"Is it necessary to wear this?" I asked as I stood in front of the river, having discarded my clothes for a simple dark blue bodysuit with a hood.
Priest St'ferr just narrowed his eyes at me as an ethereal yellow glow coated his hands before he replied, "The bodysuit is made out of a specific elastic material that will stretch your mental shield to its limit."
"And what will that do?" M'gann asked while I stayed quiet as I stared at the bright purple river in front of me.
"That will entice the spectre to attack his mind, meaning that it will become visible enough for me to capture it. From there, it's up to you to expel the spirit on your own."
"Would it be possible for us to help?"
"Possibly, but at the same time, we risk straining Chris' mind in different directions and tearing it apart," was St'ferr's response to Raven's question, who grimaced when I shook my head.
"No, I think I can do this on my own. Okay, Priest St'ferr, I trust your exerptise."
"Good because this may have resulted in your demise and I needed witnesses to show that I did not force you to go through with this treatment," he replied, smirking as I slowly turned to him with a frown.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Now, we have less than 46 hours left until Mongul attacks Mars so do you wish to keep wasting time or let us continue?"
"...Let's get this over with. Everyone, I'll see you guys when I get back."
"Make sure you do," M'gann replied with a frown, to which I chuckled and turned to the river. With a deep breath, I took that first step and was immediately assaulted by a shockwave rippling through my form.
"Keep going," St'ferr spoke up and I nodded, letting the Maritan sorcerer help me as we slowly descended down the steps into the river.
With each step, I could feel a pulse clawing at my skull, my jaw clenching as pressure began to built up behind my eyes.
"Breathe, Chris," St'ferr spoke calmly at my side. "The shield is stretching and will soon draw the spirit's attention."
"Got it," I replied, the bodysuit lighting up with thin, vein-like lines of bright red energy tracing along my limbs and chest. It was at that moment, with a final pulse, that all sound dropped out and I felt darkness taking me.
"Hahahaha! Oh, there you are, Chrissy boy! Why don't you open your mind to me?" Opening my eyes and swinging my fist out of instinct, I watched Klarion's face distort in surprise as I snapped his jaw to the side.
Kicking out my leg at the same time, I stomped into his chest, sending the Lord of Chaos blasting back while staring at the empty space we were in.
Up above, a blazing yellow sun lit up the dark red sky, a field of smoke obscuring the ground as I watched the Lord of Chaos rise with a wide smirk.
"Look who's learned to take control of their mindscape."
"That's rich coming from the gremlin that's been hitching a ride in the back of my mind," I shot back, rolling my shoulders as Klarion's eye twitched.
"Gremlin?! I'll have you know that I am a Lord Of Chaos! Scratch that! I am THEE Lo-"
"I don't care. I just came to get you the hell out of my head," I cut him off with a scoff, to which he give a slow blink before his lips slowly curved into an unnerving smile.
"I see~You're trying to convince yourself you still h-"
"Yap, yap, yap. Don't you ever stop talking?"
"ha-"
"I mean, seriously. Just fight or fuck off. It's not that hard to choose."
"...Cut me o-"
"I swear I am getting bored here!" I groaned, a bored look on my face before I hid my smirk at Klarion taking a slow breath. His eye twitched once before his entire face scrunched up with a roar.
"STOP INTERRUPTING ME!"
"Then say something worth listening to," I replied with a shrug, cackling in my mind as his scream cracked the sky. A roaring vortex of raw chaos energy obscured the sky and I watched as Klarion floated up.
His form warped and distorted, his limbs lengthening as his fingers turned into black talons and his grin split from ear to ear.
"Ohhhh, Chrissy boy! I am going to enjoy tearing your soul asunder."
"...You say something?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, the Lord Chaos lunging forward with a deafening shriek.
Yet, I didn't move and met his charge with a growl, surprising Klarion as I spun and slammed him into the ground with a shoulder throw.
Spinning with the throw, I delivered a swift heel drop to his chest, cratering the ground below us as I stood with my foot on him and a glare in my eyes.
"You know, I never had the time to process Supes' death or get to actually say goodbye at his grave...which is why you're going to be my stress outlet," I spoke, pinning his shoulders to the ground with my knees as he scrambled to break free.
His arms stretched and his talons clawed at me, but I ignored the painful wounds made by them as I raised my hands and clenched them.
The first punch snapped into his jaw, bouncing his skull off the ground and into the second. The third followed so quickly that the shockwaves barely had time to form before the fourth snapped into his nose.
