The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Vegetto's stone like expression had remained in the small pause that followed his question. The firm eyes stared down the possessed Wordplay throughout, but his attention was not on the man nor on anything else in particular. The unmoving expression covered the resonating fear and desperation to avoid the impending response. Clark's devastating and complete refusal to accept the Potara's fusion stance moments ago planted doubt that the friendship could remain intact. And once again, Vegetto had failed to uphold a commitment to someone.

The promise to be the best he could be to his wife died with Kassava against Doom's death beam. The commitment to save the Breakers, destroyed by his own hands in a misguided, selfish need to be superior. And freshly, the death of Gogeta because the man had supported Vegetto's own twisted need for validation. All lost, because of his own inability to be the force needed to save them.

What would come next would be the breaking point in his mind, imagining the next steps that would follow his posed question. Clark would shun him, proclaim that he was too far gone to save. And in the interest of self preservation, Vegetto would have to kill Clark as a symbol of the ruined friendship. With the Kryptonian's death, Vegetto would have to kill Cayde as well because the android wouldn't accept any valid reason for killing Clark. After that, there would be no one left; even if he survived a battle with the Breakers or the Red King, he wouldn't have anyone in the Vortex that truly believed in him or loved him. Vegetto kept his stone expression through his warrior mentality at the thought of facing that emptiness alone. His walls continued to build and rise, preparing for the inevitable damnation that awaited him.

However, the answer from Clark pierced through the stone instantly; Vegetto's eyes twitching. His breath hitched as he nearly stumbled forward with Clark; a sea of warmth washing over him and destroying the cold walls entirely. His lips quivered heavily as Vegetto tightly shut his eyes; a couple strands of tears rolling down the sides of his cheeks as the emotion came out entirely against his will.

Vegetto sobbed a bit, his legs shaking slightly at the overwhelming notion that Clark still valued him as a friend. That despite Vegetto's overwhelming domination of his own universe, he finally had achieved a single true victory for himself here in the strange Reality Vortex after being demolished in nearly every way. He felt himself slipping, hanging on for dear life to the friendship that he put trust and effort into. And even though he had no one to blame for the state of desperation other than himself, Vegetto still felt the sense of success when Clark decided to defend that bond than let Vegetto fall to his doom.

Vegetto slowly opened his eyes, his gaze on the remaining snow on the mountainside. His eyes were still watery, a small warm smile forming on his face but avoiding Clark's stare in a mixture of embarrassment and deep thought; his dual voice cracking a bit in his raw emotion.

"...thank you, Clark...thank you..."

The example given by Clark moved Vegetto even more; when things got dangerous and rough, Clark chose to give up his own beliefs and defend the friendship. It would inconvenience Clark's beliefs, but the Kryptonian chose to uplift Vegetto just like the Potara fusion was literally doing now for Clark. Vegetto thought of it deeply; realizing that his own convenience would be in abandoning Clark to save himself.

He deserves better than that...

Vegetto's mind lamented slowly on the fallen, and of the Breakers themselves.

They all deserve better than that.

Vegetto lifted his eyes up to the possessed Wordplay again, the intense glare returning. Whoever had spoken to them was not to be taken lightly in the Potara fusion's eyes and while the figure possessed no innate presence of intimidation, Vegetto considered the figure a glaring threat. The Potara fusion could leave, his objective to save Clark and get the Kryptonian to safety his top priority. However, whoever held Wordplay was still at play, and Vegetto needed to get the Air Dancer's coin to prevent it from being used in the Red King's army yet again.

Vegetto frowned at the lack of control in the situation with this new imposing figure; the danger clear in his mind. He never once faced a truly powerful being above his strength in his universe, but the more time spent in the Vortex, the more he felt his confidence slip. Against Doom, he ignored it entirely because his own confidence in himself had blinded him until it was too late. Against Zenta, he had his confidence waver slightly but his first battle with the beast and his new abilities empowered his belief in himself ever so slightly. Against Lucifer and Bernkastel, he knew deep down he was outclassed but perhaps, welcomed the demise they would inflict on him after he gave it his all.

And now standing face to face with this new mysterious identity, Vegetto felt the self confidence finally slip away entirely. He could no longer empower his pride as he did before: the aforementioned scenarios widdling down his belief until nothing was left. The urge to turn tail and flee with Clark grew ever stronger, as Vegetto searched for that power to do what needed to be done. He thought of how Clark and Cayde both needed him to survive in this moment, the strength to move forward beginning to rise within. Vegetto dug deeper, and with one heavy breath of air inhaled in his nose, he found the resolution in his next thought as the coin in his glove trickled down into his palm while he clenched his fist.

Kass...Gogeta...I do this for you.

A small half smirk formed on his face, Vegetto cocking his head at the final addendum.

And yes...even for all of you...Breakers.

Vegetto took one step forward, his dual voice raising to address the figure in his speech while he held tightly onto Clark.

"You're right. I thought I could be the hero that everyone needed...but the truth is I can't."

The Potara fusion's eyebrows sharpened slightly.

"I ain't a hero of justice...but if you threaten my friends..."

The silver gleam illuminated Vegetto's pupils; a strong glow unlike his previous transformations present as he stared down the entity.

"I'll make you pay."
 
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The Hive

“A clone…” Detective Spawn was initially shocked to find out that this “Avalon” was nothing more than a simple clone. After seeing the toad appeared right after the clone disappeared, the Detective turned to his superior. “It’s clear that this will just lead us to the real Avalon. Might as well follow and observed this place while we’re at it."

Now that they’ve finally enter the hive, the Detective assumed that the Xy’phers will simply come after them after such a fall. “Best be on guard.” He was concern that the tremors ceased after their fall. Just as Spawn agreed to follow the toad—May bringing up Lucifer forced Spawn dead on his tracks. He remembered seeing the damage face of the Angel in that strange room; seeing a side of him that even send chills down his spine. If he would get damage again, maybe that thing will come out in full force? A thought that he didn’t want to entertain. “Yeah, I’ll go and see—” As soon he turned around, his eyes widened upon seeing the angel bearing his signature, devilish smile. His wings opened wide as he soon next to May with a suit roller in hand.

