The Z Fighters React To Death Battle! (Take 2)

by SkorchNTorch

(Adopted from JLyman) After a mysterious being gives a series of videos to Bulma, the Z Fighters were left with the option to watch every, single one. What did they do? You guessed it! Join the Z Fighters, and maybe a few others, as they watch one of the greatest web series of all time! Rated M for... you already know.

47. Goku vs Superman (Part Two)

"So, what makes this 'Superman' so interesting that he was worth pitting against Goku?" Cui asked, taking a sip from his drink.

"Well, the dude's been around for almost one hundred years, and has been in hundreds of thousands of comics, I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually in the millions…" Skorch groaned, having come down from their first bender and was now cracking open another bottle of rum to start their next one.

SUPERMAN

"My son was in the bus. He saw what Clark did." A woman's voice spoke. Everyone wanted to know who 'Clark' was, and what he had done, but considering this was the first line in the intro, no one commented. Goku, however, could barely sit still at the prospect of someone so powerful that their 'rivalry' had become the stuff of LEGENDS.

(*Cues: Smallville Score - Trials*)

"Kal-El was born to a high-class scientist family on the planet Krypton. His father, Jor-El was a member of Krypton's Science Council and his mother, Lara Lor-Van, or Van-El, depending on the continuity, was either a member of the labor corps or a member of a powerful military family." Wiz explained as the planet of Krypton was shown.

"Doesn't sound too much like the Sayians." Goku commented. Then again, he knew pretty well from these Death Battles that you shouldn't be too quick to come to conclusions.

"As a newborn, Kal-El narrowly escaped the cataclysmic event which would destroy his home planet of Krypton. Be it a black hole, a meteor, the planet's sun going supernova, a killer A.I., parts of the planet being stolen by a maniacal alien super genius, or the planet being heavily scarred by a war, to a point where the planet was left a cold, sterile planet, it makes no difference. For one reason or another, Krypton was destroyed." Wiz continued. The story of Superman sounding eerily familiar to a number of those watching.

"Sounds like what happened to your home planet, Dad!" Goten said, looking up to Goku, who nodded. He too saw the similarities, but didn't think much of it. He was more interested in who Superman was, and what he was capable of.

"This happened thanks to his father, Jor-El, who sent him to Earth with the goal of preserving human life. Or, perhaps he was sent so his kind would never truly go extinct. Again, there are different tellings of it. Either way, from infancy, Kal-El had a destiny none could imagine." Wiz re-stated his previous point and then added another point.

"Human, Sayian or Kryptonian, it all seems to end the same way. Their own success breeds their own downfall." Gowasu sighed, thinking to the past civilizations he'd bore witness too, and even the apprentice he'd failed to properly train.

"That or their arrogance is symptomatic of their inability to rule themselves without making things worse." Zamasu/Goku Black scoffed. "Mortals should be under the rule of someone who knows better, or they should be exterminated."

"Oh, like how you were handling things? How did that work out for you?" Kibito asked bluntly. The Ex-North Kai glared at him, but didn't have a response ready. Regardless, he had better things to think on.

Vegeta wasn't sure what to think thus far. Yes, this 'Superman' seemed to have a similar past to Kakarot, but after their homeworlds were destroyed, nothing about the two seemed similar. "Then again, they wouldn't have made such a big deal out of this unless they had a reason too…" Vegeta mentally muttered.

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders." A man, presumably (and correctly assumed to be Jor-El) spoke as he watched the pod containing his infant son fly off, away from the doomed planet. A single tear ran down his face as she mourned the loss of the Son he would not be able to raise. To the heroes, and even some of the deities watching, it was a surprisingly powerful sentiment.

Bardock thought back to when he'd lost Kakarot, how he'd sent him away with the intention of getting him back, or… or had he sent him off to conquer earth? His memory was concerningly hazy. Regardless, he thought back to that night, how he'd said little, as the Warrior had assumed he'd see his son again. Now, decades later, he realized that he hadn't really been a Father to him. Not in the way Gohan had been, or even in the way Goku was to his own kids.

"Well, that certainly sounds better than anything the Sayians ever had." Lord Beerus drawled. He looked to King Vegeta and added: "What was it your kind lived by? The strong lead, the weak serve or die?"

The King wanted to snap back, refusing to let an insult to his people go unchecked, but the fact that he would be challenging a Destroyer kept him back. Furthermore, and what angered him most, was that in comparison, from a 'moral' standpoint, there was little he could say. Aside from the indignity at the insult, he was more displeased at how weak the Kryptonians made themselves out to be. If they were so powerful that they could be seen as Gods to those on a planet like 'Earth' why wouldn't they show that? Why not use their skills and strengths to rule those who were beneath them?

"Seems like whoever destroyed Krypton actually did it right, only one survived." Cooler commented, looking at Frieza. "If only you were able to work with that level of efficiency, we may not be here right now."

"If you did that, then there probably wouldn't be a story for those in D-Zero to read and none of us might exist in the way we do." Piccolo spoke up, considering the world-changing ramifications of Cooler's comment.

"...I am not so blind to admit when I may have been wrong." Cooler confessed after a few moments of silence. "I retract what I said, although Frieza's failure still stands." He didn't understand how 'D-Zero' affected things - he didn't really care - but the idea that a change in history could prevent their creation was enough to get him to hold back on any plans for the moment.

"And you were able to do better, brother?" Frieza hissed. Cooler shrugged. Unbeknownst to him, many people believed he was able to put Goku on the ropes far easier than Frieza ever had.

"I mean, until you got that golden form, I think Cooler was a bit tricker to fight." Goku admitted, rubbing the back of his head with a laugh. This was not helping Frieza's confidence, and even Cooler and King Cold were surprised he'd so openly admit to such a thing.

"Well, what a coincidence… except for the whole saving human life thing. After landing on Earth, he was found and raised by the Kents, who decided to name him Clark. And weren't they surprised when they found out he was an alien with superpowers." Boomstick commented.

The night was quiet, the crickets were chirping and off in the distance, a dog could be heard barking. As a woman walked out to the front porch of her home, she looked around, as if something was amiss. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she took a seat in an aged, wooden chair and sighed. Taking a sip from her tea, she looked up to the stars and smiled slightly, seemingly content to relax in the cool summer night. She looked over as the door opened and a man who looked like the definition of 'An honest, hard working farmer' walked out an sat next to her.

"Well, all we can do now is wait to see how the weather treats us." The man commented with a sigh.

"Jon, you don't need to be so tense." The woman said with a smile. "It'll work out, things always do!" She spoke with a soft kindness, one that seemed to be both hopeful of an uncertain future and knowing of a successful one at the same time.

"I've never understood how you do it, Martha." Jon smiled back. "You always know how to say the right thing when I need to hear it."

"It's easier than you'd think." Martha teased, and Jon rolled his eyes. The two sat under the stars for a bit longer, quietly enjoying the silence until Martha spoke up again.

"I heard about my cousin, the one in North Dakota." She commented. "Apparently she had a real bad heart attack."

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that." Jon frowned. Martha nodded somberly. "She… did she have kids?" He added, trying to remember. Martha shook her head.

"No, and as wrong as this sounds, I'm thankful for that. I can't imagine the poor little ones going through that kind of loss, losing your whole world like that…" Martha sighed, shaking her head.

"That seems ironic." Someone muttered.

The silence returned, as the couple sat on the front porch, contemplating what would come next for them. Looking up, a shooting star seemed to fly overhead. As Martha pointed it out, they both noticed it seemed to be less a shooting star, and more a falling star. In the next few seconds, however, they quickly realized that whatever the light in the sky was, it was coming closer and closer.

Tearing through the sky, surrounded by fire was a large object, careening downwards and screaming across the starry silent sky. The Kents jumped to their feet, Jonathan pulling Martha behind him in case whatever this thing was decided to make a fatal mistake by threatening his wife.

Whatever the burning mass was, it soared overhead and continued downwards, slamming full-force into one of their fields and dragging itself along the ground. Dirt, grass, and crops torn and shredded, flying in all directions as the mass finally came to a stop, a ways away from the clearly rattled pair. The sound of creaking metal and moaning terra echoed throughout the silent farmyard, smoke and ashes rising into the air as things finally came to a tumultuous and eerie silence.

"Y'know, this almost seems like the opening to a horror movie." Krillin commented. Skorch sighed, knowing all the pathetic attempts there'd been to make 'horror' or 'deconstruction' of this archetype. Just about every single one of them had failed. Horribly. Especially the one by Garth.

"Jon, wait, we should call someone." Martha said nervously as the elder man approached the crash site with a shovel in case of something trying to attack them. Looking down into the small crater, he saw what looked like a metallic sphere, sleek and pristine despite falling from - presumably - space.

With an audible psssh… the capsule began to open, Jon raised the shovel preemptively, he wasn't a violent man, he didn't even own a gun, but he wasn't about to let something just get the drop on him.

"Jonathan?" Martha said softly, seeing her husband looking down in utter shock. "Jonathan, what is it?"

"It… it's a boy…" Jonathan said softly, looking down at the capsule. In the capsule was a little baby boy, wrapped in a small blanket. The boy slowly opened his eyes and garbled softly. Climbing down slowly, Jonathan picked up the small boy and carried him over to his wife.

"Well, I can see some similarities to how I found Goku." Grandpa Gohan commented, stroking his beard. The two stories did have many things similar, but he suspected that the two heroes would be as different as could be.

"So, were there any issues with adopting a kid who came presumably from outer space?" 17 asked aloud, despite knowing this was probably falling under 'comic logic' something was bugging him. "It's not like he was born on earth, so how does that work?"

"Mm. He wouldn't be considered a citizen, but at the same time might not be held to the laws that the rest of the world was forced to follow." Dr. Gero nodded.

"Does that mean we don't have to follow the laws?" Goten asked, somewhat hopefully.

"No, you were born here, so that makes you of Earth, so you're held to their laws." Tien spoke, and Goten deflated a bit in disappointment. "Plus, you really wanna go against her?" He nodded to Chi-Chi, who seemed a bit annoyed at being used like some sort of threat.

BACKGROUND

Alternate Identity: Joseph Clark Kent

Birth Name: Kal-El

Age: 39 ("He does NOT look thirty-nine!")

Height: 190.5 cm / 6'3"

Weight: 102 kg / 225 lbs.

First Appearance: Action Comics Vol. 1, #1, (June 1938)

Created By: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Race: Kryptonian

Considered "The First Superhero"

Married To Lois Lane

Pulitzer-Prize Winning Reporter For The Daily Planet

Defender Of Truth, Justice And The Innocent ("I can respect that." Toppo nodded, and the other Pride Warriors, Jirren included, agreed.)

"Stupid power-limiting brain!" Boomstick grumbled. "I bet mine is limiting the secret powers I have!"

"…nah." Everyone who up until this point had been watching Death Battle said in unison. Even those who had only seen this episode so far figured that wasn't the case.

"Hehehe! Boomstick with powers?" Zeno #1 laughed.

"Yeah! He'd never be able to do anything of use with them!" The other laughed as well.

"Boomstick, the only thing your brain is limiting is your ability to live, because of how much you DRINK." Wiz said, annoyed.

"This is why true power should never be granted to mortals." Frieza scoffed, disgusted. "They don't know what to do with it, and squander such potential."

"Unlike sentient sperms who get their asses kicked by untrained fighters who are more powerful than you could ever dream of being?" Mad Dawg asked.

"…you will die painfully for that remark."

"I've died like, seven times, do your worst shortstack." The comment made Frieza pause and then look at Skorch as if asking 'What is wrong with you.'

"After graduating college in two years and traveling the world as a secret superhero, Clark moved to the city ofMetropolisas an investigative reporter and donned the red and blue to publicly announce his presence as the Superman, defender of truth, justice and the American way! ...until he renounced his American citizenship."

"Welcome to the Planet, Clark." Lois said with a smirk. There was something ironic about that statement and it made a few watching smirk.

"This kinda reminds me of how Bulma and I met. Except she shot me." Goku commented, and Bulma sweat-dropped as everyone, and yes, this included EVERYONE, turned to look at her.

"HA!" Vegeta barked a laugh. He knew that to be true, but hearing it always gave him a good laugh. His wife was not only quick enough to get the drop on Kakarot but went for the takedown without a second thought. He respected her more each time he heard the story!

"A woman with a hatred for Sayians and a pension for violence, I knew there was something good about you…" Jamebya chuckled darkly. A few paused when they realized he was talking. But, they decided to leave well enough alone.

"You did what." Bardock asked, his voice low in utter disgust as he looked at Bulma. The Scientist felt a nervous sweat grab her, and Vegeta felt ready to deck Kakarot's father should he try anything.

"L-look, in my defense, I was like, eleven!" Bulma tried to protest, not realizing until after she'd said that how she'd probably just made everything worse.

"What? Bulma, I was twelve when I met you, and you're at least five years older than me!" Goku added, which caused Bulma to give Goku a look of absolute, burning hatred and fury.

"WHO GIVES A ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD A GUN!?" Mule exclaimed, popping out of his mechanical suit.

"I've had a gun since I was eight." Mad Dawg commented, a few of the angels looking from him to Skorch for an explanation. There was not one given.

"Yeah, bullets are annoying, and some of them can hurt, but they're not the worst things I've dealt with!" Goku nodded in confirmation. In response, Skorch shot Goku in the back of the head, knocking him over.

"SKORCH!"

"What is WRONG WITH YOU!?"

"Relax, I shot him with a glock, he couldn't have died from that." The skeleton commented. "I'm pretty sure Pilaf could survive a headshot with this thing." She paused, then added: "This is just how I greet Goku sometimes."

"Ow…" Goku grunted, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I know you're there, Skorch."

"Ooh! Is that how Watchers greet one another?" Zeno #1 asked curiously. A few looked to him nervously, hoping he wasn't considering making that his new greeting. Skorch was.

