Ed POV
The Next Day
I was in the lab working on Escanor's new axe.
The last one I built for him was solid, durable enough to withstand the insane heat he emits in his One form. But this one?
This one was going to be different.
I was layering enchantments into the metal itself. The primary function: absorb the heat radiating from Escanor's body. Not just survive it, store it.
The axe would feed off his power.
And when he decided to release it?
It would fire that stored heat back out in one devastating blast.
Just like the original Rhitta.
I was mid-inscription when Sage's voice cut through the lab speakers.
"Ed, can you come to the meeting room? There's a problem in Metropolis."
I froze.
Teleport.
In an instant, I was in the meeting room, stepping beside Sage as the large display showed a live feed.
Superman was fighting someone.
I leaned closer.
And then I saw him.
"No way…"
It was Lobo.
The Main Man himself.
And he was swinging a Kryptonian knife.
I frowned. "Man, I feel like everyone keeps getting their hands on that stuff. I thought I collected it all."
Sage glanced at me. "What do you mean?"
"You remember the monster invasion?"
"How could I forget?"
"After I defeated M.O.D.O.K., I wondered how he got such a large supply of kryptonite. So I hacked into his systems." I crossed my arms. "Turns out he had an entire storage facility filled with it. It came from meteor fragments. I tracked and collected everything I could find."
Sage watched the screen carefully as Lobo slammed Superman through a building.
"Well," she said calmly, "more meteors could've fallen. Or the weapon could be alien-forged kryptonite that was never on Earth to begin with."
I nodded slowly. "That makes sense."
Superman hit the ground hard.
"I should build a global kryptonite detection system," I muttered. "Something that tracks radiation signatures instantly. Nobody should be able to weaponize that stuff."
"Probably a good idea," Sage said. Then her tone shifted slightly. "But I recommend you help Superman first. He's losing badly."
I looked at the screen.
She wasn't wrong.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "You're probably right."
With a single thought, my hero suit formed around me instantly, white and gold fabric weaving over my body, armor locking into place.
Sage blinked. "That wasn't nanites. And what's with the two gauntlets?"
"Gift from my sister," I said casually. "Keep watching. You'll see what they do."
I teleported.
And appeared in the middle of Metropolis.
I appeared just in time to see Lobo slamming Superman through the pavement.
Enough of that.
I blurred forward and drove my fist into Lobo's face. The impact sent him rocketing through a skyscraper, concrete exploding outward as he vanished inside.
Before he could recover, I turned to Superman and placed a hand on his shoulder. Green energy pulsed from my palm, flushing the kryptonite radiation from his system.
The sickly glow faded from his skin.
"Long time no see, Supe," I said, helping him to his feet.
"Thank you, Arsenal," he replied, steadying himself. "It's good to see you, too."
I glanced toward the destroyed building. "So… any idea why a galactic bounty hunter decided to make your day difficult?"
"You know him?" Superman asked. "He came out of nowhere and started attacking."
"Name's Lobo," I said. "Bounty hunter. One of the best. Immortal. Ridiculously strong. Extremely annoying. We don't need to hold back."
A deep laugh echoed from the rubble.
"Well,l I'll fraggin' be," Lobo said, stepping out of the ruined building, dust rolling off his shoulders. He pulled out a cigar, lit it, and started smoking like this was a casual afternoon. "Didn't know any Earthling knew of the Main Man."
"I know a lot of things," I replied calmly. "Curse of knowledge and all that. So who hired you?"
"The Main Man doesn't sell out his contractors," Lobo said with a grin.
I shrugged.
"Okay. Have fun regrowing your head."
A focused beam of energy erupted from my gauntlet.
Lobo's head exploded clean off his shoulders.
"ARSENAL!" Superman shouted.
I didn't even look at him. "Relax. He'll be fine, he's immortal. Might take him a bit to regrow it."
"Nothing is truly immortal," Superman said sharply. "You may have just killed him."
I finally turned toward him. "Superman, I know what I'm talking about. Lobo's banned from Heaven and Hell. His body regenerates from almost anything. I just don't know how long it'll take."
Before he could respond, Laughter.
We both turned.
Lobo's body twitched… then his head reformed from crackling bio-matter, muscles stitching themselves together in seconds.
He rolled his neck as he'd just woken from a nap.
"HAHAHAHA! Been a while since someone popped my head like that!" He grinned at me. "I'm gonna frag and kill you for that, human."
I smirked. "Bad news for you. I'm immortal too. But you're welcome to try."
He charged.
Fast.
Really fast.
But I tracked him easily.
I sidestepped and drove a punch into his jaw hard enough to shatter it. Bone splintered, but he didn't go flying. He healed mid-motion, jaw snapping back into place as he countered with a brutal hook that sent me crashing through a row of parked cars.
Metal folded around me.
Superman dove in, but Lobo whipped out a Kryptonite knife, the blade humming with energy. He slashed at Superman, cutting through the suit and drawing blood.
Superman recoiled, dodging the next swing.
