Chapter 143: You're Going to Reject Me?
The light reconverged into the Armor. Inside, Orin Vale re-formed into his human form and opened his eyes.
"Pal, is our volcano problem solved?"
"Perfectly, sir. The disaster is under control, with no casualties," Pal said. "I'm sure the local populace will be very pleased."
"Excellent. What about the data on our fire-breathing friend from today?"
"It has been fully collected."
Pal presented a series of scan results before Orin Vale.
"Elements not found on Earth have been detected on the creature's body surface. A further scan of its DNA structure revealed a small segment of sequences matching the characteristics of a Kryptonian creature.
"Comparing the data with our known Kryptonian database, a match has been flagged."
A dragon, baring its fangs, brandishing its claws, and breathing fire, appeared in the center of the display.
"The fire-breathing dragon, Dikarn. An ancient and dangerous Kryptonian creature."
"Let me guess. Don't tell me there are one or two of these things locked up in the Phantom Zone?" Orin Vale mused. "So it seems our enthusiastic Kryptonian friends dropped this on us?"
"It would appear so."
As they spoke, Orin Vale was already flying back. He left the flight to the autopilot, taking the time to continue his research on alien literature.
As he neared Gotham, Pal's voice suddenly sounded.
"Unidentified object incoming, sir. It seems we're about to have company."
Pal said this in an unperturbed tone, simultaneously displaying a hostile alert on the armor's internal display.
"They're quite fast, sir."
*Swoosh.*
An afterimage tore across the ground, kicking up a screen of dust. The dust was pierced by a powerful punch, which shot out with a spiraling vortex of air aimed directly at the back of Orin Vale's head.
Without turning his head, Orin Vale calmly raised a hand in that direction.
*Boom!*
A violent tremor! The ground beneath him cracked, with shockwaves spreading out in a radial pattern. Gravel was blasted into the air and pulverized into dust.
Orin Vale blocked the punch with one hand and glanced to the side.
"Maxima?"
The princess of Almerac, still holding her punching pose, blushed at his glance.
"Heh," she blinked.
However, her coy expression, combined with her punching stance and the earth-shaking commotion, seemed rather bizarre.
"Didn't I tell you all to go back to your own planet? What's all this about?" Orin Vale frowned.
"Oh, one of my subordinates made me realize we might have had some misunderstandings when we first met," Maxima said with a beaming smile. "Looking back, I realized you might think I'm just a pretty face.
"I originally wanted to get to know you as a commoner, but I didn't expect to be met with such distance. So, I'm not pretending anymore. I'm laying my cards on the table.
"Actually, there's no civil unrest on my planet at all. I am the great princess of the Almerac Royal Family, the future empress—"
"I know," Orin Vale interrupted ruthlessly.
"Huh?"
Maxima blinked a couple of times.
After a moment of stunned silence, she quickly composed herself.
"You might think I'm joking, but it's true. I really am a princess, and the most powerful woman in the galaxy."
Maxima placed a hand on her hip and proudly puffed out her chest, displaying her generous assets.
"And I can give you something the women of this planet can't!" she said proudly.
"Uh... and what's that?"
"Healthy and strong babies, of course!" Maxima was very proud. "When powerful beings like us unleash our passion, ordinary people can't bear it. But with me, no matter what you want to do to me, my body can definitely take it..."
"Stop, that's enough," Orin Vale said, his face dark.
He now recalled that in the original work, she had tried to fool Superman with the same lines. In reality, however, Superman and Lois had a perfectly smooth time making little Kryptonians...
"Hah, I knew you wouldn't believe me so easily. Then let me show you firsthand what the most powerful warrior in the galaxy looks like!"
As her voice fell, the princess let out a great shout and launched a punch that tore through the air.
With a sigh, Orin Vale leaned back slightly to dodge the first punch, then parried the following two-punch combo. Princess Maxima's punches were still ferocious. Even though Orin Vale only slapped the side of her fists to deflect her attacks, every time their hands met, transparent shockwaves continuously erupted.
Orin Vale took two diagonal steps to avoid her fists. With several of her combination punches missing their mark, Maxima's temper flared. Her attacks grew more frantic as she yelled, "What's the point of just dodging!?"
With another loud shout, she pressed forward, her wide, open stance practically screaming, "Come at me head-on!"
It seemed a good thrashing was the only way to have a proper conversation.
Orin Vale, who had recently been immersed in researching the Speed Force, had an originally balanced hexagonal stats panel, but now his speed attribute was particularly prominent. Maxima's punching paths and all possible follow-up variations were crystal clear in his eyes.
With a slight sidestep, he evaded the explosive punch, then seized her arm and delivered a heavy elbow strike to the joint. Maxima's elbow joint flared with sharp pain. She let out an involuntary grunt and staggered forward in the direction of her arm, right into a counter-elbow strike boosted by the mobile armor's thrusters.
The new generation of Armor, integrating Old Bu's mechanical technology, had astonishing power output. A single elbow strike sent the princess's head snapping to the side, her mouth twisting, as she was sent flying sideways.
With a boom, she shot diagonally into the mountainside. After a tremor that shook the earth, she was buried at the bottom by rumbling, falling rocks.
"Your Highness!"
Sas, the big guy from before, darted out from somewhere. It seemed he had been observing from the shadows.
He glared at Orin Vale. "You're in big trouble, you know that? You just injured our great princess of Almerac—"
But before Orin Vale could speak, an impatient shout came from the ruins: "Shut up, Sas."
It was followed by a loud crash as a fist punched through the pile of fallen rocks. A dusty Maxima crawled out, her red hair caked with dust, coughing a few times.
Then she looked up, and upon seeing Orin Vale, a look of embarrassment returned to her face.
"That was a great move."
She covered her little red face... Hmm, that's right, it was red from the punch she'd just taken.
"That defensive counterattack just now was absolutely amazing! None of those so-called 'fighters' on Almerac, not a single one of those idiots, could pull off such a beautiful move..."
Sas blinked, his large head filled with confusion.
"B-but, Your Highness, he hit *you*..."
Maxima sent him flying with a kick, looking displeased. "None of your business!"
"Then let's hurry back to Almerac and get married! The people are waiting!"
Maxima lunged, but Orin Vale dodged, and she met only empty air.
Maxima lunged again. Orin Vale reached out, pressed a hand against her forehead, and stopped her an arm's length away.
"Sorry, but I don't have any such plans or intentions at the moment."
Maxima's expression changed slightly. She frowned. "Are you saying you're rejecting me? The most powerful woman in the galaxy, the princess of Almerac?"
"Yes," Orin Vale answered without hesitation.
"Fine. If you insist, then I have no other choice..."
Maxima's expression gradually soured. Orin Vale frowned slightly, warily waiting for her to make her move.
Then she looked up, her face wreathed in a smile.
"...Then I'll just have to try harder to become better."
Orin Vale: "..."
(end of chapter)