Previously on... Wait, wait, wait, hold on a second. I think there absolutely has to be some sort of formal explanation here before we jump right into the thick of it. The length of this recent hiatus has completely thrown me off my natural narrative rhythm, or something very similar to that, I suppose. It feels like it's been ages since the last update, but I can faithfully promise to the audience that I am officially back in action.
See, what happened was, right in the middle of writing Hakuna reuniting with the rest of the BBC elite, I suddenly remembered that I had never actually written out the fight of the century between the variants over in Void. I couldn't just leave that cosmic match on the cutting room floor! But now that the absolute beatdown is finally signed, sealed, and delivered, let's get right back to the main stage: the long-awaited, highly anticipated BBC reunion...
Fade in...
...At The New DDF Headquarters...
The high-security administrative room is still thick with tension, the automated systems humming quietly in the background as the dust from the heavy operations begins to settle.
Mabida, the squad commander, is still struggling to process the staggering revelation that has completely upended his entire mission parameter. He looks back and forth between his superior officer and the massive, cuffed figure sitting by the desk, questioning aloud with a shaky, disbelieving voice, "You're telling me that this guy... this massive individual we just spent an entire tactical deployment hunting down, is the rumored strongest founding member? The phantom legendary figure who is supposed to be the eternal rival to Lord Super?"
Hakuna attempts to keep a straight face to maintain some semblance of dignity, but the sheer absurdity of the title is simply too much to handle. He completely fails to hold back his booming laughter, the sound echoing off the pristine walls. "Hahaa! 'Lord Super'? Oh my god, I never thought I'd live to see the day someone actually called him that with a straight face. Lord Super? That is absolutely priceless."
Enzo slaps a hand over his face, shaking his head in a mixture of exhaustion and second-hand embarrassment as he replies, "Weird, right? Honestly, it happened so fast. Everyone in the lower recruitment ranks suddenly started calling him tha—"
BOOM!
Before Enzo can even finish his sentence, the heavily reinforced structural wall directly to Hakuna's right violently explodes into a million jagged pieces of concrete and flying rebar. A colossal, deafening shockwave tears through the pristine office, throwing a massive cloud of blinding white dust across the room and forcing the guards to shield their faces.
Out of the epicenter of the destruction, a deeply familiar, highly mocking voice cuts through the ringing silence.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up and grace us with his presence after a whole year."
It's Super. He calmly walks straight out of the thick, shifting dust cloud caused entirely by, you know, him casually killing the wall and stuff just to make a dramatic entrance. His posture radiates absolute, unmatched confidence as he locks eyes with his old friend.
Hakuna doesn't even bother to brush the falling plaster off his broad shoulders, a wide grin breaking across his features as he looks up. "Ahh, there he is... The JEFF."
The casual greeting acts like a spark to a powder keg. Without warning, both Hakuna and Super simultaneously begin to aggressively flare their internal energies. The competitive instinct is instant. The spiritual pressure spikes exponentially, and the entire structural area of the room begins to rumble and violently vibrate, the glass light fixtures overhead cracking under the strain.
Mabida drops into a low defensive stance, his heart hammering against his ribs as he frantically thinks to himself in absolute terror, "If what the commander said was true... that this person, no, this absolute monster is indeed the 7th missing Founding Member of The BBC... then I've just inadvertently put the two strongest Founding Members in the exact same room without knowing! This entire wing is going to collapse!"
Seriously, when on earth did these two idiots manage to accumulate this much lore to their names? It's completely ridiculous.
Super's aura intensifies further, the air around him distorting with heat, as Hakuna's energy matches it kilowatt for kilowatt, the two forces grinding against each other in mid-air.
FLICK! FLICK!
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a single, precise finger rapidly flicks both of them dead in the forehead at almost the exact same microsecond, delivering a sharp crack that instantly snaps both powerhouses back to reality. Their massive auras instantly vanish into thin air, snuffing out like candles.
Bodega appears seamlessly out of the shadows, standing right beside the trembling tactical soldiers with his arms crossed and an expression of profound annoyance. He looks at the shattered drywall, sighing deeply. "This is an incredibly expensive building to maintain. Don't be idiots the second you get back together."
Wait a minute... hold on a second.
Hakuna blinks, staring closely at the newcomer's face as he processes his appearance. "Bodega?"
Bodega turns his head slightly, his tone dry and unbothered. "What?"