“My, don’t need to worry about me,” Lucifer chuckled as he brushed the dirt off his suit. “Just a little speck of rocks caught in-between my wings is all. A minor annoyance at best.” Once all the dirt from his suit were brushed off, he’d quickly caught on the scenario with Avalon. He reacted with little, if anything, surprised about the ordeal. In fact, he’d hoped this was the case. “Little scamp is a sly one, I supposed. Let’s see if it was worth it.”

Spawn relaxed on seeing Lucifer—mainly because that other side he saw didn’t presented itself again. Perhaps it was just the aggression and paranoia fed by the room that hallucinated that kind of appearance. Regardless, the Detective stood firm to pay more closer attention to the fallen angel. “Wait—where’s Spina?”

---

Deep beneath the rocks, Spina felt like he couldn’t move. He’d feeling the effects of the sudden lost of power; so much that he was unable to even lift himself up. “Why am I so weak? Damn it…!” He cursed under his breath, struggling to lift himself up from the ground, only to fail moving an inch. The damage he received from the Xy’pher forced cracks to appear all over his body. “Was everything I’ve done up to this point… was it just…”

“For naught.”

Spina’s eyes immediately darted upwards as the environment around him descend into pure, pitch black. He couldn’t fathom what he saw—it was beyond anything he could conceived. The only word that finally popped into his head was: praeternatural. His wicked smile and a number of eyes on its eye, the strange monster cackled to see the old Saiyan on the verge of death. “Who the hell—”

“Scrambling memories. Feeding your paranoia. Upping your cruelty. All taken away so easily… it’s almost sickening because of those “bonds” you’ve foolishly formed.” The creature said in a tone that signify anger—but it wasn’t direct primarily towards Spina. “I can bestow your lost strength and return the path you are on. Granted—you must defy that damn witch—”

“Shut up.” Spina interrupted the creature. “I clearly ate something weird if I’m seeing things, but whatever you’re offering, I don’t give a shit.”

“Tch…” The creature scorned. Suddenly, he started to laugh. “I’m fine with waiting it out…” He turned his head slightly to a different direction. “I won’t be bested so easily…” He returns to Spina, the latter confused of what he meant. “You’ll realized eventually… and I’ll be waiting.” As he disappeared, everything returned to normal.

--

Blinking once, Spina shook his head. “The hell was that…?” Suddenly, the rocks lifted from Nia’s psychic abilities, just enough for the old Saiyan to lift himself up just a little bit. “Zenta must’ve really knocked me around if I’m seeing things now. Damn dog…” He mumbled under his breath. He looked up, noticing a puddle of water underneath the rocks. “Huh...?” He looked around, noticing that Avalon isn’t around. “Don’t tell me he died—”

“A clone.” Spawn, glad to see that he wasn’t dead, reaffirmed to Spina that Avalon wasn’t dead. “It seems that he made a clone to tag along with us. Seems that came here before us… don’t know how he did that. Now this toad appeared and wants us to follow it.” Spawn looked at Spina more closely, seeing the cracks clearly apparent on his body. “You alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Mind your business. Let’s follow this bug.” Spina dismissed Spawn’s concerns and followed the toad.

The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

As long as he could remember, Clark has never seen Vegetto shed a single, genuine tear. Even at his worst moments, it was a combination of despair and rage. Never much of an emotional turmoil that’ll allow genuine grief to come and pass naturally. Yet, the Kryptonian’s eyes widened upon seeing the tears Vegetto’s cry. Under all that hard demeanor Vegetto created to process and cope with his loss, finally, there was progress in this new direction. But while Clark may see changes in that moment, he shifted his attention to Wordplay and wondered what they’ll do.

Wordplay was silent after Clark reaffirmed their friendship in a positive manner, and Vegetto steadfast on his position. After a moment, Wordplay held out their hand. Clark, unable to properly sense this strange possessor, thought that they were able to attack them, but nothing happened.

“Save it,” Wordplay laughed. “I guess this is why Jinaira tasked me to watch over you a little bit longer. I’ll admit that is somewhat, in a way, reasonable growth. But I wonder if how long it’ll last once your fragility starts to build up inside of you… until it tears whatever’s left in your wake.”

Wordplay grew silent again. “But we’ll see. I’ll look forward to seeing if you can hold onto this growth from now on. Especially with the Red King poking its nose on something…. Otherwise…” There was a change of Wordplay’s aura. Whoever spoke to them disappeared before finishing their final words.

“Huh…?” Wordplay said in his usual tone. “Where… am I? How did I get here…?” It seems that Wordplay had no memory of coming here at all, indicating that he was possessed for a while. “Argh… my head hurts….” He collapsed on the floor, dropping the Vortex Coin of the Air Dancer.

Clark blinked once. “Gone like that…” The Kryptonian didn’t quite understood the message this possessor spoke of. He looked up to Vegetto and saw a familiar glow of Ultra Instinct, but a bit different than before. It wasn’t harsh or gobbled up in despair. A glimmer of hope shining throughout the fusion’s posture instead. As the battle ceased, and last of the fires blown away, Clark stared at the distance. “This… feels different. In a good way.”
 
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The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Vegetto's intense glare remained steadfast and strong throughout the possessor's speech, tensing a bit in preparation for a fight. He focused slightly in, however, at the strange mention of a name he did not recognize. A watcher of sorts, looking over at least himself. His eyes shifted a bit, watching Wordplay collapse once the strange entity left his body. Wordplay's demeanor seemed strange to Vegetto as well; realizing that whoever had taken hold of Wordplay had played both of the warriors.

He sauntered over towards Wordplay once the latter had struggled to get his bearings, carefully carrying Clark over and kneeling down. His free hand scooped up the Air Dancer coin immediately, taking a moment to tuck it into the same glove that housed the Gogeta coin. Vegetto turned his eyes out towards the sky with Clark, but remained silent at the mention of the change in the air. The glow in his pupils faded away slowly, Vegetto thinking intently to himself during Clark's content statement.

Jinaira...I've never heard that name. Why would they be watching me...

Vegetto kept his eyes down for a moment, thinking harder.

The only one that is after me is the Red King. No one else cares...

