm taking back what I said, forgive me… but you're literally the sixteenth being from another world that's done this song and dance to challenge me because of my moniker and I'm here to ask you specifically if you're worth my damn time."
Anissa rescinded her offered hand as her features turned into a silent, subtly angry frown.
She had been disrespected ever since she first arrived to greet him, and she would not let any of it continue. David on the other hand, merely turned away in annoyance as she curled a fist.
Without warning, at least to her perspective she drove a fist with enough strength to destroy a small mountain towards his head but was left with a surprise when David's second slot activated.
"WHAT?!"
Anissa's fist drove through the back of David's head but instead of splattering it like any other worthless being in the Universe, reality seemed to bend across her arm as space warped around it comically like David's head became clay.
She was never able to pierce through the anomalous field of reality her fist drove into and was met with another esoteric, completely shocking effect to the Viltrumite.
The space around her arm vibrated as her body absorbed it all until…
FRAKA-THOOOOOOOMMMM!
She exploded away and was forced through the rock formation below them and shattered into a rather large destructive crater that if they weren't in the emptier parts of Houston, they could have broken a town or two just from the impact.
Dust and a cloud of smoke rose through the air as David hovered over a shocked Anissa who had a trickle of blood drip from the side of her lips.
David's second slot was a reactive space-time anomaly covering his form that could refract and redirect any sort of energy or attack right back at the assailant trying anything against him. Given the energy and power behind one punch that she had conjured, the refracting effect against her was returned at her twofold.
He readied his fists as they glowed green, his main slot humming within his head as he watched Anissa smile back in glee while wiping her lips of the blood there.
All the while one text message was on David's phone.
W: I told you; you'd enjoy your night.
"Fancy looking place. Tech looks fairly more advanced than anything I've seen so I'm a bit surprised this was hidden so long. Least of all from my eyes." Cecil admitted as he looked around the place, they stepped into from the strange rectangular portal earlier.
His escort, the three Guardians of the Globe members similarly shared his thoughts.
Alexandria, the mysterious helmeted woman that took the world by storm continued to give off a very mysterious neutral tone towards her guests as what part of her face was revealed to them left little to any sort of read that any of the four could muster.
Even Cecil quickly determined that the woman was trained in the art of keeping things close to the chest. The kind of talent that he knew was rare, even in his field given that she was not exuding any sort of cues that would give him the necessary info to discern her at a glance.
"It should be. The world should never know of this place, or of the reality of its construction." The woman finally said, putting the heroes with a degree of concern but merely raising an eyebrow in Cecil's case.
"Any reason for that?" War Woman probed.
The two heroines shared glances at each other as Alexandria was about to speak until a golden glow of energy passed through the guests as if scanning them, and then another voice joined the fray to answer that question.
"Security reasons for the most part… and no, please don't mind her. She takes everything way too seriously. We're all friends here. Allies even. We're just doing everything we can to make it absolutely certain that whatever we have here… doesn't endanger the world we're all here to protect."
Cecil instantly recognized the man. Hero, he foolishly called himself. The Golden-armored man used extensive technology that was indiscernible even to his analysts. It was like there was a pre-emptive black box to his creations and it frustrated him and Donald to no end.
"Wait… you said, 'you don't wish to spill whatever you have here to our world'… what the hell does that mean?" Dark Wing asked.
The golden projectors above ceased their lights as Hero's face turned serious.
"To make it simple to you guys, we're no longer on Earth. At the very least, the version of Earth you call as home."
AN: Yay. More friends and another girl gets to HALP.