Hakuna leans forward, his cuffed hands pointing directly at Bodega's chin as he asks with genuine, unscientific bewilderment, "Why on earth do you still have no facial hair?"
Bodega's eye twitches, his patience instantly wearing thin as he questions, "Is that seriously the very first observation you chose to pick up and vocalize after not seeing me for nearly an entire year?"
Hakuna retorts instantly, his voice rising in oblivious defensive logic, "But that is exactly my point! It's been almost a full calendar year since we last crossed paths, and you still have absolutely no facial hair whatsoever. You are fully aware that we aren't little kids anymore, right? Or did the author literally just forget to draw or give you facial hair for this arc?"
Bodega snaps his jaws shut, his fists clenching as he argues back, "Facial hair does not automatically equate to being an adult, Hakuna. And what author are you even talking about right now?"
Hakuna retorts entirely obliviously, waving his restrained wrists in the air, "But you should definitely have at least a little bit of stubble or something by now, this is biologically baffling to me."
Bodega rubs his temples, completely exasperated by the conversation. "So you're just going to completely skip over the fact that you casually mentioned a literal author of some sort controlling our designs?"
Super chimes in nonchalantly, leaning against a surviving piece of the desk as he inspects Bodega's smooth chin with mock scientific curiosity. "To be fair, it's not like he's actively shaving it off or anything. There just literally isn't any hair growing there at all. A truly fascinating, deeply layered genetic mystery."
Bodega snaps back aggressively, glaring at his friend, "Super, I swear to god, do not entertain his nonsense."
Anywho... let's move things along.
Super rolls his shoulders, his expression refocused as he steps directly into Hakuna's personal space, querying with a sharp, demanding tone, "Seriously though, where the hell were you this entire time, Popeye?"
Hakuna replies casually, his tone completely flat as if he hadn't just abandoned the grid, "Oh, you know, just hanging out at my house and stuff. Why?"
SMACK!
Before the excuse can fully leave Hakuna's mouth, Super instantaneously disappears and reappears directly behind his back, delivering a swift, heavy slap to the back of his head.
Hakuna stumbles forward a step, rubbing the spot as he howls dramatically, "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"
Super points an accusing finger at him, his voice rising in genuine anger. "You honestly think disappearing from the face of the entire earth without a single word of warning is just a casual, everyday thing to do?!"
Enzo chimes in from behind his desk, his sharp eyes narrowing through his glasses as he looks at Hakuna's frame. "You can't fool me with that relaxed act, Hakuna. Look at you. You've clearly been training like a demon on your own in isolation, preparing yourself for the upcoming inevitable battle with the Umbra."
Hakuna instantly looks away, staring intently at a random corner of the ceiling as if doing so will somehow magically hide his massive, undeniable muscle gains and widened physique from his friends' analytical eyes.
Super crosses his arms, his mind flashing back to the recent data logs they recovered from the portal site. "Now that I think about it more carefully... during that initial chaotic breach, you instantly recognized the variant entity that looked exactly like a copy of you."
Enzo leans forward, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers. "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that. What exactly is the deal with that guy?"
The playful atmosphere in the room vanishes in an instant. Hakuna stops looking at the ceiling, his head slowly turning back to face his friends. When he speaks, his voice drops to a remarkably low, freezing cold octave that sends a visible shiver down Mabida's spine.
"That entity... was Flamboyage."
Super's eyes widen slightly at the mention of the name, his relaxed posture instantly stiffening. Knowing exactly what that specific title implies within their historical discussions, he queries seriously, "He exists?"
Bodega interjects, looking between the two powerhouses with a look of deep confusion. "Wait a minute, what do you two mean by 'He's real?'? Who is this guy?"
Super answers without taking his eyes off Hakuna, his tone turning unusually solemn. "Back in the day, when we were working through our limits, Hakuna always used to speak theoretically about a dark version of himself—a version that he was secretly terrified of eventually becoming if he pushed his power too far into the deep end. To be honest, I always thought he was just hyping his own ego up for no real reason during our late-night training sessions."
Hakuna continues, his expression completely serious as he stares at his cuffed hands. "He is stronger than me, faster than me, more confident, and completely sure of his own actions. He is, for all intents and purposes, the absolute peak version of me that I was originally supposed to become under perfect circumstances. But at the same time... he's not me. He has a completely different soul, a completely different drive. So yeah, he's terrifyingly real. An actual, living entity exactly like I always imagined him in my worst nightmares."
