I was floating above Metropolis with Lex and Superman, the city lights glowing beneath us.
"Are you sure about this?" Lex asked.
"I'm sure. Let's end this quickly and efficiently," I said.
Right now, the three of us were about to take down Ultraman. The rest of the team was hitting other Crime Syndicate bases and members. Originally, Lex wanted this fight for himself, but I convinced him to let me handle it.
Yeah, I knew this was going to be easy… but I still wanted to see what Ultraman could really do.
Call it my Saiyan curiosity.
"Ultraman! Get your ass out here!" Lex shouted.
Instead of Ultraman, someone else stepped out of the building, a muscular redhead, calm and way too confident.
"Clear the airspace. Lex, the boss isn't here," he said.
"Then come make us," I shot back.
The redhead smiled. "Gladly."
He shot forward.
I was about to intercept him, but Superman moved first, stepping in front of me and meeting the charge head-on.
"I'd rather not hurt you, Jimmy," Superman said.
Jimmy answered with a punch.
Superman caught it effortlessly, adjusted his grip, then shoved him back before flashing behind him in an instant, locking his arm.
That's when Lex moved.
He flew in close and twisted something on Jimmy's wrist, a watch.
It let out a sharp, high-pitched whine.
A second later…
Ultraman appeared.
"Lex, get your hands off my boy," Ultraman said as he stepped forward, his presence instantly weighing on the air.
"You've got a bigger problem," I said, drifting closer to him.
His eyes shifted to me, narrowing slightly. "And who the hell are you?"
"My name's Warrior," I said. "And just like you… I'm Kryptonian. At least half of one."
He raised an eyebrow. "Okay… and?"
I smirked a little. "Well, Ultraman, even in my world, Kryptonians are nearly extinct. And here? Doesn't look any better. So I figured I'd make you an offer."
"An offer?" he repeated, amused.
"Yeah. Here's the deal," I said, my tone steady. "You surrender peacefully. Come back to my world. You'll be locked up at first, but if you actually start changing… I'll talk to my family. Maybe even get you a shot at joining us."
There was a pause.
Then he started laughing.
Not just a chuckle, full-on, echoing laughter.
"You think you can beat me?" he said between laughs. "You think you can take my empire away from me?"
The laughter slowly died.
His face went cold.
"I am the boss of bosses," he said, voice dropping into something sharp and dangerous. "And I'm going to kill you."
His eyes locked onto mine.
"And I'm going to enjoy it… for even suggesting something that stupid."
I sighed. "It breaks my heart to hurt a Kryptonian."
In the next instant, I pulled my right fist back.
Energy twisted around it, forming a vortex that howled as it spun. The air warped, dragging Ultraman toward me just enough.
Perfect.
I drove my fist upward.
The uppercut landed.
A massive shockwave exploded from the impact, blasting Lex and Superman back through the air. The sky itself seemed to ripple as Ultraman was launched upward like a missile, tearing through the clouds and shooting straight toward space.
To anyone else, he vanished instantly.
But to me, and Superman, we could still see him clearly, his body flying at insane speed as he started to leave Earth's atmosphere.
"Damn… I knew he was weak, but I didn't think a light punch would send him that far," I said.
"That was a light punch," Superman replied, staring up. "He's about to pass the Moon."
I smirked slightly. "My brother would've tanked that and been back already."
"Your brother?" Superman asked.
"Mage King," I said.
He blinked. "You two are brothers?"
"Not by blood," I said with a shrug. "But yeah, we're brothers."
I glanced back up. "Oh. Look at that, he finally stopped."
Ultraman had finally stopped, floating in space. Even from here, I could see the blood and the rage. A second later, he shot back toward Earth like a comet.
I gave a low whistle. "He's fast. Already passed the Moon."
Superman tensed. "If he's coming in like that—"
"I know," I cut him off. "Stay here. Watch the show. I'll end this in a couple of seconds."
I shot upward, climbing higher into the sky to meet him.
A moment later, I saw him, burning through the atmosphere, flames trailing behind him, fist pulled back with everything he had.
I didn't move.
I just floated there… hands folded behind my back.
Then he hit me.
His fist slammed into my forehead, releasing a shockwave that tore through the clouds and shook the sky itself. If we'd been any lower, buildings would've been gone.
But me?
I didn't move an inch.
No pain.
No damage.
Just a dull tap.
There was a sharp crack.
Ultraman's eyes widened, then he screamed.
"AAAAAAAGH!"
His hand… was broken.
"Wow… that was pathetic," I said, tilting my head slightly. "Are you sure you're even a Kryptonian?"
Ultraman didn't answer.
He just glared at me, then his eyes flared red.
Heat vision blasted straight into my chest.
It didn't even scorch my shirt.
I looked down at it for a second… then back at him.
"My turn."
My eyes lit up.
