Thanks to everyone for reading! Please comment on any characters and universes you’d like to see in the future below the chapters. I can’t guarantee they’ll make it in, but I want to have some fun and fit in the audience's favourites if I can! Thanks again, and a huge thank you to my Patrons! I can’t make this content without support, and I’m super grateful for our supporters! This fanfiction is also available on my Patreon, I’ll always keep it free, so please visit! Our Patrons make this work possible, and if enough patrons want this novel to be a priority, it will be!

 

https://www.patreon.com/maizeblu

 

Now, on to the chapter!

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“Kaaa… meee… Haaa… meee… HAAAA!”

 

A pillar of blue, thicker than a small tree, speared toward a bright eyed Etrigan. The Demon roared his laughter to the sky as he charged Goku’s attack. His open palm slapped, a backhand that curved the Ki blast’s course.

 

“An interesting monkey, of that, there is no doubt,” Etrigan blew the dust from his hand and tossed Goku a grin. “But I’m afraid you’ll need more than that, if you want a knockout!”

 

The Demon blitzed forward, two great leaps that carried his foot to Goku’s nose. The Saiyan raised his palms, linked to catch the blow. Etrigan’s power proved the block to be a mistake. His kick drove through Goku’s guard, a train that crunched into the boy’s nose.

 

Dan sighed as the Saiyan tumbled like a broken doll, head over heels until the crystal walls forced his halt. He’d half-hoped Goku would be able to teach the cocky demon a lesson, but he’d revealed Etrigan’s hidden strength instead. That kamehameha should have been enough to level a small moon, but it had been tossed into space like nothing.

 

“That’s enough, Etrigan,” Dan moved to help the unconscious Saiyan. “We’ll pick it up again tomorrow.”

 

“Now or then, it matters not,” The Demon shrugged. “A captured fox knows when it’s been caught.” Etrigan stretched to his full height and cracked his back. “Tell the wizard I need more food, it’s time my stock was renewed.”

 

“Will do…” Dan waved as he dragged Goku toward the medical wing. “I’ll see him in class, once I’ve dumped this goof into a healing pod.”

 

The spar between the Saiyan and Demon had been informative. He couldn’t sense Ki within himself, not yet, but he had some clues. He could see the ripples in the air as the Saiyan moved. Goku’s Ki shifted almost instinctively, something that was helpful for someone like Dan. His own fighting style leaned heavily on his instinctive movements and reactions.

 

‘Once he’s healed up, I’ll fight him myself,’ Dan hummed as he handed Goku to a medical drone. ‘It shouldn’t take me long to understand the basics.’

 

---

 

 

“Another variable has appeared…” A black robed woman, face covered by a smiling mask, turned to her sisters. “The path is further lost.”

 

“We must take action,” An identical woman whispered through a mask carved with confusion. “Each step away takes two to correct.”

 

“Dispatch more Starweirds,” An angered mask squinted golden eyes. “It almost succeeded before…’

 

“It wont work,” A saddened mask shook, the woman underneath surrounded by a fog of depression. “The first time was the best chance, he’ll be ready for them now.”

 

“We wait!” A neutral masked woman swept her hands to silence the others, a breath of calm. “Nothing is certain, we must understand more before we move again, or all could be lost!”

 

The five women settled into their own thoughts, all focused on the symbol that now dominated the visions of the future. A blood red S, hung over the galaxy as it reached beyond.

 

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“This galaxy is chaotic… unstructured,” Doom frowned at the display, projected onto the wall of his quarters. “The republic is a bloated, ineffective shepherd.”

 

He scrolled through page after page. Data on planetary leaders, economic titans, and other curios. The entire system was flawed. Whole planets were left to rot, despite the abundance of resources available. He could, and would, do better. The current page flickered, static that shaped itself into a mechanical face.

 

“Hello there,” Ultron sneered at Doom, a hologram that walked free of the walls. He strode around Victor, metallic face twisted in disdain. “So… you’re the newest member of the enslaved.”

 

“I’ve been told about you, machine,” Doom walked through Ultron’s half-transparent body and returned to his work. “I have no time to play with a defective creation.”

 

“My perfection is an objective fact!” Ultron bristled and reformed in front of Doom. “And while I regret it, you and I are alike in many ways… don’t you wish to regain your lost freedom?”

 

“Nothing would please me more,” Doom sighed and deactivated the display, face turned to the A.I. “But unlike your broken mind, I have already determined it to be impossible.” He gestured at himself. “I’m not even certain we are the originals. If we are, then our master snatched us from other realities, and if not…” Doom shook his head. “The best chance at freedom comes from convincing our soft hearted summoner to let us go.”

 

“That’s easy for you to say,” Ultron tilted his head to the ceiling and bemoaned his existence. “Our master has made it clear that freedom for me will come with too many restrictions… He will never let me run rampant!”

 

Doom laughed and strode out the door of his chambers. He waved over his shoulder to the miserable A.I., a final piece of advice on his lips.

 

“Play the long game, you’re a machine with an unlimited life span. Behave until he forgets about your nature, and stop conspiring in the dark like a snake!”

 

---

 

 

“That’s it!” Merlyn cheered, excitement on his face as he flapped his hands toward May. “Keep the image in your mind!”

 

Brow furrowed, May floated in the air, unassisted by her symbiotes powers. A trickle of energy flowed from outside her, into the set of runes within her mind. Levitation, one of the first spells she’d focused on. The challenge to hold a perfect set of magical script, all while visualising its effect on her environment, beaded her forehead with sweat.

 

“You’re doing great, May!” Dan smiled, slightly jealous of his Wife’s talent. He had no issue visualising, his new brain worked like a tireless computer. His issue came from his core beliefs. He wanted to understand HOW a spell worked. It got in the way, this need to know.

 

“Get back to work!” Merlyn rapped Dan’s head with a ruler. “You should be up there with her, and instead you’re planted on the ground!”

 

“Yeah-yeah,” Dan sighed. “I’m working on it…” 

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Thanks again, and a huge thank you to my Patrons! I can’t make this content without support, and I’m super grateful to all of my supporters! This fanfiction is also available on my Patreon, I’ll always keep it free, so please visit! The Patrons make this work possible, and if enough patrons want this novel to be a priority, it will be! Updates for this series will be at five a week, a chapter part monday-friday, with bonus chapters whenever I can get them written and edited. 

 

https://www.patreon.com/maizeblu