Vegetto's eyes widened, shifting his gaze up at the realization of another individual that had invested interest in him.

Doom's daughter.

Vegetto sat in silence for a moment while Clark and Wordplay recovered a bit, thinking immediately on the potential danger. He had no idea who Jinaira could be, but if that name was an alias for Valeria Von Doom...then she could be working alongside the Red King to destroy them. A duo of Doom's powers with the Red King's army would be nearly unstoppable in the Potara fusion's eyes, his head turning as he looked over his shoulder in case a new wave of enemies would approach soon.

"I have to get you both out of here now. Rogue City isn't safe anymore; the only chance we have is to regroup with the rest of the Breakers as soon as possible. If that strange being that possessed Wordplay was actually Valeria...then the Red King could be more powerful than we thought. They're the only ones who can protect you while you recover.."
 
As Nia lifted the upper layer of rubble to free people trapped beneath it, Berserk popped her head out from the rock pile to gasp in a deep breath of air. As though in disbelief to be alive, she pat herself down while looking around and seeing they didn't seem to have gotten separated. "Lucky me! Everything's where it's supposed to be," Berserk announced as she wriggled her legs free, carefully prying her discarded weapon from the rocks before seeing Avalon sticking out next.

"Hey, nerd, there you are--" her smile instantly faded as the color seemingly drained from her features in a moment's notice. Her breath caught in her throat mid-sentence, causing Bernkastel to look up and see what the commotion was about.

Unsure of what to do, the Witch glanced at him only for a second. "Th... that's right, don't use up your energy talking. Not here." She cursed under her breath at the prospect of a potential casualty on their hands.

"H-hey, wh-what're you talking about Avalon? It's just... just some rocks... we'll just have Bernie use some of her fancy magic and get you fixed up." The Powerpunk nervously wrung her hands as her voice seemed to have gotten lost in the cave around them. "Easy peasy... right?"

Bern looked away. "... I... don't think I can. He might turn into a Coin before I could." Berserk's pale face only looked more ghostly at that response.

"B-but..." while Berserk bargained about it, Avalon's body had already broken its composition; except rather than reduce himself to a Coin at the bottom of the rubble, there was just a puddle. Bernkastel was taken by surprise like the others, bending down to tap her fingers into the water.

"....Just water."

Berserk, however, had seen a similar cloning trick before. Yet her eyes were just as wide with what could be construed as shock like the others'. Until her expression instantly shifted to annoyance. She was so miffed by the prank, all traces of tears on her face literally evaporated to steam.

"So! Looks like we've got a comedian 'round here somewhere, huh?! Ooh, that garden gnome dweeb... I'm gonna give him so many purple nurples he's gonna be a different shade of blue for a week!"

"... You wish for me to follow the frog?" Bernkastel asked incredulously. She looked over her shoulder to see Spina had made it through the fall, looking more surprised to see the state he was in compared to everyone else.

"I bet he drew it up himself like his flying chickens. And this thing doesn't look like it's friends with those little coin-grubbing gremlins. C'mon, let's go." the punk floated past Spawn and Lucifer.

"Spina, wait for me--" Bern brushed the dirt off her heavily scraped knees and started to briskly walk after him. "Don't go by yourself, we don't know where we are! Slow down!" she said in a hushed whisper.
 
As the small toad hopped down the hall, the crystal hive they were in shimmered with thousands of crystals etched into the walls. Some crystals were transparent and others were reflective, others were in unique and intricate shapes, but they all shared the same hue of pink. The deeper they went, the stronger the gravitational force and the more crystals they saw. The crystals overcame the hall that the floor the Breakers walked on was fully crystallized. It was both beautiful and stunning to see, yet alarming considering how many crystals there were.

The tiny toad took a sharp right turn and stopped before a set of crystals that were tightly packed together. They were translucent and frosted, making it hard to make out what was on the other side, but it was clear that there was a room. The crystals blocked the entrance for the Breakers, but did little to stop the toad from slipping in with the scroll. From the other side, the Breakers were able to make out a large poof of smoke and a figure emerge from it. Fanning a hand back and forth, the smoke was quickly scattered from the room, while the mysterious figure appeared to fumble around. Annoyed grunts and sighs were barely perceived but eventually, the crystals that stood before the Breakers would slowly begin to part to the side, opening like a sliding door for the group.

On the other side of the moving crystals stood Avalon, the real one this time! He had some cuts and dirt smudges on his body and looked like he was stuck in a scuffle with someone or something. Without waiting for the Breakers to move, he grabbed each of them as quickly as he could before pulling them into the room, all without uttering a word. Once all the Breakers were pull in into the room, he fumbled around with the crystals inside the room, pulling a few before closing the crystal door once again.

Inside this room was a large wall with several pictures of each of the Breakers, the cities that were invaded, and lines of crystallized string that connected each of the picture to each other. Near the center of the room is a large crystal table with three seats and a marvelous red crystal centerpiece. Nia immediately took notice of this room and floated close to the centerpiece on the table before looking around once again.

“This room... it is a meeting room.” Nia pointed towards the red crystal in the middle of the table. “That is a recon crystal. We higher-ups use it to contact the king and report or accept our missions. No doubt that Dark Xy'pher is using it... but it seems inert.” Nia floated closer to the piece before pointing to a chip on the very tip of the crystal. “Inert, damn. But how? Anyone who breaks this... well, it's not a good look. It's literally a piece of the King.”

The ninja took a deep breath and let out a loud sigh, finally speaking up for the first time in a while.

“Bwaaah... Okay, okay, I know what you're thinkin'...” Avalon held up his hands in defense, particularly to Berserk. “But I can explain later, I promise! Look at this!”

Avalon pointed to the massive crystal wall before them that showcased several photos of the Breakers. What stood out in particular is that there were photos of the people who worked for Doom: Superman, Moby Dick, Vegetto Black, Wordplay, Air Dancer, and Demi Fiend. On the wall was a picture of Doom as well as numerous strings connecting him to the six photos. From those six photos, they had many other photos lined up with them in a neat and sequential order.

