One week later
Within a week, everything went back to normal, almost like the Invasion had never happened.
Buildings were repaired at an insane speed thanks to Hope's robots, and a lot of people started openly supporting New Dawn, especially in Metropolis. Not only did we single-handedly defend the city from the entire invasion force, but we also pulled together what was left of the other fractured hero teams and led them in taking down the Thanagarians.
Hope landed a flood of new government contracts, and my team's name spread fast. As for whatever the Justice League decided to do with Batman? I honestly didn't know, and didn't really care. What did matter was that Hope and I made sure Batman's name never came up as a reason for why the Thanagarians targeted the heroes in the first place.
Only my team, the Justice League, and the Justice Gang knew the truth.
We called it active kindness, on both our parts.
Right now, though, Hope and I were in the middle of a very serious conversation.
"I don't wanna," I said flatly.
"Kai, don't be a baby," Hope replied.
"But I hate that guy," I shot back. "Why do you even want to talk to him? We already know his character."
"I want my own read on him," Hope said calmly. "This isn't a comic or a TV show. This Lex Luthor. He could be very different from the versions we know."
That didn't make me feel any better.
Lex Luthor had requested a meeting with Hope after the whole Invasion mess. My guess? Hope robots caught his attention. There were way too many models deployed, some early builds, some designed purely for defense and shielding. I was pretty sure one of them was literally designed to level a mountain, which… yeah, definitely not mission-necessary.
All of them were made entirely of vibranium.
Which meant I'd be taking another multiverse trip soon just to restock.
For some reason, Lex also wanted a conversation with me. Hope agreed, on some conditions she hadn't explained yet. We were already in her building, in her office, and I was fully suited up in my hero gear.
"Come on, Kai," Hope said, smirking. "Don't lie to me. You're at least a little interested in meeting Lex Luthor."
"I am," I admitted. "But I'm more cautious around him than almost any other villain. He's terrifyingly smart and obsessively driven. In other universes, he's done anything just to kill Superman, turning the sun red, weaponizing kryptonite to destroy Earth, injecting it into himself just to gain an edge."
I exhaled slowly."I'd rather watch him from a distance… and strike when the time's right."
Hope raised an eyebrow. "You think he's smarter than me?"
"Of course not," I said immediately. "I'm pretty sure no one in this galaxy will ever reach your level of intelligence."
"Good," she said. "Then you shouldn't worry. I won't agree to anything I don't like, and I have zero interest in being a business partners with him. This is curiosity, nothing more. Just indulge me."
I sighed. "Fine. Whatever. You already knew I'd say yes."
"Obviously," Hope said. "Meeting starts in one minute. Come on."
She stood, and I followed her toward one of the private meeting rooms. I didn't like this at all. Lex Luthor was firmly on my mental kill list, right up there with the Joker and Reverse-Flash. That's how dangerous he was to me.
I just had to stay alert. Best-case scenario, this meeting went smoothly. Worst-case? Hope accidentally made an enemy out of one of the most dangerous minds on the planet.
We reached the room. Hope took her seat at the table. I stayed standing, leaning against the wall behind her.
Lex was two minutes late.
That already annoyed me.
When he finally walked in, he wasn't alone.
Ultraman and Engineer flanked him as he entered. Lex took a seat across from Hope, calm and composed, while his two companions stood behind him like bodyguards.
The conversation started painfully dull: business projections, tech development, government contracts.
I wasn't really paying attention to the conversation. My focus was on Ultraman and Engineer instead. Quietly, I let my magic spread out, scanning them both.
And, yeah. Just like I'd suspected.
Ultraman was a clone of Superman. Not a variant. Not some alternate-universe version. A straight-up clone.
The engineer was even worse.
She was barely human anymore. Her entire bloodstream was made of nanites—every vein, every cell, all of it artificial. At that point, "augmented" didn't even begin to cover it.
I almost laughed.
A guy who despised aliens and metahumans more than anyone else on the planet sure did love creating them.
The hypocrisy was almost impressive.
Jack POV
I was at Bulma's house, eating some really good food with the rest of the Z Fighters. Everyone was talking about the teens preparing for the Tournament of Power, yeah, that one. And somewhere between the food and the conversation, I finally made my decision.
After the Tournament of Power… I was going home.
I'd been here long enough. I'd learned everything I could. And honestly? I missed Hope and Kai.
