A barrier of dark energy was surrounding a village. And our heroes were just arriving to the scene.
"All this negative energy doesn't look good."
Superman nodded, "Yeah. But we have to through it. We gotta find Odium and stop his plan from succeeding."
Goku sighed, "I really hate to say it, but I sort of miss the days when we fought each other. It was so much simpler back then."
"At least nowadays, we don't have to worry about fans overhyping our abilities." Superman offered.
Goku smiled a bit, "I guess so." he powered up, "Let's roll!"
"WOrK hARdeR! MasTeR ODiUm doEs nOt tolERAtE YOu weaKLIngs beINg laZy!"
The workers Odium's latest herald was yelling at were mining away at the ground. They were told to look for technology hidden in the ground. It was supposedly left behind by a civilization that had come from the moon.
"Yes, master Ferned." A villager replied, "It would be easier if your barrier didn't sap away at our strength though- AAAUGH!"
Ferned turned the villager into ash, "i WiLL nOT tOLEratE YouR paTHEtic eXCusES! YoU wiLL WOrK uNTiL YoU fIND tHE teCHnoLOgy, oR diE!" He demanded.
"Y-y-y-yessir!" Another villager stammered, as he and his fellow 'workers' got back to work.
A small cloud of shadowy energy appeared in front of Ferned, and revealed a pair of eyes filled with malice and evil. "Ferned, how goes your search for the technology I require?"
"It goES wEll, MAsteR. anD mY NewLY EnhaNCeD CurSE zONe wILl kEEp thOsE medDLinG 'hEroeS' OUt oF tHE waY."
"And if they do show themselves?"
"TheN THeY wiLL haVE tO FiGHt thrOUgH My aRMy. i wILL haVe mUCh tiMe tO PRePArE fOR thEM."
"Be sure that you get the technology to me, Ferned. And do not fail me. I can still revert you back to your old form, oh so 'powerful' Crimson Helm."
"Do nOT wORRy maSTeR. I SHaLL haVE mY SLaVES doUBlE theIR efForTS." Ferned replied.
"See that you do not fail me." The smoke disappeared.
"SLavES! dOUblE YouR eFFOrtS. NOw!" He roared, "faILUrE IS NOt aN OPtiOn!"
The people of Kusa village all grumbled as they were forced to increase their efforts. All of them had one thing on their mind: Who would save them now?
Superman and Goku were fighting many new foes. As they too were embedded with a portion of Odium's dark energy, they were tougher than usual.
And with the dark energy, much of their power was cut off.
"I haven't had to use Super Saiyan Three since my fight with Beerus!" Goku noted, as he used a powerful blast of ki energy to eliminate several Imps.
Superman had taken battle to a few Chimeras, "Not having my immense power is also something new. It gives me opportunities to outthink my foes rather than overpower them." He noted, "I don't like not being able to save everyone, but it's a nice change of pace." He used his super breath to ice over a few of his foes, and shattered them with his own version of the thunderclap.
Indeed, the enhanced cursed zone had sapped away at the heroes' powers, leaving them with weakened forms of their abilities.
"Destructo Disk!" Several Imps were bisected, and some dropped strange-colored fangs as they disappeared in a small bloom of flowers.
Superman, not having such impressive attack names for his moves, smirked as he lifted the ground from under him, and proceeded to smash many opponents with the large chunk of rock.
CRASH!
"Looks like they chose scissors." He chuckled.
With the field cleared, the two proceeded to keep moving towards the village Superman had detected a few minutes ago with his super-hearing.
"H-h-hey, demon!" A shopkeep called, clearly trying not to sweat himself dry, "We have something for you."
"WhAT IS it?" Ferned demanded more than asked.
"W-we found some of t-t-that technology you w-were looking for-" He stammered before getting interrupted by the demon.
"sO? WhaT Is taKINg So lONg?"
"W-w-we need h-help g-geting i-i-i-it out of th-th-the ground." The shopkeeper said nervously.
"VErY WeLL. i WIll dO whAt yOU aNd yOUr PEoPLe arE tOo WEaK tO do." Ferned begrudgingly said.
"Y'know," Goku said as he destroyed more Imps and Chimeras, "I heard from Vegeta that Ryu is always up for a fight for some reason. I thought he was more calm and collected than that."
"Grah!" Superman just threw off several Imps who had the bright idea to pile on him, "I heard from Spider-Man that he wanted to fill in the void since Ken hasn't shown up yet."
