At this point, one might think Sparga was used to the constant invasions from beyond the stars. But that didn't mean he enjoyed them. Rather, he found them grating. Especially when they came en masse. But he understood that this was the job he signed up for and days off didn't exist for a Superman. He dodged and bobbed his head to the side to evade an incoming blast before projecting himself forward with a blur of momentum that caused the ground to crack at the initial step of his charge which launched him forward. As he moved, his fist clenched tight and locked into place, preparing to smash into the abdomen of his target and the invading Saiyan felt his armor crumble under the weight of Sparga's blow before he was sent flying off into the horizon. As Sparga's arm stretched out to thrust and deliver his sundering blow that would take this individual off the board and remove him from combat, he held his expression calmly while watching this warrior lose consciousness. It was common place for Sparga to have to deal with alien invaders. It wasn't normal, however, for the invaders to be a small warband of wandering Saiyans.

From how he understood, most Saiyans alive in this era were under Time Patrol jurisdiction and often reported directly to Chronoa. Most of them, after all, were chronally displaced and brought in to bolster the ranks of those fighters who made sure history was not disrupted. But this group? Something about them didn't strike Sparga as a tame band of fighters with a purpose directed toward preserving the timeline. No, their attire was pieced together and haphazard, with nary a uniform among them. They also had a strange cohesion to them that Saiyans of the Time Patrol lacked - a sense of unity. When Sparga retracted his outstretched left arm after sending one of these assailants flying, another was already on him and lunging from behind, only to find his elbow driving into their nose without the Superman even turning around to acknowledge them. Their numbers were dwindling but they kept coming with a feverish determination. As they fell to him one by one, Sparga's own tail swayed lazily, unimpressed.

Sparga: "You guys really should just go back to whatever planet you came from. I don't wanna have to hurt you."

The pack of Saiyans laughed and halted their assault and from the crowd came one that was shorter than the rest, a woman clad in red wearing silver furs around her hips and over her shoulders, and she wore her hair in a loose ponytail with the back tied behind her fur mantle. She was small, but she commanded a presence to her that Sparga had to acknowledge. Adjusting himself into a casual posture that spoke volumes against her dominant aura, unbothered in the face of her commanding demeanor, he let his tail sway freely. As she strode forward, the other Saiyans who were all much larger than her stepped aside to give her space to approach.

Saiyan Leader: "You think you're tough for taking out these small fry? Well, lemme tell ya, you're in for a surprise! Cuz I'm the Silverback of this lot! And you're gonna be joining my tribe!"

Sparga blinked in surprise, raising a brow in confusion. He stared at her, dumbfounded and trying to make sense of her words. But eventually, all he could muster was a simple "What?"

She sneered at him from down her nose despite the distance between the two and him having a distinct height advantage over her, but she kept staring at him as if she stood above him. And Sparga couldn't help but frown at her obvious demonstration of arrogance. It was a solid reminder of what he hated about other Saiyans - that arrogance and pride that made them believe themself untouchable even when they were clearly in over their heads. The belligerence and love for violence without reason that made his skin crawl whenever he had to remember that half of his blood came from them. And as she stared down at him with that condescending gaze, Sparga felt his fist clench tighter than he'd have preferred.

Silverback: "Typical of these backwater Saiyans living on primitive worlds. You have no idea about your own culture, do you? Well you're gonna learn when you kneel and recognize me as your Silverback!"

Sparga: "I know enough about Saiyans to know that you're in over your head if you think you could beat me. I'm more than just a Saiyan - I'm Superman!"

And then it came the other Saiyans turn to stare at him in confusion and the small female laughed in uproar at his claim. She cackled audaciously as if he had said something utterly ridiculous. Her own tail thrashed with a whipcrack against the ground as she crossed her arms under her chest and threw her head back in laughter before wiping a tear away from her eye from laughing so hard. The other Saiyans around her followed suit, but not because they thought what he said was funny but because they were following her lead. And for some reason he couldn't quite understand, this annoyed Sparga even more.