Superman's photo had a string which lead to Hart, Ultraman, and Atomic Flare. All three of which were connected to a picture of Reflection City. Next to the photo of the City read a small note that said: “Mission to capture Hart Kimber: UNSUCCESSFUL.

Moby Dick had a string that lead to Federation City with words that said: “Invasion begins in 5 Days.”

Vegetto Black's photo was connected to Vegetto, and, in turn, Gogeta. A blurry photo of Whis was also connected to Vegetto Black.

Wordplay's photo was connected to Metropolis. A note above the city read: “Mission to capture Reality Metropolis: SUCCESSFUL. Target [Wordplay] still on the run.

Air Dancer's photo was connected to Metropolis with a note that read: “Subject was caught in the blast. Coin retrieved and converted.

Demi Fiend's photo was only connected to Doom followed by a note that read: “Further reconnaissance is needed.

Off to the side, the strings that came from Doom also connected to the Breakers, to which a few had photos connect to them in particular.

Bernkastel's photo was connected to Gogeta, Hart, Ultraman, and a newspaper clipping of the massive evacuation that happened in Metropolis. A note read: “The fight lead to the massive purging of those escaping. The tunnels proved useful in capturing those who escaped.

Gogeta's photo was connected to a photo of Detective Goku and Detective Broly with a note that read: “Both Detectives successfully captured.”

Bage's photo was connected to the entirety of the people who work in the Detective Agency and a visible photo of Detective Williams, the one who hid the rainbow bottles. A note read: “Detective Williams captured.”

Zenta's photo was connected to a photo of Cuki, yet, the photo of the girl was off to the side and connected to a photo of Atomic Flare. Both photos of the women were circled with a note that read: “Successfully captured.

As for the other Breakers, they were either connected to each other or various other photos that were around the wall.

If one were to stare at the wall, they would see it almost like a pyramid of least important from the bottom to most important on the top. The Breakers were near the bottom, just above the civilians. Then followed the people who worked for Doom, followed by Doom himself. Then, above Doom was the Vortex Moon and to the side was the face of the man of the portrait in the room they were in earlier. It was connected to the Vortex Moon with a crystal string. At the very top, far above the rest of the photos, was a black piece of paper with a white question mark. All the strings connected to this one single piece of paper, but in the middle of all the strings was a 'wall' drawn on, almost like a barrier.

“What the..? What is this?” Nia whispered to herself, almost in awe.

“Looks like the King had much bigger plans than we thought.” Avalon said, staring up at the wall. “What's interesting is that piece of paper on top. What does this mean, Nia? Is it code for somethin'?”

“Not that I am aware of...” Nia floated closer to the wall, investigating the single piece of paper with a question mark. “What does this mean..? Who is above the moon?”
 
May says "it looks like a hit list and a web of some kind." May thinks "way would they difference between capture and Coined? There must be a reason way for the capturer."

May says "I think the king is planning on destroying the wall of the vertex."
__________________
Note under Cross' photo "For now unable to capture or deal with. Need to more numbers."
 
The Hive

“Why are you worrying so much?” Spina continued, “Whispering is moot the moment we crashed down here. They’re probably already aware of our presence and just bidding their time, hiding among these crystals like insects. Might as well absorbed as much information of this place while we still can.” Further, Spina was aware that Bernkastel is much more concern of his wellbeing than ever before. Did something happen? He’s aware that his power was deflating, and the cracks are now apparent now than ever, but Bernkastel never shown concern to this level before. “I’m fine.” He tried to reassure Bernkastel’s feelings. “Besides, I got you with me, so I got nothing to worry about.”

Venturing through the hallways of brilliant crystals, glistering in such a shine that it was hard to make out what was in front of them. To Spina, it was an annoyance since he never held any appreciation for arts nor beauty. To him, it was just a shining rock. Only the thrill of battles defines “beauty” in his eyes—something that he had yet to experience.

Once the toad arrived at the crystallized gate, Avalon was shown to be alive and well. Before they could react to such revelations, they were quick placed in the room by the ninja and the gate was covered up once more.

“So, you’re alive, after all.” Detective Spawn reacted. “How the heck did you end up in this place?”

Spina was clearly not excited to see Avalon’s face at all. Just as the ninja fumbled in his explanation, the old Saiyan struck him in the stomach with a hard punch. “Sneaky bastard, huh?” He said with scorn. Although he wasn’t himself during the mission, he still recalls his actions throughout—visibly remembering Avalon protesting and acting in such a manner that he deems disrespectful to the others. “No wonder…” He didn’t continue afterwards, stepping over the ninja to see what was found during his little expedition.

“What the…?” Spina looked at the detailed photography of all the Breakers. After hearing May stating that it seems to be a hitlist, the old Saiyan narrowed his eyes. “So, it wasn’t just us after all….” Recalling what Bernkastel said earlier.

Detective Spawn examined the photos more closely. “They even got information of the other Detectives too. Bage, come over here. There’s Battler, Ben, and Ryo. Even the ones that we’re considering adding to our ranks… like Piccolo, Major and Jess.”

Lucifer looked up, curious to see the face of a man next to the Vortex Moon. “A mysterious person… could he be the voice?” He wondered, but see a question mark above that, it couldn’t be the voice. It is possible that there’s another person just below the voice that oversee Reality Vortex? The angel thought as his eyes are drawn to the illustration that acts as the “barrier” that surrounds this world. Just as May suspected, “The Red King is attempting to find a way to break through the barrier…” He looks over to the photos of Doctor Doom and those that worked under him. “What do all these people have in common with one another? Any connection to the Voice?”
 
Bara remained silent as she moved up in the room after she reassembled herself from oozing out under the debris, her unique physical make-up proving to her advantage as she entered the room, studying the photographs and using her headtentacle to probe them, as if wanting to memorize the names, appearances and everything noted to memory.
 
Bage followed silently, his fatigue beginning to seep out through his expression. Before his mind could catch up with the situation, Avalon had dragged the group into the crystal hideaway. He held his tongue after seeing the ninja safe and sound before he and Nia spoke about the room that seemed to reveal the large map of all the King needed for a much more intense and larger plan ahead. Bage scanned the wall carefully, his eyes falling on Atomic Flare and Cuki's photos. They were connected! But before he could brainstorm about what it could mean, an unsettling feeling washed over at reading the caption underneath. Could it be possible they captured the Hero after their meeting with her? The proposition of Atomic Flare having been a Xypher the whole time was a bit scary, but it was looking like that the more he thought about it.

