A/N: Sorry, guys. No chapter next week. I am currently moving cities because of my job, so I won't have internet or time, in general, to write for the upcoming week. Also as some might have noticed, I am now usually uploading after 6 pm, which most likely will remain that way since it's at that time I come home after work. If you want to you can check out my pâtréôn. We are a few weeks ahead on there.
Anyway, I see you on the 27th. Have a good one.
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It had been a couple of days now, and we were making progress. Usually, when we were sleeping, Raven and I would spend some time with Kara to coordinate our moves and the next steps. I enjoyed seeing her talk so proudly about her achievements and her progress. She was moving more independently, searching for more things to do, for more options to improve herself and her circumstances.
Her training with Diana, as she called Wonder Woman, progressed nicely. We had some sparring inside the dream, and I was pleasantly surprised. Diana seemed to have a knack for teaching combat. Kara certainly made a lot of progress, and I could tell that her progress wasn't entirely contributable to Diana. She could adapt to multiple types of enemies.
We had conjured some creatures in this world to battle and she held herself against most of them, even if they were comparable to her strength. It was after she surprised us that she revealed it resulted from her work as a hero. Lately, it had given her plenty of opportunities to grow, especially when she went internationally.
Her social life was growing nicely as well. She had been thrilled to tell me of her friend Courtney Whitmore. Apparently, she was another hero called Stargirl. I knew little about her, but I didn't need to. It was just great to hear her have some activities with friends, even if the start of their cooperation had been somewhat confrontational.
Another thing that was a bit concerning was that she put a lot of time into developing and urging the research for inter-universal travel to get us back, but I couldn't really deny her or tell her otherwise. I too was interested to get back as soon as possible, though from what I heard from her, they were making some good progress.
In a few days, they could send some data in the form of radiation to another universe. I just had to tell Star Labs to look out for it and we would gain a lot from that exchange of information in real time.
If everything worked as intended and we could get that information sooner than later, it would only be a matter of weeks until we returned. Of course, even though radiation should be much easier to send over than living beings, it still gave us a hopeful outlook.
Raven and I had taken permanent residence with the Titans with some added barriers to stop annoying Raven-2 with our intense 'emotions'. Although we had an apartment from the Justice League, which we might visit in the future, I would rather not be in an environment controlled by the League.
There was also the fact that I could use the Titans' training facility and free space outside. It was hardly a replacement for my training hall, but it would suffice, as I only needed the space. The apartment might be spacious to live in, but I could hardly use it to train my clones or fly around unperturbed. Being here on an island was much more convenient to mess around on.
I would occasionally train the other Titans, and I had gotten to know Kid Flash. He wasn't as obnoxious as I remembered his Young Justice counterpart being, but he was still someone that could get on my nerves, though that was something Blue Beetle and Beast Boy had in common. Teenagers. Hah, am I right? Not that I was only 18, still an adult, though...
The remainder of the time I spent training with my Shadow Clones. My [Multiform] technique had already progressed enough to create another 2 clones that were practically autonomous. For almost the entire day, I would have them train on some techniques as I could hardly train my strength with them or at all in that regard.
Of course, there was meditation, but currently, I wasn't too focused on becoming stronger as the gains didn't justify the effort, especially considering that I was only getting stronger according to what I would have in this universe, which was only 1 percent of the gains I could have had. Being suppressed by the universe sucked balls.
It was frustrating to have to work 100 times harder to achieve the same result in another universe, so instead, I would rather work on my ki control, which seemed to help in counteracting the suppression. More and more of my initial might was unlocked, and I had already doubled my strength. I was now sitting comfortably at 2 percent of my full power and I was unlocking more power faster as I went.
1.4 billion in terms of power level was already enough to curb-stomp anything this universe offered. I was already searching for Darkseid to kill him once again. It wasn't like I had a personal vendetta against him, but this universe could do without him. Besides, I needed a motherbox to power my inter-universal travel.
The researchers from Westmob had already mentioned to Kara that they would most likely need a power source capable of supplying them with enough energy to bridge the gap between universes. Of course, there were ways to do it more energy efficiently, but we wanted to have results, fast. So blasting a wormhole to another universe with a motherbox was kinda the only option.