"After discovering his true heritage, Clark refused to accept his Kryptonian side. He subconsciously developed mental barriers that blocked him from attaining his full power, which he would work to uncover throughout the rest of his life."

"Pitiful." King Vegeta grunted. "You have the power to be a God among men, why not use it? What warrior would even flee from his power? His destiny? He should rise to rule this world, not serve it." Cabba considered what the old Sayian ruler was saying, but he wasn't sure he agreed with it. He looked to Vegeta, the younger one, who seemed equally conflicted.

"I still don't get how Kakarot ended up saving such a miserable world." Raditz growled. Sure, Raditz had become powerful, but at the cost of everything that made him a Sayian! His pride, his people, his family! Raditz may have been willing to lose two of those things, but his pride was something he would never surrender.

"Your arrogance is astounding…" Belmond muttered, just loudly enough that the King MIGHT be able to hear it, but it was unlikely the King would do a thing about it, especially in the presence of so many Destroyers.

"If it was Raditz who came to earth, then yeah, Earth wouldn't be around."

"Exactly!"

"Because there isn't a chance he'd be strong enough to stop those who threaten it." Roshi concluded. Raditz snapped his head towards the old man, but didn't know what to say in response.

"Mild-mannered Clark kept his identity a secret with the brilliant disguise of nerdy glasses and wimpy demeanor..."

Superman, as Clark Kent, opens a bottle of champagne, but proceeds to spill it.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He sputtered,

"This is who I'm fighting?" Goku asked, disappointed.

"That's such a waste of good booze!" Mule grumbled. In response, Skorch summoned a bottle and opened it, handing it to him. "My man."

"...proving that people only see what they want to believe." Boomstick finished, proving an interesting point, one which Goku had just validated.

"Oh, I get it!" Goku's eyes widened slightly as he realized what Clark was doing. A few looked over surprised, but also knew Goku well enough to know he wasn't acting here.

"Boomstick, that's surprisingly profound." Wiz commented, genuinely surprised.

"*burps* Since then, his power's been pretty inconsistent, mostly due to the writers doing whatever the hell they please… to a STUPID degree. Sneeze and destroy universes? Sure! Shoot rainbows which then have tiny Supermen come out? Yup! Super-Landscaping? I don't know what that is, but he has it and you're not going to question it!"

"I am." Goten muttered. "How is landscaping a super power? That's like… super… uh… tax calculations or something. I dunno."

"Stick to being a scholar, comedy isn't your strong suit." Yamcha commented, sincerely. Gohan wasn't offended, he knew it was true. Videl, however, was offended and glared a warning at the Ex-Bandit, who felt a cold sweat overtake him.

"And if this seems confusing, don't worry, we're just getting started! Like almost every comic publisher out there, and everyone who's ever written a story. Be they a credible author or some idiot writing fanfic, the authors didn't know what they were doing at first, and sorta just went with whatever the heck they wanted, only developing things into a more cohesive story later… even at the cost of the world they'd built." Boomstick continued.

"Hey Skorch-"

"Don't ask."

"Okay."

"But to understand how we got to where we are today, we've gotta go back to the past." Wiz added, hitting a button, sending thousands of comic covers flashing across the screen, each one seeming to go back in terms of the detailed art style. "So, the origin of Superman began nearly one hundred years ago… back in 1932, two men would meet, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster." Wiz explained as the images of two men were shown. "Both born to Jewish families, Jerry would be born American, while Joe would actually be born Canadian."

"So, the greatest American Hero… is actually Canadian?" Boomstick asked.

"Not really, but hey. Kinda." Wiz laughed. "Anyhow. The two met at Glenville High School, and would become fast friends. Siegel was an aspiring writer and Shuster often illustrated these stories."

"Hm, makes sense. One of them has strengths where the other lacks, seems like a good partnership." Piccolo commented with a nod. "The one who makes our story, does he have a system like that?"

"Nah, typically they have one person, the manga-ka write and draw the whole thing. But recently they brought an artist named Toyotarou in to draw what Toriyama wrote." Skorch groaned from where he was floating.

"That… does not sound healthy."

"But with Superman, there's been… well, I'd say a rough estimate would be somewhere in'th'thousands'a people who wrote and drew fer his stories." Duke added with a nod.

"I'm not sure which of those is better." Hercule frowned. "On the one hand, you have the creator's vision, but on the other, you don't subject them to isolation and the negative effects of that…"

"Wait, so I could just be away from everyone and get paid to do so?" Piccolo asked. "Skorch, why didn't you tell me that was an option?"

"I offered you the position as the Guardian of the Dragon Balls, but you didn't want it." Mr. Popo spoke up, raising a fair point.

"Yeah, because I wouldn't get paid."

"What use do you have for money, anyways?"

"Hrgh. Fair point."

"There were some… growing pains." Wiz coughed awkwardly. "From making Superman a villain originally, as well as making him a balding hobo who got his powers who was tricked by an evil scientist into taking experimental drugs which granted him his powers."

"They're joking."

"Nope."

"But-"

"Nope."

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"What kind of cretin would be stupid enough to take drugs without provocation?!"

"He looks like he would." King Cold muttered, nodding to Mad Dawg. Dawg looked back, but said nothing.

"In time, the two would end up trying something new; making him likable." Boomstick added. Plus with the rise in pulp comics at the time, they would try giving him powers, and so on. Some revisions made him from Earth, but from the future where people had simply evolved to have powers. Other revisions and designs gave him features more akin to carnival strongmen and classical heroes." As he spoke, different drawings of Superman passed by, each one seemed different than the last, some looking like they could be a very early version of Superman, and some that looked like they were better off being left where they were.

"This is… oddly intriguing." Vados commented, finding herself invested in the story of these two mortals. It seemed like they had passion, but didn't realize how successful they'd be.

"Agreed. I don't know why, but I want these two random people to succeed."

"I believe they are warriors in their own right, using pencil and ink in place of swords and Ki, but delivering a message of hope and peace just the same, even if they don't see it." Sour commented with a smile, happy to see mortals able to spread a powerful message without the need of force or might.

"Similar to how the one who makes the comic based on our world does."

"Now, there was a LOT of back and forth between Jerry, Joe and some others, until eventually they'd find their break with with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz, who - and for time's sake we have to compress some stuff - recently opened a joint venture known as 'Detective Comics', or 'DC Comics' as it would later become known. In which they published another little-known comic called 'Detective Comics' which didn't really have any impact on pop culture as we know it. and definitely didn't lead to the introduction of anyone recognizable. Just some character known as 'The Bat-Man'. But I doubt that's important." Wiz added, showing the evolution of the 'DC Comics' logo, ranging from a simple black-and-white logo marked '1940-1942, to the bright blue logo used in '2016-Onwards'.

"Oh yeah! These are the guys who published Batman!" Lil' Trunks exclaimed.

"Who?"

"Another warrior on this show. Apparently in other worlds he's one of the most recognizable characters that's ever existed." Vegeta commented. "He's a mere mortal, but… rgh, I guess he does have skill." He conceded begrudgingly.

"Weren't they also behind Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, and Deathstroke?" Krillin asked, and Gohan nodded. Out of curiosity, he'd been keeping track of any major 'names' across the Death Battles, such as DC, Marvel, Nintendo, Sega, and so on.

"I miss the 2005 one. That one had personality." Skorch muttered, thoughtfully.

"The duo's revised version of Superman appeared in the first issue of Action Comics, which was published on April 18, 1938. The issue was a huge success thanks to Superman's story. From there… well, we'd be lying if we said it was smooth sailing. From a mess of legal issues concerning payment, to ownership, the price of fame is often one people don't understand the hidden costs of."

"Agreed. In some ways, that is similar to the powers of a Destroyer. You have so much, and yet its easy to lose control, or lose sight of what you need to do with it." Liquiir nodded.

"Ho boy, that can be a nightmare of a minefield to deal with." Hercule winced. "When yer a personality, it's easier. I was able to get a good deal going where I get a cut of everything, regardless a'what it is, but makin' a comic character like that? Just seems trickier."

"And that's before you end up questioning if it's parody, fair use or any of that."

"Yup." The Wrestler nodded. "Sometimes it's easier to just accept the loss and let someone make a rip-off of what you're doing, rather than drag em' to court and try to hash it out that way. Plus, if you lose, it's bad for business."

"And wouldn't they be getting notoriety regardless because of you acknowledging it?"

"Exactly."

"…ugh, we have to explain Crisis on Infinite Earths now, don't we?" Wiz groaned.

"What's that?"

"DC's first MAJOR reboot, retconning and erasing decades of comics to make them more streamlined and accessible. The story… is a lot. Grab a drink, chat. This is gonna be WILD." Skorch groaned.

"Stop calling me that!" Goten whined.

"So, you had this guy called 'The Anti-Monitor', right? And this guy just up and decides to wipe out the entire DC Multiverse. For context, there are, or were, potentially TRILLIONS of Universes out there." Wiz began, flipping the board to show his diagrams. Mostly crude doodles, but they got the job done. "But he unleashed a wave of Anti-Matter, essentially anti-life- er, not the Darksied kind, we'll talk about that later. But it was bad. Real bad. So, the Monitor had a plan, but then got murdered by his protégé, except he expected that and had a backup plan going, and so he began to grab a bunch of people, heroes and villains from different timelines, and he had em' all take the Anti-Monitor on." Wiz explained as his chart got bigger, and bigger.

"Okay, aside from trillions of universes, this isn't too hard to follow." Ginyu spoke up. He felt a tad anxious. Trillions of universes?! Well, he and his men would get to work conquering them in the name of the great Lord Frieza!

"Because of this, everyone is going from earth's one to three like crazy, villains teaming up, and betraying one another, killing heroes, killing villains, and eventually they realize the best plan is to go back in time." Wiz explained, but from the way he was talking, it was clear he was skipping a LOT in order to properly explain just what the heck was happening.

"These mortals just have access to such a sacred power? How?"

"They don't need the Time Rings, I know that much." Beerus muttered. "Some seem to be capable of doing it naturally, others seem to build devices to allow them to." He shot a glance at Bulma, but said nothing.

"That- how?! How can mortals possess such power!?"

"I can't tell if you're asking because you want to know, or if because you're scared of the mortals in your own universe rising up against you."

"But that ain't important. So, they go back in time to stop Krona from making what The Anti-Monitor needs to succeed." Wiz continued, showing another point on his massive, ill-conceived and poorly drawn timeline. "But they blow it and end up letting him succeed."

"Wait, all of this is because of some stupid pink-haired kid, Crona?!" Boomstick asked, as a random anime kid appeared.

"No! Not Crona, Krona!" Wiz snapped, seemingly losing his sanity a bit more with each passing second. Before Boomstick could point out he added: "With a 'K'! Like the Mortal Kombat spelling!"

"And who exactly is Krona?" Hit asked.

"No clue." Goku shrugged. "All this is new to us, too." Hit frowned a little at that. On the one hand, they were all on an even playing field, so to say, on the other hand, none of them knew what to make of this.

"Long story short, there's this green lantern villain named Krona. He's technically responsible for half the evil things to ever happen, and that's a conservative estimate." Skorch commented.

"Sorry, but I feel like there's a LOT to unpack there! They're claiming one being is responsible for the evil in an entire universe?! Like, some sort of entity or creature that is the living embodiment of evil?!" Arak snapped in shock.

"Well, if there exists an embodiment of good, then there should be an opposite." Piccolo nodded, thinking aloud.

"True. No force can ever truly be all-encompassing, no matter how strong it is, there will always be some degree of a counter." King Piccolo grumbled.

"Actually, from what I've read, there are Entities or living beings which are actually made of emotions in this Universe." Gohan spoke up. "The ones I recall are Willpower, Fear, Rage, Greed, Love, and Compassion." Everyone looked at him in surprise. Emotions could exist as a physical being? What would happen if one of them was destroyed? Did they grant people powers? Could someone draw on emotions, and if so, to what end?

"Emotions… given physical form?" Awamo finally managed to get out. To the Angels, it was a ridiculous concept! But… no, they were quick to judge, and this seemed like something they couldn't afford to do so on. The Angels were often seen as 'aloof' as their duties would often force them to forsake emotion in favour of what was necessary. They weren't emotionless, heavens no! But; this was something new to think on.

"Did emotions exist prior to these creatures' conception? Or have mortals learned of the emotions through them?" One asked curiously. It was a chicken and egg like question. Yet it stood to reason there would be an answer.

"I quite like that." Heles smiled softly. "A creature, made of love itself."

"It's called 'Predator' and it's rumoured to be a demon that kills people and eats them." Skorch commented, appearing next to her. "It's love in its truest form. Love with no restraint." Heles recoiled at such a notion. That… was not what love was supposed to be.

"Isn't that lust?"

"From a certain point of view, yes. But those things? They aren't held to concepts of 'good', 'evil' or even 'limits'." Gohan added. "They're just… the emotion in its rawest, natural form." He frowned, thinking about it. "And if I recall correctly, they can be swayed by the emotions of those around them, it's a pretty fascinating concept!"

"Really?" Pell asked, perplexed. "Do you mean someone can bend the very essence of an emotion to their will, or that it simply reacts based on the emotions around it?"

"I… Sorry, sir. I can't say."

Pell considered it and nodded, seemingly understanding that this knowledge was limited. But noted he should try and make contact with the flaming-skulled Skeleton, as they seemed to know more about this.

"Eh, don't worry H. Recently, Preddy's become more of a puppy than a monster." Skorch waved. "It's more or less tied to the leader of the Star Sapphires, so their current leader is a good one, so things aren't… what they've been before."

"Did I meet that guy?" Dawg asked.

"Asmodeus was the embodiment of the Sin of Lust, not the emotion." Skorch remarked. A few looked at Dawg, a bit confused and concerned. More concerned.

"He had an obsession- honestly, more of a fetish, with seeing how the Universe came about. So, he built a machine that let him go back in time and break reality to observe its creation as an outsider." Wiz explained.

