Earth-3
Antarctic Airspace
The sky is a slab of iron, unyielding, indifferent. The wind does not howl. itscreams, a raw, relentless voice tearing across the endless white. The cold here is not merely temperature; it is a living thing, gnawing at flesh, testing will. Dura and Miru hover above the frozen continent, suspended in the void between heaven and hell.
No gravity chamber hums beneath them.
No artificial enhancements pulse through their veins.
Only the raw, unfiltered truth*
of Antarctica: a wasteland that demands respect or buries the foolish.
Miru's teal skin glows faintly against the monochrome expanse, a defiant ember in the snowstorm. His breath crystallizes instantly, tiny diamonds scattered by the gale. His tail, instinctive and precise, coils around his waist... not for warmth, but for balance.
Dura's voice cuts through the storm, calm as still water.
"Control your core temperature."
Miru does not nod. He listens.
He lowers his ki output, not to conserve energy, but to understand it.
The cold bites deeper, a serpent's fangs sinking into his skin. He does not resist. He observes.
The ice beneath him stops cracking.
Better.
Then
The wind changes.
Not a shift. A violation.
The air thickens, pressure twisting like a knife in the atmosphere. The clouds ripple outward, as if an unseen hand has punched through the sky itself.
Dura's eyes open.
He does not turn.
He already knows.
Behind them
A streak.
Red and blue.
A controlled missile descending from the heavens.
He stops midair.
No flare of aura.
No wasted movement.
Only precision.**
His cape snaps in the Antarctic wind, a crimson banner of dominance. Young. Post-Crisis. Confident. The kind of confidence that comes from never being denied.
Ultraman.
His gaze sweeps over them.. first Dura, then Miru, dissecting them with the predatory intelligence of a god who has never known fear. He scans them visually. Then with senses honed by eons of unopposed rule.
Alien biology.
Extreme energy output.
Not Kryptonian.
Not Thanagarian.
Unknown.
His lips curl. A smile that does not reach his eyes.
"Well now…"
His voice is smooth. Dangerous.
"This isn't my government."
He floats closer, the snow beneath him hissing into steam at his approach.
"You two don't have clearance to operate in my sky."
Miru turns slowly, studying him.
Red eyes.
Controlled arrogance.
A predator wrapped in the trappings of **authority.**
Ultraman folds his arms.
"You're going to surrender."
It is not a command.
It is gravity.
Dura faces him fully now.
No aura.
No flexing.
Only presence.
"We do not belong to you."
Ultraman's smile widens, a blade unsheathed.
"Everything here belongs to me."
He tilts his head, eyes flickering with the cold calculation of a ruler surveying new territory.
"You're strong."
His gaze shifts to Miru.
"…But that one is interesting."
Miru does not flinch.
Does not blink.
Does not submit.
Ultraman's eyes glow faint red.
Not an attack.
A test.
Heat vision flickers at low output, carving a glowing trench across the snow near Miru's feet.
The ice melts instantly, a warning written in fire.
"You'll surrender," Ultraman repeats, "or I'll make this educational."
A long pause.
The Antarctic wind screams between them, a chorus of defiance.
Dura looks at Miru.
No fear in his voice.
Only certainty
"Fight him."
Ultraman's eyebrow lifts.
"Oh?"
Miru's tail flicks once.
A single, deliberate movement.
He steps forward.
No transformation.
No screaming power-up.
Only controlled ki, rising around him like an invisible storm.
Ultraman's smile fades.
Just a fraction.
He expected fear.
He did not expect composure.
Ultraman moves first.
He vanishes.
A sonic crack splits the air.
He reappears behind Miru, palm strike aimed at the spine..
Miru is gone.
A blur of teal.
He reappears above, redirecting midair with flawless precision.
Ultraman's eyes narrow.
.. Interesting.
He turns instantly, fist cocking back
Their hands collide.
The shockwave flatten a mile of snow.
Ice shelves... fracture
groaning like dying beasts.
The ocean beneath them roars, water erupting upward in geysers of protest.
Ultraman drives Miru downward.
They crash into the ice, burrowing through it like a meteor.
Underwater.
Ultraman realizes something mid-exchange:
The father hasn't moved.