Soon, each strike sent ripples across the smoke-covered ground as my arms blurred, Klarion's head bouncing over and over against the ground below us.
"S-S-Stop!" he choked, his voice warping between a child's and a guttural demonic echo.
"Why?!" CRACK! "You don't." CRACK! "You sneak into people's head, crawl under their skin, whisper like a fucking parasite-!" CRACK! "And when someone fights back, you get upset?!" CRACK! "Cry me a river!"
His face twisted from shock to rage to fear and back to shock rapidly, but I didn't dare stop and give him the opportunity to recover.
After all, with every punch, I could feel the pressure fading and could see the red hue fading from my mind scape."
"YOU DARE STRIKE A LORD OF CHA-!"
"Shut up!" I grunted, grabbing his swollen face by the mouth while pulling a fist back. "You don't get! To tell me! What to do! Or when to do it!"
Letting go of his mouth, I grabbed his collar with both hands before slamming it into the ground below us. "I'm done being your host! I'm done waking up wondering if you're gone! You're leaving! Today!"
"...Hehehehe~Oh, Chrissy, you think you can get red of me?!" The wounds vanished from his face as he looked at me. His arms melted into a viscous black liquid that wrapped around mine like tar and coiled around my throat with a vice grip. "I AM CHAOS! I AM INFINITE! I AM-!"
"Chris! The spirit is visible! Now, force him into the river's current!" A headbutt quickly shut him up as I heard St'ferr's voice, the Lord of Chaos looking up with a dazed look as I grabbed him by the throat and grinned.
"Buddy, you've been gnawing at my psyche like a rabid dog for weeks. I think it's time to put you down," With those words said, TTK rippled both through Klarion and the ground below us, the following pulse of psychokinetic energy eviscerating it all.
What was left was the two of us falling towards a pit lit up by the dark violet waters below us, Klarion clawing desperately for freedom as I kept my grip on it and drove us both underwater.
The current churned around us before I felt a pair of hands grabbing my shoulders, watching as Klarion's spirit was dragged deeper towards the bottom while I was pulled out.
Gasping for air as I looked around frantically, my body relaxed as St'ferr held me with a pleased grin and a nod.
"Do you hear him?" he asked and my eyes widened as I realized that there was no shouting.
No whispers for chaos or death or blood, no chants to offer them up to the Lord of Chaos. No, there was nothing but...silence.
"N-No. No. Hehe...Hahahahaha! Oh, thank you, St'ferr!" I cried out with joy as I hugged the yellow Martian, who patted my back with a chuckle before I let go.
With a boisterous laugh, I shot up into the air, rising with a spin before letting out the loudest, most joyful cry that I have ever done in my entire existence.
"Hahahahaha! FUCK YOU, KLARION! I WIN!" I shouted to the heavens, turning just in time to see a human M'gann with pale ski floating up to me with a happy smile.
Before she could reach me, her eyes widened as I shot forward and pulled her tight, a surprised moan escaping her lips as I captured her in a searing kiss.
"Mwah! Oh, does it feel good to be alive, eh M'gann?"
"Oh, so we're at that level of happiness," she asked, a light pink staining her cheeks as I kept my arms around her waist and nodded.
"Yes, we are," her blush deepened at my words and she pressed her forehead gently against mine, the two of us drifting slowly in the air.
"Ahem!" Unfortunately, my brother decided to be his usual interrupting self and I knew he knew what he did by the shit-eating grin on his face.
M'gann and I just looked at him as he chuckled and pointed down, "While I do enjoy having you back to your usual brave self, you still need to get a check-up."
"I will. Just let meenjoy this for another second," I huffed, M'gann squeaking as I pulled her close and rested my head in the crook of her neck.
"Chris."
"Later," I waved him away, snickering as he just shrugged and dropped back down.
"W-We should really go now."
"Want to go or have a quick cuddle midair?" I asked, chuckling as M'gann responded by pulling me closer to her. "Uh-huh, thought so. Besides, they can wait a few seconds longer."
"No, we can't. Now, come back down before I start bothering you guys with telepathy," I groaned at Raven's words as I broke away from the hug, still keeping an arm interlocked with M'gann's as the two of us floated down.
"Oh, please. Keep cuddling. I did not mind the sight," As expected, J'ann was the first to find enjoyment in M'gann's embarrassment, making me chuckle as I shrugged.
"We would, but someone here needs to go get a boyfriend."
"Don't you start with me. Don't you have work to do?" Raven asked and I shrugged as Prince J'emm cleared his throat.
