"I'm ready, Zeno!" Goku said, jumping from one foot to the other. "I feel perfect again!"
Zeno's cold eyes looked Goku up and down. "Good. We are going to a new multiverse. A completely different one. The city we are visiting is called Metropolis. It belongs to a hero named Superman. He protects that city with his life. If we make a big enough mess there, he will come running."
Goku stopped bouncing. His happy face became serious. "Zeno… you know I don't like hurting innocent people. Isn't there a desert or some empty place where we can fight without anyone dying?"
Zeno floated closer, his voice low and hard. "Listen carefully, Goku. Right now, you don't have a choice. Every time we jump to a new multiverse, it costs me a huge amount of energy. The only thing that refills my power fast is destruction… chaos… death. The bigger the mess, the faster I recover. And if I run out of power, we stay trapped in that multiverse forever."
Goku looked down at the endless black beneath his feet. He hated this. He hated everything about it.
Zeno kept talking. "You want to get strong enough to beat Kuma, right? The monster who destroyed our entire multiverse and killed almost everyone we ever cared about? Then you have to stop being soft. You have to learn to kill anyone, anytime, without blinking. That is the only way you will ever become strong enough."
Goku closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them again, fire burned inside. "I will destroy when it is necessary," he said slowly. "I will kill when I have no other choice. And I will forgive when there is still good in someone. But mark my words, Zeno—I WILL become strong enough to crush Kuma and bring our home back. I promise you that."
Zeno stared at him for a long time, then a small, scary smile appeared on his face. "I will hold you to that promise, Son Goku. Now look alive."
He snapped his fingers.
BOOM!
A huge, bright white portal opened in the void, spinning slowly like a giant ring of pure light.
"Step in," Zeno said. "Your next lesson begins right now."
Goku took a deep breath and nodded. "One thing—don't forget you need a lot of chaos to refill your energy, right? Or we'll be stuck there."
"That's right," Zeno answered. "Don't hold back too much."
Goku gave a small thumbs-up and walked straight into the portal.
SWOOSH.
The ring closed behind him, and the void became empty and silent once again.
High above the Earth, inside the Justice League's Watchtower space station, red emergency lights started flashing.
BOM… BOM… BOM…
The loud alarm echoed through every room.
Batman sat in front of the main computer, fingers flying across the keyboard. The Flash was running circles around the monitoring room, as usual.
"Batman, can I—uh—can I spend Christmas in the Batcave this year?" Flash asked, stopping right next to Batman's chair with a huge hopeful smile.
"No," Batman said without even looking up. "You're not welcome."
"But—come on! It'll be fun! I'll bring pies!"
BOM… BOM… BOM…
The alarm grew louder. Red lights painted the whole room.
"Unidentified intruder detected," the Watchtower's computer voice announced calmly. "Location: Sahara Desert, North Africa. Energy signature unknown. Power level… unable to calculate."
Batman's fingers stopped moving. "Show me visual. Now."
A giant hologram screen appeared in the air. It showed a lonely figure standing in the middle of golden sand. Spiky black hair. Orange fighting clothes. Smiling and looking around like a tourist.
"Whoa, who's that guy?" Flash asked, leaning closer. "Looks like he just stepped out of an anime."
"I don't know," Batman said, voice low and serious. "But we're going to find out."
He pressed a button on his wrist communicator. "All Justice League members—this is Batman. Unknown intruder on Earth. Sahara Desert. All available heroes report there immediately. I repeat—immediately."
Flash cracked his knuckles. "Road trip!"
Batman was already walking fast toward the teleporter room. "Move, Barry."
As they stepped into the elevator, the computer spoke again.
"Warning. Intruder power level exceeds all known limits. Extreme caution advised."
Flash's eyes went wide. "Did the computer just say what I think it said?"
Batman only growled, "We'll see."
––––––––
Sahara Desert – a few seconds earlier.
The portal opened with a soft pop, and Goku stepped out onto burning hot sand. The sun was high and cruel. Waves of heat danced above the dunes.
Goku shaded his eyes and looked around. "Wow… this desert looks almost exactly like the one near the west city. Except it's way hotter!"
Zeno's voice floated next to his ear, though no one else could see or hear him. "Different multiverse, different rules, different physics. Everything is a little different."