Hasn't needed to.
And yet
His senses scream louder about the older one than the child.
That unsettled him.
On Earth-3, fear is leverage.
But this alien does not radiate submission.
He radiates patience.
Ultraman backs off mid-clash, hovering higher.
His eyes glow brighter now, heat vision flaring like a warning beacon.
"You're trespassing."
Miru steadies himself, breathing controlled, no sign of fatigue.
Ultraman's smile returns.. thinner now, sharper.
"You have two options."
"Swear allegiance."
"Or I take you apart slowly enough to understand how you work."
Silence.
Dura finally speaks, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade.
"We are not your subjects."
The temperature drops further.
Not from Antarctica.
From intent.
Ultraman's heat vision flares fully, carving a trench of molten ice between them.
This is no longer a warning.
This is territory.
Back in the jungle base.
Mia sits before a web of holographic displays, Pheramonite tech humming silently as it scans global networks. Earth-3's history unfolds before her: the Crime Syndicate, their reign of terror, their names flashing like omens..
Ultraman. Owlman. Superwoman. Power Ring. Johnny Quick.
She pulls up Ultraman's file.
Biology: Kryptonian analog.
Power source: Yellow solar radiation.
Psych profile: Dominance-driven.
Sadistic when challenged. Strategic when pressed.
Her empathic senses flicker, a faint pulse of awareness.
She feels Miru's controlled focus.
She feels Dura's restraint.
And something else
A predator testing boundaries.
Mia's fingers dance over the controls.
Contingency protocols activated.
Orbital cloaking reinforced.
Base shields doubled.
Failsafe teleport beacon primed.
She whispers, so softly the jungle does not hear:
"Don't escalate…"
Her eyes shift to the live satellite feed of Antarctica.
Two streaks, colliding at relativistic speed.
And a third presence..
Still.
Watching.
Back to Antarctica
Ultraman floats lower now, his decision forming.
He could escalate fully.
But something about Dura makes him cautious.
And Ultraman hates caution.
He points at Miru.
"You'll report to me."
Then he looks at Dura.
"And you'll explain yourself."
Dura steps forward.
The ice beneath him cracks instantly, not from weight, but from the passive pressure of his power...though he hasn't released anything visible.
Ultraman's instincts flare.
**Danger.**
Real danger.
For the first time since arriving...
Ultraman stops smiling.
The wind dies completely.
No movement.
No sound.
Three beings, hovering above a frozen continent.
Each capable of reshaping it.
The next choice determines everything.
Ultraman floats higher, his cape snapping violently in the wind.
His eyes burn red.
ULTRAMAN:"You mistake restraint for weakness."
His heat vision fires.
Not a beam.
A sustained inferno.
It engulfs Miru completely.
The ice below vaporizes instantly.
Steam explodes upward in a roaring pillar.
The steam clears.
Miru stands, wreathed in a glowing teal aura.
Skin scorched, but not burned.
He exhales slowly, tail uncoiling.
MIRU:"…So this is serious."
Ultraman vanishes.
A sonic boom detonates across the continent.
He reappears mid-punch.
Miru. blocks.
The impact cracks the Antarctic shelf for miles.
Panels show:
Ice splitting.
.. Ocean water erupting upward.
.. Shockwaves ripping through glaciers.
Ultraman drives Miru downward.
They crash into the ice. Burrow through it.
Underwater.
Beneath the Antarctic sea.
Dark.
Pressure immense.
Ultraman slams Miru through submerged rock formations.
Miru rebounds instantly, headbutting Ultraman across the jaw.
Blood spills into freezing water.
Ultraman grins.
ULTRAMAN:"Good, at least you can fight back...."
He grabs Miru's tail.
Twists.
Hard.
Miru's body spasms, pain shooting through his spine.
Ultraman hurls him out of the ocean, into the sky
Miru tumbles midair.
Stops himself.
Breathing heavier now.
He looks down at Ultraman rising from the ocean like a red-eyed god.
Something shifts in Miru's expression.
Not fear.
Acceptance.
He lets his power rise.
Not explosive.
Dense.
Controlled.
His aura thickens into deep teal fire, lightning crackling faintly around it.