Silverback: "Ahahaha… You're funny. Everyone knows Superman is a Kryptonian and he died years ago. The universe has been a pretty chaotic place since then. Lotta folks were afraid of him. But not us! We conquer and raid as we please! Like real Saiyans!"

Saiyan Grunt: "Uhh… Boss. I think he's that hybrid that we heard about. Who else would be stupid enough to be calling himself 'Superman' like that?"

The larger man leaned in to get her attention and whisper, but Sparga's super hearing could accurately understand every word spoken. And then the smaller leader grabbed the bigger man by his collar and threw him over her shoulder to the back of the crowd. He gave a shout of panic before hitting the ground harmlessly and then she called back over her shoulder with a bark.

Silverback: "How many times have I told you idiots not to interrupt me! Next one who tries is a dead man!"

And then a sound like a crack of thunder erupted as she felt something colossal smash into her abdomen and knock the wind out of her. For a moment, she felt her lunch wanting to come up but she bit back down on the sensation and as she doubled over from the impact, she looked up to see Sparga standing in front of her with his fist pushing her stomach into itself. And his expression was one of contempt, dismissal, and disapproval - and she hated looking at that face.

Sparga: "If that's how you treat your friends, I'd hate to see how you treat your enemies. This is your last warning. Get your little band of merry men together, and leave. I'm not looking to hurt any of you."

As he took a step back, he withdrew his fist from her abdomen and she nearly fell to her knees and buckled. The crowd of Saiyans around her all murmured and whispered among themselves, a phenomenon that did not go unnoticed by the woman. She looked over her shoulder and the group all began taking several steps back when they recognized the look in her eye. The rumble of her shoulders and the snarl in her throat building as she trembled while staring back up at Sparga, she tensed visibly and all the other Saiyans were giving her space, meanwhile Sparga just held his position in her face, undaunted and unintimidated by her bubbling rage. And when she roared, her bestial howl echoed and reverberated for miles while her energy ignited into a furious blaze of torrential sparks that ionized the air and sent the atmosphere around her into a rush of excitement. The rushing wind kicked up in the wake of her aura's release caused dirt and debris to blast back while the ground beneath her feet crumbled and she rose up into the air slowly while glaring daggers at the Saiyan of Steel.

Silverback: "Okay, maybe you are that special half-breed everyone keeps talking about! But if you think you can sucker punch me like that, you've got another thing coming! I'll break you!"

And then she threw her fist to smash it against Sparga's face, causing him to take a step back on the impact as she pressed forward and her raining torrent of punches came at blitzing speeds, each smashing against the Superman's face with increasing ferocity in every blow. With each punch inflicted, he took a step back and with each impact, a sound like metal clanging sounded off as her knuckles collided against Sparga's facial features. With each vicious blow, Sparga took another step back as she unleashed fury onto him. And then she threw a feral uppercut that knocked him up into the air. And when she dove into the sky to give chase, she reached behind him and let her tail dart forward to try and coil around his own. But before she could, Sparga halted his momentum and wrapped his own tail around hers. When he did so, there was an odd sensation that went through his senses and a strange scent filled the air around him before his tail locked in place around hers and he flipped forward to whip her around over his head and send her flying back down into the ground. When she hit the pavement, the roadway shattered and bowled into a crater and several of the nearby raiders all whispered amongst themselves.

"Did he just…"
"No way… The boss…"
"She's not gonna be happy…"

The nearby buildings began to shudder under the weight of the tremor building in the ground and Sparga lowered his altitude, preparing for her to unleash another outburst. He rubbed his thumb against his bottom lip, swiping away a bit of grime from where she hit him. And then came another outraged shriek as the crater she rested in expanded under the force of her explosive temper manifesting in a wave of energy that caused the ground to quake violently.

Silverback: "How dare you!? You stupid backwater half-breed! You think I'll stand for that kind of disrespect!? I'M the Silverback here, not you! You should be on your knees before me! Begging for my good graces! I'll make you suffer!"