"Okay, THAT is a violation of the Galactic Code on Time Travel!" Jaco remarked aloud, shocked at what he was hearing. "Is this man insane?! If he does that, he could cause the Universe itself to never be created! A single mistake, the slightest wrong move, and then the universe isn't made the way it was! EVERYTHING is at risk when he does that!"

Normally, Bulma, Vegeta, or anyone else present would ignore/berate Jaco for his overreactions/almost anal adherence to the galactic code for one reason or another. Be it their desire to learn more about the technology, or they simply were annoyed that he'd never shut up about it. But this time, they had to agree with him. Bulma's desire to understand and control time travel was rooted in both science and wanting to help Future Trunk's world. Sure, the idea of seeing how the Universe came to be was a fascinating prospect, but the risks weren't worth it!

"If we went outside of our… realm, so to call it, would we still have our powers still? Or are those connected to the world itself that we're in?" Hit asked, and Skorch and Duke shrugged. That was a conversation for another time. It was also one most present wanted to hear, considering this newcomer had more or less just said that the Lords of Everything wouldn't have the powers they had outside of a specific place. That concept was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. They also had to wonder, would that apply to them as well? Would they not have their powers outside of their world?

On the other side, Dr. Gero was fascinated by this concept. Not only being able to take oneself back to the origin of creation and life itself, but to remove yourself from the world as it was known, to exist outside of it? He could watch everything unfold, see how empires rose and fell, and in the end, it would allow him to prepare his endeavors to ensure the world would belong to the Red Ribbon Army… if he could come back to life, that was.

Some of the other villains were in the same mindset. Even if they didn't care for the knowledge that one could gain from going back that far and studying the very inception of the universe, the time they would have to train, to adapt to the world as it grew, and more importantly, to mold it. Was something that was undeniably tempting to them all.

"I am in agreement with the Officer." The Grand Priest nodded solemnly. "Tampering with reality in such a way could be catastrophic beyond words, that kind of action could possibly at best create a flawed timeline and at worst send ripples of change out that could annihilate everything."

"I understand the desire for knowledge… but this Krona must be stopped, at any cost!" Sour nodded grimly, and it seemed all the Angels and Destroyers were in full agreement for possibly the first time ever. "Nothing, not love, nor knowledge is worth the risk of destroying all of existence!"

"Is it me, or do the Angels actually seem concerned about this?" Tien muttered. "They never really seem to care all that much about the problems going on."

"Do you think that the damage done could mean they'd cease to exist too?"

"That- that is a terrifying idea."

"And that's an understatement."

"But…" Wiz spoke up, getting everyone's attention.

"Oh boy, here we go." Boomstick sighed.

"By tinkering with the big bang, he created the multiverse out of the universe. this made the multiverse as we know it, but created an imbalance, since the lone universe was supposed to be matched by a single Anti-Matter universe."

"Huh." Boomstick blinked, clearly lost.

"So, he took one universe, and somehow created a bunch more by accident? Wait, does that mean each tear in the universe has the potential to create an entirely new universe like some sort of cell division?" Toppo asked, still trying to wrap his head around everything that was being thrown at them in rapid succession.

"Oh, and his actions caused the Oans to become the Guardians of the Universe." Wiz added.

"OH NO." Skorch groaned, snapping up and seeming… just angry. A few from Universe Two jumped as Skorch had suddenly appeared among them.

"Uh… is that something we should be concerned about?" Zarbuto asked nervously.

"What, him being angry or the Guardians thing?" Hit remarked, looking over.

"Both." The old warrior answered. The skeleton ripped its head off and turned their head to face them.

"Let me put it this way. The Oans become the Guardians of the Universe. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a VERY bad move." Skorch said flatly.

"Look, this is gonna get kinda confusing, but let me put it this way. Reality has its own immune system, and the Anti-Matter Universe has its own, which decided it didn't like being outnumbered thanks to all the new universes and ATE all the new universes except for four, where the heroes had their final stands." Wiz explained.

"Ah, so it can be seen as a rogue or malignant cell attempting to parasitically control and conquer a hosts' body- wait. Did he just say he ate the new universes?"

"With the appetite of a Sayian or a college student after four…"

"WhyarewenotfocusingonthefactthatthisthingLITERALLYEATSUNIVERSESISNTTHATSOMETHINGMAYBEWESHOULDFOCUSON?!"

"Now, though it technically succeeded, enough pieces of universes remained that reality sewed itself back together becoming something closer to the original form, with a little help and one last sacrifice. HOWEVER, the new reality they had fought so hard for, had to solidify itself in time as well as space, which meant rejecting anyone who didn't exist in the new timeline unless they had some specific means of anchoring themselves."

"How do you anchor yourself in the face of such a cosmic catastrophe?!" Champa demanded.

"So, this left most people with no memory of the events able to exist, since it technically never happened. If that's confusing or doesn't seem to make sense, welcome to the world of comics!" Wiz declared, annoyed.

"Millions of Universes were destroyed, billions of people simply ceased to exist, and in the end, the entire world was restarted, compressing potentially trillions of years of history into one new timeline where some things were the same and many things were different. The big difference being many of the heroes were depowered, with their tools and powers being streamlined to try and make it more accessible for new readers." Boomstick decided to try and summarize this all, reading from a book titled: 'Comics History You Don't Care About But Probably Need To Know In Order To Understand This'.

Everyone else was staring in utter disbelief.

"You're lying, this isn't possible! This isn't-" Someone sputtered, even the Angels were now wondering if such raw power actually existed. If so, surely the Omni-Kings would have it, would they not? But aside from erasing universes, they'd never shown that kind of power before.

However, an image was shown, encompassing everything, and it was truly chilling. A monster, a mechanical monstrosity that looked like it was made to fight some sort of Kaiju, standing among the universe itself, and all of it breaking. Shattering and evaporating around him, as if the very energy of the multiverse was powering him.

Beyond that, the sky, or space it filled seemed fractured, broken. Showing a cascade of alternate universes, all in a differing state of disrepair. They were broken, dying, and it was clear, whatever this… thing was, it was CONSUMING the very essence of those worlds. Not just the people, but the fabric, the make-up, the - for lack of a better term - coding of the very Universe itself.

"By the Kais-"

"No…"

"How-"

"Whoa…"

Zamasu felt like he'd seen this before. In a way, he kinda had. While The Omni-King didn't consume universes per say, he had been at the nexus of an extinction event similar to this.

"Heh, pretty soon we're gonna be able to do that!" Kefla smirked, grabbing Kale in a side-hug, the other, more timid Sayian gulped, clearly nervous about the possibility of having the power to cause such devastation. Cabba sighed knowing he didn't really have a say in this… still, if it meant getting stronger to protect his people, he wouldn't stop now!

"Have you ever done that before?" Zenö One asked.

"No, have you?" The second one replied.

"No, what do you think a universe tastes like?"

"Ooh, maybe it tastes like cotton candy! We should try that sometime!" The second one remarked excitedly, sending terror into pretty much all present. There was no escaping the sense of dread that rippled through the auditorium at that moment.

"In order to combat such a monster, they had to rewrite history itself? Compress decades of life into a new world? That would mean stripping away decades, if not millennia of life and history, to suddenly start anew- it- that- I don't even know what to say!" Arrak sputtered, trying to make heads and tails of this all. It wasn't even that there was too much to comprehend in a linear story, but rather the ramifications that were far reaching beyond what any of them had thought possible.

"It seems so, old friend."

"Just like how we don't remember the other timeline." Vegeta muttered, thinking something over. "If the heroes forgot about the other Universes, isn't that similar to what the Entity explained happened to us when there was that split between now and that Universe known as 'GT'?"

"I guess, but it feels more like those were two separate timelines, compared to one we lived through and then forgot." Krillin nodded.

"But we did live through those events. Just not US." Piccolo tried to reason, feeling like he had an explanation for all of this, but it was just out of his reach. He wasn't sure what to say, but he felt like he had to say something.

"One last thing to note is that the Superman we're discussing is a bit of a jumbled mess. There have been many different versions of Superman across the years, and after the New 52 reboot, it also happened that a new Superman took over… until he died, and the Pre-Crisis Superman returned, and then in 2017, the four-issue miniseries 'Superman Reborn' happened. That story's ending resulted in the two timelines merging to make a Superman with the best of both timelines." Wiz added, showing two separate Supermen. The one those present had been watching, and another who's suit seemed more… metallic? Almost like a suit of armor.

"The New 52's reminds me a little of our uniforms." Jiren mused, mostly to himself, however. Toppo, and the others looked at themselves, then at Superman, and nodded in agreement. Sure, it wasn't a one-to-one, but the solid, streamlined 'battle suits' for lack of a better term did somewhat match.

"Looks too metallic to be useful, I think the older one looks better."

"When this is done, I'm going on vacation. I don't know where, and I don't care. I just can't with this." Wiz groaned, seeming more worn-out than anyone had ever seen him. Boomstick just cracked another beer and took a long drink, not seeming to care that much.

"I could use one of those after all that…" Dyspo muttered. Skorch appeared with a mini-cooler bag. "Aw, heck yeah, thanks mate." He fist bumped the skeleton.

(*Cues: Christopher Drake - All-Star Superman*)

"We were talking about Superman at some point, right?" Boomstick asked.

"Right! See, Superman at times has often seemed to just 'gain powers' out of nowhere, but in truth, there is a legitimate explanation. Superman's powers are dependent on the ultra-solar rays of the sun. By absorbing yellow or blue sunlight, his power rises; however he cannot absorb sunlight from a red star." Wiz explained, showing three diagrams of three different suns, one yellow, one blue and one red. "This in turn means that if you remove a yellow sun, you remove Superman's main power source."

POWER SOURCE

Solar Radiation

Constant Power Absorption While In View Of The Sun

Healing Factor (Inconsistent, But Shown To Heal Over Time)

Powers Vary Depending On The Type Of Sun

Yellow Sunlight Increases Power 2,700-5,500X

Red Sunlight Has No Effect On Increasing Powers, Can Actually Remove Them With Prolonged Exposure

Blue Sunlight Doubles Power Increase

"That's easy enough." Champa scoffed dismissively.

"It's not instantaneous you bloated buffon." Beerus snarked back, rolling his eyes. Despite agreeing with his brother, once more, he seemed incapable of understanding what they were getting at.

"Are you sure, my Lord?" Whis asked, causing Beerus to flinch and glare at the angel in annoyance.

"Wait, he's solar-powered! They call him the world's first superhero but sounds more like the world's first hippie to me…" Boomstick muttered.

"Now, the intensity of solar radiation disperses the further away it gets from its source, so the closer Superman is to the sun, the more solar radiation he'll absorb." Wiz added, showing a diagram with several stick figures.

"So, he gathers more power the higher he gets? He IS a hippie." Boomstick muttered.

"I've never understood why mortals would waste their time using such things to augment their reality." Agu mused. "I pity those that feel like they have no choice but to use them to escape a dreary existence, or one where they no longer want to be reminded of what they are surrounded by." As if on cue, Skorch coughed, smoke escaping his mouth. The Destroyer glared at him in annoyance.

"Don't most mortals require sunlight as well to stay healthy? Isn't this normal?"

"…you know if a mortal absorbs solar radiation, or radiation in general, they'll die, right?" Giin remarked, having missed what his assistant and friend was talking about. "You're thinking of the natural vitamins the light gives them, I'm talking about the solar radiation."

"In the 2001 Justice League comic story, 'Our Worlds at War', Superman actually spent fifteen minutes INSIDE the sun. When he resurfaced, he was powerful enough to effortlessly move planets." Wiz added, further shocking those present. Sure, the Destroyer Gods could blow up a planet with ease - heck, a decent number of those present could - but to MOVE a planet?

"Hey, Dad, can you do that?" Goten asked.

"Which one? Move a planet? Maybe, can't say I've done that. I've moved mountains before! But not a planet. As for going into the sun? Eh, no, that just seems like a fast way to become a Sayian-version of Skorch."

"Oh, cool!" Goten exclaimed, his eyes widening, and it took Goku a moment to realize what he was thinking.

"Wait, no. Not what I meant, NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

"Goten! DO NOT throw yourself into the sun!" Chi-Chi ordered, half stern, half terrified her son would try something like that. Skorch decided to make themselves scarce.

"Please, young one, don't try that…" Gine added, not wanting to see her Grandson die in such a way.

"He can also hear sounds millions of miles away, see through anything but lead, and spot things moving faster than light. So, good luck trying to pull a fast one on him! Unless you're the Flash. Or the writers need to raise the sense of conflict." Boomstick added.

Dyspo wasn't sure why, but he was curious about who the Flash was…

"Why lead?" Someone asked. There was no answer.

"Aw, man. The most I can hear is a few dozen miles." Goku sighed, annoyed.

"Unless someone mentions food, then you could be in another universe and you'd hear it." Krillin teased.

"Hey, that's not- Someone just ordered from Kahuna Pizzareia." Goku began but suddenly seemed distracted. "Extra large, cheese, bacon, pepperoni and mozzarella." He paused before adding: "They burned the crust slightly."

"He can see at a subatomic level and hear through the vacuum of space… somehow. Yes, that defies the laws of space itself, but he can." Wiz added as Superman was shown looking at someone, then looking at their nervous system, then their muscular system, then their organs, down to their very atoms.

SUPER SENSES

Super Hearing, Capable Of Hearing Across Galaxies

X-Ray Vision

Lead is the only exception (This surprised many watching, as it seemed like such a simple and trivial thing to someone like Superman.)

Telescopic Vision

Microscopic Vision

Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision

Theta Vision

Can See A Person's Aura

"Fascinating." Dr. Gero mused. "He somehow can perceive the differences between layers of tissue, sinue, bone and other extremedites as if they were under the look of a microscope… Sure, Cell could somewhat do that… but not to such a surgical degree! Maybe that would've helped.

