The city of San Francisco was in ruins and burned in and around it. Massive skyscrapers and multiple buildings collapsed into rubble, while smoke rolled across the horizon in thick black clouds.
Fires raged through streets littered with overturned cars and shattered concrete. Sirens echoed faintly beneath the destruction while terrified civilians ran through the chaos below.
And in the middle of it all…Omni-Man floated above the city with blood smeared across his suit. His face cold and stoic like the site of carnage was beneath him. His eyes were cold and locked onto the two girls flying toward him at high speed.
Atom Eve and Supergirl burst through the smoke clouds simultaneously.
Supergirl blitz through the air at him first.
A sonic boom sound occurred from her punch connecting with Omni-man which shattered nearby windows across several skyscrapers. But Omni-Man blocked the hit with his hand but the impact of the punch still pushed him backward through the air into a building.
Kara smiled and followed up instantly with another attack. She sent forward a elbow, then a palm strike, and then followed up with a rotational kick.
She was using the Kryptonian marial arts Torquasm Rao and Klurkor.
A Kryptonian martial arts built specifically for her people over the centuries.
Torquasm Rao is are physical and mental techniques that relies on the meditative state of the user. It gives the user a heightened awareness, allowing them to process their environmental awareness quickly and move instinctually, making it exceptionally useful against physically stronger or faster opponents.
While Klurkor was often described by Superman and Batman, as "Kryptonian Karate," it is a fighting style that originated in the shrunken city of Kandor.
Kara spun low in midair and drove a kick directly into Omni-Man's ribs with enough force to send him crashing through a damaged building.
Glass exploded everywhere, and Eve immediately followed up the attack.
Pink constructs erupted around her body while she thrust both hands forward. As a massive construct of pink spears launched downward like missiles and slammed directly into the building Omni-Man disappeared into.
The entire skyscraper exploded outward. With dust clouds picking up and swallowing everything.
Eve ans Kara floated above the destruction below, Eve breathing hard already with sweat rolling down her forehead while her constructs shifted rapidly around her hands.
Then suddenly Omni-Man burst upward through the debris with great speed. He flew directly through Eve's construct spears like they weren't even there. The constructs shattered instantly as he passed through them.
"Oh shit!" Eve thought.
As Omni-Man grabbed Eve by the throat and hurled her downward.
Eve instinctively created barriers around her body as she smashed through three floors of another building before crashing into the street below hard enough to create a crater.
As the dust cleared Kara appeared behind Omni-Man instantly. She grabbed both his shoulders and drove her knee directly into his spine repeatedly.
Omni-Man grunted in pain slightly before breaking Kara's grip and twisting violently and slamming his elbow backward into Kara's stomach.
The hit folded her instantly. Omni-Man then grabbed her cape and swung her through the side of a nearby building.
As Kara flew through the building concrete exploded outward. Kara tumbled through multiple apartments before flying up and stabilizing herself midair again.
Meanwhile Eve pushed herself from the crater below. Blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth. "...Okay ,that definitely hurt." She groaned.
Her eyes glowed as pink energy suddenly exploded outward around her. Hundreds of pink construct shards materialized around Eve simultaneously. They hovered in the air behind her like a massive swarm.
Then Eve thrust both hands forward, and the constructs launched forwards like bullets.
Omni-Man saw the attack coming and just crossed his arms as the attacks slammed into him repeatedly at high speeds.
The resulting impact sent explosions and shock waves that lit up the ruined city.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Kara used the opening immediately to her advantage to launch her next attack. She flew high first and then downward at full speed becoming a blur and tackled Omni-Man straight through another skyscraper.
The entire building collapsed sideways from the force of the impact.
Kara flew high up for a second blitz, but Omni-Man caught her mid-charge this time though.
Then he headbutted her directly across the face. The hit caused Kara to see white and stars instantly.
Omni-Man then grabbed her by the neck and slammed her through multiple floors violently. The concrete collapsed around them, as she was slammed through each floor almost effortlessly.
Kara crashed into the foundation level below the building, while Omni-Man floated downward calmly afterward. "Your supposed to be the last daughter of Krypton. Where is the pride on your species, or was it bread out of you when your people began cloning yourselves like dolls?"
Kara slowly stood back up while wiping blood from her nose. "...Thanks asshole, I needed the pep talk." Kara's eyes glowed red as she rushed him again.
This time her movements were smoother and more cleaner. Her Kryptonian training finally showed itself properly in their exchange.