And then she charged again, rocketing toward Sparga with such aggressive speed that the sound barrier ruptured and nearby windows shattered against the shockwave kicked up by her speed so she could rocket toward Sparga to resume her assault, only for her to be grabbed by the scruff of her fur-collared mantle, causing another shockwave to kick up as the drag force of her momentum carried on past her before Sparga slammed her down onto the ground firmly. Her momentum instantly ground to a halt, she felt herself be slammed onto the ground firmly when Sparga pinned her there and she clawed at his arm. From her pinned position, she kicked and clawed against Sparga's dominating strength before she lifted her head back to try and look up at her crew. And she snarled while still clawing at Sparga's arm, trying to wrestle free of his grip while he pinned her down.

Sparga: "Give up. You're outmatched."

Silverback: "Grrr! What're you lot just standing around for? Do something!"

To her surprise and indignation, however, many of her crew simply stood there in stunned confusion. She clawed at Sparga's arm pinning her to the ground by the collar still and kicked her feet in a defiant outrage, spitting and roiling in feral offense. Sparga could do little but frown at the display as he held her in place. He had to admit, part of him did admire her refusal to submit - Saiyan Pride was something that was as unshakeable and unbreakable as the certainty that the Sun will rise. But against something as unassailable and absolute as a Superman's strength, even Saiyan Pride was moot as far as Sparga was concerned. So seeing her thrash so desperately against an opponent she couldn't have the slightest hope to beat went past the novelty of admirable pride and into foolish futility. As she barked and snarled beneath him, desperate to pry his grip off of her collar so she could rise to her feet, he held her in place so she could tire herself out. But the longer he held her down, the more she just seemed to continue to dive deeper into that proud defiance.

Despite being half Saiyan himself, Sparga couldn't reconcile with the fact that this was part of who he is. It almost offended him, watching such blatant ignorance unfold under the name of "pride." Her tail continued to whip about beneath her to try and coil around his own, only for him to pin her tail beneath his own with only the furred appendage providing enough strength to bind her and she screamed even louder, spitting at his face. Sparga's brow furrowed and he had to resist the urge to throw his knuckles into the ridge of her nose for such blatant disrespect. But he held that instinctive impulse down with grit teeth before furrowing his brow deeper.

Sparga: "This is juvenile. You're only making this drag out further. Calm down and I'll let you go."

Silverback: "I AM NOT GOING TO SUBMIT! I AM THE SILVERBACK HERE! NOT YOU! I WILL NOT KNEEL!"

The small Saiyan female kicked without slowing down, trying to kip up and shake off Sparga's iron grip. Her violent thrashing maintained itself even despite its pointlessness against the Superman's unyielding strength. Her teeth gnashed as she let out another guttural howl, and her aura surged into ignition to form a vibrant blazing torrent that caused the winds to blast back and away from her to try and eject him off of her under the force of her power's eruption. But Sparga didn't even so much as flinch - as if his very existence was holding fast and firm in defiance as an absolute monument that dwarfed her own strength. Her breathing was growing ragged and her every muscle burned from exertion but she refused to accept defeat.

She lifted her gaze back up to stare indignantly at her pack, who were all standing there keeping their distance.

Silverback: "Are you idiots seriously not going to help me? Get him the hell offa me!"

Her small band hesitated and exchanged uncertain glances with one another. This wasn't just any opponent opposing them - they had watched him effortlessly trample through their numbers and trivalize a battle with them despite him being hopelessly outnumbered. And now he had their Silverback pinned as if she were a child. Some of them even instinctively took half-steps backward, uneasy and shaken by the display of strength that the Superman had demonstrated. She was the strongest of their tribe - there was a reason she was the Silverback. And he had so easily defeated her and asserted his dominance as if the gap between them was so wide that it wasn't ever a fair contest to begin with. Some of them even began to understand what the term "Superman" actually meant and why the previous holder of the name was so feared throughout the universe. The reputation of his predecessor and the man before them so freely trivializing battle against them, they couldn't help but wonder at the horror of if he wanted to actually hurt them…

But their leader was far more proud than they were and she had yet to yield.