"Dang, I guess that's one thing he's got up on me." Goku sighed, thinking it over. He could survive in space while in his Super Sayian form for a time, but in his base form, that was a bit of a problem.

"So he can survive in the cold of space, so what?" Frieza scoffed dismissively. He could do that as well! What made Superman so powerful? Just because he could move a planet was nothing compared to the power Frieza had in one finger!

(*Cues: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths - Opening Credits*)

"He can even see your soul." Wiz added.

"What?!" Boomstick, and most watching, shouted.

"It happened. Superman: Birthright." Wiz informed his co-host. "He can see a colourful aura around someone, and can gauge information about them." The scientist explained as the comic panels were shown.

"Wait, he can see your SOUL?!"

"How exactly does he see that? I thought they were just a metaphysical concept!" Dr. Rota muttered in astonishment, admonishing himself for not bringing anything to take notes with.

"Well, in order to enter the afterlife, one must have something akin to a soul at the very least." Vados commented.

"Can he see the good and evil of one's soul? Similar to how some belief systems would have a sort of final judgement upon death?"

"Does that only work on those who are organic?" Dr. Gero wondered aloud. "Someone like Cell may be alive and sentient, but might lack what one considers a soul."

"I always assumed souls were a thing made to help people understand morality better, and it was how someone lived and acted that truly defined their humanity, or lack thereof. The soul in and of itself isn't real, but the aftermath of one's choices were." Hit mused. Yes, he believed in an afterlife, but the idea of souls was an odd one. "But for an attack like the Spirit Bomb or the Hakai to truly be effective, there has to be some degree of a soul, otherwise the latter at least wouldn't work, correct?"

"Indeed." Vados nodded.

"The Hakai doesn't work on those who are truly immortal." Beerus grumbled, munching on some pizza he had been provided. Nodding to the passed-out skeleton, he added: "Otherwise that burden would've long since been lifted from me."

"What do you have against that… homeless skeleton?" Mule asked. Yes, the skeleton in question seemed quite strange, a bit crass and flamboyant. But, also seemed to have an air of intelligence… sort of.

"He's not homeless. He's just lazy. And jobless. And doesn't have his own home, and steals food from us, and doesn't contribute to anything really, and- where am I going with this?" Goku began but trailed off confused.

"I mean, some of that describes me." Piccolo smirked, and Goku sweat-dropped.

"Y-yeah! But you don't just show up and try to make things worse all the time, or constantly remind Bulma how old she is, or- I should really stop talking." Goku stopped when he felt angry breathing down his neck. It was either Bulma, or Vegeta, and he didn't wanna look back to figure out which it was.

"If you had to suffer his annoyances even a fifth as much as I have, you would understand." Beerus growled. Mule assumed Beerus was just annoyed that someone was calling him out on his laziness and ego.

"Actually, while on the subject, I find it interesting that the young one over there does not have a soul, yet has been granted the title of an Angel by another." The Grand Priest spoke up, nodding to Mad Dawg, who remained silent, not wanting all the attention.

"Really? How? He seems like he'd get his teeth kicked in by Yamcha!" Garlic Jr. blinked.

"Whoa, first of all, rude. Second of all, leave him alone, he's got enough going on!" Yamcha shot back. "Third, he's friends with the guy who brought all of you from the afterlife to here. So… maybe don't piss him off?"

That remark reminded a number of those present HOW they got here, and the matter was quickly dropped.

"Watcher." Iwan spoke up, and Skorch appeared next to his group.

"Call me Skorch, and don't bother with that 'honorific' stuff, either." Skorch shrugged dismissively. Iwan blinked, then nodded.

"V-very well, I was curious, are you also capable of seeing one's soul?"

"Yes?" Skorch admitted, rubbing the back of their skull. "See, in this plane of reality, I can see if someone has a soul, but that's about it. On Earth, or any planet similar, I see a lot more. Ranging from the amount of good or evil tainting it, to how it got to where it is, and even who it belonged to if it's no longer attached to a being." The Entity's eyes flashed purple and he looked around. "Like, I can tell you have a soul, as do all they… but that's all."

"Fascinating!"

"…comics are weird." Boomstick said.

"Also, he teamed up with the Nesquik Bunny once."

"WHAT-?!"

"And fought Godzilla, Kong, Alien, Predator, The Terminator, Muhammad Ali, He-Man, Spider-Man, Thundercats…" Wiz kept listing off actual crossovers Superman had been in over the years.

"I recognize some of those guys." Tien mused.

"Man how come we don't ever get to fight these guys?" Goten grumbled.

"Spawn showed up, and Kirby, and Squirtle…"

"And Skorch just bought a bunch of them here to fight for him in the Tournament before you guys showed up." Krillin added.

"WHAT?!"

"Well, weird abilities aside, Superman can freeze his enemies in ice or create hurricanes just by breathing hard enough, and to top it all off, he shoots laser beams from his eyes. While that might seem like the most basic kind of attack by today's standards, Superman was one of the first to do it." Boomstick explained.

POWERS

Flight

Super Strength

- While hard to pin down, Superman has been shown to be capable of moving solar systems when at his 'Maximum'. However, this varies depending on continuity.

- Routinely capable of moving a planet.

Super Speed

- Despite what some may assume, he is not connected to the Speed Force

- Capable of flying across the solar system

- Theorized he can reach 770 miles per hour, double the speed of sound.

Healing Factor

- Capable of healing from small wounds quickly

- This is typically not considered one of his 'main' powers, more of a side effect of his Kryptonian heritage

Super Breath

- Can knock down entire buildings via breathing

Arctic Breath

- Capable of freezing someone solid in mere seconds

"I know this is comic logic, but that shouldn't be possible." Dr. Gero frowned, thinking about it. "He'd have to be emitting breath at a temperature of negative six and a half million degrees fahrenheit.

"Thirteen thousand times colder than absolute zero." Bulma added, and the doctor nodded. "A temperature which doesn't exist."

"Wait, what?"

"She's correct, for once." Dr. Gero mused, not noticing Vegeta glare death at him. "Absolute zero is just that, the absolute coldest which can possibly be achieved. Not only can he supposedly survive such temperatures, but he can create a temperature nearly a dozen times lower than that."m

Heat Vision

- Maximum Temperature: Unknown

- Drains Solar Power Quicker Than All Other Powers

- Can Be Focused To Microscopic Levels

"His heat vision can be expanded to encompass anything within Superman's sight and reach temperatures hotter than the sun. A single blast and vaporise entire buildings!"

"He can incinerate entire planets in a staring contest! That's an insane amount of heat! To blow up earth, you would need 2.25 1032 joules of energy assuming we're just using TNT. Superman, however, can do that WITH HIS EYES!"

"Again, most of us can do that." Champa scoffed.

"Yes, but that comes from one's Destroyer power, this just seems like his natural strength, my lord." Vados added. Champa twitched. A mortal with the power of a Destroyer, who wasn't a destroyer?

"So, don't get into a staring contest with him?" Future Trunks sarcastically asked.

"However, "heat vision drains his power faster than any other ability." [Superman Homepage, especially when he amps it up to degrees that can't be calculated. In fact… the maximum power of his Heat Vision isn't known!"

With a single blast, Superman reduced an armada of monstrous creatures to nothing but dust, leaving those watching looking on in amazement at how easy he made such a feat.

"Hmph. Sounds like those constructing these stories are desperate for the ideal of their false God to seem impenetrable. Hence why they refuse to acknowledge any kind of limit to his most powerful ability." Cooler scoffed. Yes, there was power without limit, but this just seemed more like those behind this didn't want to make him seem as weak and frail as his brother.

"Loathed as I am to agree, he does make a point." Vegeta muttered.

"That's like the Final Flash or the Big Bang attack, but… with such control, from his eyes." Vegeta muttered, thinking it over. He knew Ki manipulation was possible, but could he achieve it in such a way? He'd done similar things before, mind you, but that seemed more complex. But it wasn't complex enough that he believed that with the drive and training he couldn't achieve it, just the opposite in fact.

"Seems like they just don't wanna admit they don't know what they're writing if they're just saying there's no limit." Videl stated. She had a point, but that was a point for later.

"And with precision, heat vision can reach microscopic levels invisible to the human eye… you can tell where this is going." Boomstick winced.

"Oh dear…" Chi-Chi mumbled. She and Skorch had surprisingly found common ground on an interest in movies based on ancient history, but one concerning Egypt had several, well, disturbing scenes involving eyes being damaged. That always stuck with her (and Skorch) more than anything else.

"Heat vision, focused through your pupils like a scalpel… instant lobotomy." Superman said, his voice low and eerily disturbing. It was clear something had changed, and now, Superman seemed unleashed. The man he was holding, wearing a union jack shirt, seemed horrified.

Superman proceeded to slap Manchester Black into a building.

There was a long, horrified silence at that revelation. For someone who seemed so tepid and mild-mannered held the power, and possibly the desire to do such a thing… not to mention, that to almost everyone present, the prospect of protecting oneself against such an attack was at best, concerning and at worst, impossible. Well, you ended up with a number of people now silently wondering what would compel him to do such a thing.

A few heads turned towards Frieza, suspecting someone with the capacity for cruelty he had would be a viable reason. Yet even then, it seemed like Superman might not be willing to go that far, or at least, he would need to see the true depths of Frieza's vindictiveness. A few others looked to Cell, and a few others looked to the sleeping Majin Buu, but then realized that would have no effect.

"Such power, and such precision. Imagine all he could do with it!"

"Superman strikes me as the kind of man who would use such power to better those around him, that man seems like the exception to the rule."

"I fear to see what a Kryptonian bent on world conquest would look like…" Old Kai mumbled. Skorch thought about Zod, and Omni-Man… but chose to keep silent. They'd learn in time.

(*Cues: Superman: The Animated Series - Main Theme*)

"Continuing the insane list of things the Man of Steel is capable of, Superman can vibrate his body fast enough to phase through attacks, and even turn invisible!" Wiz explained.

"That kinda looks like Instant Transmission." Gohan commented.

"Indeed! But I think Transmission is different, since you actually teleport oneself to and from the desired location. This one seems to be achieved through manipulating one's physical body…" Whis nodded.

"Ehhehehe… he's gonna know how to make the ladies real happy with tha trick!" Roshi cackled. A few laughed (including some villains) and a few glared at him in annoyance.

"But this isn't just used for strath or evasion. By vibrating to just under light speed, Superman can use the infinite mass punch. This speed causes the relative mass of his fist to increase immensely and hit with the force of a supernova." Wiz continued.

INFINITE MASS PUNCH

Causes Superman to accelerate to near light speed, creating relativistic mass

Impact equivalent to 10 Octillion Megatons

Uses a lot of Energy ("No." Someone said.)

Planet Busting ("I'd be disappointed if it wasn't.")

Speed Force Regulated Durability If Necessary Ensuring Survival

"Which explodes at a force of ten octillion megatons! Thanks, fact-of-the-day calendar." Boomstick added.

"They're claiming he can move so fast that he creates the relativistic mass that would accompany the travel at such an obscene speed?" Belmond raised a brow.

"I don't see what the big deal is, my Lord. We've travelled beyond that speed before." K'nsi spoke up.

"Yes, but when we did it, we were traversing under the guidance and protection of an Angel's powers. This would be akin to a mortal travelling at those speeds as if it was nothing but commonplace!" He remarked, the other warrior being left dumbfounded, but impressed.

"What are his clothes made out of?" Android 18 wondered. "Hard to think of much that could survive that kind of speed and force."

"In comparison, this is the Tsar, the most powerful bomb mankind has ever tested: 50 megatons." Wiz explained as a bomb was shown."

"Pft, please. That's nothing." Kefla scoffed.

"So that punch is like 200 septillion super-nukes. That's 24 zeroes, bitches!" Boomstick added.

"Th-that's not nothing…" Kale mumbled.

"Man, I wanna learn that!" Goten exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah! Imagine being able to punch someone that hard!" Lil' Trunks added excitedly, nodding in agreement. Both boys seemed to be trying to focus on using their Ki to achieve the movement needed to produce such an attack. So far, no luck.

"All right, I can see why people are saying he should fight Goku." Yamcha blinked, looking at the footage that was shown. It made sense… Goku would absolutely love fighting this guy! In real life and in this battle!

"Man, I can't wait to see how this goes! This looks incredible!" Goku exclaimed, almost shaking with excitement.

(*Cues: Superman Doomsday - Main Title*)

"Superman is not only strong, but an absolute genius with a super-brain that can process information thousands of times faster than an average human. He is capable of strategic fighting, even while traveling eight times the speed of light."

"That's one thing he has up on Goku."

"Hey!"

"Goku, we were just over this. You're a brilliant tactician when it comes to fighting, but when it comes to other factors, not so much."

"That is true. His skills in combat are exceptional, however, he clearly struggles with other matters." 16 spoke up; thinking back on their fights.

"Indeed, then again, no mortal's mind could process information at such a pace. Even the smartest among you couldn't reach such a state." Whis commented.

"Thank, Whis." Bulma grumbled. The Angel blinked, then chuckled slightly.

"Oh, apologies Bulma. Did you think I was referring to you?" The blue-haired scientist's face turned blood red as she turned away, trying to hide her anger, embarrassment and flustered expression.

"An interesting fact is that his speed doesn't come from the Speed Force, so unlike someone like the Flash, he doesn't run the risk of being trapped in it." Wiz added.

"The heck's the speed force?" Dyspo asked. Skorch looked up from his waterpipe and laughed.

"He's an expert in disabling opponents through pressure point combat and once fought demons in Valhalla alongside Wonder Woman and Thor… for 1,000 freaking years!" Boomstick added.

"Huh, why don't you guys use that more often?" Android 17 asked. He'd used those kinds of moves to help disable and paralyze poachers. But now that he thought about it, he had never seen the Saiyans use them.