A beam shot out, slamming into him and sending him flying back. Unlike his, mine actually did damage; his suit burned across the front, and I could see his skin blistering underneath as he was forced backward.
He recovered quickly, rage taking over.
With a shout, he charged me again, swinging wildly with his uninjured hand.
Punch after punch landed.
I didn't move.
Didn't block.
Didn't even react.
My hands stayed folded behind my back while he gave it everything he had.
Honestly…
It was starting to get sad.
So I ended it.
The moment he overextended, I drove my fist straight into his stomach.
All the air left his body as he folded forward.
Before he could recover, I struck.
A sharp blow to the back of his head.
His body went limp instantly.
I caught him by the cape before he could start falling, then casually flew back down toward Lex and Superman, dragging him along like it was nothing.
"Out of all the fights I've been in…" I said, glancing at Ultraman, "that was probably the saddest one."
A couple of hours later…
I was back at Lex's base, sitting off to the side with a bunch of bottles lined up in front of me.
After taking down Ultraman, I sealed him and his crew inside them. By the time we got back, the others had already returned too, each with their own captured villains.
Before we even went out, I had prepared dozens of these, each one marked with sealing words. One by one, I used the Evil Containment Wave, locking every single one of them away.
Honestly… I was tired.
But the job still wasn't done.
Even though I wasn't standing with the group, I could hear them clearly.
"Wait a minute… this guy is your brother?" Invincible asked.
"He's my half-brother, but yes," Lex Luthor said. "I don't know how he got his powers. One day he disappeared…, and when he came back, he had the power of the gods."
I leaned back slightly, listening.
"All he has to do is say a magic word, Mazahs, and he transforms into something close to Ultraman," Lex continued. "Out of everyone we captured, he's the most dangerous."
"Why?" Stormfront asked.
"Because he actually believes he's a hero," Lex said flatly. "I don't know if it's the power making him delusional, or if he was always like that… but he kills. A lot. Especially people with powers."
"Why especially them?" Stormfront pressed.
Lex's tone darkened. "When he kills someone with powers… he takes them. Somehow. I don't know the mechanics, magic, most likely, but every kill makes him stronger."
There was a pause.
"Okay… that's just terrifying," Guy Gardner said. "So how are we supposed to stop someone like that?"
"Well… even with all that power, he does have one weakness," Lex Luthor said.
That got everyone's attention.
"For some reason, if I say the magic word, the lightning comes down and forces him back to normal," Lex continued. "My theory? Either our voices are similar… or it's because we're related."
He crossed his arms slightly. "Because of that, he usually stays as far away from me as possible. Right now, I have no idea where he is. After we took down the Crime Syndicate, Alexander just… disappeared."
"Probably waiting for us," Captain Atom said. "Hoping we leave so he can be the most powerful being on this Earth."
"That was one of my theories, too," Lex nodded. "But with Superwoman here… he might come out of hiding."
"Why is Superwoman a factor?" Wonder Woman asked.
Lex's expression turned more serious.
"From my sources, they have… a history," he said. "Alexander might actually be in love with her."
That made a few people shift.
"But from what I've gathered," Lex went on, "the only reason Superwoman is interested in him is because of some kind of dark prophecy."
"A prophecy?" Wonder Woman pressed.
Lex nodded. "I don't fully understand it… But it involves her firstborn bringing about an age of darkness."
Silence settled over the room.
"That doesn't sound good," The Flash said.
"It isn't," Lex Luthor replied. "I don't know if Alexander is aware of the prophecy or not… but the moment he realizes Superwoman has been captured along with the others, he'll come for her."
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"And when he does, he'll draw us out, and he won't hesitate to hurt people or take hostages to get what he wants."
I pushed myself up and walked over to the group.
"Exactly," I said. "And we have no idea how far he's willing to go. So we find him first."
"Easier said than done," Lex said. "I have no way to track him."
"That's why we don't track him," I said. "We make him come to us."
That got their attention.
"You've got a plan?" Captain Atom asked, raising an eyebrow.
I nodded. "Yeah. We take one of the empty bottles and stage a broadcast. Tell the world Superwoman's been sealed inside it like the others."
A few of them exchanged looks.
"We pick a location, somewhere isolated, no civilians. Then we wait."
Lex frowned slightly. "He's going to know it's a trap."
"Yeah," I said with a shrug. "But if he's really in love with her… he won't care. People in love do stupid things."
That made the room go quiet for a second.
They thought it over.
No civilians at risk.No real danger to Superwoman since it's fake.
Risky… but controlled.
"I don't have a better way to draw him out," Lex finally admitted. "This might be our best shot."
He looked at me.
"Give me a couple of hours," he said. "I'll set up the broadcast."
I nodded, glancing back at the rows of sealed bottles.
"Good," I said. "Let's catch a god."