บท 7: Saiyan joins a HOA.
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Arius' Adventures in DC
Chapter 07: Saiyan joins a HOA.
-Arius-
Finally being on earth was a surreal experience as he'd been off-world for over a decade at this point and being back on his homeworld even if it wasn't the one from his original universe was a nice feeling.
As he was thinking about his time away his stomach growled loud enough to draw him out of his thoughts and he realized that killing sure did work up an appetite and now that he was back he would eat food beyond meat and fish with no seasoning.
Without a second glance at the Justice League, who were still in the same place discussing something that he couldn't be bothered to talk about, he began walking away, his posture relaxed as while he didn't know much about the DC universe knew from the fight and his memories that the heroes were unlikely to attack.
His initial plan was to raid a supermarket for meat and spices and enjoy all the delicacies that were previously out of his reach, but before he could take off a voice called out.
"Where are you going?" Batman's voice rang out, low and authoritative and it rubbed him the wrong way hearing the one person without powers try and talk to him as if he was working for the man, but he held no ill will towards any of them as they were popular comic book characters.
Arius stopped but didn't turn around. "Food. Darkseid's gone and those two aren't my problem anymore." he said gesturing to the still unconscious forms of Big Barda and Gilotina as was thinking on which store would be the closest.
The Justice League exchanged glances that Arius ignored knowing that they wouldn't sneak attack him, though he charged up some Ki internally, just in case. Superman took a step forward, his voice calm but firm. "Arius, you have to understand you can't just—"
Before Superman could finish, Flash zipped between them, his usual playful demeanor laced with just enough urgency to defuse the brewing standoff. "Whoa, whoa! Hey, uh… Arius, before you go storming off, how about I show you one of the best food joints around. You just tore through Darkseid and helped save our world, the least I can do is treat you to some food." he offered with a nervous smile.
Arius blinked, his thoughts temporarily derailed by the mention of food that even the Flash holds in high regards, but considering his power of super speed the man must consume an insane amount of food. So Arius stopped and folded his arms, his expression skeptical but curious. "What kind of food?"
"Oh, you know," Flash said, grinning. "Juicy burgers, perfectly seasoned fries and ice cold refreshing soda. The works. I know a great spot not far from here. Trust me, it'll be a hundred times better than whatever you hunt." he said and Arius found it amusing as the thought of hunting never crossed his mind, he was simply going to yoink food from a store.
However he hesitated for a moment, suspicious as he knew the invasion most likely closed a majority if not all establishments as the employees fled to find shelter and the last time someone fed him suspicious food he ended up chained up by a woman and not in a good way, but again he was craving flavor and this way he wouldn't have to cook, so he nodded knowing it was unlikely he would be drugged again, but held caution.
Flash gestured enthusiastically. "Great! This way!" In a blur of red, he ran off toward the city Arius initially arrived in, so he quickly followed, creating a sonic boom as he tracked the fastest man alive, having to use Ki sense as he was already losing sight of the red blur.
-Batman (Bruce Wayne)-
Batman watched the interaction silently, his mind already racing with contingency plans. Arius was far too powerful to let roam freely, yet it was clear he wasn't the type to conform to orders or restrictions, especially not from someone weaker than himself. But the indirect approach wasn't going to work as the man seemed straight forward.
So he needed another plan and seeing how Arius dressed and acted along with his mannerism Batman concluded that the offer of asylum and resources might be enough to turn a potential danger into a great ally.
As even now he had a rough idea of his powerset enhanced strength, durability, senses, multiple forms and energy projection all linked to whatever power source fuels him.
All Batman would need to do is figure out the teleportation between planets for easy access to the walking calamity, but with the Apokoliptian Technology now on Earth it wouldn't be very difficult to figure out.
As Flash and Arius disappeared from sight, Batman turned to the rest of the League. "We need to follow them. Keep this from escalating." He said knowing the rest of the league would prefer to focus their energy on the people and continue rescue efforts, but a potential confrontation with Arius took priority over rescue efforts for the moment.
Green Lantern raised an eyebrow. "You think Arius is going to start something?"
"Not intentionally," Batman replied. "But he's impulsive, potentially volatile, and incredibly strong. We need to be ready for anything."
