On the ground, the Guardians stared up into the sky in worried silence. War Woman, now supported by Green Ghost, squinted her eyes and asked, "Is he trying to throw it into space?"
"Possibly, but sometimes these beasts are even able to survive out there, so I'm not so sure. Wait, look there!" Immortal pointed towards the sky, noticing something different. It looked like a single speck at first, but slowly it began to grow, wrapped in fire.
"He's planning to crash with it, but where's he heading? It's nowhere near here," Green Ghost questioned.
Aquarius thought for a couple moments before an idea emerged "When we came here to fight didn't we pass a huge lake? Could he be trying to crash there?"
"Possibly… doing so would also be a good distance from most people and from a great height landing on water can be deadlier then the ground. However whether he successful or not doesn't matter we need to head over there just in case it's not enough" Immortal stated. The serpent's most impressive aspect was its durability. On the off chance that this wasn't enough to end things, they needed to be there to support.
The Guardians sprang into action, preparing to follow Brandon's trajectory. As they approached their destination , they could see the fiery streak of Brandon and the serpent descending rapidly. The lake below shimmered ominously, reflecting the impending impact.
.
.
.
High above, Brandon felt the intense heat of re-entry as he hurtled towards the lake. The serpent writhed in his grasp, but he held on tightly. The surface of the water loomed closer, and with a final surge of strength, Brandon gripped the serpent by its neck and pointed its reverse scale on the point of impact.
Realizing Brandon's intentions the serpent tried to struggle but could not resist no matter how hard it tried. Not when Brandon was pumped full of energy from the sun.
Boom!
The moment the two crashed the collision it caused was cataclysmic, sending a massive wave rippling outwards and creating a momentary dip in the lake that was quickly refilled.
Climbing off the body Brandon looked down at the lifeless eyes of the serpent with fear and anger etched in its expression. 'I did it… Holy Cow I did it!' Brandon's lips quickly curved into a smile as he flew a bit higher to take in the full scope of the Kaiju he killed.
The more he saw the more he couldn't believe it. To think he went from a regular human who couldn't even lift weights in the gym to killing something that would give Godzilla trouble. But most of all this meant he was officially a hero!
However, before Brandon could begin celebrating his win there were still some things that needed to be taken care of. Specifically, the guardians who he noticed closing in on his location along with the various helicopters from news outlets and government agencies.
'Ugh I should look heroic or something right?' Glancing at his attire he noticed it was pretty roughed up. Multiple areas were torn along with sections that had been burned but not a drop of blood marked his clothing and there were no bruises. All in all, despite being a bit worn it still had a sort of regal aura and would be fine.
The first to arrive were the guardians who quickly checked the status of the Kaiju while Immortal flew up to introduce himself. Lifting his hand he offered to shake it with a smile "That Kaiju was giving us a rough time thanks for the help um sorry I don't think I got your name yet"
"Br- you can call me Ultra-man," Brandon said in a rush as he almost gave his name. 'Man I almost messed that up, good thing I remembered on time but still it feels pretty good using a superhero name.'
Immortal just gave a small chuckle; it wasn't his first time meeting new heroes and most of them had this problem. It's not so easy to introduce yourself with a different name when you've been using another your whole life.
"Ultra-man huh, well I would have liked to continue this but it looks like someone else has something to say," Immortal said as he slightly gestured to the floating Amazonian heading their direction "Word of advice don't make her too mad"
Watching War Woman flying to him he knew that this moment had to come, though it was a lot sooner than he had expected.
Once she arrived she looked directly at him and remained stern making it hard to tell if she was angry or not. However, it looked like it might be the case because next she lifted her hand and cocked it into a fist.
Watching her actions he prepared to block but stopped when he noticed her punch slow down and gently tap his chest. "Thanks for the save but your carrying skills need some work. You held me too tightly, luckily for you I'm tough but if it was someone else it might've been quite painful" War Woman's stern face switched to a light smile after this.
Brandon also returned her smile and accepted her advice. She was right about his strength and it was his main struggle. He practiced often and would get a good amount of control but his strength was growing so whatever sense of control he had the previous day would disappear forcing him to retrain himself again. Thankfully Zod was a good teacher and Kryptonian Martial arts had helped him a ton when it came to gaining better control.
"Sorry about that it's a work in progress"
"New powers? Don't worry, lots of people experience the same thing. In fact, Red Rush went through it as well when he first started. Constantly talking at super speeds leaving people confused as to what he was saying."
I could see that happening, especially when I thought of his counterpart the Flash talking at super speed with the other speedsters. Too bad this guy doesn't have his own speedster family to help him have a normal conversation.