Bage turned his attention to Spawn, making his way over to him slowly as he examined the images the other detective pointed to. "This is insane! These Xy'phers were under our noses the whole time." The Senior detective was shocked, his eyes moving quickly about the images. "I didn't think they would have known everything about us. Why are we all needed for this? There's no way the Red King could want us all for brute strength alone!"
 
"Because it's... creepy down here. I prefer to hear the enemy more than myself." Bernkastel clearly felt uncomfortable being watched, even moreso now that it was evident they probably were hiding elsewhere. Xy'phers allowing the group to snoop while watching them messed with her paranoid personality. Her frowned deepened once Spina turned around having declared he would be fine with her nearby; the last time his life was in her hands it went the opposite of her expectations. But it was a situation she let loose from her grasp. With Clear Mind she reclaimed her sense of control, it was now just a matter of pulling the technique off each time she needed it.

"I won't let it happen again," she muttered under her breath to herself before following the group, clenching her fists tightly.
----
Berserk's scowl sustained, placing both hands on her hips and staring Avalon down. "I don't remember us being part of the ones getting fooled!" She scolded, taking Spina's punch to be a reprimanding. "Buuuut, you did score us access to a Secret Room of Doom after all... So I won't beat you up myself. I don't feel like taking a self-guided tour down here. Too... pink. It's deviant levels of pink." Berserk shuddered.

Bern wandered into the room to gaze up at the mass collection of pinned photos with the Detectives, silent as her eyes intently followed where each string led. "Me and my big mouth." She quirked a brow, however, thinking that Eleki mentioned they had captured two Breakers-- unfortunately Cuki was one, but Whis seemed to be out of their reach thus far. Did they get their intel wrong and capture some unrelated party?

"Doom sent Wordplay and all these," the Witch gestured towards Air Dancer, Demi Fiend, Vegetto Black, and Superman. "To fight us in a gauntlet before we fought him proper. Not surprised Wordplay's evaded them so far, but it's a bad sign if they're going after them... but all these strings connected to the Voice is odd. He stuck around and followed us, I doubt he paid every soul the same level of attention. Strange." Her eyes rested the longest on Vegetto Black's photo, narrowing her eyes at it with suspicion.

"Say, if that thingy is out of order does that mean nobody in this hive can communicate with the King? Sounds like they might be totally cut off." Berserk asked Nia. "But if they're all loyal to the King why damage it..."

"Sheer numbers can't be enough to break this barrier... I still can't help but take offense to being ranked so low on the priority list. When is it not about amassing power with these types?" Bernkastel scratched her head in confusion. "Aah, whatever. Guess we'll find out by paying Federation City a visit. Mess up their meticulous planning some more."
 
“G-Gwaahh…” Avalon coughed out saliva as soon as Spina punched his stomach. He fell to his knees, coughing and hacking at the pain. “W-What was that for, jerk?!” Avalon gasped for some air before slowly rising up to his feet. His body shivered slightly, but he managed to shake it off after a while. A low snarl directed itself to Spina as he turned to face Spawn and answer his question.

“Yeah, I'm alive... So let me explain a bit.” Avalon cleared his throat. “The Avalon that traveled with you guys was a clone. I left about an hour earlier than you guys did from Rouge City, taking Nia's map in the process. I wanted to try to find the Hive on my own.”

“...Why?” Zenta grunted.

“Because I wanted to be useful to you guys… I feel like I hold you guys back a lot, so I thought if I can find it before you guys, I could lead you to it. Whelp, that didn't happen. I tried entering this house, but something was blocking me from entering it… That's when I saw the Xy'phers.” Avalon sighed and showed the cuts, bruises, and scratches on his arms and body. “I got captured along the way by the Xy'phers and taken to the hive. I fought back, but I was outnumbered! They kept me in a crystal cocoon, debating if they should kill me now or later.”

Avalon then pointed towards the ceiling.

“That's when you guys must've made your entrance. Whatever you did upstairs got their attention, and they scattered up the walls right to ya'! Fortunately, I was able to use my hands and escape the trap I was in when I was alone.”

“How were you able to stay hidden for so long?” Nia questioned.

“I turned myself into a lizard and climbed the walls to slip in between the cracks. That's when I found this place.” Avalon tapped the table in the room. “And I saw her! The Gravity Girl Xy'pher-thing! She was talkin' to the King usin' this hologram thing.” The ninja pointed towards the beautiful crystal centerpiece on the table. “I didn't get what she was sayin', but it seems that there was a disagreement between her and the King. Next thing I know, she smashes the crystal off the table, chipping it. If we know anythin' from that Eleki fight, that's not a good sign.”

“It seems that the Dark Xy'phers are more unstable than I thought. For her to bravely argue back with the King… it would normally be a death sentence. So why does she continue to breathe?” Nia turned to Berserk, nodding at her question. “Berserk raises a valid point. Technically, this hive is cut off from the Central Hive without the Recon Crystal, but why would the King allow this?”

“Maybe the King has more plans for her and the hive?” Avalon shrugged before pulling out a piece of paper from under his scarf. It was elegantly written, and the paper had traces of crystal pieces on it. The language was obviously Xy'pher. “I managed to nab this from the room before the Xy'phers took everythin' away. What's it say, Nia?”

Nia took the piece of paper in her hand and scanned it first with her eyes before looking back at the wall with all the photos.

“It is a… battle plan from the King. It reads: 'Invade the confines of Reflection City and gather as many civilians to execute. Bring the coins to the confines of the Manor where they can be converted and sent back to Reflection City, blending in with the people. Rinse and repeat until numbers vastly overwhelm the city 1000:1. Locate Hart Kimber and capture her to instigate battle from Ultraman. Once Ultraman is fighting, his distress will alert Superman. Upon seeing Superman, begin immediate invasion with Detective Goku as your lead.'”

“So his target was never the city or Hart...” Zenta said softly. “It was Superman.”