The League exchanged nods and took off after them, with Batman contemplating how to approach.
-Random NPC (John Doe)-
He didn't have any family as his mother passed away while he was in college and now with the end of the world looking more and more certain he decided that it was time to have a last meal and went to 'Big Belly Burger' that was down the street from the Daily Planet, surprisingly it wasn't destroyed and the employees were still inside taking shelter, which he took a gamble on.
He thought they were fools, because if those things came here this flimsy building wasn't going to do jack diddly squat, but even so he knocked on the glass door and was let in by a hurried employee even as the streets remained quiet.
"Hey man get in here before those things come back!" A teen with a Big Belly Burger uniform said ushering him inside. Which he found moronic, but he wasn't going to criticize them, but before he could even ask for food the door swung open once more with a red blur coming to a stop in front of them.
It took him a second to realise that the hero known as the fastest man alive was currently in front of him looking around in curiosity before walking towards the door and waving at someone to come to him. With an absolute unit of a man standing at nearly seven feet landing beside him dressed like a caveman.
He was confused at what the hero and a buff caveman, who obviously had power and was potentially a new hero, were doing at a fast food joint when there was currently an alien invasion going on that they seemed to be losing last he checked, so unless they had the same idea to have a last meal before being probed by those aliens John was confused as to why they were here.
"Hey, can you guys make us some burgers?" The Flash asked in a sheepish tone while rubbing the back of his head and that sentence made John's mind blank for a second.
"Uhhhh…" The worker beside him muttered having the same brain fart at the request of the Justice League member.
"Those aliens were defeated and we uhh, need some food." The Scarlet Speedster explained with a smile even as his stomach grumbled in hunger.
"S-sure." The cashier nodded dumbly as a relieved smile made its way onto his face as he went to the back to start making the food and John now felt both relief and guilt for doubting the heroes who had saved the world and himself multiple times, when he was out reporting with Lois Lane.
Oh well, at least he was going to celebrate with a burger.
-Flash (Barry Allen)-
He slowed his usual pace to accommodate his large companion that seemed noticeably slower than before as they soon arrived in front of a place he remembered passing by and seeing employees inside 'Big Belly Burger'.
As he stepped inside he did a quick round to make sure none of them were injured before stopping in front of an employee and asking if he could get some food for himself and Arius.
Sitting down at the table with Arius, Barry takes in just how massive the man is even after he seemingly shrunk as he was still taller sitting down than the employee was standing as he brought them some drinks.
As Barry drank some Dr.Pepper he sat silently observing Arius as the aliens' eyes darted around, taking in the sights of the city from the window, their architecture most likely differing from what he was used to, but Arius' eyes soon locked onto him as he still drank the sugary drink savoring the calories that he knew he would need for later. Being a hero wasn't an easy job and less so for someone who needed to eat at least ten thousand calories a day.
Arius after seeing him drink the soda, finally brought the cup to his mouth and took a hesitant sip as if cautious which was understandable, but after a second he quickly lifted the cup back up to his mouth and finished the drink within seconds.
Honestly Barry found it amusing to see an alien seem to become a fan of Earth cuisine… Huh, maybe next time he should make sure that the alien can safely consume the food before just giving it to them.
"This is really good." Arius said as he held out his cup to the nearby employee who came and gave him a refill who hurriedly brought it back only for Arius to finish it once again within seconds. And at this point he was debating on whether or not he found Arius' weakness as he seemed to revel in the invention known as soda, now he was going to see Arius' opinion on burgers.
A second employee came out with six burgers because Barry asked for twenty as he had a need for calories and based on the size of Arius, the large man likely needed the same. Arius sniffed the burger as if to check if it's safe to eat before digging in and humming in delight before finishing it with a second bite as he tore into another burger, savoring the flavors he'd probably never had.
The Flash watched with a mix of amusement, curiosity and disgust as even he didn't eat that fast and that was saying something. Watching Arius eat he felt as if the burger were calling out for him to rescue them, alas he was also their enemy, so as he quickly finished his first and went for his second as the other four had already been eaten by Arius.
"More?" Arius asked with a hungry look towards the employee that was standing near them who flinched at the sudden words thrown his way and if Barry was in the same position as the cook he likely would've ran away if someone who could man handle Darkseid looked at him the same way.