"I see." Goku blocked a pile-on with a ki barrier, "I wonder how 'Geets is doing without Krillin or Tien there."
"I wouldn't know." Superman shrugged as he used a nearby tree to hit a grand slam on a swarm of Chimeras, "I'd feel pretty lonely if my friends weren't around."
"Hey, if Ken does fight, who do you think it'll be against?" Goku asked as he used his dragonthrow to smash an Imp into more Imps.
"Kung Lao, maybe? I wouldn't know. I'm not one who wants to enter the ring again unless I'm fighting with you, not against you." Superman replied.
"We're already doing that!" Goku responded, throwing several punches at his opponents.
"I know." Superman replied.
"Right."
"YeS… THiS WIll dO PErfECtlY." Ferned said.
"S-so… Are we free now?" A villager asked.
"yEs. BUt yoUr jOY shaLL nOt LASt LonG. mY MAstER wiLL ComE AnD destRoy EverYTHinG yOU aLL KnOW anD loVe! ANd EvERyTHIng elSE aS wElL!" Ferned laughed maniacally.
An Imp was flung from the forest, and towards his feet. The Imp meekly crawled towards his master.
"WHaT Is tHE meANinG of THIs?"
"M-master…" The Imp wheezed, "The heroes… Son Goku… And Superman… They come this way."
Ferned merely glared at the Imp before crushing his head, "FooL! I dO nOT caRE iF thEY coMe! LeT THem! i wIll dO whAt MY feLLOw heralDS couLD NOt: DEsTRoY thE twO HeroEs!" He declared.
The villagers all clamored to an inn.
"We have to do something to help!"
"We cannot keep asking the gods to help us. The Celestial Envoy said it himself: We should take on some of their burden once in awhile."
"But… We're just people. What can we do?"
"I do not know."
"But we have to try something!"
"But what?"
"Yes. What can we do against a being of that might?"
"Kusa Village. It looks like they were trying to find something." Superman observed.
"It also looks like whatever the new guy was looking for, well… He got it." Goku added.
"COrrECt fOOLs! THe deVIce HAs alREadY BeEn sENt tO mY MAstER. AnD noW, I wILL deFEAt YoU!" Ferned declared.
"Many have tried, and none of them have done it so far!" Superman boasted,
"You might have what it takes to knock us down, but…" Goku looked towards his friend.
"Do you have what it takes to keep us down?" Superman finished.
"OhH i dO." Ferned boasted, "mY EnHANceD CurSed ZOnE saPS aWAy aT yoUr poWERs. YOu arE buT siMPLe BUgS to ME!"
"Spider-Man and Ant-Man would take offense to you saying bugs are weak." Superman quipped, "But I'll take you on!" He charged at Ferned with the punch that made him famous: The Superman Punch.
"HA!" Ferned was thrown back into a large structure.
"He went into the Gale Shrine!" A villager called out.
"What?"
"The Gale Shrine." Another came out of the inn and explained, "It's said to be the place where Kazegami created his winds."
"And where the Serpent Crystal was held!" The Shopkeeper added.
"It's said to be able to dispel any dark magic that a demon is using." A young boy said, "You must get it back! It is what Princess Fuse has dedicated her life to protecting!"
"Please. Can you help us?"
Superman and Goku nodded without hesitation, "We'll get it back."
"And what's more, we'll beat that demon back to the gates of HFIL!"
"Thank you. Thank you so much, heroes."
"Right. We'll be back. Thanks for the help."
The two flew off, leaving the Kusa Villagers to stare up in awe of the two heroes.
"Wait, did he say HFIL?"
"WItH thE serPENt CRySTAl no LONgeR heRE, THOsE TWo wiLl NeVEr defEAt mE!" Ferned gloated to himself, "PERfecT."
CRASH!
"NOT SO FAST!" The two heroes burst through the doors of the shrine.
"AHhH, thE HEroES…" Ferned mocked, "WHaT ARe yOu goINg tO Do whEn yoU arE deaD?"
"We'll walk it off! Now, surrender yourself, and come quietly." Superman demanded.
Ferned held out his clenched hand and poured dust out of it, "I'M afRAid thAt i canNoT ADheRE to THAt DemanD." He sarcastically said, "FOr thIS IS thE plACe OF youR DEMisE!" he yelled as he fired a blast of dark energy towards the two heroes.