“He was planning to use Hart and Ultraman as bait for Superman?” Avalon took a step back, almost in shock. “Man, I thought he was just lookin' to increase his numbers, but this guy is more strategic than we gave him credit for… He's always one step ahead.”

Nia instantly looked back to the wall and floated before it, trying her best to understand the layout of what she saw. The only thing that confused her was the single question mark in which everything connected to, the picture of the moon next to the ripped face of the man's portrait from earlier, and the barrier that separated the two. The gap between the single question mark and the moon was large, and the only information the group got from the barrier was a picture of a white bunny.

“So if you guys met this Voice person… and claim he lives on the moon.” Nia trailed her finger to the picture of the bunny and the question mark. “Who, or what, are these two?”

"The barrier can be the one that keeps us trapped in Vortex, but I'unno about the bunny or that question mark." Avalon said, looking at the wall. "Is there something stronger than the Voice? Do you think that's the King tryin' to put himself above the Voice?"
 
May says in a flat tone "Chances are high there is something stronger than the voice; but at this point even the Voice is above our paygrade. With that in mind we should think of our next move with this new information. As far I see it, we still need to resolve this hive and get out hear." May thinks "I gest we got a better idea of threats."

May says "for those that are marked as converted I think we may need to know of their abilities."
 
The Hive

“Your guess is as good as mine…” Detective Spawn answered Bage. Valeria being absence from the array of photos stood out to him. Her existence is unknown to them. “Good…” He muttered under his breath. One less problem to worry about. Moving on, the Detective took notice of Bage staring at the photo of Atomic Flare. Seeing that she was captured and turned, Spawn also took the probability that she was a Xy’pher the whole time. It would add context to the why she hurried out of there just before Superman appeared before them. And he suspicions held even more weight once Nia read off the battle plans in Reflection wasn’t Hart nor Ultraman; they were nothing more than bait to lure out Superman.

Spina observed Cuki’s photo for a while; there was no doubt in his mind that Cuki is a Xy’pher at this point. “All we can do… is break her coin out of that Xy’pher so she won’t be puppet to another bastard.” When Nia questioned why the Red King would allow such transgressions, the old Saiyan spoke out.

“Because her power is growing at a rapid rate—so much that her mind had evolved beyond mere obedience. She’s forming her own thoughts, desires, and goals. And based on what I heard on the fate of the first Dark Xy’pher, the Red King most likely can’t just causally control her; that’s how extreme Dark Energy can have on someone.” Spina crossed his arms. “She’s probably running this hive as she sees fit.”

Detective Spawn raised a brow at Spina’s analysis.

“What? It just popped in my head.”

“Dark Energy is a deadly mistress, indeed.” Lucifer focused on the question mark above the “barrier” once again, prompting to ask another question. “Did the Voice looked like the man in the photo?”

“No.” Spina shook his head. “He had a machine body. He didn’t look anything like that. And I doubt there’s anyone stronger than the Voice.” When Avalon asked if the King is trying to put himself above the Voice. Spina gave him the stink-eye. “You didn’t get memories from your clone, you dolt? That’s probably his aim right now.”

“Curious.” Lucifer seems to think there’s more than the question mark—and the white bunny was notably strange. Seems like none of the Breakers have any idea what that is. “I supposed we’ll find out eventually.” Since communication was effectively cut off, there was no way to determine the exact location of the whereabouts of the Red King. “Unfortunately, our answers still lie elsewhere.”

“Right. If they did all that to go after Superman, then we need to go back to Rogue City.” Detective Spawn said. “He’s currently in danger.”

“Why?” Spina asked. “He’s plenty of strong, and I doubt Vegetto would give him that much trouble, even with his tantrums. We’ll go to Federation City and make a mockery of his plans. If we’re that low on the list….” Spina shared Bernkastel’s grievances a bit, but also considered it as a badge of honor. “We’ll blow up this place sky-high, first.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that….” Lucifer interjects. “While I agreed that the urgency to usurp any attempts to put a wrench in the Red King’s plans, there may be appropriate reasons to find Kal-El. One being that his life energy had dropped dramatically—and him being coined could prove to be a thorn for our side.”

Detective Spawn stared at Lucifer as if he was speaking in absolute certainty. “Huh? How did you know that—”

“I’d placed a familiar on all of you. Allows me to know when your life energy is verging on the low side at all times. Quite useful to say, nevertheless. Don’t worry, it’s absolutely harmless.”

Spina narrowed his eyes. “Did the Xy’phers get to him?”

Lucifer shook his head. “It doesn’t tell me the situation. Just that their energy levels are dropping. Whatever is going on, it’s apparent that they’re in a hard battle in some fashion.” He held a devilish smile. “One of them already died.”

“Died…?” Detective Spawn said in both shock and confusion. Spina, thinking that Vegetto or Gogeta might’ve perished, was indifferent to it.

Lucifer’s eyes darted over to Cayde, who been quiet all this time and barely gave out any of his opinions nor thoughts of the matter. Cackling a little bit, the angel continued: “So, we’re presented with two options. We go to Federation City and prevent the Red King from starting his invasion. Go back to Rogue City and prevent the Red King from securing Superman.” There were slight tremors underneath the Breakers, accompanied with a dangerous, heavy pressure, similar to that of Dark Energy, was emitting from the crystal walls. This prompted the angel to add one more thing. “Oh? Perhaps there’s a third choice…”



Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

“Valeria…?” Clark asked in confusion but seeing Vegetto freaked out a bit was more than enough to know that this person seems to be problematic. “That would be ideal, yeah.” He stood up, but it was a struggle since his legs kept buckling. “I need at least 24 hours to recharge…” He hacked a bit, spitting out bits of saliva towards the floor. “Alright… let’s go—”

Suddenly, a figure had leaped from the sky towards the ground. Upon landing, it generates a powerful shockwave that rock the terrain around them, instantly blowing away all the flames in the surrounding area. Raising his head up, with only one of his eyes opened. His costume was yellow, with VM symbol embedded in the middle. Upon seeing Superman, he uttered only these words:

Found you.”
 