"In the past, the ones we fight are sometimes susceptible, and other times aren't." Vegeta shrugged in response. "Some can manipulate Ki to protect themselves from such a precise attack, while others are simply able to ignore the reaction it sets off."

"Besides, pressure point combat is often used to incapacitate someone, you prefer to go for the throat." 18 added, whether as fact or insult was unclear. Vegeta didn't seem offended, he just shrugged seemingly in agreement.

"Some people can change. Some won't." He stated, seemingly having had this conversation before. "Why let someone pose a further risk to the world?"

"You consider that justice?" Jirren asked dismissively, wondering how anything the Saiyan had just uttered could be considered 'just'. He agreed that some people wouldn't change, but killing them outright was rarely the answer, and was always a final resort.

"I consider it necessary." Vegeta countered. Some agreed, and some thought his logic was flawed. The problem was, not every battle could be ended diplomatically. During those fights, some would consider true strength to be able to comprehend that and act accordingly. Yet others would see it as anything but. There was a degree of greyness the Prince and Pride Trooper would never see eye to eye on. An uncompromising sense of 'duty' that drove them both.

"Neither of you are wrong." Skorch commented, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "But both of you aren't right."

"I mean, I know some of it, but for the most part, it's never been something I've seen as useful." Goku added.

"A single strike to take down a foe, and you don't consider it necessary?" Anato asked, puzzled as to how someone considered to be 'the greatest warrior in all the universes' couldn't see the necessity of such information.

"I'd prefer to wear them down with strength, a pressure point attack is good in a pinch, but it almost feels like cheating to me." Goku added. Was it a little arrogant? Sure, but this was Goku we were talking about! Good or bad, he wanted to see his opponents at their best! And that included Superman. Anato stared at him, both dumbfounded by his- well, not stupidity, but certainly his 'way of thinking'.

"He does have a point." Kettle commented, thinking about it. "If your fighting style doesn't fit it, why try and incorporate it?" To prove his point, he looked to Dyspo. "D over there's all about speed, so he doesn't do a lot of grounded attacks." He nodded to Cabba. "The younger Saiyan fights defensively, so he'd be more likely to try using something like that."

"I agree with your theory, Kettle." Vados nodded. "While I can't speak to what it's like when Dyspo uses his speed, it may be tricky to pinpoint the exact spot for such an attack."

"Yeah, she's got a point there."

"Plus, don't you need to know your enemy's physiology?" Yamcha added.

"I should learn that…" Future Trunks muttered. After everything he went through, incapacitating a foe, even if it was to strike them down, could only be helpful. He didn't think it would've helped against Cell, the Androids or Goku Black, but still. Any advantage was better than none.

"I mean, yeah. You could learn that, or you could learn the Chupacabra Crujido." Mad Dawg shrugged. Sensing a question that was about to be asked, he added: "It's a technique that can cripple Gods in a single blow." The entire auditorium stared at him in utter disbelief, but there was something in his voice implying he wasn't joking. Without warning, he struck Skorch in the Dragon Balls.

"AGH! DAWG, YOU SON OF A-!" He cried out in pain, falling over.

"See?" More than a few burst out laughing, taken aback by not only the attack, but the casualness in which it was executed. "That's for abandoning me in hell, pendejo."

"Marvellous!" Fireza couldn't help but laugh. The Watcher had been a pain for some time now, so to watch him suffer was most amusing.

"Wait, so how old is he?" Krillin asked, seeming to pick up on the nonsense that was 'timelines' in comics.

"Do people add to their age equal to the amount of time they've been in the afterlife?" King Kai asked. "If not, I'm probably twenty years younger!" He laughed.

"It's what we've done." Gohan shrugged.

"Skorch, does that mean I'm over ten-thousand years old?" Mad Dawg asked, confused about his time in hell.

"Dang, old-timer, you're looking good!" Roshi said jokingly.

"Aaay, right back at ya!"Dawg finger-gunned in response, Roshi returned the gesture.

"No. That was time sped up to feel like it. You were in the citadel for about a week."

"Are we just ignoring that last-" Videl began, but no one seemed to be paying attention.

"Hm, if he was in the afterlife, that suggests he does have a weakness that can lead to his own death. Peculiar. They seemed to be making him out to be invincible." Dr. Rota mused, scratching his chin.

"I thought Thor was an Avenger." Goten commented, remembering the battle between him and Raiden.

"Thor is a Norse God, most likely DC has their own version of him." Gohan reasoned. Being correct.

"Yes, BUT, there was a DC and Marvel Crossover where Superman was deemed worthy to wield Mjolnir. For a short time." Skorch added, surprising those present. Or at least, those who knew about Thor's strength. "Granted, it isn't canon so… whatever. Don't think too much about it."

"Deemed worthy? What are you rambling about?"

"Oh, uh, it's a powerful weapon forged for a God in another world, but the stipulation being only those who are deemed 'worthy' can even pick it up." Gohan explained quickly. "According to what I've read, you have to have compassion, restraint, nobility, wisdom, and humility… or at least, usually those are the main factors. Sometimes, it matters more on why you're trying to use it."

"In a sense, that is what the Angels have done in the past, seeking those worthy of the power of a Destroyer, and judging their character to see if they would be well-suited for the job." The Grand Priest commented.

"Man, you guys need to re-evaluate that."

"Indeed." He nodded. Needless to say, more than a few of the Destroyers felt their spines shiver at that remark. Perhaps it was a joke, perhaps not…

"Hold on, they enchanted a hammer with the powers of a God, yet only those deemed worthy can even lift it?" Nappa spoke up. "How is that determined?"

"Now THAT would be a good way to choose the next Destroyer…" Awamo commented thoughtfully. "Creating some sort of mantle or item that only those deemed worthy could possess, let alone hold! It would ensure only the truly worthy could possess such power, and we would know they'd use it well."

"You make a good point, my friend, but what if someone could hold it, and they have yet to come into those qualities?" Iwan asked. "Would they be granted the powers that come with it?"

"Well, would you still trust them because they were deemed worthy?" Giin asked, and Iwan shrugged.

"Pfa, ridiculous. I could easily build a device to circumvent any so-called 'magical seal' on such a powerful item." Dr. Gero scoffed. "With its power, nothing could stop me…"

"True, but wouldn't someone equally worthy be able to just take it? Using it in battle could be… frustrating." King Cold mused, looking to the good doctor who he had to admit, he was growing somewhat fond of.

"Yes, but if I could understand how it powers someone, I could use that to create new weapons that couldn't be as easily taken!"

"If we ever come back to life at the same time, we'll need to chat."

"Count me in as well." King Piccolo smirked. Did he think he would ever willingly work alongside these two? No. But could they make useful servants for him? Yes.

"A super-powerful weapon that only the worthy can use? Sounds like the perfect fit for me!" Kale smirked, knowingly. "I could use that thing to SUCH great use!"

"Uh, Kale? I don't wanna be rude, but I don't think you'd be considered worthy." Cabba winced, and Kale glared at him.

"What is THAT supposed to mean!?"

"Please, you're the farthest from worthy, second only to Frost." Hit scoffed, and the two mentioned glared at him. "You only think about yourselves, and restraint is all but lost on you."

Frost scoffed and looked away, not caring for this conversation. Kale, on the other hand, seemed angry. Which, to be totally fair, was nothing new for her. Unfortunately, it was clear there was nothing she could say right now to Hit that would make him change his mind. Because of this, she decided to try 'restraint' and looked back at the screen.

"If we're being honest, I'd say you all have a better chance than Quintella, or his warriors." Vados remarked.

"You know I can hear ya, right!?"

"No, I didn't!" She teased, making the mouse destroyer grind his teeth in irritation.

"I wouldn't say she's wrong." Cognac shrugged.

"Oh, don't YOU start!"

"Hey, don't feel too bad. It's not like we could even try this." Cabba tried to reason, and Caufila nodded in agreement. "This thing's in another world! It's not like we could just jump over and ask to try."

"I mean, they could just ask the skeleton guy to do it." Kale scoffed, nodding to Universe Seven. Caufila tensed up when she felt someone look their way. "If he's really as powerful as they say he is…"

"Kale-"

"I mean, he's supposedly this big deal, but he looks like some sort of high-school drop out…"

"Kale-"

"I don't get what the big deal is, shouldn't he-"

"KALE!" Caufila finally yelped, getting her attention. Kale looked to her, then heard the crackling of fire, and looked behind her to find Skorch looking down, directly at her. The pair remained silent, one waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Kale steeled herself, narrowed her eyes, and spoke.

"If you're really so powerful, why can't you just reach into another world and borrow it?" She asked. "Shouldn't someone so powerful that he makes the Angels look like Mortals be able to do that? Or is your whole thing just smoke and mirrors?"

A silence fell over the entire crowd, and Champa felt like his entire Universe was about to be obliterated because one of his chosen warriors (okay, Vados' chosen warriors, he hadn't been paying much attention during the selection) couldn't keep her mouth shut. Even the Angels were shocked that a mortal would speak to someone with so much power in such a way.

Skorch shrugged. Pulling a flagon of beer out from his coat, he mumbled something and it vanished. A few moments later, something off in the distance shattered, and Mjolnir came rocketing across literal time and space. The Destroyers and even the Angels (as well as pretty much everyone else) looked in slack-jawed amazement at how easily this newcomer had been able to supposedly contact a GOD in another Dimension. In fact, they were so stunned, no one noticed the path the hammer was taking.

"Grk!"

As it landed on Frost's tail. The faux-hero refused to show the amount of AGONIZING pain he was in, and simply tried with all his strength not to scream in agony as the hammer now rested directly on his tail.

"Get. It. OFF." He wheezed out, trying to hide his pain. He grabbed it and tried to pull, but… nothing happened. Kale blinked, then smiled, cracking her neck as she walked up, and grabbed onto the hammer. She pulled… and it didn't budge.

"What?!" She growled in frustration after several attempts.

"It ain't yer fault, kid. You're just not worthy." Duke shrugged.

"HA! You're as worthy as Champa!"

"You're cheating!" Kale snarled angrilly, pointing accusingly at Skorch. "You're making it so I can't lift it!"

Scoffing, Skorch pushed her aside and grabbed the hammer. A wave of energy and power unlike anything anyone present, even the Grand Priest and Zen-Öh's had felt crashed down around them, making some freeze and others jump in surprise as all watched. Skorch's fire changed to an iridescent colour, and he pulled, seeming to focus… until both his arms came off. The fire went back to green, and Skorch casually walked off. Forgetting his arms.

Many watched, but only a few tried to lift the hammer. The Warriors of Universe Seven declined, - moreso because Lord Beerus didn't want them to try and fail and make themselves look bad, despite Goku really, REALLY wanting to try - and simply watched in amusement.

Naturally, more than just the mortals tried. Cell, Frieza, Bojack, Champa and even Dyspo gave it a shot. Frieza was barely able to contain his fury as a mere hammer dared defy him, snarling and practically drooling with impotent rage - much to Cooler's amusement - Cell had thought he felt something, but to no avail, Champa was angry that a God would be denied Godly powers, and had begun a fight with Quintella, who seemed certain he could lift it. To no avail.

"Skeleton! I swear if you don't knock off whatever charms you're using, I'll see to it that your entire Universe-" He began when something grabbed him around the throat. The skeletal hand slowly closed tighter and tighter as a voice spoke in his head.

"I have seen souls suffer for eternity before I let them die. Threaten Universe Seven again, and there will be no end to your misery." Now, by that, Skorch meant he was going to make him watch Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins. What? You thought we didn't know about that one? We do.

"No." Toppo said, gruffly.

"Why not?"

"I am not worthy, I know this. I fight for my people, but I do not see myself as worthy of such a weapon. Furthermore, I do not need one."

"Aw, c'mon mate! Give it a shot, what's the worst that could happen?" Dyspo laughed, not having expected to be 'worthy' but still willing to try. Jirren had declined, and Dyspo knew he wouldn't change his mind, so he turned to Toppo. The Pride Trooper sighed and made his way over to where Frost's tail seemed to be turning purple, and seemed ready to come off. He wasn't sure why he was doing this, but hey. He reached down, and lifted it.

"...what?" Toppo blinked, a bit confused. Everyone else could only stare in utter astonishment. Skorch blinked, and a brick fell out behind him.

"Eso se comprueba, hombre…"

"Heh, I knew I picked well." Belmond smiled, relaxing slightly. "Still, it's nice to see Gods from other dimensions agree with me as well."

"Lord Belmond, I-" Toppo began, but Belmond held a hand up.

"I don't need to read minds to know that the skeleton isn't the one doing this." He smirked. "Like Lord Awamo suggested. If you're worthy to wield such a weapon, I think you'll do just fine." Toppo considered it, and nodded. Skorch leaned up and spoke in a strange language, the hammer flying off again. Now, everyone returned to the episode.

"He's even learned to protect his mind from telepathic attacks. With few exceptions, he's all but impervious to direct telepathic attacks designed to invade directly." Wiz added.

"I heard your telepathic shout before, but my mind is protected from anything deeper by a series of psychic blocks." Superman commented.

"Best I've seen, too." Manchester Black conceded with a sneer.

"If you're capable of reading minds and all that, why don't you strike at your opponent's mind more often?" Raditz asked.

"I mean, I could, but it doesn't really help." Goku thought about it for a few moments. "Most likely I could tell what they're planning, but I can do that by reading their body language. Plus, I know when you're in a life-and-death fight, morals aren't always the first thing you think of, but I find forcing myself into someone's mind just seems weird and wrong."

"You're joking." Raditz said flatly, a bit disgusted. "In a fight where every choice could decide your fate, you chose to hold onto morals?!"

"What do you expect? He's not some battle-crazed savage." Piccolo shrugged. Raditz seemed ready to snap, but the look Piccolo gave him made it clear that this wasn't the time to try that, and he wasn't the one to try it on. Furthermore, Raditz remembered the last time he fought the Namekian… and lost.