-Arius-
"Don't worry big guy I ordered a bunch, but they take a little time to make, but you're a real mystery, you know that?" Flash said to him, swallowing a bite of his cheeseburger while sipping on his soda. "You show up and beat the tar out of Darkseid, and act like a double cheeseburger is the holy grail, but this is just the tip of the iceberg, so how are you liking Earth?"
Arius shrugged, keeping his expression neutral, even as he felt the excitement from being able to have access to so many comforts that were unavailable when he was on Vyragos. "It's... different," he said, feigning a hint of awe as he gestured to the bustling city around them.
Flash grinned. "Earth is pretty great, huh?" He gestured towards the fast food and he found himself nodding, he missed Earth food and seasoning the most as even cheese and soda seemed to shock his taste buds. Because for a decade the most flavoring he was able to discover was salt.
"So, what's Vyragos like? I mean, what's it like to grow up on a planet like that?" The Flash asked curious about his now home world and Arius debated on if he should tell him the truth or at all. In the end he came to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt as heroes would be more sympathetic to him if he told them of his 'suffering' and he could hopefully mooch off of them.
Arius contemplated, "It's not perfect, but it is peaceful. I crash landed there as a child and was taken in by Kara. She took me in and taught me how to survive, eventually introducing me to her tribe." he said wanting the other man to dig for more information as simply spewing out his whole life story in great detail was a little cringe.
Flash leaned forward, intrigued. "A tribe? Like, primitive? High-tech? What kind of people are we talking about here?" he asked excitedly, most likely to learn of the alien planet, but the thought of Vyragos or any race inhabiting it being associated with the term High-tech was hilarious.
"Vyragos as a whole is primitive, by your standards with no technology whatsoever. The tribe was around two or three hundred large, physically strong, and lived in harmony with nature, which is different from here."
"Sounds intense," Flash said. "What did they look like?"
Arius hesitated, "Do you have a device I can use to show you?" he asked not willing to say they looked like monkeys as that would be suspicious, with this being his first time on Earth in this universe.
"Sure thing, big guy," Flash said, handing over his phone. "Just tap the search bar and type what you're looking for. The Internet's got everything."
Arius nodded, feigning ignorance as he clumsily navigated the device. Typing "Earth animals," he began scrolling through pictures until he came across a category labeled Primates. As he browsed, his eyes widened at an unexpected discovery.
The screen was filled with explicit images of humans, both men and women, wearing monkey costumes with tails that weren't connected to the tailbone. They were clearly mislabeled or linked through some bizarre algorithm. Arius could only blink in surprise, his awkward facade becoming genuine as memories of Earth's less... noble creations flooded back to him. Not even a minute on the internet and he already came across porn.
"What's wrong?" Flash asked, noticing the flicker of shock on his face and Arius turned the phone to show the speedster who quickly swiped the search away.
"It seems the search function of earth devices doesn't filter sexual images," Arius said quickly, scrolling while focusing on which primate was the most similar to the tribe that raised him, "Your... internet is chaotic. Full of unnecessary distractions." he quipped though his version the the internet was likely even more chaotic as the term 'Skibbidy Toilet', was a trending one.
Flash chuckled, oblivious. "Yeah, sorry about that I didn't think you would come across that part of the internet… Welcome to Earth's greatest invention, and its worst nightmare. So, did you find anything?"
Arius finally landed on a picture of a large, muscular gorilla that looked the most similar to the race that raised him. "This," he said, showing the image to Flash. "They looked like this, but larger, more upright and with larger fangs in addition to a tail."
Flash tilted his head, taking in the picture. "So, like giant gorillas? That's... ironic especially considering Gorilla Grodd…" He muttered the last part and Arius pictured a giant gorilla as the enemy of the man in front of him and found it amusing already picturing the primate throwing a banana with the speedster slipping on it.
"Were they all super strong like you?" The Flash asked genuinely curious.
"No, the strongest among them was Kara and I'd estimate that she was around the strength of the fish man who was fighting Darkseid." He guessed not truly knowing how strong the League members were as he was tossing them around like paper with Darkseid doing the same.