Silverback: "You ungrateful idiots! After everything I've done for you! Everything I did with you! And not one of you have the guts to fight for me! Are you Saiyans or are you cowards!?"

Some of them scowled at her words and shook their heads. Her words hit like a whip's sting and their spines straightened out before they began to take steps forward and prepare to charge. She grinned, seeing her troop finally find their nerve. Their pride ignited and their warrior's spirits awoken, they began their charge.

Only for a flash of bright green light to wash over into a barricade that solidified into thick ethereal bars like a cage. The Saiyans slammed into it to try and break through it only to be met with an ironclad resistance and they began unleashing their own outrage against the jail that had solidified from nothing around them. Sparga's eyes went wide with disbelief at what he was seeing and then a voice rang out overhead.

?: "I offer my most sincere condolences, but it is my understanding that a battle between two Saiyans clashing for dominance is not to be intruded upon. To do so would otherwise be to dishonor the Silverback and throw away… what was it referred to by? One's saiyan pride?"

The interruption of the composed voice caught everyone's attention and Sparga craned his neck up to see an interloper hovering above the bright green cage to confirm his suspicions.

An alien humanoid clad in green and black was levitating over them with a trail of green light flowing from his fingertips down toward the cage and Sparga finally released the Silverback's collar to let her go as he stood upright.

Sparga: "So the Guardians are finally considering my request? Thanks for the assist, by the way, but I had it handled."

Green Lantern: "I am sure you did, Superman Sparga. But according to your cultural customs, an intrusion between two Saiyans engaged in a dominance struggle to establish a new Silverback is considered unlawful and disrespectful to the participants. It is presently my duty to prevent such unlawful activities."

Sparga blinked in surprise, taking a moment to process the exposition unloaded onto him. And then he felt a dull impact hit him in the back of the head and he turned around to see the small Silverback resuming her assault against him. She was practically feral in her fury and Sparga rolled his eyes.

Silverback: "Don't you fucking ignore me! We're not done here!"

Sparga: "Lady, give it up. You've got no chance at beating me. And I really don't wanna hurt you."

Silverback: "Don't you fucking 'Lady' me like you've won! My name is Romaine! And I refuse to yield! This is my tribe! And this won't end until one of us is down for the count! You don't get to try and assert yourself over me like that and think I'm just gonna quietly accept your dominance!"

The now-named Romina snarled and let her tail whip out to crack against the ground, almost as if she was trying to shake something off of it, but Sparga's frown steadied itself as he had long since lost interest in this pointless battle. Not only had he been disrespecting her this entire time, she could hear her own tribe whispering amongst themselves as they accepted their inability to break free from the Green Lantern's constructed prison. She didn't know what exactly they were whispering about but she had an idea. And she couldn't accept this insult to her honor. So she threw another punch that bounced off of Sparga's face without so much as a scratch on his upsettingly unharmed and dense jawline.

Romaine: "I'm not gonna back down! And if you're a real Saiyan, then you'll fight back! Or are you as much of a coward as those losers who aren't even gonna try to free themselves?!"

Sparga: "Look, lady. Romaine. I don't wanna fight you. You're not even having much luck in that department. You've lost. Give up already."

Green Lantern: "I am afraid, Superman Sparga, that she will not do so. I was informed that you might be unaware of your own Saiyan customs due to your preference for your Kryptonian half. You have unwittingly engaged in a dominance struggle to determine the new Silverback of the tribe - a struggle that will not end until one of the two has been rendered unconscious by way of knock out."

Sparga turned to face the green lantern increduously. This sounded like a joke. No way this was real. He huffed a chuckle out in disbelief before turning to face the woman who had finally offered her name who was still fuming in front of him. She was so short compared to him that it only made it harder for him to not see this as some sort of gag at his expense. And then she barked out and held her tail up as if to prove a point.

