Kai POV
3 weeks later
It's been three weeks, and I have to admit, the team's coming together better than I expected. We've been training nonstop in my pocket dimension. Safer that way. Out here we can cut loose, fight at full strength, and not risk wrecking Hope's equipment or her property. Sure, I could fix whatever we break… but why bother when we've got an entire dimension made for this?
And speaking of Hope, she fixed Alpha 5. The little guy's back up and walking. You should've seen Trini's face when he powered on again. She cried, hugged him, and wouldn't let go. Honestly, I was glad for her. Having an old friend back after all that loss? She deserved it. Alpha's been pulling his weight too, he and Hope even built a supercomputer that links directly to the Morphing Grid. She's been studying it nonstop. Crazy cool stuff.
On my end, I've been busy… let's call it shopping across the Multiverse. Picked up some Uchiha eyes, some Hyūga eyes, a stash of vibranium, and a handful of devil fruits. The devil fruits were easy enough to grab this time, I used a little magic to extract them straight from their wielders without killing most of them. Most. Some of those bastards were pure evil and… well, let's just say they didn't make it. The Naruto eyes were even easier. I popped into their world right in the middle of a war, grabbed a couple Uchiha and Hyūga corpses, and dipped. Clean job. The vibranium? I found a Marvel universe swimming in it. Easy score.
Now Hope's experimenting with fusing the Sharingan and the Byakugan. If she pulls it off, and honestly, she will because she's Hope, it'll be insane. Even if she can't, I'll take the Uchiha eyes any day. Always been my favorite. My plan is to hand those fused eyes over to Soldier Boy, Crimson Countess, Black Noir, and Trini. They need the boost more than me.
Hope's also been busy tinkering with their bodies. She figured out how to combine the Heart-Shaped Herb, Monster Cells, and Mutagen into a hybrid formula. Took all the positives, stripped out the negatives. No freak mutations, no side effects. Just pure power. The results? They're monsters in their own right now, stronger, faster, sharper. Way above any baseline super-soldier.
Still… they're stuck in C-rank for now. Doesn't matter how juiced they are, Kryptonians and god-tier heavy hitters keep the top slots. But they'll climb. I can feel it.
I was lounging in the living room with Trini, just talking nonsense, nothing important, just killing time.
"Okay, I got another one," Trini said, smirking. "Would you rather fight Superman or Captain Atom?"
"That's easy. Captain Atom," I answered without hesitation.
"You're serious? I did research on that guy, he's basically living nuclear energy."
"That's true," I admitted, "but I've got multiple ways to deal with that. Superman, on the other hand? He's just a pain. Magic might weaken him, sure, but it doesn't stop him from throwing those fists. Trust me, I've seen versions of him keep swinging even while they're being blasted with magic powerful enough to level mountains. Now my turn: would you rather go skinny dipping in the North Pole, or swim in lava with your Ranger armor on?"
"Oh, that's easy, swimming in lava," she shot back immediately. "No way I'm going butt-naked in the Arctic. Frostbite isn't a good look."
She was about to keep going when Hope rushed into the room, grabbed the remote, and flicked on the TV. The news broadcast made both of us freeze. An invasion, right in the middle of Metropolis.
"Call the team. Now," Hope ordered.
I didn't waste time. With a quick flick of my finger, I carved a glowing message in the air. The spell pulsed once, then vanished, shooting telepathic alerts straight into everyone's minds. Seconds later, the whole team poured into the room, eyes locked on the screen.
"Holy shit…" Ben muttered.
Me and Trini moved closer to the TV. The camera zoomed in on the invaders, winged creatures in yellowish armor streaked with glowing green veins. Their faces were half-hidden, but their mouths… full of teeth. Too familiar.
My stomach dropped. "Well, fuck me… that's Darkseid's army. Parademons."
"Who?" Trini asked, eyes narrowing.
"Basically? An evil god who wants to wipe out all life in the universe," I said flatly.
"WHAT?!" Ben shouted.
"Not important right now! Everyone, suit up!" Hope barked.
I raised my hand and with one sweeping motion, magic wrapped around the group like a wave. Their civilian clothes vanished, replaced with their upgraded combat suits. Even Trini found herself morphed into full Ranger armor.
"Everyone to the lab!" Hope said.
We rushed downstairs. The lab's walls glowed with activity, weapons and gear ready and waiting. Hope had already worked her magic, or rather, her genius. Vibranium upgrades across the board. Soldier Boy's shield gleamed with it. Black Noir's weapons were forged entirely from it. Even their suits were lined with the stuff, tougher than anything on Earth. Hoverbikes lined the walls, engines humming, waiting for deployment. For the non-fliers, they'd be lifesavers.
