Earth-3
Hall of Crime
A pitch-black portal churned in the middle of the room as the members of the Crime Syndicate,Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, and Johnny Quick all sat upon their towering seats, watching with curiosity.
Moments ago, they had been in their usual gathering, discussing matters regarding the parts of the world each of them oversaw, when,out of nowhere,a portal had opened in the center of the room.
After a full minute of inactivity, it seemed like something was about to emerge.
Oddly enough, what peeked through first was a hand.
Its most noticeable feature was a silver ring resting on its finger.
The hand lingered for a brief moment before retreating back into the portal.
Then a figure stepped through.
Dressed in a dark, long-sleeved turtleneck, black pants, and boots, Max Schiller emerged, his gaze briefly shifting to the ring as he marveled at its capability.
So it works,he had truly crossed into another timeline.
From what he understood about the ring, he couldn't remain here for long. Eventually, he would be pulled back to his original timeline,whether he wanted to or not.
And even if he could stay,he didn't have the time to do so.
He had to find what he was looking for… and move on to the next Earth if needed.
His thoughts were interrupted when Ultraman spoke.
"Who the hell are you… and where do you come from?"
Ultraman's voice echoed through the hall.
Max slowly raised his gaze, surveying the room before answering.
"A passerby," he said calmly. "And where I come from is irrelevant."
For a moment there was silence.Then they all laughed a dry and sarcastic.
"You've got quite the mouth," Superwoman said, leaning forward slightly. "Do you even have any idea where you are… and who you're talking to?"
Max met her gaze without a hint of concern.
"Should I be afraid?"
Johnny Quick let out a short laugh. "Yeah, mate,you should be. This is the Crime Syndicate… and you're trespassing."
"Justice League, Crime Syndicate, Young Justice…" Max said dismissively. "All the same."
"So long as you don't impede me in my goal… we won't have any problems."
The room grew still.
Ultraman's smug expresssion faded as annoyance replaced it,
"I'm getting bored," he said.
He said as his red eyes flickered with irritation.
"Superwoman… make him talk."
"Gladly," Superwoman said as she descended, landing before Max Schiller.
At this, a brief look of disappointment crossed Max's face,gone as quickly as it appeared the next moment.
Superwoman reached for her weapon and pulled out her own version of the Lasso of Truth,the Lasso of Submission.
With a sharp motion, she whipped it toward Max.
He caught it.
The rope coiled around his arm instantly, and a violent surge of electricity coursed through his body. Unlike the Lasso of Truth—which merely compels honesty—the Lasso of Submission inflicted excruciating pain alongside its effect.
But to Max It was nothing,his base durability was just that crazy now.his expression didn't even flicker.
"I warned you," he said calmly before yanking his arm back.
Superwoman's eyes widened as she was pulled forward, her body dragged toward him before she could react.
Max's hand shot out, clamping around her throat.
And in the next instant, he slammed her into the floor.
BOOM.
The entire hall shook from the impact,cracks spreading across the ground beneath them as the impact rattled the structure, windows trembling violently.
Superwoman gasped, pain flashing across her face.
At this,the rest of the Syndicate rose sharply from their seats, their expressions no longer amused,after all there was nothing amusingabout seeing the secomd strongest member in your group get humbled with such ease.
Max paid them no mind,he placed his hand on Superwoman's head.
And with a sharp, decisive motion,he tore her soul from her body.her form went slack instantly.
Max straightened, standing over her fallen body.
For a brief moment, there was silence as they were all shocked about what had transpired in a matter of seconds, and by the glazed-over expression on Superwoman's face, she was most likely dead.
Ultraman's voice broke the silence.
"You…!"
He shouted as he moved. A sonic boom tore through the Hall of Crime, shattering the windows as he sped towards Max, intending to tackle him. Max made no move to evade, and before Ultraman could reach him, an unseen force struck him straight in the face, sending him flying back at twice the speed he had come in. He was blasted through the walls and all the way outside the structure.
Power Ring also charged in, his ring glowing as he was about to create a construct when,splurt!,his chest was pierced clean through. Blood flew into the air as his lifeless corpse plummeted to the floor.
The remaining members went on high alert.
Owlman's head darted around in confusion because even with his mask, he couldn't detect where the attacks were coming from, using UV and infrared. Suddenly, his instincts screamed at him to dodge, but he was too slow. His head was forced to face the opposite direction he was facing, snapping his neck in the process and resulting in his death.
Seeing this, Johnny Quick's eyes widened as his instincts also flared. He quickly moved to the side as the ground where he had been caved in. He realized he had barely evaded the attack.
As long as he didn't stay in one position, this invisible attack couldn't get him… right?
He sped around Max, looking for a blind spot so he could go in for the kill, but to his shock, he found Max easily tracking him with his eyes. He quickly realized he couldn't win this and was about to flee the scene when Max raised his hand towards him.
"Almighty Push," he muttered.
A powerful gravitational force surged out as Johnny Quick was sent flying and slammed against the wall. Blood escaped his mouth as his consciousness blurred, and before he could recover, black rods came flying and impaled all his limbs against the wall. A final one struck him dead in the head between his eyes, and his body went limp as he perished on the spot.
Max lowered his hand.
He felt the whole building shake, and not even a second later, the ceiling exploded as an enraged Ultraman burst through it, his fists aimed at Max in the classic Superman pose. Max ducked under the strike, then concentrated all his strength into his right fist, infused it with haki, and punched as hard as he could straight at Ultraman's heart.
On impact, six whole floors were reduced to pieces from the shockwave that was generated, though Ultraman's body absorbed most of it. When the dust cleared, blood flowed from Max's hand to his elbow before dropping to the floor below.
Max hovered in the air, with Ultraman's limp form propped against his fist as he coughed up blood.
Max then pushed him off. His body slid off the three bone claws that had emerged from Max's knuckles before slamming into the floor below. His vitals declined, then flatlined.
The three bone claws slowly slid back into Max's knuckles.
Max shook his hand to remove the blood.
He had long forgotten that he could even do that.
He'd done it on accident, since he had been planning to end Ultraman the same way as Superwoman…
But this worked just as well.
End of Chapter.
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