I pushed myself out of the crushed car, armor reforming as I stood.
Alright.
Playtime was over.
"Sacred Gear… activate."
Light erupted around me.
My suit shifted instantly, plates of radiant dragon-forged armor forming over my body. Sleek. Gold-trimmed. Two blue gems embedded in the gauntlets pulsed with energy.
I launched forward.
I grabbed Lobo mid-charge and rocketed straight into the sky, carrying him away from Superman and the city.
We broke through the clouds in seconds.
He swung at me mid-air, but I caught his wrist and started boosting power through the armor.
The gauntlets flared.
BOOS. BOOS. BOOS. BOOS. BOOS. BOOS.
Each punch detonated against him like a contained starburst, shockwaves rippling through the upper atmosphere.
He laughed through broken teeth.
"HAHA! That tickles."
I drove one final punch into his chest.
The impact blasted him higher, sending him hurtling past the edge of the atmosphere.
Before he could stabilize. I fired a concentrated energy beam from both gauntlets.
The twin blue gems flared brilliantly as the blast struck him and launched him even deeper into space.
I hovered there for a moment, watching his body disappear into the darkness.
Not permanent.
But effective.
He'd be back.
I descended back to Earth and landed beside Superman. I placed my hand on him again, flushing out the remaining kryptonite toxins from the blade wound.
His strength returned almost instantly.
"Thank you, Arsenal," he said, standing tall again. "And… I apologize for doubting you."
"It's fine," I replied. "Just remember, I know a lot of things."
I glanced toward the sky.
"Lobo will be back. I blasted him into deep space, but he's persistent. Be ready."
Superman nodded. "I will try. But that kryptonite knife… it makes that difficult."
"Yeah," I agreed. "Which is why I'm building you something."
He raised an eyebrow.
"A suit," I said. "One designed to counter kryptonite poisoning. For some reason, that rock is getting way too common."
He considered that, then smiled slightly. "I would appreciate that, Arsenal. Thank you."
"No problem. Occupational hazard of being friends with me."
I stepped closer and lowered my voice.
"Before I forget… I wanted to talk to you about something."
I leaned in and whispered the idea.
His expression shifted.
Then he smiled.
"That sounds like fun. I'd love to."
"Good," I said with a grin. "I'll tell them you're in."
And with that, I teleported away.
Later That Day
I was back in the workshop, hovering tools orbiting around me as I worked on Superman's new suit.
This wasn't just basic armor.
Kryptonite shielding is woven into the molecular structure.
A solar absorption lattice that lets him recharge significantly faster under sunlight.
Psionic dampeners to block mind control and telepathic intrusion.
And I was thinking about embedding small magical runic circuits into the inner lining, subtle enchantments to reduce vulnerability to magical attacks.
Overkill?
Maybe.
But if you're building something for Superman, you don't cut corners.
I wasn't worried about him turning evil and using it against the world. I had contingencies. Plenty of them.
Besides… I don't believe this Superman would ever snap like that. I've kept an eye on the Kents. On Lois. His support system is strong.
He's not alone.
So yeah, I'm not worried.
…Though I really should just kill the Joker one day. Just to be safe.
"Hey Ed, what are you working on?"
Ruby's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. She walked over, leaning beside me and looking at the floating armor pieces.
"Super suit-making. Of course," she said with a smirk. "You really love doing that."
"What can I say? It's one of my hobbies, and it's for Superman, got to give it my best."
She tilted her head. "Why is it black? That doesn't seem like his theme."
"It looks cool," I defended. "And darker material absorbs solar radiation faster."
She raised an eyebrow.
"…But," I sighed, "you're probably right. He's a symbol of hope. Black isn't really his vibe."
With a gesture, I shifted the color palette back toward the classic red and blue, though with subtle enhancements.
"So what brings you to the workshop?" I asked.
"Nothing serious. I was heading to the beach to relax with Agumon. He's probably already there. I was wondering if you wanted to come."
I glanced at the half-assembled suit.
"Sorry. I'm busy. Maybe later."
Ruby crossed her arms. "You're always busy. Just use your cloning power and come relax for a bit. You need it."
I paused.
She wasn't wrong.
A clone could finish the suit.
A few minutes of relaxing wouldn't hurt anyone.
With a thought, I split off a perfect duplicate of myself, who immediately resumed working on the armor.
"Fine," I said. "Let's go."
Lobo POV
"When I get my hands on that fraggin' human… he's gonna wish he was dead."
I floated in space, arms crossed, drifting for hours.
Hours.
I was getting really annoyed.
Then finally.
My bike roared through the vacuum and slid up beside me.
"Took you long enough," I growled, grabbing onto it and pulling myself onto the seat.
Space was too cold to light up a cigar. Fraggin' tragedy.
That human…
He hit hard.
Too hard.
Dealt with the Main Man like I was some street punk.
That ticked me off.
I don't even care about the Kryptonian anymore. The Collector can hire someone else to finish that job.
I've got a new score to settle.