Flash chuckled nervously. "Who's Kara?" The hero most likely wanted to get more personal information from Arius and that was one topic he would never shy away from as Kara was his pride and joy, she was the best mother he could have asked for.
"She was my mother, the one who found me when my ship crash landed."
"Huh, that sounds like what happened to Superman, but on Vyragos instead of Earth. Were you always this strong or was it the environment of the planet?" He asked and honestly that was a good question as the planet itself didn't make him any stronger physically that maturing couldn't do on its own, but the culture and creature on it made him mentally stronger as he could now kill without a second thought and was able to handle long periods of isolation.
"Vyragos isn't to special or even my original planet, that would be Planet Vegeta which was home to the Saiyan race, but it was destroyed by Freiza and I was the sole survivor. When I landed on Vyragos I was automatically the strongest creature on the planet, but my survival skills themselves were abysmal." Arius explained his made up back story that couldn't be confirmed as his space pod was destroyed and couldn't give anyone any data that could support or oppose his claims.
"Someone was able to kill a whole plane full of people as strong as you?" He was absolutely horrified at that prospect and Arius thought that if there was a Frieza in this universe the little shit might have already taken over the universe.
"Not really, as an infant I was born stronger than every other Saiyan on the planet and my father who was ordered to kill me by King Vegeta, grew a heart at the last second and sent me off world after cutting off my tail to show the king that he compiled. It was sheer coincidence that I'm alive." Arius lied, while still curious at his lack of tail he wasn't very bothered by it as he didn't have a tail as a human and didn't have the memories of ever having one.
"The King sounds like a coward, but the name is a fitting one for the race you belong to, I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" The voice of Wonder Woman sounded out as she arrived at our side sitting down beside Arius, which he found rather strange, but didn't comment on as being next to a pretty girl was never something to complain about, unless she smelled.
"Yeah cool name, but I'm more curious about the tail, doesn't it affect your balance not having one?" The speedster asks and that question stumped Arius as it was never fully explained if Saiyan's relied on their tails for anything beyond their giant monkey form.
After thinking for a while he decided it was best to explain honestly as too many lies would be hard to keep up with and his lack of tail made it a non issue. "From what I know beyond a power increase when exposed to a moon the tail of a Saiyan has very little to do with anything else and when mine was cut off beyond the pain, my body didn't have any significant changes."
"You can get even stronger if you had a tail?" He asked shocked with widened eyes and the thought of getting stronger was tempting, but completely blacking out wasn't something he wished to experience again.
"Well it would turn me into a gigantic ape around seventy feet tall, similar in appearance to the ones that raised me on Vyragos, along with multiplying my power ten fold, but it's not like I really need it, I still have my Ki and Super Saiyan form." he shrugged as the employee brought more burger with Wonder Woman and Flash getting one each and Arius deciding not to be polite getting one in each hand and digging in once more tasting the goodness that is MSG.
"I'm not even going to ask about those, it must've been something growing up on a planet without any civilizations, but how'd you end up, you know, here?" Barry asked confused as to why Arius ended up on Earth and Arius, confused, remembered that Flash wasn't at the battle when he arrived as the speedster was most likely out saving people.
Shrugging while opening his posture to both Wonder Woman and Flash, "Well long story short Granny Goodness, the leader of the Female Furies, came to Vyragos and disguised herself as a friendly race and eager to get off the planet I trusted her and she drugged me unconscious while capturing my tribe."
"And how did you escape your captivity?" The raven haired woman dressed in a star spangled leotard asked, finally speaking as she was halfway through her burger eating much more slowly than either the Flash or himself.
"I grew and broke out of them and killed her and when I was freeing my tribe from their cages Darkseid arrived and killed my mother, so we fought and I about to win after killing three more of his generals and ripping off his arm, but he ran away, so when I sensed a portal similar to how he arrived on my planet I hurried over and chased him here." He explained and observed the reaction of the two as while Wonder Woman had a rather impressed expression the other hero looked rather uncomfortable at his casual mention of killing.
"Yikes. Talk about a vendetta." Flash whistled trying to play off how uncomfortable he was. "Well, you did good, man. Saved a lot of lives today."
