Nina glanced between Diana and Max. The way he was looking at her,and the killing intent rolling off him made her swallow air hard. She lifted a shaking hand.
"S–so… funny story-"
"Enough with your lies, Nina." Max's voice cut through the clearing. "I'm tired of your shenanigans. Didn't we already talk about this?"
"I swear it was a mistake this time! I didn't mean it,You have to believe me!"
Diana narrowed her eyes. "That was really careless, Nina. You could've seriously injured us."
"I know, and I'm sorry!" Nina said quickly, bowing her head.
Max exhaled sharply. "This isn't the best time to talk about this… but for now, I need you to take Thena and Terra to school."
Nina stiffened. "What? But I'm still training! Can't you just send a shadow clone?"
"No," Max said flatly. "I don't want to. And neither will you."
"But-"
"Nina." His tone hardened. "Go get the girls. Now."
Nina growled under her breath. "Ugh-fine!"
With a sharp whirl of leaves, she vanished.
The clearing fell dead silent. Diana stared at the empty space Nina had occupied, still trying to piece together what she'd just witnessed.
She finally turned to Max. "…She actually listens to you?"
Max blinked. "What do you mean?"
"She seems a lot like you," Diana said slowly.
Max gave her a crooked smirk. "You mean I don't listen to anyone? Because if you meant that—you wouldn't be wrong."
Diana looked away, expression dry. "Forget that I said anything."
Max shrugged. "Although it might not seem like it, Nina does listen to me. After all… I'm her older brother."
Diana paused, reconsidering what she'd seen. "I can't refute that. Not after personally witnessing it myself."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, thoughtful. "Still… I don't know if it's me, or something else… but there's something about her I can't put my finger on."
"It's probably nothing," Max said "Other than her trying to set us up."
Diana blinked, then looked away. "…It's pretty obvious at this point."
"Yeah." Max rubbed the back of his neck, already tired just thinking about it. "I'll talk to her. Again. For the second time, at least."
He shot Diana a flat look. "But for your sake, you should probably not listen to anything she says about me. Or anything concerning me."
Diana raised an eyebrow. "I do not listen to gossip."
"That's good," Max replied. "Because she makes up half the things she says about me."
Diana wasn't sure why that bothered her. Or why her chest tightened just a little. She kept her expression calm.
Max stepped back, stretching his shoulders.
"And now," he said, tone returning to its usual seriousness, "I've got to start my real training. If you don't mind".
"Of course, Do what you must."
But even as she said it, she didn't turn to leave.
And Max noticed.
He paused mid-step, glancing back at her. "You're…not leaving?
""Should I?"Diana asked.
'Okay, now she's overstaying her welcome' Max thought as he was about to respond, but Diana's comm chimed at her hip. She cleared her throat and tapped it.
"Diana here."
Batman's voice came through immediately, deep and stern. "Report to the Hall of Justice for debriefing."
"I'll be there shortly," Diana said. She turned to Max. "Duty calls."
Max hummed in acknowledgement. Diana rose into the air, preparing to fly away, but paused and looked back at him.
"Thanks for the spar. It was… educational. I hope we can do it again sometime."
"We'll see," Max replied.
Diana smiled before shooting off into the sky.
"Finally," Max exhaled, rolling his shoulders. He reached into his system space and pulled out his training cube— a massive steel block weighing hundreds of tons. It appeared out of nowhere and slammed into the ground with a deep, earth-shaking thud.
Max grabbed it with both hands. Veins bulged, muscles tightened, and with a grunt he heaved the monstrous cube upward. It launched into the sky like a fired projectile.
He didn't even bother watching its ascent. Max flipped onto his hands, balancing perfectly, legs straight and pointed upward into the air.
"Three… two…"
The shadow of the cube reappeared, growing rapidly as it plummeted back down.
"One."
KRAASH!
The cube crashed into his legs. The ground quaked violently, dust exploding outward in circular shockwaves. Max's arms bent slightly to absorb the tremendous force, his face tightening with effort. He lowered himself fully until his arms hit ninety degrees, then pushed back up again—still perfectly balancing the massive cube on the soles of his feet.