Motherboxes should be capable of providing that much energy or even bridging the gap to another universe entirely. At least that was what Superman told me when I mentioned I needed a robust and powerful energy source capable of such a feat.
I would have asked Cyborg for clarification, but I would take Superman's word for it. At least for now, I would avoid speaking of important things pertaining to my way home or my intentions of attacking Darkseid from Cyborg, in case he was compromised.
It was best if Darkseid didn't prepare some anti-Saiyan parademons, even if the idea sounded appealing. I just wanted to return, which meant finding Darkseid, killing him, and taking his motherbox. A simple plan, but certainly an effective one.
I was currently using the only useful thing I had gotten by studying the new gods of my universe, a feel for divine ki. My senses extended into the space as I searched for Darkseid's divine ki, but found nothing like the previous days. Not to mention, divine ki, even normal ki, was difficult to find in the vast expanse of the empty space, especially if they were several light years away, though I was getting better.
My ki control got better, and it didn't just affect my attacking techniques. My senses, clones, all my other support abilities, and even my psychic techniques that I used in tandem with my ki were benefiting from my increase of control.
Honestly, training with clones was pretty awesome. With my clones I was advancing at thrice the speed I would have without them. To be honest, it was probably a bit more than that as I had some clones train throughout the night to optimize my time. Even now after I had just woken up, the 2 clones were probably still training. Freaking training maniacs.
I looked over at Raven, who had a new additional black crystal between her tits. It was certainly an appealing sight. The crystal was the one that she had created out of the local Trigon's realm as a present for Raven-2, though Raven-2 had little interest in it. She said that Raven would have more use of it, which proved to be true as she was able to divert some excess energy or whatever into it, allowing Raven to almost return to her human look.
I continued to look at the sleeping Raven and pushed a strain of hair behind her ear. With a stretch, I stood up and got dressed before dispersing the two clones, gaining their training experience.
My eyebrows shot up as one of them made significant progress in his senses. It seemed like he had been trying to learn [Instant Transmission] after getting bored with juggling ki balls, but the experience told me it would still take some time to get any tangible technique to use, especially since I wasn't doing any Spirit Control exercises anymore. That reminded me, I should probably start doing that again, though I could hardly do it with my clones as they didn't really have my Spirit.
I stretched some more before floating cross-legged as I felt the full extent of my available power. My senses reached further than before as I was now without the discomfort of having my ki reduced to a third. Clearing my head now was much easier. In space, several masses of life force pointing at a planet with life on it popped up like lighthouses in the dark announcing their presence.
The admittedly abundant life forces could hardly catch my interest, as I knew I could probably slap the entire planet to dust in one strike. I continued searching and further away, trying to find the divine ki of Darkseid...
I was just about to give up when I felt something. My senses noticed something amiss in the space. The large life force of a wretched planet came into my range and I instantly homed in on it. I observed calmly, wondering if I had found another outpost of Darkseid's conquered planets, but when I registered the familiar divine ki of the furies, I couldn't help but smirk. "Finally. Found you."
Perhaps it wasn't Apocalypse, but with a fury in hand, I could use her motherbox or just her memories to get the coordinates of Darkseid's planet. With that in mind, I gently woke up Raven.
She pulled a blanket over her head, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I threw the blanket onto the ground, causing her to frown and roll up in herself. "5 more minutes." She complained.
"Raven, I found a fury." With a sigh, she opened up one eye to look at me.
"Really?" she asked, probably hoping for another '5-minute' rest. I couldn't blame her. Even though we talked a lot with Kara, she also wanted to be intimate in our dreams, as she wouldn't be able to get it any other way. Not to mention, the session we had before going to sleep last night, she was probably mentally and physically tired.
Despite this she got up without complaint after I nodded to her question, confirming that I wasn't messing with her. With magic, her appearance was fixed and her clothes appeared on her body. Honestly, that convenience was enviable, though I just found it enjoyable as I didn't need to wait for her to get ready.