Romaine: "See, even the fishman gets our culture! What kind of Saiyan are you to not know your own customs?! You even went as far as scenting my tail, you bastard!"

As she waved her tail up, he caught that same strange saccharine sweet scent wafting through the air. Sparga sighed in frustration, running his fingers through his hair before shrugging his shoulders - as if he was accepting this whole thing was a bad joke. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. This had to be made up. Saiyans didn't have a culture outside of pursuing fight after fight.

Sparga looked to his left to look at the Green Lantern again, who was still hovering with an almost militaristic rigidity, and then to his right where Romaine was still posted in a stance that made her seem more like a crouching animal ready to lunge on its prey. His own prehensile tail swayed lazily behind him as he considered how poor of a joke this was at his expense.

Sparga: "Look, I have no idea what either of you are on about. But this isn't funny. I'm not some Saiyan alpha. I'm Superman. And as long as you guys promise not to cause any problems here on Earth, you can stay. But if even ONE person gets hurt because of you guys? Then I really will floor you. And you -"

Sparga turned to the Green Lantern up above with a pointed finger, establishing his intent and attention.

Sparga: "We've got a lot to talk about. I have a lot of questions for you, friend."

Romaine: "Stop IGNORING ME!"

Romaine charged like a beast, pouncing into a lunge to attack Sparga who whipped his knuckles out to his side without even lowering the hand that pointed a finger at the green lantern above him. As if further adding to the disrespect, he did so without even turning back to face her until after his backhanded fist smashed into her nose and sent her tumbling back down into the pavement where the back of her skull cracked the asphalt and she was left unconscious. He stared at her as she hit the ground and finally stopped making a raucous, giving him a bit more peace to sort out his thoughts. He almost felt bad for her, but he had no interest in whatever nonsense about Saiyan culture she was screeching about. And as he took a moment to stare down at her unconscious body, Sparga sighed and then turned back to the Green Lantern who had made his presence known.

Sparga: "Let them go."

The Lantern Corpsman released his concentration and the glowing emerald power ring from which the light construct that composed the cage around the remaining Saiyans faded, letting the jade-hued prison disperse. Sparga stared at the small band and gave them a stern, simple and to-the-point expression.

Sparga: "You guys didn't make this harder than it had to be, so thank you. You can take your leader and go wherever you please. I'm not gonna pretend I understand your culture or this whole 'Silverback' thing, so I'm not gonna force you to stay anywhere you don't want to be. But if you cause any trouble? I will be putting it to a stop."

The tribe all exchanged solemn with one another and many of them shuffled about listlessly without actually responding for several seconds that dragged out for longer than they really were. And then after ten seconds that felt like four minutes, one of them finally stepped forward. As far as appearances went, he was as Saiyan as it got - muscular physique that rivaled even Sparga's, spiked hair, and a grave expression that left little room for anything other but a love of combat. But even he seemed hesitant to actually speak before finally voicing how the entire group felt.

Saiyan: "Romaine had been our Silverback for years now, and she's ten times stronger than any of us. And she couldn't even make you flinch. You might not have understood what you got yourself into, but you're still a Saiyan. Like it or not, you're the Silverback now whether you want it or not. And if you don't want us around, then we'll respect that. But we see it too. You took down Romaine - something none of us could do. You're our boss now, Boss."

Sparga: "No, I'm not anybody's boss. I don't know your people. And I'm not gonna follow some archaic custom of a dead culture who think might makes right. You guys are free to follow your own paths now, make the most of that opportunity."

The now defacto leader who had stepped up frowned in disgust and crossed his arms. His scowl at Sparga wasn't all together too different from the one Romaine had leveled against him only moments ago and he spit on the ground at Sparga's feet.

Saiyan: "I get why she refused to submit to you. You don't understand our ways - and it seems even more like you don't even care. But we're Saiyans - real Saiyans. Strength is everything to us. And you're clearly stronger than any of us could ever hope to be. But you don't care! We follow strength. And you disgrace us with your rejection of it. It's like you're a walking contradiction that stands in opposition to everything you are! No real Saiyan would follow you."