Bardock remained silent, weighing his pride and his life's choices against what was being shown and told. Saiyans were warriors. That's what they did. So what if 'morally' it wasn't seen as the cleanest thing? Yet, no matter how many times he told himself that… something didn't line up with his thinking, and it bothered him.

"Bardock?" Gine asked, calmly. He looked at his wife, thinking about things, and realized… There was no clear answer this time. His son was a Saiyan, he was more powerful than he ever could've dreamed of. But, his life had made him different from what every other Saiyan he knew was like.

"It's nothing." He lied, then quickly admitted the truth. "But it's everything at the same time." Gine nodded, seemingly understanding in some regard.

"He's done so much." She smiled. "That's not nothing." Bardock blinked, then smiled, nodding in agreement.

"I know, but… does that make him a Saiyan? Or something else? Everything we know, everything we've done. It feels like we're on trial."

(*Cues: Smallville - A Hall of Heroes*)

"He also studied two Kryptonian martial arts: Torquasm-Rao and Torquasm-Vo." Wiz added, and a number of the Z-Fighters - and others present - perked up at that.

"Orgasm-what now?" Boomstick asked. This got some laughs and some disgusted groans.

"Torquasm-Rao is a hard martial art in which Superman enters the theta state, a real-life phenomenon in which a person becomes extremely receptive to information and instinct. Some have misinterpreted it to mean you have the ability to perceive the future, but rather it's more of a hyper-aware state of being at all times." Wiz explained as he seemed to focus, then suddenly snatched a beer can Boomstick dropped without realizing it. "Torquasm-Vo is a mental martial art with which Superman can fight off mind domination and illusions or even counterattack them. Think of it as him literally making an Uno Reverse card into a martial art form."

"That sounds a lot like Ultra Instinct." Goku spoke up, and a few had to agree. "But a mental martial art? Man, I can't think of anyone I've fought in a long time who did anything like that. Ginyu, maybe…"

"I swapped minds with your weak Sayian form, that's completely different!" Ginyu scoffed, a little annoyed to be reminded of that 'incident'. It was so humiliating! And after all that time, after all the indignity, to die at the hands of VEGETA?!

"It seems somewhat like an astral projection." Piccolo added. When a few looked at him, he grunted; "It's… this weird idea people have that they're capable of leaving their bodies, usually when they sleep. Some see it as a form of meditation, and others see it as a sort of magical practice. I can't say if it's true or not… the closest I've seen is when we die, and then come back as spirits." He heard someone rack a slug and added: "Skorch, if you try and provide an example of that, I am going to hurt you."

"Okay." Chi-Chi proceeded to take the shotgun from Skorch. "Aww…"

"If that isn't weird enough, Superman can even turn this power in on himself to help deal with anything that might be inside him. Like a Xenomorph." Boomstick added.

"I'm not sure that's canon, Boomstick."

"It isn't? I guess Disney owns them now… ugh. This is always so confusing!" Boomstick groaned.

"I wish I had that in Trunk's old timeline." Goku sighed. "Could've dealt with whatever that heart issue was in an instant!"

"Did- did they just imply there was something inside him?" Future Trunks asked, seemingly having a delayed reaction to the implications of what was just stated. A few looked to one another, but no one could answer with certainty. However, Beerus was left puzzled about something else entirely…

"Whis, they can't be implying that this Kryptonian has the ability to use Ultra Instinct, are they?" Beerus muttered, his ears flattened back somewhat. While he rarely mentioned it, one thing he found annoying with these Death Battles were the warriors who seemed to be overly powerful for the sake of being so. Partially because it sometimes felt like these warriors would end up being a problem for him to deal with, and that would take away from his sleeping. Also, it meant there could be a way for the mortals of his realm to gain strength out of control, and he really didn't need to deal with that.

"I wouldn't say it's akin to Ultra Instinct, my Lord."

"Good."

"I'd say it's possibly stronger."

"WHAT?!"

Whis laughed slightly and shrugged. "Well, it's merely speculation, but if this Torquasm-Vo is simply a combat style taught among their kind, then that would mean they can achieve a state similar to Ultra Instinct much faster than a mortal could." He reasoned, and the entire stadium fell silent as the news crashed down on them all. "I'm not saying it is, or that it's as close to or stronger than Ultra Instinct with certainty." He added. "Merely, I'm speculating that perhaps this form could be something worth investigating at a later time.

"Skorch-" Goku began, only to be facing down the barrel of another shotgun, Skorch not even looking at him. "Okay, I'll ask later." He said, turning back to the screen. Chi-Chi took this one, unloaded the shells, and proceeded to smack Skorch upside the head with it for threatening her husband.

"It doesn't make sense." Vegeta thought. "All this time, across all these battles, we've seen worlds that seemed implausible. Gods, Mortals, Machines, so many of them it seems like I could've defeated. But… if Kakarot loses, what does that mean? He can't POSSIBLY be the strongest there is, and yet, they seem to act like he is."

"You're saying some ALIEN can just achieve that level of power without even trying?! How does that work!?" Quintellia snapped, exasperated. His warriors had… not done too well in the Tournament, and his pride and frail ego were showing more and more signs of breaking. Then, some skeleton shows up, claims to be an all-powerful entity, begins pulling realms around like it's NOTHING- oh, and claims to be friends with BEERUS. As WELL as making them all gather to watch a documentary on one of Beerus' warriors… frankly, this wasn't really his day.

"Again, Lord Quintellia, I can't say with certainty he can-"

"But you also can't say with certainty he can't!"

"Well, yes."

"Someone's scared." Beerus smirked, wickedly. Yes, he too had just had a shocked reaction to the news, but he was better at hiding it.

"If even the Destroyers seem concerned, perhaps it's time we turn our attention inwards." Jirren spoke, a few of the Troopers looking at him. "Perhaps there are other worlds out there, perhaps this is all just an inane fantasy. As much as I wish the latter to be true, every moment we spend here I find that harder to accept. If these heroes saw our world, what would they think of it? Of us? We need to be better. Not just for those we protect, but for ourselves."

The others of Universe 11 nodded in agreement, but it was Vewon who raised a good point.

"How?" He asked solemnly. "Even with all we do, we weren't considered a high enough ranking to avoid potential erasure. What is it we're doing wrong?" The question brought the silence back, and contemplation covered their faces.

"Perhaps we should focus on this another time." Top spoke up, returning their attention to the matters at hand.

"All that power, I wonder if he uses it to rob victory from those to whom it rightfully belongs to…" Champa muttered. Vados overheard him and couldn't help but laugh.

"My lord, please. You're still holding a grudge against me for that? It was one time!" She laughed.

"I was literally about to WIN! Of course I'm upset!" Champa snapped.

"That- that's the point of the game, my lord! To WIN!"

"YES! But I DIDN'T! HOW DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS BOTHERS ME!?"

Vados looked at the pudgy destroyer, then sighed, rubbing her face in clear frustration. Truth be told, most of the Destroyers and their assistants had experiences similar to this. Be it in cards, sports, or any other sort of game.

"It's not my fault I had multiple draw two cards in my hand." She laughed.

"BUT YOU USED IT. AGAINST ME!" Champa snapped. "You knew what I had planned, and you deliberately sabotaged me! Like you do EVERY TIME!"

"Is this why Monopoly was banned?" Hit asked.

"No, that game is just dreadfully dull."

"Y'all suck, that game is awesome." Skorch groaned, annoyed. Lazily raising a skeletal hand and flipping off everyone who disagreed. Yes, it was a long game, but the anger and chaos it brought was worth it.

"In order to master all his powers, Superman needed to break through his own self-created mental blocks, like how when he was younger, he believed he needed to eat food and breathe oxygen like humans, when he can really just survive on solar energy alone like some weird plant-man." Boomstick continued.

"That is incredibly disrespectful to the denizens of Indicainia!" Heles huffed in clear disgust at the degrading description of one of her Universes sentient plant species.

"Huh, how did he build those blocks to begin with?" Basil asked.

"Most likely he was raised as a human, so he thought he was. And I doubt his parents knew what a Kryptonian was, either. So there was a lot they probably couldn't tell him." Lavender shrugged, being closer to right than they probably realized.

"Weird, I don't recall ever having anything like that." Goku commented. "I mean, reaching Super Saiyan, maybe. But I don't think that was 'self-imposed'. I hadn't even heard of the Super Saiyan until Vegeta showed up." He added.

"I'd say I had a few of those…" Gohan admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Maybe they were, but I'd say it had more to do with your understanding of your powers. Not only that, but the choices you had consciously made, fuelled by what you really wanted out of life." Piccolo added with a nod.

"Yeah… I still wonder if there's more I don't know about." Gohan admitted with a slight frown. He saw so much in Superman that he wanted to be like. Not only that, but he saw in Superman what he saw in his Dad, albeit in a different way. Some would say a 'worse' way, but Gohan wasn't one of those people.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. When the time comes, I know you'll do what's right."

"And thanks to some intense training from Mongol II, he managed to tear these barriers down and become the "true" Superman, capable of amazing feats. And by that, we mean giving the finger to the laws of reality. But hey, it's comics for ya!" Wiz sighed exasperated.

"Yeah, like when he obliterated an F5 tornado with a round of applause…" Boomstick commented as Superman dispersed a shockwave with a single clap.

"Eh, that's not that impressive, I'd wager almost anyone here could do that." Belmond shrugged.

(*Cues: John Williams - Superman Theme*)

"Or when he was the filling for a planet sandwich."

"Okay, that's a little more impressive."

"Or held a mini black hole in his hand…"

"Is that even physically possible?" The Clown Destroyer blinked, now realizing hey maaaay have been a bit quick to judge. He needed to work on that.

"Oh, or the time he dragged the freaking Earth around!" Boomstick laughed. "Superman has survived some pretty crazy things. Like when Koldgast hit him with fifteen supernovas to the face."

"That was like 15 suns exploding in his face!" Koldgast exclaimed, exasperated.

"I just said that!" Boomstick growled.

"I dunno if Instinct is sun-explosion-level, but I think I can handle some pretty tough things." Goku shrugged, still seeming just excited for the fight.

"It's hard to calculate them now, but I think some of you have been close to Supernova level explosions." Bulma thought about it. "Granted, some of you can destroy planets, so maybe…"

"I've seen that Sayian cower in fear of Destroyer power, and I would find it rather offensive if you claim that's merely the same level as a SUN exploding." Beerus commented. Bulma tensed a little, but thankfully, Beerus seemed distracted.

"Exaggeration? Maybe, but he has survived other supernovas before. When he takes a hit, his super-dense molecular structure and bio-electric aura protects him and his suit."

"Or the time he just… LIFTED INFINITY." Boomstick added, only for a record to scratch.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" King Vegeta roarted.

"No mortal can hold Infinity! Not even the Angels are capable of such a feat!"

"How are we supposed to believe a Sayian could stand against someone who could do such outlandish things?! Why bother showing these two as potential equals if one is so much stronger?!"

"Every fiber of my being wants to vomit at the notion of saying this, but Frieza has a point." Vegeta said in a low, cold voice. "Either this whole thing is to try and praise the Kryptonian like he's some sort of false God, or we're missing context."

"Okay, this one is often shown out of context, so let's break it down. JLA/The Spectre: Soul War Issue One is where this claim originates from, and it's both correct and false at the same time." Wiz explained, bringing up the panels depicting the scene and using a laser pointer to draw attention to the text boxes and the imagery. "Superman did NOT lift Infinity. He, Wonder Woman and Kyle Rainer were trying to slow the Spectre's descent. Something which was, and I quote 'Nearly too much for them.'"

"Wonder Woman was stated to be strong enough to pull a planet. I don't know who this 'Rainer' is, but if he, Superman and Wonder Woman were struggling to do that… how big is that guy!?"

"But they provided a counterweight to something that, and I quote: '...a Cosmic consciousness composed of Eternity itself.' So, you might be asking if that's not the same." Boomstick added. "And the answer is… who knows. It's something the writers just seem to go back and forth on."

"Eternity is not a matter of weight, but a measure of time." The Grand Priest spoke up, seemingly having been content to let the others watch this. But such a bizarre claim of strength was something he felt the need to voice his knowledge on. "Are they implying that this being's body is composed of all the time that has ever been and ever will be? Therefore giving physical form to time itself?"

Skorch shrugged.

"Is that possible, Father? Giving something which has no physical start or end a form that it can circulate in?" Martinu asked. The Grand Priest seemed to consider it, and it seemed to be a question that in and of itself had no answer, but a clear answer at the same time.

"Perhaps within this world, the one that Kal-El hails from, they are capable of doing so. Or perhaps there exists a realm within their Universe that would allow such a thing to happen, but as for our world, I cannot say with certainty either way.

"Look, regardless of exact reasoning or breaking of laws of reality, don't disregard the INSANE strength that would've taken!" Wiz quickly added. "It's clear why people often misinterpret this as him 'lifting infinity' but the fact he provided a counterweight or any sort of force that could slow Specter in even the slightest amount, is astounding!"

"True enough. That's still more or less a trio of mortals providing a force strong enough to theoretically stop something that cannot be stopped."

"But wait! Those of you who didn't bother waiting to watch this video before commenting yell." Boomstick added. "What about the time he lifted a book of infinite pages in Superman Beyond #1?"

"How could a book have infinite pages and still have a front and back? Wouldn't it need to keep expanding to have room? Or would the pages magically change what was written depending on the time and place?"

"Comic logic." Krillin shrugged.

"I refuse to accept that."

"Then you're in for a rough time." The Monk warrior remarked.

"Again, the context matters!" Wiz added, pulling up more panels. "First of all, Superman may have had the power of the Gods thanks to Shazam. Secondly, it was stated in the next panel that they were in a plane of nonexistence. That nothing was material. You can't lift something that has no mass because it doesn't EXIST. Finally, DC has this weird habit of being metaphorical in their feats, so sometimes it can be even harder to tell what's real or not."