The Hive

As the group had conversed and debated the plans of the Red King, Cayde stood a few feet behind the group in silence that was foreign to his usual outgoing nature. His mechanical mind wandered on the history of his friend now laid out more clearly in context, the shattered bonds that were made coming to light in his mind.

Lucifer's revelation of death occurring suddenly jarred Cayde out of his intense thoughts on the potential emotional baggage the team was carrying, his eyes widening slightly. He quickly fumbled down to his belt line, picking out a small rectangle metal object. A sensor of sorts that he placed on the other fusion before Gogeta had taken off fed into the red light in the center; however, no illumination could be seen that had been there moments ago.

Cayde initially sighed immediately in relief; the signal being gone means that it was most likely destroyed and hopefully to Cayde, it was Gogeta that Lucifer referred to. The android narrowed his eyes a bit, the thought of an intense battle draining Clark that much meaning that Vegetto and Gogeta likely teamed up against the Kryptonian.

It should be fine. They probably got a little heated....blew up some mountains and a Gogeta...and now they're chilled out...being best friends again. There's no way they'd kill each other...

Yet Cayde perked his head back up in time to meet Lucifer's stare; the mischievous eyes that met his own soon leading into an amused cackle only worsening Cayde's doubts on the situation. The android immediately tucked his gun into its holster, and turned on his heel with a cheery tone masking his inner feelings.

"I'll go check on the kids at Rogue City, so don't worry about that. We'll come meet you at Federation City...and then we'll-"

Cayde yelped slightly, the tremor causing the android to nearly stumble forward and fall face first into the floor. He blinked a bit, glancing around in anticipation for a new threat.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Vegetto chuckled a bit, reading into Clark's initial concern on the name a certain way while he helped the Kryptonian stand.

"Clark...don't even think about it. I have no interest in this woman at all, and don't you dare try to set me up with her."

With the three moving towards getting out of the now barren mountainside, Vegetto blinked at the sight of the new figure flying down towards the ground. He instinctively braced himself against the intense shockwave from the landing, the blue and orange gi rippling heavily in the winds while his earrings danced around his neck and shoulders. Vegetto lowered his arms slowly, his eyes narrowing at the figure before them. His attention gravitated mostly to the symbol on the man's chest. Recognizing it a bit from the posters he saw during visits to Reflection City, Vegetto lifted his eyes a bit with a small frown. If the man was who he believed him to be, Vegetto hoped he'd be an ally.

However, the rough and powerful display prompted Vegetto to assume this man could be looking for a fight, the Potara fusion tightening his muscles instinctively. He had not recovered enough strength to really pose much of a fight in comparison to the climatic battle moments ago, but he was at least way better off than Clark.

Vegetto stood tall, calling on any reserves left within his body while he moved between Clark and Wordplay to face the new arrival.

"Stay back."
 
Bage went silent, listening to the others speculate about the Red King's plans and the information Avalon managed to obtain in hiding. And after hearing Spina explain how heinous dark energy was brought back the grisly memory of Panich. His heart dropped in his stomach at the thought of her feral and psychotic form. He was a bit tempted to ask more about the energy, but with the subject changing to more pressing matters, Bage held his tongue. The detective masked his concern, listening to the two options the group had been given.

"I don't think we can afford to split up again. The King is getting closer and closer to his goal as we speak and if they catch us off guard again we may not be so lucky to get away a third time and that could mean the end for us."

Bage looked to the Cyborg once he began his suggestion to go to Rogue City on his own. He was beaten to interjecting when the tremor shook the room violently. And a feeling of dread washed over the Saiyan as he looked around the room almost frantically. "What.... is that?"
 
Majin Bara's expression remained unchanged, even as she listened to it all before the room started to tremble. Pointing her headtentacle to the side to have it act as an antenna, she scanned to where the source of the tremor was.
"It appears someone is now in big trouble..." She commented, "I don't know who or what however, but this doesn't feel good."
 
"You can't just go off on your own! Did you forget who we're messing with?" Berserk scolded Avalon after he finished explaining his end of the story with Nia helping to fill in the blanks of what's gone on. "We can't afford to let ourselves get picked off-- you saw how insanely strong Goku was. What if you'd ran into the one running this place and she decided to squeeze every bit of intel outta you?"

Bernkastel rubbed her chin. "We had defeated Doom's lackeys, but they're after them over us? But why..." what caught her attention next was the utterance of the fusions and Superman having been caught in a situation. Could it be the Xy'phers already decided to go for another round seeing they'd been left behind at Rogue City? Her gaze flickered towards Cayde upon seeing him immediately check something on a piece of technology she had guessed to be some sort of radar. His audible sigh of relief followed, casting doubt in her mind whether the death was even related to the trio of men.

"I'll go too," Bernkastel offered. "If they really are after Superman, it would be unwise to go alone in case reinforcements show up... the last thing we need is for the three of them to be captured. We can always destroy the Hive after screwing up their plans to invade." Stretching out her hand to open portals as usual, the shadowy loop of magic coiled and spun... before fizzling out in feeble sparks. She furrowed her brow at this. "What the?"

The Witch performed the same gesture several more times, each attempt becoming more desperate in the bid to make their escape as the tremors intensified around them. All that manifested was a bundle of fizzling magical particles. "What the hell? My portal-- it won't open!"

"Well shit, that 'someone' is gonna be us if we don't find a way to get the hell outta dodge!" Berserk stated with urgency in response to Majin Bara's report, getting into a defensive stance with her sword in hand. "Not like I was expecting for us to ever have a mission where we don't end up fighting someone... but a Xy'pher using that Dark Energy stuff is the last person I feel like fighting today. Good thing I packed extra explosives cause things are going to get really ugly in a minute."
 
Nia was careful to read every piece of paper she found as well as any other mission logs in order to gain more intel. Most of it was stuff both she and the Breakers already knew. As she roamed, she lifted a small trash bin with her psychic powers and shook it around, dropping pieces of paper and uncrumpling them to read the contents.

“I would've bitten off my own tongue before I said I word to them, Berserk! No way am I throwin' you guys under the bus like that. Besides, I knew you'd be worried 'bout lil' ol' me, Berserk!” Avalon puffed his chest.