While the team geared up, Hope stood at the main console, fingers flying across the keys. Holographic screens filled the room, showing live feeds of the invasion. Metropolis in flames. People running. Parademons swarming.
"Okay," Hope said sharply. "The parademons are attacking Metropolis, Gotham, Central City, and Star City. The local heroes are holding their ground, but… they're converging on Metropolis. Which means…"
"Which means Darkseid's planning to make his move there," I finished grimly. "Superman's the strongest hero on this Earth. If Darkseid's coming, that's where he'll be."
Black Noir finally spoke, voice low. "Can you beat him?"
"Defeat him? No," I said honestly. "But with all of us, and the other heroes, we can push him back. Force him to retreat. That's the best we've got."
"That's good enough," Hope said. "Move, now! The teleporter's online!"
One by one, the team moved out. Soldier Boy, Black Noir, Crimson Countess, and Trini mounted hover bikes and shot through the glowing teleporter. Stormfront followed, then Purity, Panacea, and Sam, pausing only long enough to hug Ruby goodbye before vanishing. Superwoman went next, her cape whipping behind her.
I clenched my fist, summoning my armor around me in a storm of metal and light. My hammer appeared in my hand with a heavy thunk.
This was it. Our first real debut. And I never imagined it would be against Darkseid's army.
Third person POV
The city of Metropolis was drowning in chaos. Parademons swooped through the skyline, tearing into anything that moved. Buildings burned, alarms wailed, and civilians scattered in every direction.
Thankfully, some heroes had already rallied to the fight, Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific, and Green Lantern Guy Gardner. The trio fought hard, but the swarm was relentless.
"Terrific, please tell me you've got a plan, I'm running out of juice over here!" Guy shouted, forming a massive green hand with his ring and swatting a cluster of parademons into the street.
"I already called the Justice League and the Society. They're en route. We just need to hold the line until then!" Mr. Terrific answered, his T-Spheres darting through the air, blasting enemies with concussive force.
"We'll be dead before they get here!" Hawkgirl snarled, smashing her mace into a parademon's skull. She noticed three more swooping in behind her, their throats glowing as they prepared to unleash fire.
"Hawkgirl, behind you!" Mr. Terrific warned.
Before the creatures could strike, twin beams of searing heat vision cut through the air, vaporizing them instantly.
Guy whirled around. "Finally! Took you long enough—" He stopped mid-sentence. The figure floating above wasn't Superman.
A woman hovered in the smoke, clad in sleek black armor with an unfamiliar symbol etched across her chest. And she wasn't alone. Three other women hovered behind her, each radiating power in uniquely styled battle gear.
Guy blinked. "Who the hell are you?"
The heat-vision woman raised a brow. "Is that your way of saying thank you for saving your teammate?"
"Thanks for the save," Hawkgirl cut in quickly.
"You're welcome," the woman said. "Name's Superwoman."
One by one, her allies introduced themselves.
"Might Woman.""Purity.""Panacea. We came to help."
"You're Kryptonians, aren't you?" Mr. Terrific asked, piecing it together.
Guy threw his hands up. "How the hell can you tell that just by looking?"
Terrific gave him a flat stare. "Besides the heat vision?"
Superwoman smirked. "We are, but that's not important. Our C-ranks are evacuating civilians. Keep the parademons off them. We'll thin the rest of the swarm."
Before anyone could respond, the four women streaked off into the sky, tearing through the enemy ranks with surgical precision.
Guy shook his head. "Man, Superman's gonna lose it when he hears about this."
Across the city, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen were running for their lives. The two reporters had come looking for pictures of the invasion, now survival was the only headline that mattered.
"I told you this was a bad idea!" Jimmy shouted, clutching his camera as they sprinted down an alley.
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Lois shot back between breaths. "Soon as we get out of this alive, you can say it again next time."
"There won't be a next time, you never listen to me now!"
Behind them, a parademon screeched and swooped low, talons outstretched. Before it could grab them, a burst of gunfire shredded its wings. The creature spiraled into a dumpster, dead.
Lois and Jimmy turned, wide-eyed.
A man on a hoverbike rolled into view, clad in a green-tinted tactical suit with a shield slung across his arm. He kept firing his mounted weapons with precision, cutting down another parademon.
Two more fighters moved alongside him: a woman with red hair in a domino mask and crimson suit, firing twin pistols with flawless accuracy, and a fully armored figure in black unloading heavy rounds into the swarm.
When the last parademon fell, the trio approached.
"You two need to get inside. Streets aren't safe," the shield-bearer said firmly.
"Who are you?" Lois asked breathlessly.
"Name's Soldier Boy. Now move. I'm not babysitting you."
Lois and Jimmy exchanged a look, then Jimmy tugged her toward the nearest building.