Enzo processes the data, tapping his pen rhythmically against the desk. "In other words... he is essentially your ultimate, realized alter ego from across the cosmic rift?"
Hakuna mutters quietly, his jaw tight, "Yup. Exactly."
Bodega shifts his weight, his mind moving to the other data files they gathered from the breach reports. "Wait, if that guy is your alter ego, then what about the other individual who was dragging Leragga around? The one who looked exactly like a future, battle-hardened version of Freddie?"
"His name is Leragga."
A new voice cuts through the conversation. Freddie steps into view, casually walking straight through the massive, smoking hole in the wall that Super had made earlier. He brushes a bit of dust off his jacket, his expression grim.
Hakuna's serious demeanor shatters instantly at the sight of him, a cheeky, mocking grin returning to his face as he points. "Freddie! Oh, look at that, guys! Look closely! He actually has visible facial hair!"
SMACK!
Before Hakuna can even enjoy his joke, Bodega steps up from the side and delivers another thunderous slap directly to the back of his head.
Hakuna stumbles again, clutching his skull as he howls loudly for the second time, "Ow! Stop doing that! I'm a founding member, show some basic respect!"
Freddie completely ignores the comedic side-show, his face remaining entirely serious, his eyes dark as he stops in the center of the room. He looks at Enzo and states clearly, "He's my alter ego. My definitive multiversal counterpart."
Enzo ponders aloud, tapping his chin as he looks over the files. "That still doesn't logically explain the physical discrepancy, though. Why on earth does he look so much older and more physically weathered than you do right now?"
Freddie replies, crossing his arms as he looks down at the floor, "I actually have a working theory about that. If his training pushed him into constant, high-tier Nzilo Activation, the sheer physical toll of channeling that much raw divine energy could have—"
WUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRLN!
Before Freddie can lay out his scientific theory, a sudden, piercing siren cuts him off. The main emergency alarm starts violently blaring throughout the entire sector, the overhead lights instantly shifting from stable white to a frantic, flashing crimson glare. The automated security doors throughout the corridor begin to slam shut with heavy metallic thuds.
The main tactical monitor on Enzo's wall flashes a massive, blinking red warning sign: EXTREME BREACH DETECTED. A hostile demon is actively attacking the outer compound perimeter.
Mabida's military training kicks in instantly, his panic vanishing as he draws his weapon and snaps around to face his squad. He springs into chaotic action, shouting commands at the top of his lungs, "Look alive, boys! Get your barriers up and secure the primary thresholds! This is not a drill! Repeat, this is a live breach!"
Hakuna stands perfectly still in the center of the flashing red room, his head tilting slightly as his senses expand outward past the concrete walls. He says quietly, "That's incredibly odd."
Super glances over at him, his hand already resting on the doorframe as he asks, "What is? What do you see?"
Hakuna continues, his eyes narrowing as he listens to the chaotic commands bouncing over the base intercoms. "Before we drop down there to deal with it, our tactical sensors should have already easily identified the exact energy level and threat category of said demon. Why is the automated system just throwing a generic warning?"
Enzo responds quickly, his fingers flying across his desk console to pull up the defense grids. "Yeah, about that... we've been having a massive issue lately. The newer strains of demons have somehow started actively masking their spiritual signatures from our standard Daemonium tracking sensors. We can't find their exact readings easily anymore until they're right on top of us. Honestly, it's probably the exact same reason why our automated border patrol mistook your massive energy signature for a catastrophic demon earlier today."
Hakuna stretches his neck, the heavy suppression cuffs around his wrists cracking loudly under his physical pressure. He looks at the hole in the wall, a calm, terrifying confidence settling over his face. "Well, it's a very good thing that all of us happen to be in this room right now..."
Bodega steps up beside him, his energy beginning to subtly rise as he asks, "What exactly do you mean by that, Hakuna?"
A cold, razor-sharp light brown glow completely fills Hakuna's pupils as he looks out toward the distance, concluding the thought with absolute, chilling certainty.
"Because from what I'm personally sensing out there right now... these aren't just standard grunts. These are multiple Level 10's moving in perfect synchronization."
The entire room goes dead silent. Super, Bodega, Enzo, and Freddie all freeze, staring at him with expressions of profound, unadulterated confusion and building dread as the alarms continue to wail in the dark.
Fade out...
End of Episode 77