"In my experience, the best way to control your strength is with some good sparring. If you are up for it we can go a couple rounds"
Sparring? That sounds like a good idea. Zod is a great teacher and all but you can't really spar with a hologram "Sure I'm up for it"
War Woman smiled with a subtle glint in her eyes. The public was well aware of her hero life but not many knew that she was a bit of a battle maniac.
Usually, she only had the Immortal and Omni man to spar because not many can handle her strength but it seems like she lucked out this time. While they traded contact information, the noise of choppers finally arrived.
Most of them had numbers from the different news stations and by the looks of it, they really wanted an interview. The original Superman might have been all up for it because his girlfriend did his interviews but Brandon didn't have Lois Lane to keep him around.
War Woman noticed his reluctance and didn't seem to mind "Don't worry you don't have to stay if you don't want to we have it from here"
Brandon nodded at War Woman, grateful for the chance to go. "Thanks, If you all ever need help again. I'll be there." With that, Brandon flew down to the Kaiju's lifeless form and made sure to peel off a couple of its scales. With this being his first battle he obviously needed to take a trophy. With that done he shot up into the sky and had to make evasive maneuvers as another helicopter almost hit him from how close they got.
'Damn these guys are really desperate'
"Wait sir please just a moment of your time" Shouted a reporter from the helicopter as her crew stood beside her filming.
Brandon floated with some hesitation. He couldn't avoid media forever they went hand in hand with Hero's. Even more so when it's basically his debut but that didn't make it any better.
The reporter noticed his expression and had a feeling he wouldn't stay no matter how hard she tried but she couldn't let him leave without nothing. Especially when they are the first news station to meet him. Giving them the golden opportunity to share the news first while everyone else will just be copying.
"Excuse me we won't hold you for long. We just want to know who you are your plans for the future"
'We'll if it's just that then I don't mind' Floating toward the helicopter Brandon made sure to make himself eye level with the crew.
Looking straight at the camera he gave a smile that carried warmth and gentleness in a way that made others feel that they could rely on him for anything. This unexpected smile caught the crew by surprise as they remained silent.
His clothing was worn and battered from his battle but that didn't decrease the aura that seemed to surround him. Something about the man in front of them felt so bright and warm like an older brother. After a moment the reporter finally realized her mistake and made her way toward Brandon with a slight blush.
Seeing that the reporter was ready with her mic he began speaking "You can call me Ultra-man. As for my plans I'll keep doing what I did today. Helping when I'm needed" After sharing those short words Brandon turned around burst into the air disappearing into the horizon.
.
.
.
Not long after Brandon left, another figure arrived at the scene, descending from the sky with immense speed and power. It was Omni-Man.
Immortal, still floating near the Kaiju, noticed his arrival and flew over to greet him. "You're a bit late, Nolan," he said with a calmly
Omni-Man's expression was serious as he looked around. "Trust me I got here as quickly as I could but the kraken I was dealing with was troublesome. Though it looks like you guys handled this one pretty well"
"You can say that but we had some help this time. A guy who calls himself Ultra-man" Immortal explained. "He helped give us the edge we needed to end the fight faster. Pretty impressive really for a new timer."
Omni-Man raised an eyebrow. "Ultra-man, huh? Interesting. I guess I missed the show."
Immortal chuckled. "You did but who knows I have a feeling we'll see a lot more of him from now on. You know how these new heroes work. Once they debut they end up appearing in every fight"
Omni-Man nodded thoughtfully. "We'll see. For now, let's make sure this thing is really down for good." The two powerful heroes turned their attention back to the Kaiju, ready to ensure that the threat was truly neutralized.
.
.
.
While the clean-up was being taken care of a totally different situation was going on within a hidden facility.
"Donald run that by me again I don't think I heard you right"
"Sir I checked again and again but the readings don't lie" Taking the folder he handed it to Cecil and looked at the image on the cover which had a young man wearing bright red and blue. Flipping the page his eyes began to narrow as he saw the numbers.
"These numbers to think it's possible to carry that much energy in a person; it's like he's a living breathing sun. How about his strike force were you able to get any data on that?"
"Yes sir and these numbers are pretty high as well. It's on page 4"
Flipping to said page Cecil began tapping his fingers in thought as he digested the information.
According to his scientists, it should be impossible to carry so much energy without exploding but with this guy, it just didn't happen. Then there was his strength… it was right up there with the Immortal. If someone like this ever went rogue then he'd prove troublesome especially if something goes wrong with all that energy. If released it might take a couple of states with him and those calculations were being lenient as the damage could be a lot worse.
"Donald keep gathering as much data as we can, search those forests. We need to get a sample and also start looking into his identity. We got plenty of pictures so he shouldn't be hard to find." Following orders, everyone began doing their tasks like an expertly run assembly line.