I had no idea how time passed back in my original world. For all I knew, it could've been days for them, or years. But here, I'd already been gone for months. That alone was reason enough to head back.
So I told them.
Of course, a lot of them were sad. We'd become good friends over time, real friends. Saying goodbye wasn't easy.
Especially Goku and Vegeta.
Goku was an incredible teacher and an even better friend. He helped me fully control my Saiyan side to the point where I didn't have to worry about losing myself in battle or going on some uncontrollable rampage.
Vegeta and I, though… we developed a rivalry.
A serious one.
We fought a lot, pushed each other constantly. And during that time, I taught him how to go Super Saiyan 4. Same with Goku. Unlike the canon timeline, Vegeta needed a machine to access it. He earned it the hard way.
They've been mixing that form lately, but Super Saiyan God is still way stronger overall. Not only that, I trained with the rest of the Z Fighters too, and they've all gotten a lot stronger because of it, especially Krillin and Yamcha. They were always two of my favorite characters anyway, so seeing them grow like this felt good.
I even taught Yamcha my fighting style. Honestly? It suits him perfectly.
By now, the conversation shifted to who was going to make up the Tournament of Power team. We needed ten fighters. So far, we have Vegeta, Goku, Gohan, Master Roshi, me, Broly, Piccolo, Android 18, and Android 17.
That left one final spot.
Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien were all arguing about who deserved it.
"I don't get why you guys are even arguing," I said, leaning back casually. "The tournament won't last long with me there, especially if I go all out and use my new form."
That got everyone's attention.
My new form was a fusion of my Kryptonian and Saiyan physiology, layered with Spartan Rage. On its own, it was insane. But when I doubled it with Kaioken?
Yeah… terrifying.
I called it Super Saiyan Kryptonian God.
SSKG for short.
Or just Super Saiyan Rage.
"No way, Jack!" Goku shouted immediately. "If you do that, we won't get a chance to test our power at all! It'll just turn into you wiping out the strongest fighters from every universe!"
"Okay, I admit," I said, smirking a little, "I do want to see Piccolo go Orange and Gohan go Beast against other universes. But this is a battle for survival. Shouldn't we prioritize that over competition?"
"I agree with Jack, Dad," Gohan said. "If we don't go all out and eliminate them quickly, they could get the upper hand and start taking us out one by one."
Goku scratched his head, grinning like always."I know, I know… but don't you guys want to see how strong the others are? Test their techniques, their limits? Just thinking about it gets me excited."
Yeah.
That was Goku, alright.
I let out a wicked grin. "You're right about that, Goku. I do want to test their abilities and techniques. But I'm more concerned about our survival. After we win the tournament, you can just wish back all the erased universes with the Super Dragon Balls."
I shrugged. "Then you can ask Whis to take you to the other universes and fight them one-on-one. Problem solved."
I wasn't worried.
I wasn't losing.
At this point, I was pretty sure I was the strongest one here, besides Whis. My power level had already surpassed Beerus a few months ago. We even had a nice little fight that accidentally destroyed a couple of planets.
I wished them back afterward, of course.
No real harm done.
Still, I took immense joy in knowing I was stronger than a God of Destruction. Kai and Hope were never going to hear the end of this. Me? Beating a God of Destruction? I was absolutely going to brag about that for a long time.
"Jack," Whis said calmly, "I don't appreciate you volunteering me for something I did not agree to."
"Come on, Whis," I said, waving a hand. "Do me this one favor. It probably won't even take you away from your duties. Beerus sleeps most of the time anyway. And think about it like this: if Goku and Vegeta keep getting stronger, Beerus might finally stop being lazy and start training seriously with you."
Whis paused, actually thinking about it.
"That is tempting," he admitted. "After you defeated Lord Beerus, he has become… Lazier than usual. If Goku and Vegeta grow strong enough to motivate him…" He smiled. "Very well. I agree. After we win this tournament, I will take Goku to other universes."
"Wow! That's amazing!" Goku said, practically bouncing. "I still wish we could really test everyone's abilities in the tournament, though."
"Me too," I said. "But we'll do that after we win."
"And I am not lazy," Beerus snapped. "I am merely resting for my next battle with Jack."
I grinned. "Wow. I beat you so badly that you need months of rest? Guess I really am that strong."
That did it.
Everyone burst out laughing, except Beerus, who looked very irritated.
"Stop laughing!" he shouted. "I will destroy this entire planet, no, this entire galaxy!"
