“Hey, Venom, hack into the global networks, will you?”
Dan drifted over Chicago, the origin point of the human missile. He still wasn’t sure about what universe he was in, but wherever it was, they had Superheros. The chatter from the people on the streets confirmed as much.
“Hmmm…” Dan raised an eyebrow and put on a burst of speed, headed east toward Washington D.C. A burst of static on a police frequency caught his attention. “Some kind of attack on the White House…”
It took him less than a minute to find the house of the nation. A pair of blue-skinned aliens stood on the iconic lawn below, equipped with high powered ballistic weapons. They bantered back and forth, some kind of joke about clones, before one of them paused to terrorise a member of the white house security.
“I order…” The middle aged human pointed an unsteady pistol at one of the blue-men, locked in a loop as the hulk squatted down to leer in his face. “I order you…”
“You order WHAT?” The Blue-one mocked as he met the guards eyes with disdain. A moment passed between them, and the guard closed his eyes and fired. “AHHHHH!!!”
The Blue-one roared to the heavens, one hand pressed over his eye. Dan snorted under his breath. That’s what you got when you looked down the barrel of a gun and monologed like a fool.
“Your eye is as replaceable as you are,” Blue-two bellowed as he deflected a tank shell with his hands. “Now kill that one and move on!”
Dan sighed and pushed himself to action. He didn’t have much practice as a standard superhero, but he wouldn’t let an old man get smashed right in front of his eyes. A blur of the surroundings and he was between the guard and Blue-one’s raised fists.
“Hello…” A warcry interrupted Dan’s words and drew both his and the alien’s attention to the skies.
A woman with a rounded mace fell from the backdrop of the sun, followed by what could only be described as a C-Team Justice League. A buff Abraham Lincoln, a fish-man, even an off note Batman analoge and a red streak that resolved into a knock-off of the Flash. The last was a woman in a green leotard, perhaps a version of the Green Lantern?
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Red Rush, get those guys out of there,” Lincoln barked orders to the rest as he swept towards Blue-two with a punch. “Focus on evac, we can deal with these two when the area’s clear!”
Dan squinted as a false Flash accelerated toward him and the guard at his back. He was fast, but not as fast as Etrigan. Red Rush snatched up the guard and returned, but Dan shrugged him off and turned his attention to Blue-one.The brute had taken a cautious step back, fists raised in a simple stance.
“Hey, let's go,” Red Rush tugged at Dan’s arm. “Clear the area so we won’t have to protect you!”
“I don’t need your protection…” Dan shrugged the hero off and walked to meet the oversized villain. He rolled his shoulders and thumped his fists together. “Let’s see how tough you are, Blue-man!”
A light press of his feet brought Dan in front of the alien for a second time. He leaned in, fist directed in a straight line to the big fellow’s left knee. A wet pop, punctuated by a terrible scream. The leg sheared off at the joint, a fountain of blood that Dan danced to avoid.
“Sorry about that…” A flash of red connected the injured man and Dan’s eyes, a seer of heat that cauterised the wound. “You’re way squishier than I expected…”
“MY LEG!” Blue-one screamed, a delayed response from the shock. He wrapped his hands around the stump and tipped backward to the earth. “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?”
“See you later, Brother!” Blue-two forced his way free of Lincoln and rushed to escape. A hulk jump carried him free of the white house grounds as he bellowed a laugh. “I can always make another one…”
Dan stood between the man's arc and the ground, fist raised as he tightened his focus. He needed to hit with just enough force, practise for his own universe. He couldn’t be seen chopping limbs left and right, or he’d have the same reputation as the Jedi.
“Wait I…”
Dan speared forward, Blue-two’s plea ignored. His fist found the man’s left shoulder, a blow that twisted flesh from bone. Launched like a bullet, the blue skinned alien smashed into the earth and didn’t move.
“Much better,” Dan nodded at his fist. He’d shattered the fellow a little, but he was still in a single piece!
“Who the hell are you?” An annoyed growl sounded from above, a chiselled middle-age man in a white and red supersuit. Dan glanced at the stylized ‘O’ on his chest and the long red cape at his back.
“Just a helpful tourist…” Dan drifted closer to the man in the sky and extended a hand. “I’m sorry, but your voice is super familiar… have you ever run a newspaper?”
“What?”
“Omniman!” The Lincoln look-alike flew to join them in the skies. He gave both Dan and Omniman a pair of sour looks. “Is this guy a friend of yours?”
“We just met,” Omniman shook his hand free of Dan’s and gave Lincoln a guarded look. “I assumed he was a new member of your team, Immortal?”
“The name’s Dan-EL, but my hero name would be Superman, I suppose,” Dan took Lincoln’s hand and shared an overbearing shake. The hero leader applied tremendous force that Dan matched beat for beat. “I’m a tourist of a sort, far from home and looking for a rest stop on my journey.”
“Don’t stay too long, this world has enough Heroes,” Omni-man flashed away, headed for the horizon. Dan snorted as his eyes followed the man’s flight. The Immortal sighed.
“Sorry about that, he’s all business, all the time,” The big man slapped Dan on the back and guided him to the ground, toward his gathered team. “Plus he’s not big on working together, but we appreciate your help here today!”
“No problem,” Dan followed Immortal's lead and landed among the other heroes. All but the Batman look-alike showed him welcome smiles. “I’m happy to help!”