"Where is it?" She asked in her deadpan tone. She was getting back her control again and her tone habitually returned to what she was used to. The experience from Raven-2 had given her a lot of control back and she was progressing nicely in integrating her demon side. She hadn't told me yet as I hadn't asked, but I believed it had strengthened her as well.
I was seriously wondering if she could already beat me. The answer, after thinking about it, was probably. I really liked those odds. At least for now I was still beating her in every battle we had... those battles being in bed and sparring, but those still counted, right?
Of course, although she had gained a lot of control again, she didn't want to restrict her emotions the same way she used to. It had been difficult for her to find a balance, but some attributes that could be mostly associated with her demon side bled through her monotony.
The Lust for one, but also her Pride. Even now she didn't even consider delaying our attack on Apocalypse, the planet of the tyrant new god, Darkseid. She was confident of our victory and I, for one, couldn't blame her, especially not after our entire confrontation with this world's Trigon.
Not to mention, I, a Saiyan, didn't want to point it out to her in case she dialed her pride down after realizing it was showing. Every time she gave me that confident smile during sparring or that smirk she gave to Zatanna when she had come running at us, demanding answers and how she was shot down by her. Oh, that was scratching my itch just right.
After telepathically conveying to her the direction and distance of the planet, she nodded her head and teleported us toward our destination. At one moment, we were in the Titans' tower on earth, in the next we appeared high above the fiery planet. It certainly looked like Apocalypse, but that meant little as most conquered planets were transformed to a similar shape and we didn't know the exact look of this universe's Apocalypse yet.
We didn't waste any time and flew toward the planet. This close, I was already picking up all the gods living on this planet. Even though no ki was the same, there were several that were familiar to certain new gods that I had brought to my side. There was no mistake. This was Apocalypse.
I pointed at one life force and had Raven teleport us closer to her before we entered the building swiftly, breaking through every defensive mechanism this place had set up to keep the prisoners locked up.
I burst through a wall, revealing a surprised and confused elderly woman in front of her monitors that were showing the debris of our break-in. Granny Goodness was the first I had visited for a reason. I raised my hand and pointed a finger at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but I had already shut her up as I rummaged through her mind.
As expected of a new god, their mind was tough and I wasn't sure if it was the difference in universes, but I was hardly getting anything out of her mind. I knew it would take me too long to gain information from her, so I threw caution and delicacy to the wind and rampaged through her mind.
Crushing any mental defenses she had built in advance in search of the only two bits of information I truly cared about. The effort wasn't wasted as I got the information I wanted, leaving behind a husk of a new god with a destroyed mind.
With a shot, a ki beam pierced her skull, putting her out of her misery. The sizzling hole smoldered red for a moment as her body dropped to the ground. My telekinesis grabbed the motherbox that had been attached to her belt. Afterward, we flew out of the building and I waved my hand, completely disintegrating the building with everything inside. The only exceptions, a man and a woman who were tortured inside.
Raven threw the bewildered new gods inside a portal leading to earth. I wasn't exactly sure, but I believe I remembered him from somewhere. He was most likely a character from one show I used to watch. Given that he was tortured by Darkseid, he had to be someone that opposed him, right?
The woman was unsurprisingly Big Barda. It seemed like even in this universe, she wasn't entirely brainwashed to Darkseid's side. Didn't really matter, though. I would deal with both of them after this was done.
After this interlude was over, we flew up into the air again before locking onto the several divine ki sources I could sense except for Darkseid. After having locked on them, I raised my hand and gathered my ki, charging my attack.
I was unperturbed by the hundreds to thousands of parademons that were approaching us as Raven made quick work of them. It was like she was swatting them away like flies, shooting them down with her telekinetic throws, or straight up enveloping them with her magic to crush them into the ground.
The ki in my body was overflowing after being roused as I pushed it towards my hand above my head. A flashing bright blue light surrounded me, illuminating the surroundings in the color of my ki. From down below, I could already see several demons looking up at the flashing light in the sky. After gathering strength for a brief moment, the attack erupted mightily, several bright streaks of light shooting into the air.
