"Something is troubling you, friend. What is it?" Norrin Radd asked the rather melancholy Asura, who was sitting at a table.

"Can I ask how you do it?" Asura finally asked, "How do you fight on? Protecting all you care about, when what you care about is not present?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that there is no Zenn-La here. There is no Fantastic Four, no Alicia Masters, no Dawn Greenwood. What is there for you to keep you going?"

"You are referring to Mithra, aren't you?" Silver Surfer asked, "Truth be told, I am unsure myself. But I like to think that is why we must keep fighting to protect. We cannot allow despair to envelop us."

Asura still wasn't so sure.

"It is just that, I am so used to protecting people. My daughter, the innocents of Gaia - But here? Here, everyone can protect themselves and the rest of the… What did you call it again? The 'infiniverse'?"

"Yes. That is correct."

"It is just… Is there any room for someone like me, when everyone else here can defend themselves so well? You and that J'onn person have already done a much better job in teaching Broly how to control his rage that there is no need for me. A similar thing can be said about a lot of others too."

"Asura my friend, there is still very much a need for someone like you. People find your story to be beloved so much that many of them were rather outraged at the notion of your story being difficult to access and hard to even find."

"How does that make me useful?"

"Because your story is an inspiration to many. And with your help, we can make sure that there are no more innocent people who get hurt."

"Hmm… I am still unsure of if I will be of any use, but you have given me a lot to think about. Thank you, Surfer."

"You are welcome, Asura. Perhaps you can also join some discussions about philosophy sometime. Megatron has had some interesting takes, and it would be interesting to hear your input on some of them."

"I will keep that in mind. But for now, I think I would like to take a walk."

"Do take care of yourself, Asura." Surfer wished as the demigod got up to wander the streets of the protected portion of the city.

Asura walked through the city. His anger was oddly quiet. It was calm. He wasn't used to this level of calm, and he wasn't sure if it was something he could find comforting despite knowing that he should.

Maybe it was the lack of someone like Mithra that was bothering him.

Or perhaps it was the idea that there could be a world that would need his rage. His story was all said and done. Could there be a sequel? Could there be a world where he is once again wrathful?

It was hard to think about. He always felt angry. Angry at the injustices of the world. Angry at the suffering of innocents.

There were innocents being hurt though. Beyond the controller though. Whether it was through war or because some sick bastard didn't allow them medicine, there was suffering that he couldn't do anything about.

As infuriating as it was, it wasn't something that he could do anything about. At least before, there was something he could do to alleviate suffering, even though he was impeded.

He passed by Bowser Jr and Sage at a nearby restaurant and waved back at them.

They could find some sort of purpose without their fathers or rivals. Why was it hard for him to find something without his daughter or wife? Did he need a rival? Something to punch?

DIO claimed that was 'the only reason' why he was working to bring back the others. He wanted to challenge Jotaro. Frieza denied a similar thing when asked about Vegeta. Maybe he wanted to challenge Kratos again?

A Senticon fell in his general direction, but he didn't notice. Barely acknowledged the apology that Ryuko offered, too lost in thought to register the relative danger the hybrid would pose.

In general, he had no real idea what he wanted to do going forward. He even speculated on his own home series. What would a sequel even do? What could it even solve? Make him stronger, perhaps? No. He remembered what Norrin had said. People wanted to see more of his story, not raise his power for arbitrary online debates.

But what could the sequel even be about? He had accomplished his mission. He did what he set out to do.

Maybe that was why he was so angry? Because he had no more rage? No more things to protect? He was in a strange world. With stranger friends.

…

Friends that would rely on him in a fight. Yes, they were capable, but that did not diminish his own abilities or what he could contribute as well.

He took a breath and smiled.

He may not have rage. He may not have his wrath. But that just meant something new to drive him.

Asura couldn't wait to see what it was.

Dude: Y'know, we've been stuck in this other dimension since mid 2020, do you think anything big happened?

Wade: … Fuck, it's been that long?