She deflected Omni-Man's punch with rotational momentum before driving three brutal strikes into his chest. A palm strike, that turned to an elbow, and a elbow that became an uppercut.
That final hit actually staggered him slightly making his nose bleed.
Omni-Man's eyes then narrowed, then he smiled faintly. "That was better."
Kara immediately realized that wasn't a compliment.
Then Omni-Man vanished from infront of her sight. Before Kara realized it pain exploded across her side. He reappeared and hit her hard on her side. It was enough to launch her through the shattered city like a missile. Causing Kara to bounce across buildings before finally crashing through a bridge support.
The metal twisted around her as she landed. Before she could fully recover, Omni-Man grabbed her face and dragged her through the street ruble below. Concrete shredded beneath them while sparks and debris exploded everywhere.
Kara screamed through clenched teeth before blasting heat vision directly into Omni-Man's eyes. He released her immediately grunting im pain.
Kara flew backward breathing heavily.
Meanwhile above them, Eve raised both hands again. As a massive pink construct cannon materialized behind her. The barrel glowed brightly while energy gathered rapidly inside.
Eve eyes narrowed on Omni man. "Okay asshole, let's see how you like this."
The construct cannon fired, and a gigantic beam of condensed energy slammed directly into Omni-Man and blew him through half of the city. Causing multiple entire buildings to explod and collapsed from the impact. Until the beam finally detonated against a mountain outside the city limits.
The explosion lit up the sky, as Eve breathed heavily while sweat rolled down her face. "...Please tell me that, that worked?"
Both girls looked out into the distance, as Omni-Man burst back through the smoke cloud almost completely unharmed in a instant.
"...Seriously?!" Eve shouted.
Omni-Man looked unimpressed. "Pathetic."
Then Omni-Man flew directly toward her, he was too fast for Eve to see. Eve barely reacted in time with barriers before Omni-Man smashed through her constructs and punched her directly across the face.
The punch sent Eve spiraling through the air into the nearby building. Then Omni-Man grabbed her ankle before she could stabilize. Then he swung her violently into Kara who was in mid-flight. The two girls then crashed together hard enough to tumble through another building. As the dust clouds erupted everywhere.
Eve groaned painfully while Kara was helping her back upright. "You okay?"
Eve winced. "...I think my ribs are mad at me."
Omni-Man descended slowly through the smoke toward them. With the same cold and calm expression this fight started with.
Kara clenched her fists. "Okay I got a new plan."
Eve looked toward her. "Really, you actually got a plan?"
Kara shook her head. "Nope, I'm just gonna hit him really hard."
Eve sighed in frustration "...That's not a plan, but it's not like we have any other options."
Then both girls launched forward together anyway. But this time even without a plan or words they fought smarter.
Kara handled close combat while Eve supported from range.
Pink constructs formed to restrain Omni-Man's movements briefly while Kara landed strikes against him. Eve created barriers to redirect his momentum while Kara counterattacked immediately afterward.
And for several moments, It was actually working. Omni-Man was being pushed back slightly now.
Eve noticed immediately. "KEEP PRESSURING HIM!"
Kara drove both fists into Omni-Man's chest while Eve slammed a large construct hammer into the back of his head simultaneously. The impact finally knocked Omni-Man backward through a skyscraper.
Eve floated above the battlefield breathing heavily while construct energy flickered around her body. "...Holy shit," she whispered. "We actually got him."
Then the entire building exploded outward. Omni-Man emerged through the smoke completely furious now.
"Fuck."
He moved instantly, before either girl could react Omni-Man grabbed Kara by the throat and Eve by the arm simultaneously.
Then he flew upward and the city shrank beneath them instantly. Clouds dispersed around them while Eve struggled desperately against his grip.
Kara slammed punches into Omni-Man repeatedly but he barely reacted. Then Omni-Man spun violently and hurled both girls downward. Until they crashed into the city below like meteors.
The impact created a massive crater large enough to swallow multiple city blocks.
Silence followed as dust rolled outward slowly.
At the center of the crater Kara and Eve laid side by side barely moving. As Eve's barriers crumbled around her,
Kara groaned painfully. "...I hate this simulation."
Eve laughed weakly beside her. "...Yeah me too."
Then suddenly everything froze and the ruined city vanished, and Omni-Man dissolved into white light.
The girls found themselves back inside the simulation chamber at Titans Tower. The giant white room hummed quietly around them while holographic screens floated nearby.
While Miss Martian walked near the main console smiling softly. "And that's time ladies."