"Jimmy, I wanted to ask them more questions—"
"You really need to get your priorities straight," he snapped. "We're in the middle of an invasion."
On the far side of the city, Ranger darted through the streets, pulling terrified civilians out of collapsing buildings and shoving them toward safety. Overhead, Stormfront unleashed crackling blasts of energy, frying parademons before they could get too close.
"You know," Ranger shouted, yanking a woman out from under a fallen streetlight, "I've fought a lot of things back in my old world, but this takes the cake."
"You're telling me," Stormfront grunted, ripping a parademon in half with a surge of electricity. "This is literally my first alien invasion."
"Not my first, but trust me, these ones are annoyingly hard to put down."
Stormfront grinned between blasts. "Hey, how much you wanna bet Soldier Boy trashes that hover bike of his before the night's over?"
"Fool's bet," Ranger shot back.
At the city's center, the Justice Gang and the three Kryptonian women clashed with the horde. Just when it seemed like the tide might overwhelm them, reinforcements arrived.
Captain Atom and Major Force descended like warheads, blasting parademons into ash. Above them, Cyclone carried Atom Smasher high into the sky before dropping him, he landed with a thunderous crash, growing to titanic size as he stomped the enemy into the pavement.
A boom tube opened, and Starfire, Cyborg, and Nightwing burst through, unleashing coordinated strikes. Then came the heavy hitters: Superman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan, Flash, and Batman, Hal carrying Batman and Flash before setting them down to join the fight.
The moment the League and Society hit the field, the parademons faltered. Their screeches filled the air as the swarm retreated, scattering back into the shadows.
Not all fled. A few desperate stragglers charged, only to be obliterated by bolts of crimson lightning.
A figure descended through the smoke: armored in mystic plating, a hood drawn over his face mask, a hammer crackling in his grip. Red lightning pulsed across his body like veins of power.
"Good. They're retreating," said Atom Smasher, shrinking back to human size.
The hooded figure shook his head. "No. They're regrouping. Their commander is about to appear. I suggest we prepare for the worst."
Guy Gardner floated forward, scowling. "Alright, and just who the hell are you supposed to be?"
Kai POV
I froze. Right, hero name. Kind of forgot that part.
"Oh, screw me," I muttered under my breath. "I actually forgot to give myself a name. Seriously."
Superwoman smirked. "Hah! And you pestered me about picking one? You don't even have one yourself?"
"Okay, to be fair, I've been busy getting all this up and running, and it slipped my mind. Just, give me a second."
A cluster of parademons dove for us. I hurled my hammer; red lightning arced from its head, slicing through the swarm. The bodies disintegrated before they even hit the ground. I called the weapon back to my hand, electricity dancing along my armor.
"Wow," someone whispered behind me.
I straightened, tried to sound dramatic. "For my hero name… I'll go with Mage King."
There was a pause.
"…Five out of ten," Might Woman said flatly. "Pretty on the nose, don't you think?"
"And arrogant," Superwoman added with a smirk.
I jabbed a finger at them. "Oh, come on. Might Woman and Superwoman? You thought of those names in seconds! And you—" I pointed at Might Woman. "You just copied your daughter's branding."
"And yet," Might Woman shot back, "our names are still better than yours."
I groaned. "We are definitely having a conversation about this later."
Turning back to the gathered heroes, I raised my hammer. Lightning flared, highlighting my mask and hood.
"The name's Mage King. Nice to meet you all."
After I said my name, the rest of my team regrouped around me.
"All civilians are clear," Soldier Boy announced, sitting on the back of Black Noir's hoverbike.
I narrowed my eyes. "What happened to your hoverbike?"
"One of those things threw me off it and smashed it," he said smoothly.
"He's lying," Crimson Countess cut in without hesitation. "He crashed straight into a cluster of parademons and shot the power core. Blew the bike and the demons sky-high."
I turned my head slowly toward Soldier Boy.
"…Okay, yeah," he admitted. "But it looked pretty damn cool."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Right. I'll make sure to tell Hope you deliberately blew up one of her bikes. I'm sure she'll be thrilled."
Before he could argue, a familiar gravelly voice cut through the air.
"Who are all of you?" Batman stepped forward, cape draped around him like a shadow.
I straightened. "First off, I just introduced myself, Mage King. Second, this is my team. We're the New Dawn, funded by New Dawn Enterprises."
Flash zipped in closer, curiosity written all over his face. "Wait, wait, that New Dawn? The company that basically blew up overnight? Everyone's been talking about you."
"Not overnight," I corrected, raising a brow. "But yes. That's us."
I swung my hammer onto my shoulder, lightning sparking along its head. "And if we're done with introductions, maybe we should focus on the giant horde of parademons regrouping as we speak?"