[Annihilation Attack]
The ki blasts shot through the air before finding their target on the planet below us, homing in on the several new gods and parademons inhabiting this world. The ki blasts were moving lightning fast as only for a moment a streak of light could be seen before it hit their target. It was like a rain composed of deadly shooting stars.
The first impact had silenced the groans and growls of the demons. The next few introduced an urgency among the populace as they searched for the source that was rocking their world. No building was left unharmed when a ki attack exploded in its vicinity. The attack soon covered half of the planet in a blanket of deadly explosions. Any second, several explosions devastated the planet's surface.
As far as the eye could see, explosions, balls of destruction, and debris were covering the already hellish environment. Despite Apocalypse's usual hostile environment, the attack dialed up the deadliness of the planet a millionfold and all this was directed at the inhabitants of the world.
Indiscernible shouts of the dying parademons left me unbothered. I was actually surprised that there weren't as many indoctrinated slaves on this planet. Most of them had been genetically altered to become parademons, only listening to the commands of those that remained unaltered. Of course, those unaltered beings were the new gods. I continued to let certain death rain onto the ground as it cleansed the planet from the wretched life it possessed.
It didn't take long until the master of this planet made his move. All the manned weapons were annihilated, and once I saw another world-destroying weapon move its cannon hole at me, I saw to it to destroy it. Even though some weapons managed to attack me, the blast I sent to counter the attack completely obliterated whatever they threw at me.
It wasn't a surprise when Darkseid stepped onto the roof of his tower to fire an Omega Beam at me. A ki blast met it and crushed the beam's resistance in a second before continuing its way toward this planet's absolute ruler. Darkseid shot another Omega Beam at it and finally destroyed it.
At that point, I had already finished my attack. I glanced over the destroyed surroundings, finding nothing but rubble, ruins, ashes, and fire left behind. With my ki surrounding my body, I sped up toward Darkseid, stopping just a couple of meters away from him. My aura around my body ceased, and I just hovered slightly above Darkseid, who was glaring at me with his fiery red eyes.
"What do you think you are doing mortal?! Who do you think you are messing with??" He growled at me and I had to give it to him, he wouldn't cower... Or did he think I used a device to create that attack? Perhaps he did. After all, who would think a no-name mortal could decimate an entire planet the size of Apocalypse and kill all its godly inhabitants?
Of course, he would think I used some device to attack his planet. I looked down at him, not deigning him with an answer, before smirking at him. This infuriated him and, with an enthusiastic shout, he once again fired an Omega Beam at me.
"You will die today, you worm!"
With a smirk on my face, I flew backward, letting the beam trail me before I broke into the tower through several walls, letting the debris tank the attack. Darkseid was following up as he burst through a wall next to me to catch me off-guard.
I ducked underneath the haymaker before giving him a hook in return. He shook his head to disperse the dizziness he must have felt from the sudden counter. Darkseid was fast to recover and closed in again. I dodged and weaved out of his punches before returning the favor with a few love taps. A jab here and a hook there was enough to infuriate this tyrant, without damaging him too much.
Too bad that I was too evasive for him to put his hand on him. It was already too bad I knew of his fighting style, while he knew nothing about mine. Although he did his best to adapt, forcing me to block from time to time, he was clearly at a disadvantage. It wasn't even like I was fighting at full capacity.
I had fun fighting him, though he seemed to hate every second. When I tripped him up, causing him to slide over the ground. He shouted, infuriated before he smashed his fist into the ground in frustration. His hit caused the floor to give in and we fell to another rather empty hallway. "Could we finish this?" Raven's telepathic voice sounded out, making me sigh for a moment.
I leaned against the wall with crossed arms and looked at the slowly rising Darkseid. "Are you nervous? It's alright if you have some performance anxiety. Even the greatest men have their ups and downs from time to time, but I am on a busy schedule. So how about we wrap this up, okay? Ah, and if it makes you feel any better, I was entertained by this, so thank you."
I clapped and applauded, though my 'sincere' gratitude wasn't perceived very well as he shot at me with an Omega Beam. I let it hit me and I could feel how it tried to devour the ki that was supplying my body with seemingly endless power.