The sky darkens slightly.
Ultraman feels it.
For the first time
His smile falters.
They collide again.
No words.
Only violence.
Miru lands three precise body shots.
Ultraman retaliates with a full-force haymaker.
Miru skids across the ice for miles.
Stops.
Spits blood.
Grins.
MIRU:"Now we're learning."
Ultraman's eyes flare brighter.
He releases a shockwave roar that sends icebergs airborne.
**ULTRAMAN:"I don't learn from prey."
He charges again.
POV SHIFT — Owlman
Gotham.
Dark.
Controlled.
Owlman stands before layered holographic monitors, satellite feeds flickering with data.
Energy readings spike over Antarctica.
OWLMAN (calm, analytical):"That's not Kryptonian."
He zooms in.
The signal distorts.
Cloaked interference.
Alien encryption.
He narrows his eyes.
"Someone is hiding."
He begins tracing the anomaly.
Signal bounces.
Fragments.
Coordinates unstable.
OWLMAN:"Interesting."
He initiates deeper scan protocols.
But the interference adapts.
Learns.
Counters.
Owlman tilts his head.
"…You're watching me back."
He smiles faintly.
"This just became worth my time."
BACK TO ANTARCTICA
Dura stands alone on a fractured ice plateau.
Arms crossed.
Watching.
No aura.
No movement.
Internal monologue panel:
Ultraman's strength increases under sustained pressure.
His biology absorbs solar radiation continuously.
Miru must force him into overextension.
Ultraman grabs Miru mid-clash, drives him into a glacier.
The glacier explodes into shards.
Ultraman pins him by the throat.
Heat vision charging at point-blank range.
ULTRAMAN:"Kneel."
Miru grips.. Ultraman's wrist.
Eyes glowing brighternow.
Tail wraps.. around Ultraman's arm.
Anchors.
MIRU:"No."
He releases a concentrated ki burst directly into Ultraman's chest.
Not wide.
Not flashy.
Focused.
Ultraman is blasted backward, crashing through three mountain-sized ice formations.
He emerges furious.
Ultraman stops holding back.
His aura ignites red-gold, atmospheric distortion warping the air around him.
He blitzes.
Faster than before.
Miru barely blocks.
Ribs crack.
Ultraman drives him into the ground repeatedly, each impact forming a new crater.
Blood on snow.
Ultraman stands over him, breathing heavier now.
ULTRAMAN:"You're strong."
Beat.
"But you're still a child."
Miru's fingers dig into the ice.
He laughs softly.
MIRU:"…Then I'll stop holding back."
MIRU
FULL POWER
He rises.
Slowly.
Aura flares outward violently now, teal energy burning white at its core.
The pressure bends the horizon.
The ocean parts again.
Ultraman braces instinctively.
Miru's voice deepens slightly.
Tail rises behind him, energy circulating down his spine.
He isn't transforming
But he's tapping deeper into Oozaru root power without shifting form.
Eyes flash red.
Then stabilize.
MIRU:
"Now I'll take you seriously."*
They vanish simultaneously.
Midair collision.
This time..
Miru dominates the exchange.
He reads Ultraman's micro-movements.
Counters before impact.
Elbow to the sternum.
Knee to the jaw.
Spinning kick that sends Ultraman through a kilometer of ice.
Ultraman rockets back, enraged.
Miru meets him head-on.
Their fists collide again.
But now.
Ultraman is the one pushed backward.
For the first time
His boots carve trenches across the ice as he struggles to hold position.
His eyes widen.
Not in fear.
In realization.
ULTRAMAN:"…You're adapting."
Miru smiles through blood.
"So are you."
He grabs Ultraman's cape.
Pulls him forward.
Headbutts him.
Hard.
The sound echoes like artillery.
Ultraman crashes into the Antarctic shelf.
Half his face bleeding.
He rises slowly.
Still smiling.
But not amused anymore.
Wide shot.
Antarctica devastated.
Ice broken.
Ocean exposed.
Miru hovering, aura blazing steadily.
Ultraman standing across from him, bruised, angry, excited.
In the distance
Dura watches.
Evaluating.
Ready.
On a world ruled by monsters…
A new predator has just announced himself.