Goku scratched the back of his head. "Hey, Zeno… this isn't Metropolis, is it? I don't think anyone would protect a desert."
Zeno chuckled. "You asked for a place where you could fight without killing innocent people. This is perfect. Empty for hundreds of miles. You can go all out."
Goku's face lit up. "Really? Awesome!" He cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms. "I can finally stop holding back!"
Zeno's voice became serious. "Careful. Even this planet has limits. If you go full power right away, you might crack the whole world in half."
Goku laughed. "Don't worry, I'll start slow."
A faint whooshing sound came from the sky.
VUUUUUU…
Goku looked up, eyes shining. "Oh! Someone's coming fast! That must be Superman, right?"
A tiny dot in the sky grew bigger and bigger until the famous red-and-blue hero landed hard in the sand, making a small crater. Superman rose slowly, arms crossed, eyes glowing faint red with heat vision ready.
Behind him, more heroes arrived one after another.
Batman and Flash ran out of a red blur—Flash had carried Batman at top speed.
Green Lantern flew in, ring glowing bright.
Wonder Woman dropped from the sky like a meteor, bracelets shining.
Aquaman stepped out of a water portal he made himself in the dry desert.
Cyborg teleported in with a boom tube.
Robin landed quietly beside Batman.
The entire Justice League stood in a half-circle, staring at the smiling man in orange.
Superman spoke first, voice strong and clear. "Identify yourself. Who are you, and why are you here?"
Goku waved happily. "Hi! You're Superman, right? My name is Son Goku! Some people call me Kakarot. I came here to fight the strongest hero on this planet—and everyone says that's you!"
Flash burst out laughing. "Kakarot? Like… carrot?"
Wonder Woman smacked him hard on the back of the head. "Don't mock someone's name, Barry!"
"Ow! That hurt, Diana!" Flash rubbed his head.
Cyborg's eye scanned Goku up and down. "Guys… his energy readings are off the charts. Literally. My systems can't even measure him."
Everyone became quiet and tense.
Batman stepped forward slowly. "If you're looking for the strongest person on Earth, you're wrong. Superman isn't the strongest. There are others far more powerful."
Goku tilted his head, curious. "Really? Who?"
Batman didn't answer. He walked closer, one hand hidden behind his back. Superman whispered into the communicator, "Bruce, don't get too close. We don't know what he can do."
Batman ignored him. He stopped only two steps away from Goku. They were the same height, but Goku was much more muscular.
Up close, Batman spoke softly so only Goku could hear. "I'm sorry, but we have to take you in for examination."
Suddenly, Batman whipped out a small black device and slapped it onto Goku's forehead faster than most eyes could follow.
PZZZT!
He pressed a button on his glove. The device exploded with millions of volts—enough electricity to kill an elephant or knock out even Captain Atom.
Everyone held their breath.
Goku just reached up slowly, pulled the smoking device off his forehead like it was a sticker, and crushed it in his hand.
He smiled kindly at Batman. "That tickled."
Green Lantern immediately created a giant green hammer construct above Goku's head.
Wonder Woman pulled out her sword and shield.
Aquaman raised his trident.
Robin flipped his bo staff open.
Cyborg's arm turned into a cannon.
Superman's fists glowed with power.
Flash got ready to run circles around Goku at light speed.
Goku raised both hands, palms open. "Wait, wait, wait! Superman, I only want to fight you! Not all of you! This is just a friendly match to see who's stronger. No killing! Tell your friends to back off, or… well… they might get hurt by accident. I don't want that."
Superman floated a little higher, muscles tight, cape moving in the hot wind. "You heard him, team. Stand back. This one's mine."
Batman spoke quietly. "Clark…"
"I said stand back," Superman repeated, eyes never leaving Goku.
One by one, the heroes stepped away, forming a huge circle hundreds of yards wide. The sand was so hot it almost glowed.
Goku rolled his shoulders and dropped into a fighting stance, wide happy grin on his face. "Finally! I've been waiting for this!"
Superman cracked his neck left and right. "So have I."
The wind stopped.
The sun burned hotter.
Two of the greatest warriors from completely different worlds stared each other down in the middle of the empty Sahara desert.