Arius grunted noncommittally. "I didn't do it for them. I did it for Kara, now we have company and unless they're here to eat I don't think we'll be able to keep talking." he said sensing the Ki signatures of the other league members move from across the street as they approached the restaurant.
-Batman (Bruce Wayne)-
Outside, Batman and the League lingered in the shadows, watching the scene unfold. Batman's gaze was fixed on Arius, his mind piecing together strategies and contingencies. "He's not going to listen to us," he murmured. "At least, not to force."
"What's the plan, Bats?" Green Lantern asked, his arms crossed.
Batman's eyes narrowed. "We gain his trust."
'If he won't work with us, we find a way to make sure he doesn't become a threat.' he thought, not bothering to voice those thoughts as it likely wouldn't sit well with the rest of the league.
The listening device in his suit ensured that he could eavesdrop on Arius' conversation, but it was clear that Flash was getting uncomfortable and leaving him alone with Wonder Woman wasn't something he was willing to test yet, so he approached the building with the Saiyan having some type of super sense as he either heard them approach or sensed them approach.
"Arius." He spoke ignoring the way the people in the back of the restaurant gawked at the gathering of the Justice League.
"Yes?" Arius responded with an open ended tone, hinting that he didn't know his name which was good as it showed that Flash didn't mention him whatsoever.
"My name is Batman and I have a proposition." He said extending his hand for a handshake to extend an olive branch and Arius seemed confused at the gesture.
"The last time someone came to me with one of those I was drugged and chained with them ending up on a pike." Arius said with a grumbling face even as he reached out and shook his hand applying little force as Arius slowly increased it with Batman finding himself flinching after a certain point.
The Saiyan seemed to be testing the strength of himself, probably in comparison to the other League Members or other humans in general. Either the Saiyan was cautious and wanted to ensure he was going to accidentally kill anyone by using too much force or he was seeing how much of a threat humans were and how much force was needed to kill them, but he wasn't dumb enough to question his motives as he came here to form a connection with Arius.
"Because they were dumb enough to try and take advantage of you. From what I heard and can tell you were stranded on Vyragos, so in exchange for access to Earth's food and its technologies as well as hefty pay. We ask for your help in our times of need when facing an enemy like today, but note that when on Earth you will need an escort at all times to ensure that no unforeseen casualties occur as you are unfamiliar with our culture."
And it seemed like that wasn't what Arius nor the other League members were thinking he would offer as the Saiyan contemplated before answering, "You're offering me a job?" He seemed to be taking this as a simple job offer and if he did so it was all the better for Earth, gaining a deterrent offworld that they could summon anytime
"Yes along with a steady supply of food and spices to Vyragos to ensure your standard of living even if no help is requested."
"Can I bring Shelly when I have a job on Earth and can you get me a spaceship?" Arius asked with a serious expression and the brief thought of a female Saiyan appeared in his mind, but the name seemed unlikely, but he could never tell with the cultural difference of aliens.
"Who's that?" Batman asked wanting to make sure he wasn't inviting more trouble to the planet.
Arius looked at him as if he was dumb, "My turtle." he used Barry's phone once more pulling up an image of a common house turtle, but from what Batman could deduce it was unlikely that they were the same race as the ecosystem of Vyrgaos wouldn't allow for an animal of that stature to exist without going extinct, so it was likely that the turtle was a variant of a much larger size.
"Yes when you come to Earth you can bring him and we can give it a check up too to find the ideal diet and send that food over to Vyragos as well. I'm sure we can come up with some inventions to make life more comfortable for both you and your pet, but a spaceship will be more difficult to acquire as humans aren't advanced enough to have a vehicle designed for long cosmic travel." He explained hoping to keep the Saiyan off Earth, but within an area he could control a majority of the time.
-Arius-
While he would have preferred a permanent residence on Earth with a spaceship to travel the universe at large, the current deal offered by Batman wasn't bad and establishing some trust with the them could go a long way because in the comic book universe the heroes always found a way to win in the end and he wasn't looking to go against them or more importantly 'plot' anytime soon, so unless they crossed his line he didn't want to fight them.