Anyone else would've been vaporized into paste. Max exhaled slowly. He had to admit,Saiyan physiology was downright busted. And this was just him, raw, without any enhancement. His base durability had become insane, and he wasn't even at 20% of his template yet.
Not to mention the synergy from his other templates stacking together. He was certain now that his Seventh Gate at full power was equal to, or close to, Might Guy's Eighth Gate. And then there was his actual Eighth Gate,plus the additions he would soon acquire.
Hashirama cells. Logan's healing factor. Ten-Tails regeneration. Armament Haki. Saiyan durability. Layer upon layer of monstrous toughness and recovery. Hurting him at full power would soon be nearly impossible.
And his senses? Every one of his templates had some kind of sensory ability.
He was truly becoming OP.
---
Starling City
The streets were busy with early traffic, sunlight spilling over skyscrapers and glinting off car roofs. Nina walked ahead with long, sharp strides.
Behind her, Thena and Terra followed with their backpacks, exchanging nervous glances. Nina usually teleported them straight to school.But today they were goion on a full-on, silent march through the city.
And Nina's mood made it very clear that something was off.
Neither girl dared to ask why.
They both knew exactly what it was probably about.
The snitching.
Thena leaned slightly toward Terra. "We… we should probably apologize," she whispered.
"You apologize," Terra shot back. "You're the one who snitched first."
"You literally snitched after me!"
"Yes, but you threw me under the bus before Dad even finished his sentence!"
Thena opened her mouth to retort.
After a few seconds of internal debate, Thena exhaled in defeat. "Fine but you are also taking the blame…"
She quickened her pace until she reached Nina's side.
"Aunt Nina," she began carefully, "we're sorry for snitching on you. But I want you to know that-" she pointed dramatically at Terra, "-it was actualy Terra!"
"What!?" Terra's voice cracked. "I said it was you! You were the one who said it was Aunt Nina. I only said it was YOU!"
"I panicked," Thena hissed. "You snitched first and fumbled before Dad even said anything related to the topic!"
"You!"
"Enough," Nina said sharply.
Both girls froze.
Nina exhaled, frustration still lingering behind her eyes.
"It's not that," she murmured. "Although I will get you both back for snitching… it's just" She hesitated. "Do you think I was wrong for trying to set up Max and Diana?"
Thena slowed her steps, thinking hard.
"…I don't think you were wrong," she said honestly. "But I don't think you were right either."
Nina blinked, surprised.
Thena looked forward as they walked, gripping the strap of her backpack. "Aunt Nina… I want Mom and Dad together. I want that more than almost anything. I've dreamed about it." Her voice softened. "But I also know Dad isn't… simple."
Nina nodded slightly, listening.
"And I don't want to push him into something he's not ready for. Or worse,make him feel cornered."
She paused, then added softly:
"And if Dad does love Miss mom… I want him to choose her because he wants to. Not because we meddled,i guessi forgot all of that at the chance of skipping school."
Nina's frown eased, replaced by a thoughtful expression.
After a moment, she looked at Terra. "And you?"
Terra stuffed her hands into her hoodie, thinking. Usually cheerful, her voice was
Terra took a moment, staring at the pavement as they walked. When she spoke, her voice was softer than usual.
"Honestly… I don't really understand love stuff the way Thena does," she admitted. "But I've been thinking about Dad a lot."
She kicked a pebble lightly. "I think Dad deserves someone who loves him and supports him… someone besides us. Because I'm sure there are things he doesn't talk about with us. He's our shoulder to lean on…"
Her voice dipped.
"…but who's his?"
Thena blinked, surprised.
"And let's face it," Terra continued, lifting her head, "with how Dad is… his criteria for someone he might love is pretty obvious. Strength is definitely one of the requirements. Dad respects strength."
She glanced at Thena.
"And I don't know anyone who fits better than your mom."
Thena turned red instantly, but Terra kept going.
"And also…" she hesitated, then smiled faintly, "after what happened yesterday, there is some progress. You saw how they looked at each other."
She shrugged, cheeks warm.
"So yeah… I think Miss Diana is the best choice."
Thena stared at her, surprised by the depth in Terra's answer.
End of chapter.