Several moments passed with him powering the attack before he stopped, slightly exhausted by his actions. "Was that all?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I took a step forward, causing him to take half a step back before he shouted with indignation. Not wanting to acknowledge that he was clearly outmatched. He stepped forward to meet me in stride before punching out.
I tilted my head out of his punch before giving him a good liver shot. Darkseid's already abused armor cracked to the point that it almost shatter. He clearly was hurt as he took several steps back, clutching his side as he glared at me, though there was a disguised realization in him. Did he realize that I had held back until now? "Wh... what do you want?" He asked, causing me to be surprised.
I vanished from his point of view and clutched his wrist, holding his motherbox. "I would never have imagined that you would escape. Though I guess that was a new god for you. Your life would certainly be more important than a mere planet, right?"
I ripped the motherbox out of his hands before throwing it toward Raven's shadow for a keepsake. "Who would have guessed that I would kill Darkseid a second time, huh?" I asked with amusement as I saw Darkseid glare at me, though I saw he seemed to have a conclusion at my words.
The multiverse theory wasn't just a theory, especially not to beings on Darkseid's level. He could guess that I had already slain him in another universe or maybe in another timeline, but that wasn't important, was it?
I yanked him to his feet. Despite his knowledge and the clear evidence that he wasn't a match for me, he used the momentum of me pulling him to retaliate. He struck out with his free arm, which I just took to the face. From the moment we exchanged hands, I already knew that he was barely above 5 percent of my currently accessible power. Around70 million. It was certainly not bad. More than half a Full Power Frieza on Namek.
He punched me again when I didn't retaliate, but it was like a human hitting a steel wall with all his might. He must have been regarded as highly resistant, but when punching me, his bones and flesh gave way.
I undid my hold on him and let him pick his stance. Even in this universe, he seemed to be a rather capable fighter, though he seemed rather unfamiliar with the defensive stance he was using now. I closed in, ducking underneath his straight punch before delivering a simple hook to his side.
His body tilted to that side automatically in pain, opening himself up to a jab in the face. He stumbled back as blood spurted out of his broken nose. I pursued him and struck out swiftly and precisely as I dodged his counters. With absolute ease, I continued to thrash this godly opponent like he was an amateur fighter, going up against the greatest.
Perhaps it was closer to a newborn going against a peak Mike Tyson. Considering that our combat skill wasn't the main reason I had such an easy time against this foe now that I had let loose, I almost felt bad for bullying him. The keyword was almost.
I dodged his punches and retaliated with hooks to his side. Uppercuts. Straights. Just for fun, I threw in kicks to his knee. After a few short moments of me abusing him as a punching bag, I let him fall to the ground, disheveled, disorientated, and with considerable wounds with oozing blood. A broken body of a once glorious and fear-inspiring god lay at my feet on the cold metal floor.
"Usually, I would have continued this a bit more, but you know my girlfriend is impatient and I could hardly learn something from you. You are simply too weak." There wasn't much Darkseid could say to that, as he even had difficulties breathing. I pointed my palm at him and burned his body inside a ki bubble.
With a jump, I broke through each level of the building before exiting it through the roof. Raven was waiting with a book in hand before she noticed my arrival. "Do you think you could absorb this planet as well?" I asked, not wanting to let it go to waste. She looked up from her book with a raised eyebrow.
She then glanced at the planet before stretching her hand toward the planet. A moment later and it seemed like a black blanket was devouring the planet. The fiery light of the burning planet disappeared behind the darkness.
The space was dark, and I could feel the life force of the planet diminishing with every second. I glanced at Raven, whose weapon was glowing in an ominous red. The space was getting quieter with every minute as I waited for the energy of this world and its new gods to become a source of power for Raven. Man, this absorbing ability was broken. No wonder Majin Buu was such a problem.
I was a bit heartbroken that I once again couldn't admire the destruction of Apocalypse, but perhaps I would have another opportunity in the future... Why did I feel like I was becoming Darkseid's predator?