And even if he ended the deal with Batman and they went their separate ways he could likely still get a ship to travel either from them or another alien race as Earth will likely be a hotspot for them when news of Darkseid's death spreads, because while Arius didn't know the politics the universe the 'Big Bad' of DC getting merked was bound to gain attention and if he becomes famous even more aliens will likely want him to join them.
So he agreed and continued to eat as his appetite was nowhere near satiated and so he dug in once more with the league members also sitting down to get some food to eat with Arius figuring they needed to eat too after such a hard battle and with all of them in one place they would feel more confident and safe around him as he was still an unknown.
Eighty five burgers later he left the restaurant along with the Justice League getting to know the names of Members, but he felt like something was off as if there were missing superheroes, but none came to mind beyond that hot magician and honestly weren't relevant enough for him to care as he knew they would join later.
After eating they lead me out of the city once again because opening a boom tube in the middle of the city after Darkseid's invasion is a mistake waiting to happen, especially with people panicking. They gathered in a semi-circle around Cyborg as the half man prepared the boom tube.
Arius contemplated what he would do now that his vengeance was had as stood off to the side, his arms crossed. At this point he should try probably try to enjoy life as he had no specific goal in mind at the moment and with the deal he made with Batman he would at least have the resources to pursue other things that he would enjoy and maybe he could even develop Vyragos so he wasn't stuck in the stone age washing his ass wish a bar of lard.
"Alright," Cyborg said, typing commands into his interface. "I'm opening the boom tube now. This should take you straight to the lush side of Vyragos."
The portal sparked to life, glowing with vibrant energy as it opened with a 'boom', but just as the image of Vyragos stabilized on the other side, a massive explosion erupted in the distance. A deafening roar echoed as a fiery shockwave consumed the lush landscape. The Justice League stared in silence as the planet's surface was engulfed by the explosion.
Beyond their reaction though Arius was also stunned as he didn't expect an explosion to greet him and it clicked. "Darkseid," Arius muttered, gnashing his teeth and clenching his fists. The memory of Darkseid's cryptic final words, about leaving Arius a "gift", resurfaced and the realization of what they meant made his blood boil. It wasn't meant to either kill him or deprive him of his home and leave him on Earth.
As Arius was going to step through in an attempt to save Shelly the Flash moved with lightning speed stopping him. "Wait, here!" he shouted as he darted through the boom tube, vanishing into the distance at a speed that was faster than Arius could react.
After the initial pause Arius decided to put his faith in the speedster and waited with baited breath as seconds felt like hours and the explosion grew nearer to the portal, Arius estimated that it had already hit the area where his house was, but before he could begin to worry even further. A red blur appeared hefting a very disoriented but unharmed Shelly in his arms.
"Got her!" Flash said, panting as he carefully set down Arius' companion with the Saiyan's anger and worry fading as his gaze rested on his little buddy. He strode forward and knelt, gently scooping the enormous turtle into his arms, astonished that the Flash could lift such a big animal. He inspected her carefully, rubbing the smooth shell in familiar patterns to calm them both as he felt more anger fade.
"She's fine," Flash said, catching his breath. "Big gal's tougher than she looks." Which confused Arius as he referred to Shelly as male because he never really picked it up to take a look, so curious he checked only to see a flat surface, neither a porksword or a beef sandwich were visible, so perhaps his turtle was one of those species without gender he'd have to ask later.
Cyborg quickly shut the Boom Tube before the aftermath could spill through as the last thing Arius saw was an encompassing explosion as he stayed silent, his expression dazed, discarding his previous thoughts at the realization that his home was gone. Everything he'd ever known for the past decade was gone, reduced to ash in the best case scenario and completely annihilated in the worst.
"You're not alone," Wonder Woman said, stepping forward. Her voice was calm, steady. "You've already proven that you can overcome challenges far greater than this. Shelly's here and you're here. That means you still have the strength to rebuild and if you ever need any help I will assist in any way possible." she reach up and rubbed his shoulder in a comforting way.
Her words and actions seemed to snap him out of his daze. With one final, soothing rub of Shelly's shell, Arius sighed. He'd check on the planet later and hopefully it wasn't blown to smithereens and he could terraform it later with some alien technology, but for now Diana was right the only thing that really mattered was in his arms and it wasn't going to be hard to start over.