As Avalon examined the wall further, he eyed Doom and how high up he was in all this. The only things to top Doom were the Moon, the bunny, and barrier, and the mysterious question mark. The ninja was curious since he did read that the Breakers manage to beat Doom and his group, so why were they so low on the wall? It made no sense to him, considering that everyone talks more about the Breakers than the people who worked for Doom. Glancing towards the fighters the Breakers had to deal with, he stared at Demi-Fiend the longest.

“Odd... I've never seen this kid before. He looks younger than Berserk, but why does he give me a weird feelin'?” Avalon said to himself as he followed all the strings that were connected to Doom. Eventually, he noticed that Zenta was directly connected to Doom. “Huh? Zenta? You're connected to Doom?”

“I worked for him, yes.” Zenta said.

“Why? Isn't Doom the biggest enemy of the Breakers?”

“I only joined because Doom promised he would help me find Cuki as long as I worked for him, which was a while. Luckily, she found me instead. I was not a big fan of Doom's ideas, thus I joined the Breakers in order to stop him.”

Avalon narrowed his eyes to Zenta but quickly turned his attention to Nia who was reading the paper scraps. “Did'ja find anything useful?”

“Apparently the King was going to use Ultraman and Hart to attack Bernkastel. Then make Superman attack Vegetto...” Nia rummaged through some more papers. “And finally, have Air Dancer attack Zenta.”

Zenta flinched upon hearing Air Dancer's name, remaining quiet about the information. Of all the people he sends my way... it is Air Dancer. I never did get along with him...

“So why is it in the trash?” Avalon asked Nia.

“Chances are the Dark Xy'pher of his hive threw the plans away... But why? The King would never allow such--” Nia's head immediately shot to the floor, where the tremors and pressure grew. With a face full of worry, she quickly used her psychic powers to create a barrier shielding them from the wall. Whatever she felt was coming right towards them.

“A Xy'pher! It's coming in at incredible speeds! Brace yourselves!”
 
The Hive

“Just you?” Spina eyed Bernkastel after she offered to go with Cayde. Regardless of the severity of the situation, it was consistent to her behavior to make him a top priority. It hardly matters now since the portal she attempted to make fizzled out.

In response of growing tremors that became so intense that it replicated the feeling of earthquakes, a barrier was form by Nia to protect the group. Spina looked side-to-side to see where this Xy’pher will come out since the tremors was coming from all over.

Suddenly, the tremors stopped and everything became quiet.

“Huh?” Detective Spawn, fists clenched, said in confusion. He maintains his focus to listen to any sound—even the smallest peck of dirt hitting the ground to alert which direction they’ll emerged. But it all fell to silence. Due to the presence of Dark Energy, it messed up his ability to sense any disturbance of life force in his vicinity. “Nothing…”

Spina turned to Nia, demanding an answer. “You, Rock Girl. What gives?”

A fist emerged from the walls right after Spina finished his sentence and slammed against the barrier. It was so powerful, it went through and shattered it like glass. The old Saiyan turned around in response, but that’s how far his reaction time takes him. Due to his weakened state, he was unable to properly defend himself and took the full force of the punch. His head whipped back; shock wave rippling across the crystal room they were in. Spina flung back and tumbled against the ground. The Xy’pher fully emerged in plain view.

“Captain!?” Detective Spawn recognized the Xy’pher.

Xy’pher Broly tensed his body before letting out a mighty roar. The pressure of his voice alone was shattering everything around the Breakers. He raised his hands towards the air and gathered energy. Once ready, Broly slammed his fists against the ground so hard, it resulted a destructive explosion of energy that led to its collapse. The Breakers fell straight down once again, falling to the deepest part of the Hive.

Spina fell on the ground hard on his back; still recovering from the punch earlier. “Argh…” He coughed up bits of blood and tried to move a bit but couldn’t. “S-shit…”

Detective Spawn somewhat managed to land on his feet. He looked around and realized that they were in some kind of arena. There were some Xy’pher stragglers on the seats, but don’t appear to interest in battle.

Once all the Breakers landed, Xy’pher Broly came down like a force of thunder. All the debris simply bounced off from him; his crystal body glistering brightly brilliantly. He walked several steps forward and slammed his foot against Spina’s stomach. “Hahahaha…” He cackled, kicking Spina towards the arena walls. “Worthy… Opponents.” He said, turning is attention towards the Breakers, especially the Detectives.

“The damn Captain of all things…” Detective Spawn clenched his fists. However, he noticed that something was off. Aside from using their abilities, aren’t Xy’phers simply just tools and don’t really speak, unless so ordered by their King? Why is Xy’pher Broly still acting the same way as himself?

Xy’pher Broly raised his finger and pointed at them. “Spawn, Bage.” He called them out by name. “And the Breakers… ha… You all be the first blood sacrifices!”

Xy'phr Broly.png
XY'PHER BROLY BOSS BATTLE



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

“Ultraman?!” Clark said in surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Vortex Man eyed Clark, seeing the latter’s condition. “I’m no longer called that, Kal-El…” His tone was soft when speaking to him. However, his demeanor changed when his sights locked onto Vegetto. “The moment I felt the drop of his energy that dramatic, I felt that danger was lurking around. Like those rock creatures popping up as of late.”

His eyes sharpened and clenched his fists. “And what do I find? You. Don’t know how you managed to rope Kal-El into your foolish, Gogeta… but that ends here.”

Clark raised a brow, hearing that Vortex Man had confused Vegetto for Gogeta. “W-what—” He coughed a bit. “Wait… a second…” He was unable to properly finish his sentence.

A twirl of yellow aura flashed around him in a speculator fashion; indicating that Vortex Man was gearing himself up for battle. “This time, I’ll finished you off for good.”
 
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May takes out an orb to help slow her fall. May lands on the ground and thinks "So we reached the bottom level." May puts the orb she used as a parashoot away.

May says taking out a rifle with rounds made to harm Broly "Cry and bitch latter we got an Xy'pherfied Broly to deal with." May thinks "I have a feeling that being one of them is just a convent excuse for Broly to fight us. That may be too smart for him, but I can't rule that out either." May is ready to make a move wend ever the others are reedy.
 
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