Eve groaned loudly while laying flat on the floor. "...my everything hurts."
Kara sat up slowly while rubbing her jaw. "...That simulation is still ridiculous, is that really his last recorded version?"
M'gann floated closer while interacting with several holographic screens.
"Yeah it is unfortunately, so we have no idea if he got any stronger or not. Speaking of stronger you two did amazing."
Data then scrolled rapidly across the displays.
"Eve your combat adaptability improved significantly." M'gann smiled warmly. "Your constructs dealt twenty percent more damage than last month."
Eve blinked. "...Really?"
M'gann nodded. "And your reaction timing improved too. You were able to put up barriers to avoid serious damage at the last seconds."
Then she looked toward Kara.
"Kara, your hand-to-hand combat duration against Omni-Man increased by almost five minutes."
Kara crossed her arms while breathing heavily.
"It better have. My mother and Kal-El's mother both trained me in Torquasm Rao growing up." Kara rolled her shoulders painfully. "And Kelex keeps making me retrain everything until it's perfect."
Eve blinked. "...Wait seriously?"
Kara nodded. "Superman's mom was was a highly skilled fighter." Then her expression hardened slightly. "But I don't wanna survive against this program anymore." She looked toward the simulation screens. "I wanna beat it."
M'gann smiled apologetically. "So far nobody has."
Both girl's eyes narrowed, and M'gann tapped another screen and a scoreboard appeared.
OMNI-MAN SIMULATION RANKINGS
1. Team Omega: 95/100
2. Team Alpha: 90/100
3. Team Beta: 75/100
Eve narrowed her eyes immediately. "...Whose Team Omega?"
M'gann smiled slightly. "Nightwing, Superboy, and Caius."
Kara blinked. "...Seriously and they still couldn't win?"
M'gann nodded. "They almost beat the simulation last week."
Eve immediately sat upright. "Oh now they're absolutely not keeping first place."
Kara smirked slightly despite herself. "Yeah, we're catching up. Soon were gonna take first place and beat it."
Then Kara crossed her arms tighter. "...Would probably help if we had someone balancing our team though."
Eve immediately grinned. "...I know exactly who we should ask. We could ask Caius since...."
Kara narrowed her eyes instantly. "...No."
Eve laughed. "Oh come on."
"Absolutely not."
M'gann blinked between them curiously. "...Is this still about the pheromone thing?"
Kara looked genuinely frustrated immediately. "YES."
Eve burst out laughing.
Kara threw both hands upward dramatically. "I HAVE PERIODS NOW!" she shouted. "And every time I'm around him my brain gets all weird and I wanna..." She gestured wildly in frustration.
Eve immediately held up both hands. "Whoa okay girl I get it."
Kara looked toward her hopefully. "...Really?"
Eve's smile softened slightly. "...Yeah."
Eve leaned back against the simulation platform. "When I lived on the streets...There was this boy."
Kara and M'gann began listening quietly.
"His mom was an addict, she was always high, and his dad was in and out of jail constantly." Eve smiled faintly at the memory. "But he always looked out for me even with what little he had."
Her eyes drifted downward slightly. "We survived together for a while, things got easier with my powers and he was good at stealing things. When Samira found me and brought me into the program I had to leave him behind. I still saw him from time to time but then I heard he got adopted by some rich billionaire guy."
Kara blinked. "...Seriously?"
Eve nodded. "Yeah we still saw each other sometimes after that." Then her expression darkened slightly. "...Then he died in a accident."
M'gann floated slightly closer. "...You really loved him huh?"
Eve smiled faintly."...Yeah, he was my first everything."
Kara stayed silent while Eve continued.
"He was stubborn, and reckless. Had a huge mouth and was cocky sometimes." Eve laughed slightly. "Always getting into fights and always winning. But he protected people even when nobody protected him."
"...What was his name?"
Eve opened her mouth....Then the simulation chamber door slid open.
Nightwing walked inside beside Caius.
Dick looked toward the girls casually. "Hey ladies."
Eve blinked immediately. "... Hey Dick."
Nightwing smiled slightly. "Mind stealing Caius for a bit?"
I narrowed my eyes. "...That sounds suspicious already."
But Nightwing ignored me completely.
"We got an old friend of yours here I think you'll wanna meet."
Eve immediately noticed Dick's expression. Then her eyes widened slightly.
"...Wait."
Nightwing nodded. "Yep he's here."
Eve stood instantly. "...Really?"
I looked between them completely confused. "...Can someone explain what the hell is happening?"