"Am I correct in assuming that you are now combat-ready?" he asked and I raised my free hand, clenching my fist and grinning at the telekinetic energy drumming under my skin.
Oh, TTK was rearing to go.
"I am, but first, let's give ol' Mongul a message from me."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"M-Master, you have a message from Mars," Koriand'r spoke up, making Mongul narrow his eyes as the woman brought over a holographic screen.
On it was a smiling man with black hair, but Mongul's gaze focused on the scarlet red 'S' sigil on the shirts of both him and the man behind him that looked like a carbon copy.
"This is a message to the Tyrant Mongul. My name is Chris Kent and this is my brother Match Kent, the twin brothers to Clark Kent. If you don't know that name, you might know him by the name Superman."
"These must be the Kryptonians he spoke of. Pathetic, they look weaker than that fool Kal-El," Mongul spoke with a scoff, but his gaze stayed fixed on the screen as Chris chuckled.
"This is a foolish idea and I can only assume that you are a man of honour, so I will propose this. Mars has a gladiator arena so it will be Match and myself against you and whatever fighter you wish to bring with, if you have any on board.
If not, it's me against you. If I win, you leave Mars and the Warworld and you never return. If you win, the crystal key will be handed over. Return your response with a message."
Mongul watched as the message ended, Koriand'r herself feeling hesitant as a long, uncomfortable silence stretched in the air.
Then, she jumped as he let out a deep, thunderous laugh, shaking the chamber itself as he rose from his throne.
"Two whelps challenging me?! Hahaha! I did not believe that such fools exist in this day and age."
"Wh-What should I tell them, Master?" she asked and Mongul scoffed as he held his hands behind his arms.
What do you think, vermin? Tell them we accept! A vermin such as yourself should be sufficient enough for the weaker one while I take care of the other."
"I thank you for permitting me to take part, master."
"Yes, yes. Turn on the recorders," he replied with a wave of his hand, to which Koriand'r nodded as she pressed on the holographic screen next to her.
A series of drones came out from the rooftop and Mongul stood tall as they all focused on the two of them.
"Hear my voice, Kryptonian half-breeds."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Your challenge is accepted. The Warworld will arrive in twenty hours. I will face you myself and my slave here will serve as my second. Prepare your graves."
"Well, I suppose that is a better response than we expected," King S'turnn spoke with a sigh and while I did nod in agreement, I forced my shock back as I stared at the woman next to Mongul.
'That...that's Starfire. Wait, why the hell is she here and a slave to Mongul? Was she even in the original series? Where the fuck is this timeline going?'
"I miss when I could read your mind," M'gann whispered to me and I looked at her to see the pout on her face. Well, she was in her Martian form so it was hard for me to make it out, but I did hear the disappointment in her voice.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because we can feel flickers of turmoil and nervousness, but your thoughts are scrambled. I can see how you were a nuisance to most telepaths," King S'turnn replied and I chuckled as the recording ended. "Still, Mongul has accepted your challenge so I will order for the arena to be prepared."
"You know, that trip in the ship had me itching for something to hit that isn't a pillow."
"I'm more focused on the woman with him. She looked like she was conditioned to be at his side and you saw how she flinched with every word he spoke," Raven spoke with a frown, which didn't surprise me since she herself was running from her father and his chains of servitude.
"Then, we'll just beat the shit out of Mongul and break her chains. Two birds with one beatdown," Match replied with a shrug before he looked to me as I chuckled.
"Look at you wanting to save the damsel in distress."
"See, this is when I wished you were still depressed and not your teasing self."
"Simply because you enjoyed my depression doesn't mean that I can't enjoy your embarrassment. Say, you think she'll give you the kiss of joy if you win?" I asked, running away with a cackle as Match charged after me.
"Get here so I can beat the shit out of you!"
"Nope! Oh, brother, you are one lucky guy!"
"You have a girlfriend!"
"And I agree with Chris!" M'gann's words made us both pause before I burst out with laughter at the bright red Match.
"D-D-Don't you start agreeing with him!"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, brother. We still have plenty of time left."
"For?"
"Figuring out a battle plan...and a way to make you seem like the big savior," He just palmed his face with a groan as I patted his back, but as the others continued teasing him, my gaze moved upwards to stare at the holographic image of the Warworld not too far away.
Soon, the battle for the fate of Mars will ensue...and I can't wait.
A/N: I know, I know. I'm cucking you guys with the fights, but like they say, the wait is worth it...at least, I hope it will be.
Anyway, next chapter(for real this time): Dance of Gods.
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