"Which means our job is made SO much harder…" Boomstick groaned.

"Such as the time Superman was depicted holding the weight of Reality and the Heavens themselves in Man of Tomorrow #12… but that was later confirmed to be a metaphor concerning him 'holding the metaphorical labor and emotion of being Superman'." Wiz added. "Now, this is just one author's interpretation, but he is the one who wrote it."

"As cool as it would be to have infinite strength, what would the point be? You're infinite. Nothing can stop you." Goku shrugged after thinking about it for a second. "I mean, I'd love training to get to that point, but if the end result meant there'd be no more challenge, why bother?"

"I never thought I'd hear that from you, Goku." Krillin blinked, unsure if what he heard was said by who said it.

"Hey, don't get the wrong idea! I'm not giving up anytime soon! If there is some 'infinite strength' ability, I'd wanna learn it! But I like training for a goal, y'know? If I was just the strongest there is, then what's left for me?"

"Now, we DO have an actual number, pertaining to a weight Superman lifted. Which is 200 QUINTILLION tons. For those at home, take the number '200'." Wiz instructed. "Now add eighteen zeros."

He wrote out on the board. '200,000,000,000,000,000,000'

"And that's how much Superman was able to lift."

"Wow. Just-"

"Or in Superman Volume Three, Issue Thirteen, when he lifted, and I- y'know what? Roll the clip." Wiz began, but waved it off. Whatever he was about to show seemed to be so inconceivable that even saying it would be madness.

Superman stood in what one would be forgiven for thinking was some sort of power armor or mech suit. He stood there, lifting something up, and letting it down. Back up, and down…

"He's got a good form." Hercule noted.

"Yeah, it took me a bit to get used to the weights at the gym." Goku nodded.

"That and you kept asking people to throw them at you so you could practice catching them." Krillin added.

"Wait, that's why you were banned?" Gohan asked. "I thought it was because of all the damage you did to the machines."

"Yeah, that was part of it. But the owner thought I was 'doping', whatever that means." Goku shrugged. "Besides, the place wasn't really cut out for me. Not enough of a challenge, and there were a lotta jerks who kept mistreating those who were trying to improve. If you weren't on their level, you weren't gonna be treated well, and stuff like that." He shook his head in disgust.

"If it were possible to put the Earth on a scale…" A voice began over an intercom. To say it sounded shocked would be the understatement to end all understatements. "It would weigh in at five-point-seven-nine-two SEXTILLION TONS."

"Earth weighs more than that." Bulma muttered. Still trying to understand what that machine was, and how to replicate it.

"I think our Universe is a bit bigger." Piccolo reasoned.

"You have been essentially bench-pressing that for FIVE DAYS, Superman." The voice stated, the disbelief audible despite being just a voice. There was silence after that. Yes, the Destroyers could possibly hold that kind of weight, and the Angels most likely could (although why they would need to is an equally good question.) But this was a MORTAL. Not a Sayian, not a Destroyer.

A Kryptonian mortal.

A. MORTAL.

More than a few now wondered where they would fit into the food chain of their universe, for better and worse.

Except Goku. Goku was just ecstatic that he was going to be fighting someone strong enough to bench-press a planet, because that meant he was at least in some regard on equal footing with him. He looked to Skorch to ask about training on that level, and when Skorch reached for a shotgun to tell him to go away, he remembered Chi-Chi had taken his and simply gave him a silent, defeated look.

"Holy crap, he sounds invincible!" Boomstick shouted, echoing the feelings of a few watching.

"I doubt they'd have Kakarot fight him if he didn't have some amount of a chance." Gine frowned, not sure how she felt about all this. Yes, it wasn't real, but still. She had just finally be reunited with her son, she didn't want to watch him die.

(*Cues: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies - Opening Theme*)

"Not exactly, otherwise we wouldn't be here. See, his solar energy can be depleted over the course of a battle, like if he takes too much damage from an opponent who is capable of physically holding their own against him." Wiz explained, waving the idea of Superman being invincible off.

"Yeah, despite being one of the big three from DC, more than a few of the heroes and villains have either held their own, or beat him in a fight." Boomstick nodded.

"I bet Batman did." Goten said.

"Yeah, it seems like he beats everyone, even when he shouldn't…" Lil' Trunks grumbled.

"His powers can also drain his reserves as well, and his most powerful attacks tend to be all-or-nothing-last-resorts." Furthermore, if Superman remains out of sunlight for too long, he can be severely injured or even killed. This is partially how the monster Doomsday was able to kill him."

"So, something has bested him before. Interesting." Cell muttered, curious what kind of adaptive lifeform would be capable of felling or at least putting Superman out of action for a time.

"I dread to imagine the abomination that could possibly have such power to supposedly kill a warrior like this." Old Kai winced at the thought.

Something crashed into the centre of the road, and a hand shot up, digging into the ground. With an echoing, monstrous roar, some…thing pulled itself up. Rising to what could easily be seven, maybe even eight feet (it's seven feet, seven inches if you're curious). The abomination that rose seemed to be cut from stone itself, a pale, sickly white and gray amalgamation of sentient stone, jagged spikes protruding off of its chest and arms, looking like stalactite-blades that would rend the flesh of anything they came into contact with.

"What… abomination…" Dr. Gero couldn't help but mutter.

"I think 'abomination' may be too gentle a word." Cooler added, fascinated by the creature before them.

"I believe you are correct."

The monster that stood before him roared, a blade of some white stone jutting from its arm. As Superman punched, the beast drove the spike upwards and into his shoulder, and despite all the Man of Steel had taken, he felt nothing but pain. Firing into its face with his heat-vision, Superman watched as it recoiled in anger, roaring and swinging again, its claws raking along his chest, drawing blood and slashing his 'S' open. Its head snapped back up, and the wound seemed to disgustingly pull back into itself.

"He can heal." 18 blinked. "That thing. Can heal?!"

"I don't know what you are. I don't know what you want. But if you want to hurt my friends. You'll have to kill me first." Superman growled.

"Very poor choice of words." Frieza mused, dismissively. "But all too common for a fool about to meet his justified demise."

"Right up there with 'I am the all powerful Lord Frieza, bow before me'." Goku added, Frieza doing a double-take in shock at the insulting remark that Goku of all beings hit him with.

Roaring, the duo raced at one another, their fists coming together and the video seemed to freeze. Then, the shockwave shattered the moment of silence as the glass and buildings all around them shattered. Exploding outwards in a shower of glass.

"I've never seen Superman so… angry." Chi-Chi couldn't help but comment. Yes, she hadn't seen him at all before this, and yes, this appeared to be a monster even he may not be able to beat. The anger reminded her of the few times Goku had talked about Krillin's death on Namek. That kind of anger wasn't easy to put into words, but it felt like their world was at stake, and they were losing. An anger that truly meant they had nothing left to lose, even their own life. A sense of fury driven not by a desire to win, but to simply fight.

"Is this monster man-made? Or is it part of a race that has long been a natural predator towards Cryptonians?" Hit asked, unsure if this beast was one of many, or one of one. Either way, it was a threat he didn't feel much of a need to try and take on.

"It looks and acts a lot like some sorta escaped science project." Cabba nodded.

Superman was stabbed in the chest, but he kept flying forward, the shard of bone shattering, and his fist striking Doomsday's face… before causing the entire head to tilt, then twist, then SNAP! with a sickening crunch, the monster's head turned around fully, then continued again until it was looking behind itself.

"Thatsoundeddisgusting…" Young Mai winced. "Alsoitdidntlookbetter…"

Superman tried to stand, but all he could do was weakly pull himself up, before his weary and wounded form gave out. With a stuttering gasp, he fell onto his back, blood leaking from his mouth and wounds. "Like weary boxers who have gone the distance, the combatants collide in one last, explosive effort. In the years to come, a few witnesses will tell of the power of those final punches…" A voice spoke over the footage as Lois Lane ran out to Superman, who lay on the ground. "That they could literally FEEL the shockwaves. Others will remember the enormous crater that resulted from the sheer force of the blows. But most will remember this sad day, as the proudest, most nobel man they ever knew… finally fell."

The silence was eerie, as all present weren't sure if this was a victory, or a great loss. Those with more experience in such matters knew what it was. Both.

"For a city to live, a man had given his all, and more. But it's too late. For this is the day, that a SUPERMAN died."

The silence continued for a few more long moments, those present either shocked or confused. How had this beast been able to overpower someone who seemed all-powerful? What was the creature made of? Where had it come from? But to many, they wondered why Superman had been so willing to fight it, despite clearly knowing he couldn't win.

Yet, the answer to that was simple. To some, it was honourable, others it was foolish. He fought because he knew it was right. Because no one else could stand against this demon. So, he would. Because Superman's morals were that of steel.

"He died, but at least he took that monster with him-" Bardock began.

"He didn't. Doomsday can't die."

"You've smoked too much, skeleton. He just-"

"Kill him. He comes back immune to whatever killed him. Even the Gods of the DC Universe don't seem to be capable of stopping him." Skorch said, bluntly. "And trust me, they're capable of more than you can imagine. Superman bought everyone some time here, but Doomsday will be back. He won't stop until nothing is left."

A cold grip overtook almost all those watching as the implication of the above statement settled in. A monster that couldn't die, and would always come back stronger than before… How would one stop such a beast?

"You speak like you've seen this before."

"It's her job." Yamcha shrugged. "He travels to different worlds and records their history. I wouldn't be shocked if they've seen that thing up close before."

"Oh, sorry, not kill, put him into a "healing coma"." Wiz groaned.

"Copout!" Boomstick coughed.

"So that thing didn't kill him?!"

"I guess not?"

"Five-hundred zeni says that was a last second choice by the higher ups to try and drive sales up." Hercule shrugged.

"That makes way too much sense to not be true."

"Wouldn't it have made more sense to kill him off, then have him return in a triumphant moment to show that Superman is never truly dead?"

"Yeah, it would've. But that would also mean companies take an actual risk, and allow the usual status to change in a meaningful way. They probably just wanted the money they could make out of a shock-moment more than the long term gain."

"Man, that's cheap…" Goten scoffed.

"What, like you guys don't cheat death every other week?" Mad Dawg asked.

"And you don't?" Videl countered.

"...point taken."

"On top of all that, Kal-El also has several specific weaknesses, like the infamous Kryptonite, radioactive fragments of his homeworld which bring him to his knees. 'Any prolonged exposure will eventually kill him.' [Superman Super Site] 'There are many different types of Kryptonite, Green, Red, Gold, Blue, Platinum, White, Pink-" Wiz explained as he put a mask on and held a glowing shard up with tongs, before showing pictures of different coloured ones.

"We don't talk about the pink one." Boomstick cut in, and Wiz nodded gravely.

"Is he just holding a radioactive crystal at arm's length with no protective material aside from a mask?"

"I thought he was the smart one." Dr. Gero blinked, unable to comprehend why someone would possibly handle such volatile material in such a way. He also had a feeling if he looked at the homeless skeleton he'd see said skeleton doing just that. And he would be correct.

"No, they're both idiots, just in their own way." Bulma admitted. She had hoped Wiz was smarter than that, but after so many episodes of Death Battle she was starting to doubt it.

"Ah, so like Goku and Vegeta."

"HEY!"

"But the most famous one is the Green Shards!" Wiz continued. "They're… somehow more common than one would expect. But, even being in proximity to a finite amount, say, the amount in a small ring. Is enough to cause Superman immense pain, and prolonged exposure can even prove fatal."

"But, that's a two-way street. Kryptonite is RADIOACTIVE, and you'd have to be an absolute lunatic nutjob to even think about blatantly carrying it around on you without some form of protection… Just ask Lex Luthor!"

"Who?" Hit asked.

"Apparently he's Superman's main nemesis." Lil' Trunks answered.

"...Huh."

"He died of radioactive poisoning because he carried a kryptonite ring around." He added.

"What kind of idiot… nevermind."

"He also has no special resistance to magical attacks, or some chemical attacks such as certain poisons… uh, sometimes." Wiz added, waving his hand in a 'fifty-fifty, depends on the continuity' kinda way.

"But Ki isn't magic…" Gohan frowned, thinking about all he'd been trained in. "It's manipulation of one's own power, not necessarily the power of magic."

"Yeah, but I think it can still hurt him, it just means it isn't going to be an easy win against him." Tien nodded, having come to a similar conclusion. "Same goes for any sort of Destroyer power Goku may have access to while using Ultra Instinct."

"Good! I don't want it to be easy." Goku smirked. "Win or lose, I wanna see the best he can give!"

"Heh, some things never change with you, do they?"

"Now, don't get the wrong idea. Superman had been shown to sometimes be unable to overpower mind control, or even struggle to balance fighting and strategizing. However, those more often than not occur during major events when whole armies are fighting, or the entire multiverse is at risk." Wiz explained. "Plus, physical attacks can hurt him, you just have to hit him really, really, REALLY hard."

"Yeah, for a super-genius, he sometimes misses obvious red flags, or has been tricked into near-lethal situations… but we'll circle back to that." Boomstick commented with a nod. "Superman has a bit of a stigma for being 'invincible' and 'unbeatable' but that isn't fully true either… it just depends on the context and circumstance.

WEAKNESSES

Kryptonite

Radioactive Shards of Krypton

Severely Weakens His Physical Body

Prolonged Exposure Can Be Lethal

Eliminates Stored Solar Power

Red Sun

Cancels Out The Effects Of A Yellow Sun

Capable Of Depowering Superman

Even Emulated, This Can Prove Detrimental

Can Be Physically Harmed/Potentially Killed By Powerful Enemies

While Not A Specific Weakness, He Has No Natural Immunity To Magic

Moral Compass Will Not Allow Him To Let Innocents Be Harmed

"Plus, sometimes he just… loses because the writers wrote wrongly without wondering what would work." Boomstick said.