Nightwing smirked slightly. "Nope it will ruin the suprise."
Kara crossed her arms. "You're enjoying this way too much."
"I really am."
Eve immediately walked toward me. "Come on Caius."
I pointed accusingly at Dick while following her. "You are absolutely explaining this later." Dick just laughed while the doors closed behind us.
As Eve and I walked through Titans Tower, Eve glanced toward her curiously. "...So what exactly happened with the whole Red Hood situation?"
"Batman said the Red Hood disappeared completely from Gotham. He currently spending alot of time trying to find him, is what Batgirl told me."
Eve nodded slowly. "Are you okay Caius? You seem different."
" Yeah I'm fine. Batman also said the Joker's been missing too." I kept my expression perfectly neutral.
"Really? That's crazy."
"Yeah, but I have a feeling everything will be alright."
Eve narrowed her eyes slightly. "Your acting weird.
I smirked."I'm always weird."
Eve smile." Well that is fair."
We continued walking through the corridors, then I looked toward her again. "So who exactly is this legend Dick mentioned?"
Eve smiled slightly. "...You're about to find out."
The armory doors slid open. Inside the room Cyborg and Static stood near one of the equipment tables talking to an older man.
The moment I saw him my brain immediately froze for half a second.
The man looked around fifty. He was tall with a lean athletic build. With silver specks in his black hair, and a aharp jawline.
Eve immediately smiled brightly. "Art!"
The older man turned and smiled warmly to Eve. "Samantha."
Eve walked over and hugged him immediately.
"...Art?" Why does that name sound so familir?
Then the name hit me instantly. Wait....No fucking way. I stared at the man while realization hit me.
He's Arthur Rosenbaum, the superhero costume designer from Invincible.
So does he do the same in this universe too?
Static noticed my confused expression immediately and grinned. "Well Caius, Meet a literal legend in the superhero community."
Art laughed while hugging Eve briefly. "Virgil stop making me sound ancient. I'm only fifty."
I blinked slowly. "...You don't look fifty."
Art grinned shamelessly. "Occupational perks of being friends with all kinds of heroes. Magic users, aliens, gods, and speedsters. Somebody's always giving me weird anti-aging gifts."
Then he winked. "The ladies love it."
Cyborg chuckled. " Of course you would say that."
Art walked toward me next and held out his hand. "You must be Caius Dawn. It's a pleasure, I also knew your fsther. "
I shook his hand immediately. "...You knew my dad?"
Art's smile softened slightly. "Your father was a good man." He nodded once. "Me, him, and Nolan used to sit on my rooftop drinking together sometimes." Art then studied me carefully afterward.
"...Damn. Tall, muscular, and handsome."
I blinked. "...Thanks?"
Art pointed directly at my face.
"Yeah you definitely need a mask."
"...What?"
Art looked horrified. "Kid if you run around looking like THAT without a secret identity every villain in America is gonna target your future wife and kids."
Eve snorted loudly.
Art crossed his arms dramatically. "I'm serious, you think Oliver Queen had it bad? Pretty heroes with public identities suffer alot. We cant be Vixen." He sighed dramatically. "May Oliver rest in peace."
I looked toward Cyborg. "...Why did literally nobody tell me about this guy?"
Cyborg shrugged. "Because when we were younger you refused the whole costume-and-tights thing."
Static laughed immediately. "Bro used to say costumes looked corny."
I looked Cyborg. "They DO look corny sometimes."
Art looked personally offended. "Only if not done correctly. Otherwise anything I make is legendary. I will not hear of any blasphemy."
Eve then crossed her arms smugly. "He also made backup suits for me in case my powers malfunction."
Art nodded proudly. " Your the only person besides Mari who understands fashion."
Which made Eve smile.
Then he looked directly at me again. "Nightwing called me because apparently you finally stopped being stubborn. Plus even if you don't want a costume the stuff I make double as armor to. This stuff ain't your moms armor of the gods, but it's close enough." He gestured dramatically around the armory.
"So now we get to the fun part."
I blinked slowly. "...Which is?"
Art grinned. "Code names. That's how we pick the design of the costume." Then he pointed toward the equipment tables nearby.
Well he's not wrong I do need a costume, and everyone can't just keep saying my name when we go into the field.
"...Okay let's do it you way then."
Art grinned wider immediately. "Good answer, and don't worry kid I will make you look not only fabulous, but strong too."
I crossed my arms smirking. "Okay Art, show me what you got."