"Dammit!" Goku realized, as he powered up to his third tier of Super Saiyan form to dodge the oncoming attack, "We'll have to try a different tactic then."
"CAreFUl. ThIs plaCE is SAcREd grOUnd." Ferned taunted.
"I've already memorized the entire structure, Ferned." Superman declared, "I can rebuild this place in twelve seconds, tops."
"BUt hOW wIll yOu HAvE tiMe to FIgHT ME," He gestured to a nearby window that had a view of the village, "WHen THe PEoPLe yoU tRY sO HarD tO proTECt aRe beinG slAUghTERed?"
"What?"
Superman turned to Goku, "Take care of this Skeleton-Bull, I'll help the village."
Goku nodded, "Go!"
Superman flew out to save the village from the invading monsters.
"Let's dance!"
Superman was fighting off the Imp army. But with their newly enhanced dark energies and The Enhanced Curse Zone limiting Superman's power, he couldn't use his untapped power.
"Great Scott. These things just keep coming, with no regard to their own safety." He lamented.
Several imps started coming in, in massive droves.
Superman braced for an impact.
.
.
.
It never came.
"What the…?"
A man was at the top of Mr. Bamboo's home. He looked onwards towards the invading forces. "Evil beware! I am Yoichi, the greatest archer in all of Nippon! My trusty bow Goldenfire has been blessed by the Gods to never miss a single shot, and I shall not allow you to do harm to this place!"
The archer readied another arrow, and fired. It hit a Chimera right in the left eye, causing it to thrash around and hit several Imps out of the way.
Several howls were heard heading towards the village, and five dogs started to attack the monsters.
"The Kusa Five?" A man questioned, "I thought they were unable to fight because of their sapped power?"
"They were…" A spectral man said appearing, "But when they heard of a two warriors with great power who fought despite the odds, they moved to fight alongside them."
"They will defend this place. It is their duty to do so." A woman wearing a beautiful kimono said, also arriving, "My prayers may give them just enough power to help them."
"We will also help as well!" Several villagers stepped forward.
"I may just be an old man, but my Bamboo wares are the best in the land. I could create something that would help" Mr. Bamboo said, "Those fangs that your friend collected earlier are proving to be quite effective against these fiends."
"We cannot keep relying on the Gods to solve our problems, we must also take on some of their burden," A man stepped forward, "Thus, we will fight to defend our village, even if the Gods themselves cannot come to our aid!"
"Maybe if we pray for these heroes' victory, we could win!" A young girl said.
Superman chuckled, "Your belief in us heroes is what keeps us going." He got back up with the help of the bamboo cutter, "So thank you."
"Great hero of red and blue! We have more demons trying to get closer!" Yoichi called.
"Then let's stop them."
Goku's fight with Ferned was more of a stalemate. Even with the might of Super Saiyan Three, the Herald's newlyfound dark energy made him much more powerful than he was before.
"YOu CANnOt wiN. SO kneEl befORe mE." Ferned demanded after knocking Goku back.
Goku powered down.
"SO yoU FInALLy reaLIZe it IS poINtlESs tO RESist?"
"No. I just thought I'd do something I haven't done in a long time. I'm going to teach a person a few things you might want to know about Super Saiyans." He smirked.
"Oh, i knOw abOUt yoUR poWEr. MastER ODiUm tolD Me aLl abOUt it. WHaT COulD yoU poSsIbLy knOw tHAT I alrEAdY DOn'T?"
"You're going to love this. Trust me." Goku smiled, "What you're seeing now is my base form." He gestured to himself.
His hair then turned yellow, and started standing on its end. His eyes were a fierce green hue as well, "This is a Super Saiyan."
Ferned merely grunted. He was aware of this form.
"And this," He continued as his hair became more spiky and more power resonated through his body, "This is a Super Saiyan that has ascended past a Super Saiyan." he grunted, "Better known as a Super Saiyan Two."
Ferned was still unimpressed.
Goku's hair grew to the length of his brother, Raditz, "THIS is what it's like to go further beyond that! I call this, a Super Saiyan Three." was the growl that came from his mouth.
"SO whAt? I haVE alREADy beSTed thIS foRM. WhAT ARe yOU GETTing aT?" Ferned asked, becoming increasingly more impatent.
Goku's smile became larger, "Just wait."