"Nice." Wiz smirked.

"Ha! I worked on that one!" Boomstick laughed.

"But, since Goku wouldn't know about Kryptonite, and we don't allow outside help, we won't really be diving much deeper into the science behind it here. Because the scientific method is rarely appreciated by those around us…" Wiz sighed defeatedly, clearly tired.

"True." Bulma grumbled.

"Don't you use your so-called 'science' for your own personal gain? Namely to try and keep others from seeing the effects of time on you?" Beerus asked.

It looked like Skorch had something to add, before was silenced by having his head ripped off and thrown out of the ring by Vegeta. Only to reach into their neck and pull a new head out.

"I'm honestly not sure at this point. Was Krypton good or evil? Kinda hard to tell based on what we've seen. Superman seems like a good guy, but what about the rest of his race?" Gohan asked aloud, and Skorch groaned in frustration.

"Krypton… is questionable." Skorch began, setting something beside them. "Overall, they're kinda problematic, but not outright evil. It's just… very, very weird. This hasn't been helped by how many times their story and culture has been retconned. Some of them have very Colonization-ist views, others just have them not feel emotions, and others have them cut themselves off from everyone else out there, and not even have kids the old-fashioned way, using science to do so."

"Ugh! Repugnant…" Heles scoffed, disgusted. "The emotions and passion of love cannot be computed by some half-baked program! They must be nurtured and grown!"

"Yeah, I'm with Lady Heles on this one!" Goku nodded in agreement. "If you're only with someone because you were told to be, but not because you want to, then why be with them?" He nodded to Chi-Chi and added: "I didn't marry Chi-Chi because I had to. I wanted to!"

"Didn't you get tricked into marrying her?" Yamcha asked, not sure of what had happened there.

"Eh, if I was, I'm glad I was! Best trick I ever fell for!" Goku replied without a second thought. Chi-Chi blushed slightly and smiled, leaning against him. Bardock, Gine, and Grandpa Gohan were happy to see the two so happy.

"Yet the flaming one implies that it is merely one timeline, is it possible that across their different incarnations they found themselves in better straits?"

"Beep." Mosco beeped.

"Fascinating! I believe you have a point, my lord."

"Beep."

"Some versions rule by reason, rather than emotions, but I can't out and out say that's exactly bad? Kinda?" Skorch added, taking another long hit. "Ugh… others have Krypton doomed by their own doing, either through an A.I. which grows smarter to overpower them, or mining it to pieces, or a civil war that wasn't explained, or some sort of bio-weapon… But then others simply grew stagnant and arrogant."

"Hm… perhaps… perhaps their people could be helped, set on a new course." Sidra mused, thinking it over. "Yes, stagnation can lead to a planet becoming akin to a dead world despite its life, but the Kryptonians don't seem like they deserve such a fate."

"I'm inclined to agree to an extent." Heles nodded. "Yet, I can't imagine a world where emotion has become forgotten. How can a world exist without love? Creating new generations by machine dictation will only lead to catastrophe as Mothers and Fathers never express the love a child needs. Perpetuating a cycle of abandonment, isolation and hatred."

"Oh please, if they actually got to such a point, I'd argue they should be destroyed." Quintellia scoffed, dismissively. "If they need computers to do everything for them, then they're not serving any function. Why keep them around?!"

"…actually, you make a good point." Beerus conceded after a moment's hesitation. "If a whole race grows up under a dogmatic and robotic rule, then what's the difference between them and machines? They aren't actually making anything that justifies their existence, save for what some algorithmic program tells them. Sure, they may be powerful, but they wouldn't be worth giving attention to, as they're just, well…" He trailed off, unsure how to finish his thought. Krillin, meanwhile, squeezed 18's hand reassuringly. Beerus clearly wasn't talking about her or the other Androids, per say. But, it sounded a little too close for comfort in the monk's opinion.

"Yeah, no passion goes into anything, then there's no purpose! Like if there's no passion behind making food, then it's just…" Champa trailed off, not sure what to say. "Well, meaningless. There's nothing that makes it all worth it!"

"Yet at the same time, they could be dangerous." Arak warned. "Their powers, and their strength can lead them to many great things, yet those same powers could lead to terrible ruin for worlds beyond their own." A few shot Frieza a glance, but couldn't be bothered comparing him to the Kryptonians. Namely because they actually liked them to an extent. "If they were, as some may call it, xenophobic, then perhaps penance would be required to convince them to renounce such ways."

"Fair enough, The Pride Troopers have had success in scaring some would-be criminals straight." Belmond nodded, thinking back. "Granted, most of them were more desperate for one reason or another, rather than truly malicious."

"Indeed. Sometimes desperation leads one to a path they did not want to follow. Being given a chance to change their ways is sometimes all they need." Top commented. Jirren cast a glance at Mad Dawg, unsure why, but he seemed to know a thing or two about that.

"That, or a Destroyer could end up using them as their own enforcers."

"Isn't that what Beerus did with Frieza and the Sayians?"

"No, and how dare you accuse me of such a lazy and Champa-like tactic."

"I don't think Krypton would need to be destroyed…" Arak finally spoke, having been in deep contemplation. "The destruction of it by other forces notwithstanding, it doesn't seem like a world that would need to be cleared away for a new one."

"Again, this all depends on the continuity. Some stories depict Krypton as a totalitarian hellscape of which Kal-El is the outlier because he wasn't raised there. To the point where even his Dad is like King Vegeta. Arrogant, an asshole, and an elitist." Duke added, the pin-striped-suited phoenix taking a puff off his cigar.

"You DARE-"

"Dude, you shot a baby off the planet because it was tougher than your son, shut your ass up and sit down.." Skorch snapped, still high, but seeming to snap to reality for a moment as he appeared behind the king. Thankfully, only the king seemed to hear him, because spoilers for later chapters.

"And he always gets all hung up on doing the right thing, even if it makes his life miserable…" Boomstick added.

"Of course such a weak-willed warrior would be forever ensnared by notions of humanity." Frieza snorted. "Those who cannot see the frivoilusness of attachment will always be dragged down by it.

"He does not fight for himself, but to protect others. Even the buildings in Metropolis are more valuable to him than his own life… (Superman punches Captain Marvel to the hospital, the building crumbling down) most of the time. The point is, Superman spends more time defending the city than actually improving his own abilities.

"Really? He values buildings more than his own life?" Goku asked a bit dissapointed. He liked Superman, but wondered why he didn't use his powers to their fullest to fight.

"Goku- you know what, never mind." Bulma began but waved it off.

"He seems a lot more like Gohan than Goku." Roshi commented. "But at the same time, I see why they chose to use Goku for this."

"I'll be honest, if I don't ever end up in one of these, I'd be fine with that." Gohan laughed nervously. He was a fighter, but he didn't enjoy it, and the idea of seeing him kill someone, or be killed wasn't really his idea of a good time. Skorch looked at a script for 'Gohan vs. Invincible' and set it on fire with a shrug.

"Aw, that's lame! I'd love to be in one of these!" Goten snorted, rolling his eyes. Skorch looked at a script for 'Goten vs Anos Voldigoad' and stared at it wondering who thought this was a good idea.

"But in all seriousness, an issue with a character like Superman is that he's supposed to be 'The best anyone can be'. As such, making someone who can stand against him physically is hard enough. Add to that how often comics feel the need to give new powers, forms or whatever else to boost sales, and sometimes we end up with a character who's just… TOO powerful."

"Yet this also leads to his greatest strength. His kindness." Wiz added. "Sure, it doesn't really apply in a Death Battle, but Superman's kindness has been both a blessing to him and a curse. He's the best of anyone, and he chooses to do good."

The girl tossed her phone away, looking as it tumbled to the ground below. She seemed truly hopeless and broken. Something was wrong, and there was no turning back.

"Your doctor really DID get held up this time." There wasn't a sound, a shout, nothing. Just a calm voice and reassuring hand on her shoulder, and suddenly, Superman was behind her. "It's never as bad as it seems."

"You are so much stronger than you think you are. Trust me." He spoke calmly, and the girl blinked, then began to cry into his chest. He held her close and moved away, knowing she would be safer on the ground.

"But remove all those pesky feelings about saving people and you have a nigh-unstoppable force that will bend the world to his will."

Superman punched another fighter through a wall, Skorch… froze, and for the first time in all the time the Z-Warriors had known him, for the briefest of moments, he looked… scared.

"I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard. Always taking constant care not to break something; to break someone. What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am.

"...I get what he's saying, I think." Grandpa Gohan mused, scratching his head. "He knows he could stop any fight with a single blow, but that would put too many people at risk…"

"Across the DC Universe there's been many heroic Supermen, and then there are the ones that remind us why we should be thankful that Superman is who he is. Because it can get BAD, fast!" Boomstick added as the scene changed to Superman and a group of other heroes. some of whom the Z-fighters recognized, but something seemed off…

"No! No… there have to be limits! Even on us. Especially on us!" One of them, a hero in a gold and red outfit, was arguing, seeming almost panicked.

"That's enough!"

"We can't do this! Are you nuts?! Lois never would've wanted-" That was as far as the 'hero' got, Superman grabbed him by the throat. "SHAZ-" He tried to cry, but Superman froze his mouth shut, before focusing his eye beams and burning a hole straight through his head. Everyone watched, emotions ranging from horror, to amazement, to indifference. Finally, he let the corpse fall to the ground, and simply looked at it, anger clear in his eyes.

"That was a kid, by the way."

"…what?" Someone finally asked, mounting horror rising as many turned to look at Skorch.

"That? That dude, that was a kid." Skorch commented, calmly. "Yeah, Shazam? He's twelve. I think he was like, fifteen at this point? I dunno. But he's a kid."

"He… he just murdered a child."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"In that timeline, Supe's wife was pregnant, and he was tricked into murdering her, which set off a nuke that wiped out his home city." The skeleton shrugged. "From there, he just… well, it's hard to explain quickly, but he became a dictator, after gradually slipping into grief-fuelled anger and hatred."

"And THAT justifies murdering a child!?"

"Yes." Skorch nodded.

"YOU MONSTER!"

"Lady Heles, he's an idiot, ignore him. He's trying to upset you."

"HE'S SUCCEEDING!"

"Woo!"

"Shut up. Now. Is there any reason for your incessant chatter!?"

"What I'm saying is, if you actually piss off Superman, and I mean, actually piss him off, then nothing will keep you safe." Skorch said, in a voice that sounded almost disconnected, a voice speaking in both a grave warning and an unmistakable threat at the same time. "Shazam wasn't even trying to hurt him there, he was to say his name to change back into a kid, that's probably all he was trying to do. He wasn't fighting, he was SCARED. But Superman didn't care. He's the absolute representation of truth and good, but that has its limits. And when you push someone too far, they will push back. Most likely, it'd end with you begging for death worse than Frieza was left begging for mercy. Only unlike Goku, an angry Superman won't show you that mercy." Now, Skorch's words seemed to be settling into those present. Those villainous, and even those who were Destroyers.

"What he's saying is, imagine what would happen to the Universes if Goku snapped. If Goku had the powers he has now, but had Frieza's mindset, or Goku Black's, or Vegeta's before he changed. You should be THANKFUL that Goku's as heroic as he is, and from the looks of it, that Superman is as restrained as he is." Piccolo said, his stoic voice conveying a bit of fear as he addressed those around him.

Frieza was quiet, thinking. Loathed as he was to admit to it, he remembered how angry, and how powerful Goku had been during their final fight. Yes, the Sayian was drunk on newfound power. Now, his powers had grown tenfold. Yes, Frieza's own powers had grown as well, but the prospect of Goku unleashing his full potential with nothing holding him back; no conscience, no morals, no restraint… It was an equally horrifying and deeply intriguing thought. If only there was some way he could harness that power, push Goku to such a breaking point, but do so while making him a loyal servant, then nothing would stop him! But to have such a plan work- no. Why would he waste his time on one lowly Sayian when these records could introduce him to so much more.

"He is… noble." Dabura mused, nodding. "I have seen many a fighter who would desperately fight to protect those they love, yet he fights to protect those who despise him, those who fear him, and those who do not know his existence."

"I don't know if even with everything I've done, and all the growth I've had, I would be as heroic as this 'Superman', but I feel it doesn't really matter." The Demon King shook his head. "We have warriors who will defend the world, regardless of the threat."

"That's the point, isn't it?" Vegeta spoke up, seemingly realizing something. "That the strongest of us, the best of us, one who had powers and gifts beyond anyone's wildest imagination… would use them for good. Never thinking of themselves, only thinking of helping others. That's the point of Superman, isn't it? Not a story of a hero who fights for himself, but fights to protect everyone else."

"It's what makes him a hero." Goku nodded. On the screen, Superman stood atop a pile of destroyed mechs.

"No, no, no! It's not- I PLANNED… You should be there, DYING there!" A voice screamed. "Not here! Not… WHY are you HERE!? Because of HER!? Do you think she's SPECIAL?! She's NO ONE! I took her BECAUSE she's no one! I fought you not to protect HER, but to stop you from finding my army! I just needed an Earthling to EXAMINE – To understand! To CALIBRATE my weapons! To see YOUR weakness! I needed ONE human! And so I TOOK one! An insignificant NO ONE! Someone for whom NO ONE cared! She's not WORTH IT. Not worth ANY of this! She's not some alien QUEEN or the key to an EMPIRE. She's just a stupid GIRL! NO ONE CARES ABOUT HER! SHE IS WORTHLESS!"

"No, sir. She is not." Was all Superman said as he drove his foot into the last one, destroying it. The doors closed, and the video was paused. Those present could take a moment to get food, and stretch, and then… the final showdown would commence.

"All right, here we go!" Goku said with a smile.

/

Finally, Part 2 is done.

When will part three come out? No clue.

I hope you enjoyed, and I thank you for hanging in there.