And with that, many of them began to turn and leave, leaving Sparga to watch quietly. It might not be how he envisioned it, but he was happy that they were finally going to find their own path. Even if it meant their pride being insulted at the cost of spurring them on. As far as Sparga was concerned, this was still a win. But as he watched them board their ship, a thought occurred to him. And he called out to them.

Sparga: "Wait. Are you just gonna leave her behind like that? She's one of you, isn't she?"

He gestured to Romaine lying unconscious on the ground still, and one of the other Saiyans stopped and turned to look back over his shoulder at the former Silverback asleep on the ground.

Saiyan: "She was meant to lead us through strength. And her own strength failed her. She's not fit to lead. She might still be able to beat all of us in a fight, but she clearly lacks the true strength of a Saiyan. She's not fit to be one of us anymore."

Sparga scowled at this dismissal, and clenched his fists. This reminder of why he couldn't bring himself to respect Saiyan culture in the slightest burned in his heart, filling him with more anger and indignation than when he actually engaged them in battle. And after he watched their ship lift off to exit the planet's atmosphere, Sparga turned back to face Romaine with a pitiable expression. She's not gonna be happy when she wakes up. Now for more reasons than she'd be expecting. Sighing in resignation and knowing he'd deal with those consequences later, he turned back to the Green Lantern who had finally landed on the ground to stand a good foot taller than him.

Sparga: "Well that's one more mess for me to clean up later. But at least we finally have a moment to talk now. You know my name, but I don't know yours."

Green Lantern: "Are you certain that you wish to converse immediately? Does your new Saiyan tribesman not require medical attention? Or are you content with leaving her on the ground?"

Sparga: "She's fine. She's just out cold, and gonna be nursing a headache I don't wanna think about when she wakes up. I didn't hit her that hard."

Lantern: "Very well. I am the Green Lantern Stracats of Sector 3528. I have been temporarily assigned to Sector 2814 to assess the sincerity of one Superman Sparga-Do̅ upon their request to the Guardians to reinstate an active Green Lantern Corspman to patrol the planet Earth as part of Sector 2814. Should my investigations prove satisfactory, a new Green Lantern of Earth shall be chosen."

Sparga stared blankly at Stracats for a moment, taken aback by how formal and militaristic his tone and infliction was. He blinked once, and then again slowly before finally opening his mouth to speak.

Sparga: "Riiiighhhht. So. Thanks for hearing me out. It took you guys a while, though. I went to Oa about a year and a half ago now."

Stracats: "The Guardians spent a very long time debilitating the sincerity of your request. Your predecessor's crimes have left an impact on the legacy of Superman and there was much apprehension about whether or not you were as much of a danger to us as the Superman Kal-El was."

Sparga winced and rubbed the back of his neck slowly, lowering his gaze.

Sparga: "That's… Fair, I guess."

Stracats: "But worry not. I have been assigned the task of investigation to determine the sincerity of your words and assess your performance as the acting Superman to perform so that I might come to the conclusion of whether or not reinstatement of Earth as part of Sector 2814 and the subsequent reinstatement of potential membership to the Green Lantern Corp to be extended to the people of Earth is a logical and beneficial decision to both the Corp and to the Guardians of Oa. Failure, however will mean that –"

Sparga: "Okay, okay. I think I get the point. Geez, you're a pretty serious guy. I don't think you even blinked once while you said any of that. Anyways… I think I'm gonna take your advice finally and get our new friend to a hospital."

Sparga turned and lifted Romaine up off the ground and began to elevate into flight to carry her somewhere safe so that when she might finally wake up, she can at least be somewhere comfortable to soften the blows to her pride.

Stracats: "Very good. I will accompany you."

Sparga sighed heavily without turning to face his new Green Lantern friend as he flew off. This was going to be a long day.