Power started to resonate throughout his body, as the very pockets of power around him became distorted and discolored, "THIS! IS TO GO EVEN FURTHER BEYOND!" Power surged through his body, creating ripples in the air around him, and causing minor earthquakes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"WHaT IS ThiS? THIs POwER…"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The earthquakes disoriented Yoichi's stance slightly, causing him to trip a bit, and misfired his arrow, missing the intended target. It, however, managed to hit an Imp that was hidden in the trees.
"What the…?"
"Are the Gods angry? Did we do something wrong?" A little girl asked, scared.
Superman shook his head, "No. It's my friend. And while he's angry, he's not angry at you. He's probably just powering up."
"This power! Only the Gods have come close to this! Are you two sure you are not Gods?"
"We prefer not to be worshiped." Superman said, as several trees fell onto the Imps, crushing them and pinning the Chimeras.
"We will still tell your stories in legend, though. Allow us to do that much." A Merchant said, bashing away an Imp with his large sack of Yen.
The Man of Steel chuckled, "Alright. Just don't debate which one of us is stronger, alright?"
"Why would we? You two are extraordinary heroes! You shouldn't be fighting each other. You two should be doing what you are doing right now," Mr Bamboo said, hauling out more of his bamboo arrows that had some special surprises in them, "Inspiring people to do what's right, and work hard to achieve dreams."
"That is our job. Along with saving people." Superman said, as he noticed the Canine Warriors defeating several Chimeras at once.
"Thank you so much, heroes."
"It's not a problem." Superman replied as he flew back into the fray. But, in the back of his mind, he was wondering 'I hope you know what you're doing, Goku…'
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Goku was still screaming, his voice managing to hurt the ears of the demon in front of him. He had not taken a single breath since he started his transformation. An spectral image of a giant monkey being flashed over Goku's body before wrapping itself around the Saiyan and turning its fur golden.
A great flash of light appeared, and blinded Ferned. When he looked back, his eyes widened.
A boot touched the floor, as a fist connected to an arm of pink fur clenched itself. Goku's red eyelids rose to reveal golden feral eyes that seemed to scream one thing: Destroy the Demon!
"Sorry about that," His voice had changed, he was now a being of pure power, "It's been a very very long time since I used this form." He chuckled, "I call this one…" He paused to crack his neck and knuckles.
"Super Saiyan Four."
The legends said that the two heroes that had saved Kusa Village had incredible power. Enough power to rival the gods themselves.
"That does it for the Demon's minions." Yoichi called as the sun rose over the village.
It was also said that a dragon of great power, one with scales of gold, that shone like the sun had devoured the demon. Rendering it a shell of its former former self.
"Thank you for repairing our village. We owe you a great debt!"
The legends spoke of a man, wearing a bright orange gi, who fought the demon and was the one who summoned the mighty dragon, and created a mighty beam of energy that was described as a 'wave of destruction'
"Please. Your thanks is enough."
The tale of the man in red and blue spread throughout the village. Children had pictures of the hero who had risked his life to save them. Many were of when he took several claws to shield several children from harm, and depicted him as a great man, with a body of the hardest metal, not even flinching.
"At least take some of our food as thanks. We do not think you have eaten in awhile."
Rumors spread around like wildfire. The man in the orange gi was said to be a monkey king, when people saw his tail. They said that they were making a journey to the unknown lands that laid in the west, and that they had disappeared in a shining light of pure goodness.
The other was a man of great inspiration. One whom many of the children aspired to be. He was a hero. They both were.
They were the legend that was feared throughout the dimensions. All evil feared them.
All but one…
"He failed."
"That was to be expected, Malgore. What is important is that we have the technology to put the dark energon and this Dinosaur DNA to use."
"But Master, We still need more equipment and resources before we can go through with your plan." Malgore said.
Odium chuckled, "Yes… And so we shall get it. Bring up the monitor. I wish to speak to Arô Gnart."
"The Tarkatan? Why?"
"He can bring me something that I need…"
Malicious laughter filled the dark void that was the lair of the two greatest evils.
Holy shit. Over three thousand words in the story proper.
Deadpool: These are your favorite to write, huh?
Alexis: Tweet tweet.
Well, yeah. I'm tired of people pitting these two against each other. It was fun for a little while, but now it's just tedious. - Having the two fight each other I mean, not writing these chapters.
Deadpool: Fair enough.
Alexis: Tweet tweet.
It's almost as tedious as having to put a disclaimer about how I don't own these characters in pretty much every chapter.