"I need to make a new home," he looked into the distance thinking about where he should build as somewhere near the equator should be warm year round and the perfect climate for Shelly to grow, so he turned to Flash, "Thank you...for saving her." Arius said giving Flash a fist bump.
Preparing to take off into the skies with Alexander Hamilton Sheldon the Third in tow, Superman called out, "Do you need help? We could assist with supplies, building, anything."
Arius hesitated. "No," he replied after a moment. "I'm just going to build another hut for me and Shelly by a beach somewhere warm. It's not much work." He said wanting the heroes to focus on the people who needed it.
Once again before he could take off, Batman stepped forward. "Wait," he said, his tone measured which irritated the Saiyan who was now floating, "I have a house you can stay in. It's secure, private, and comes with food delivery services for both you and your pet. Burgers, soda, anything you want.." Batman offered.
Arius paused mid-flight, his head turning slightly. "Food delivered without me going anytime I want?" he asked temptation clawing at his soul at the thought of being able to become a hermit.
Batman gave a small nod. "Anything you want, anytime you want." He said and in that moment Arius' favorite League Member was the Dark Knight, he didn't care much that he didn't have power or had less emotion then a rock as long as he took care of him, Arius would take care of him.
The practicality, and indulgence, was too tempting for the Saiyan to ignore, so after a moment, he smiled widely, "Fine, but only because Shelly deserves good food too." he said patting his genderless turtles head.
The Justice League exchanged glances, a mix of relief and amusement, as he agreed to the arrangement. Even in the wake of such destruction, it seemed Arius found a new home on Earth after all. He found it ironic that life came full circle, but with a ready made house and access to a soap, toothpaste and seasoning he wasn't going to complain.
-Superman (Kal El/ Clark Kent)-
Escorting Arius to the beach front property of Bruce was a quick endevor as they left Wonder Woman to supervise the Saiyan until they could station other people to help guide and watch over the Saiyan.
As they arrived on the Watchtower he could feel some tension as Batman stood at the edge of the shadows, his piercing gaze fixed on the monitors on the wall that showed various recordings of Arius, from his initial arrival to him devouring a burger with an intensity that seemed to reflect his battle prowess.
Even now, with the battle over and the Saiyan no longer enraged Arius still made Clark's hairs stand on edge as he recalled Arius' initial arrival to his transformation to that golden haired form, but now seeing him cuddling with a giant turtle from the camera Batman had installed in the house, he was conflicted on how to treat the Saiyan.
Superman approached quietly. "What are you thinking, Bruce?"
"I'm thinking about how little we know about him, even after the talk in the restaurant," Batman said, his voice low and measured. He didn't look at Superman, his focus was entirely on Arius. "He's a walking enigma, that can switch from a raging beast one moment to a friendly kid the next when he's stuffing his face and that makes him dangerous… unpredictable." he said never taking his eyes off the screen as if to find something he missed the first time around.
Green Lantern leaned against a meeting table, arms crossed. "Dangerous is putting it lightly. The guy popped Steppenwolf's head like a grape and ripped through Darkseid like he was a training dummy. Even the Guardians haven't dealt with someone like him and those mummies have been around since before Earth."
"Exactly," Batman replied. "Let's break it down. First, there's his raw strength. I'd estimate just his physical strength would match Supermans and it can be amplified by some kind of energy field that seems self generated. That leads to the green aura we saw during the battle, it seemed to enhance his durability, strength, and speed beyond as the more he accessed the bigger he seemed to grow with it tapering off around nine feet. The aura itself can even affect the surrounding as if solid at times when being expelled similar to the energy projections used by Lantern rings."
"Ki," Wonder Woman interjected softly as she spoke through the ear piece to communicate with the othe remember while she stayed on Earth with Arius to make sure he didn't cause an accident.
Batman turned to her, one eyebrow raised which meant for her to continue.
"The green aura is Ki, throughout the entirety of Themyscira exsistence we've encountered stories of warriors from the east who could harness their life force into what they called 'Ki.' It is described as the power of the soul, channeled into physical form. Arius also called his own energy Ki and the legends matches, but on an unimaginable scale." She explained as the Saiyan's term for his energy and Earth's equivalent matched in both name and charcteristics.