And it's with that smug, teleporting, head-blasting human.
I revved the engine.
"But first…"
I grinned, baring sharp teeth.
"I need weapons."
Lots and lots of weapons.
Alexei Alanovich Shostakov POV
I stormed through Sanctuary looking for Ed.
How could he not tell me?
How could he plan a mission to rescue my daughter and not even mention it to me?
I didn't even hear about it from him.I heard it from a talking cat.
A talking. Cat.
I marched across the compound until I reached the beach—the place where the kids usually played.
And there he was.
Ed.
Sitting on the stand on a chair with that blonde girl and that yellow dinosaur.
"ED!" I roared.
They all turned toward me.
I closed the distance quickly.
"How could you not invite me? Or even tell me about the mission to rescue my daughter?" I demanded, fury boiling in my chest.
Ed blinked.
"…I was hoping no one would tell you," he admitted.
"WHAT?! WHY?!"
"Hey," the blonde girl said calmly, "you don't have to yell. We're right here."
I ignored her, but I lowered my voice.
"…Why?" I asked again, quieter this time.
Ed stood up fully and faced me.
He didn't look angry.
He looked serious.
"Alexei," he began, "I want you to be a hero. I know you have the potential to be one."
He paused.
"But let's not pretend you were a good man back then."
The words hit harder than any punch.
"You worked shady government jobs," he continued. "You handed both your daughters over to the Red Room. Yelena was a child. She believed you were her real father. And you gave her to people who crushed little girls into weapons."
My jaw tightened.
"You were friends with Dreykov," Ed said. "The man responsible for all that suffering."
I couldn't meet his eyes.
"And when we free those Widows," he continued, "some of them will recognize you. I'm going to try to convince some of them to join us. That will be difficult enough. It'll be impossible if you're standing there."
Every word made sense.
That didn't make it hurt less.
I wanted to be there.
I wanted to rescue Yelena.
I wanted to prove, to her and to myself, that I could finally be her father.
But the truth?
The truth was, I hadn't earned that right yet.
My shoulders dropped.
I stared down at the sand beneath my boots.
For the first time in a long time… I felt small.
"Alexei, you have my word," Ed said calmly. "I will bring your daughter back here. I can't promise she'll forgive you. But I can promise you'll get the chance to apologize. To talk to her."
I let out a bitter laugh.
"And what exactly am I supposed to say?" I asked, dropping into a chair beside them. "I'm sorry your father handed you over to an assassin organization? I should have trusted my instincts and run away with them, instead of clinging to my pride as the Red Guardian, Russia's greatest hero."
The title tasted like ash now.
"I was a fool," I muttered.
Ed sat across from me. "I can't imagine what you're going through."
"Because you don't have any kids?" I shot back.
"Oh no," he said casually. "I have kids. Three, actually. Well…one. The other two are not quite done yet."
I frowned. "What?"
"Not important right now. I'll explain another time," he said, waving it off. "But I may not understand giving your children away like that… I do understand wanting to protect them. Wanting to prepare them for a dangerous world."
I nodded slowly.
"I think," Ed continued, "deep down you convinced yourself the Red Room would make them strong. Skilled. Untouchable. You acted on fatherly instinct."
He paused.
"But you chose the wrong path."
The words didn't feel cruel.
Just honest.
"You should've run," he said. "You and Melina were more than capable. She was a Black Widow. You're a super soldier. You could've trained them yourselves. You could've hidden."
I groaned and dragged my hands down my face.
"I'm a terrible father."
"I don't think anyone's going to argue with that," the blonde girl said bluntly.
"Ruby," Ed said sharply. "He's already down. No need to kick him."
"Okay, okay. Fine," she muttered.
"Alexei," Ed said firmly.
I lowered my hands and looked at him.
"I'm not going to pretend you didn't do wrong. You did. But you're not dead. That means you still have a chance to try and make it right."
He leaned forward slightly.
"It won't be easy. She might yell. She might say she hates you. She might mean it for a while."
My chest tightened.
"But as a father," he continued, "you owe her everything. And that means showing up. Over and over. No matter how painful it is. No matter how long it takes."
He looked me dead in the eyes.
"Parents would do anything for their children."
Silence settled between us.
I studied him for a long moment.
"Wise words," I said quietly, "from one so young."
He shrugged. "I'm actually over a hundred."
I blinked. "What?"
"Hyperbolic Time Chamber," he said casually. "You should try it sometime. Might do you some good."
I stared at him.
I had no idea if he was joking.
But for the first time since I found out about the mission…
I felt something other than anger.
Maybe… hope.
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AN: Sorry for the late chapter. When I came home, I went straight to sleep. When the next chapter comes out, that's when the action will start.
also I know some people might not like the POV changes, the reason why I do it just so everyone can see the perspective of the other characters, I think it would just be boring just to continue the focus on Ed, he's the main character and he going to have the most screen time, and I know it's because I can't post that often either but I do got two other books and I don't want to just continuously write I will just get burnt out so please just be patient with me.