Yeah. Right.
He wasn't going to do that. Not when he needed us to win the tournament so he wouldn't get erased, and definitely not when he loved Earth's food way too much to destroy it.
I smiled to myself.
This tournament was going to be easy.
Everyone here was far stronger than their canon counterparts. Goku hadn't even mastered, or seriously attempted, Ultra Instinct yet, and Vegeta hadn't learned to use Destroyer Ki. But they did have Super Saiyan 4, and they'd been training with me constantly.
With that extra power?
They'd be just fine.
Jaina Hudson AKA White Rabbit POV
I was standing inside one of the new Don's training facilities. First day.
First day training with Soldier Boy.
And yeah… I was nervous.
I kept thinking I'd mess up, really mess up, and blow my only chance at becoming a hero. Soldier Boy already made it clear he didn't think I was worthy of the title, so it wasn't like I was starting on equal ground.
Probably didn't help that my costume made me look like a stripper.
I wore it because it helped with mobility, tight, flexible, and easy to move in close combat. At least that's what I told myself. If I were being honest, I'd never wear anything like this in public if I looked even remotely like my civilian identity.
Thank God for my powers.
I could create an opposite clone of myself, longer hair, pure white instead of brown, skin pale as snow. White Rabbit didn't look anything like Jaina Hudson.
When I first discovered my abilities, how easily I could be in two places at once, I seriously considered becoming a thief. Gotham was practically begging for it. Rob museums, pull perfect heists, have airtight alibis. I could be standing next to people while my clone did the job.
No one would ever suspect me.
Then the apocalypse happened.
Those thoughts disappeared really fast.
I was one of the civilians who got captured. I still remember it clearly, the fear, the panic, the certainty that I was going to die there.
Then the Mage King showed up.
He saved me.
After that, the idea of being a hero started to matter more than stealing ever did. I wanted to thank him someday, properly. More than that… I wanted to be like him.
"All right, listen up!"
Soldier Boy's shout snapped me out of my thoughts.
I didn't know why he was yelling. There were only four of us here: Peacemaker, TDK, Friendly Fire… and me.
"You all know why you're here," Soldier Boy said flatly. "You want to be heroes. I'm here to decide if you're worthy of that title. And if I'm being honest?"
He looked us over with open contempt.
"I don't think any of you are."
That hit hard.
"We've got one guy with decent power who can't aim worth a damn and usually shoots his own teammates," he continued. "Another guy whose only ability is detaching his arms and yelling about it."
TDK flinched.
"Then there's a woman with no impressive physical enhancements whatsoever."
That one hurt the most.
"And a guy who can shoot but hides behind some flashy helmet his racist daddy built for him."
The room went quiet.
I swallowed hard.
I wasn't going to lie.
That stung.
"But the reason you're all here," Soldier Boy continued, "is because the Mage King sees potential in every one of you."
He took a step forward.
"And I'm here to beat that potential out of you."
My stomach dropped.
"I'm going to put you through the wringer," he said without hesitation. "I'll teach you close-quarters combat, how to properly use weapons, and how to make the right call in hostage situations. You'll learn how to deactivate any kind of bomb, and how to take down a villain as fast as possible when civilians are nearby. No crossfire. No excuses."
He let that sink in.
"I'm sure most of you don't like me," he added. "And I'll be honest, you probably won't for a long time. Training with me will be brutal. But it will be fair. If I see you putting in the work, if I see real improvement… maybe my opinion of you changes."
His eyes hardened.
"I'm answering the question now, so none of you have to ask later. I'm this hard on you because being a hero is an honor. And I will not let anyone on New Dawn disrespect that, especially recruits."
Then he smiled.
That was somehow worse.
"So I hope you're ready," he finished. "Because I'm going to put you through hell."
Okay.
Yeah.
I was officially scared.
I tried not to show it, but I could see it on the others' faces too. Friendly Fire looked like he might bolt at any second. TDK was visibly sweating. Peacemaker, though… he was calm.
More than calm.
I wasn't sure if I was imagining it, but I saw determination in his eyes. Like he wanted this. Like, no matter what Soldier Boy threw at him, it wouldn't break him.
And strangely enough… that gave me courage.
Because I wanted this too.
I wanted to be a hero.
And no matter what Soldier Boy did to us, no matter how hard it got, I wasn't giving up.
Not now.
Not ever.
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AN: I forgot today was Sunday, that's why this chapter is so late.