Batman nodded. "I'll look into it, but from what you've said it matches what we've seen.The energy blasts are likely a direct application of this Ki externally and we don't know to what extent he can use or shape them, because as we've seen he unleashed different variations. And while dangerous it's his transformation that concerns me most. That golden-haired state, Super Saiyan, as he called it, wasn't just a boost in power. His 'Ki' became more volatile and his aggression which had tapered off at that moment spiked as he freed himself from the lasso."
Superman frowned. "You think that transformation could make him lose control?" He was confused as to him the Saiyan seemed to control his emotions better the more the fight went on going so far as to use him as a cannonball when throwing him at the Apokoliptian ship.
"His whole power set could make him lose control it's his weakness and strength the new form just have potential to enhance his already volatile aggression, but from what we've seen he can adapt to his power as when he initially arrived his attacks were straight forward without much thought as he ignored us or smacked us away when focusing on Darkseid and as the battle progressed he gained control of himself and started to think more. So I'm speculating that when he went 'Super Saiyan', everything was amplified once more similar to the green 'Ki'." Batman said taking a pause to let the words sink in before continuing once more.
"Which means we don't know if that was his limit. For all we know in that form he could multiply his power fifty fold and gain the ability to destory matter on a molecular level and there could be additional forms, each more powerful, and more unstable, than the last." And at this point Superman simply thought that Batman was being ridiculous as his speculation grew more and more wild, but the fact remained that Arius would be the most dangerous foe they've had to date if he turned on them.
"What about his resilience?" Green Lantern asked. "Darkseid hit him with Omega Beams point blank and he shrugged them off. That's not normal."
"His physiology might hold the key," Superman joined in, "I scanned him with my x-ray vision multiple times and while he appears humanoid his biology operates on a different level. Enhanced healing, extreme durability, and an ability to adapt under pressure. With his muscle mass and density growing the more 'Ki' he uses, so his body gets stronger the more he fights, similar to how humans build muscle through exertion, but reverts after the battle is over hence why he shrunk."
Wonder Woman hummed in contemplation before bringing up another fact that she recalled, "You haven't mentioned his ability to rip space itself. Twice now, he's torn apart the fabric of reality with his bare hands. The first time we all saw he simply stretched space from a already made boom tube. However the second time when I was on Vyragos with him he, seemed almost feral as he didn't speak only sniffing me before tossing me aside before firing a Ki beam powerful enough to warp space which allowed him to punch through the weakened point and rip a portal open."
"That's the dilemma," Batman admitted. "While in that state I don't think even Arius fully understands how he did it as he operates on instincts. The implications are staggering, but circumstantial as a boom tube was still used initially. If he can replicate that ability at will, he could become a threat on a cosmic scale moving from planet to planet as he pleases." The group fell silent, the weight of Batman's words settling over them the thought of a raging teleporting Arius was something no one wanted.
"So, what's the plan?" Flash asked Batman, breaking the tension. "Do we try to recruit him? You already made a deal with him for occasional help with big threats and now he's living in one of your vacation homes, so I think we're halfway there." he joked which made some of the member laugh.
Batman's gaze didn't waver. "We observe for now. Learn everything we can. If he's willing to cooperate and abide by our rules, we'll find a way to keep him on our side. If not…" he left this words open, the implications clear.
"You've got contingencies right?" Superman asked, his tone half-question, half-statement, not liking the implications of Bruce's previous statement.
"No," Batman replied. "But I'm going to make some." His voice was calm, but Superman could hear it, the racing heart of his best friend as Batman's eyes held a rare flicker of uncertainty. When they first met even he didn't inspire such a reaction from the usually composed man and if Batman even all his preparations and caution doesn't feel confident then neither did he, Arius was unlike any being they had ever encountered.
"Let's just hope we don't need them." Superman replied hoping for the best as it would be nice to have another alien join the League.
AN: Sorry this took so long, I had trouble writing this chapter for some reason and have been swamped at work recently. Again appreciate all the support and hope y'all enjoy.
Also I know my representation of Batman wasn't the best, but I tried and that what counts… or at least that's what my mom told me when I was little. Anyway I'm going to read some Batman comics to get a better grasp of his character because he's really fucking cool and I don't want to do a disservice to him.
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