The Harbinger of Ruin drifted like a phantom through the void, its titanic silhouette blotting out a swath of starlight behind it. From its underside, four figures emerged into the cold vacuum, silent, regal, and defiant.
William, Peter, Harley, and Kara floated weightlessly, the void cradling them as the stars shimmered like distant diamonds. Before them loomed the red world, massive, ancient, and alive with creatures and ecosystems of its own. It wasn't Mars, though it shared the blood-red hue of the planet William had once known. No, this one was larger, heavier with gravity, history, and something else… something hungry.
William's emerald eyes ignited, casting a verdant glow across the matte black of his armor as he scanned the planet's surface. His enhanced vision swept across crimson dunes and jagged canyons, before locking onto two unmistakable landmarks: a colossal arena that dwarfed Roman coliseums, and a gleaming palace that sparkled like it was carved from starlight itself.
"Ooooh, Puddin'," Harley breathed, her voice thick with manic glee as she pressed herself to William's side, bunnies bundled in a corset that defied physics and possibly several intergalactic laws of taste. "I want one just like that. Can you build me a space palace? Pretty please? With alien sprinkles on top?"
William blinked as a thin stream of blood trailed from his nose.
She noticed. Of course she noticed.
A devilish giggle spilled from Harley's lips as she rose up and planted a kiss on his cheek, red lipstick smudging against his pale skin. "Later, Puddin'. Hehehe."
Before the blood could reach his chin, Kara's strong arms slid around his waist from the opposite side. She tugged, grinning. "Down, boy. We've got a planet to crash."
Harley, unwilling to be left behind, latched on mid-flight, laughing like a child on a roller coaster.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Peter called after them. A second later, his ki flared, a brilliant bluish-white aura that bent the vacuum around him. He shot forward like a comet, effortlessly catching up, his body flipping upside down as he hovered alongside them, all too comfortable being the upside-down Spider among stars.
As they breached the atmosphere, friction licked at their bodies like fire-draped wolves. William extended a hand, a translucent green shield manifesting around Harley, laced with layered runes. Her safety was second nature now.
Peter, meanwhile, spun his fingers with a flourish and summoned a Spirit Silk Cocoon around himself, a silky white glow forming a protective shell that shimmered like a spider's egg touched by moonlight. It may have looked fragile, but it could tank a falling star.
"WHOOOOOSH!"
The flames of entry died as they pierced the upper stratosphere, emerging over a vast expanse of ochre-colored desert. Wind patterns painted the sands like ancient calligraphy. But it was the roar they heard that truly caught their attention.
A colossal arena, no less than ten city blocks in diameter, loomed in the distance. Millions of alien voices merged into a single pulse, a heartbeat of bloodsport, passion, and spectacle.
Peter floated beside William, still upside down, and let out a low whistle. "Yup. That's either a party or a bloodbath. Possibly both."
William's eyes narrowed slightly. His voice was calm but edged with anticipation. "Do we go in quiet… or loud?"
Peter didn't miss a beat. "I'm stealth all the way, baby. Let's sneak in like space ninjas." He gave a thumbs-up, his fingers still glowing with ki.
Kara tilted her head, giving William a sultry grin. "Normally, I'd say we go loud and proud… but I'd rather stay close to you." She wrapped her arms around him again, pressing him into her unusually plush chest. "Much more fun."
Harley cackled. "Why not both?"
The others blinked.
"No, really!" she said, twirling midair, her pigtails bouncing like twin pendulums of chaos. "We sneak in first, do the whole ghostin'-through-the-shadows thing, and then when it's time… we go full BOOM-BOOM-CLOWN-CIRCUS!"
They paused. And then, slowly, each of them nodded.
"…That actually makes sense," Peter admitted.
William smirked. "Quiet… then loud. Classic misdirection. I like it."
The crimson sun above cast long shadows across the sandstone walls of the city. Beneath it, the trio of Kara, Harley, and William touched down in a controlled glide, landing lightly amidst the organized chaos of the planetary capital.
The city was alive.
Hovercraft zipped overhead, trading blaring horns for bursts of alien-language curses. Market stalls of impossible wares, shimmering crystals that vibrated with song, meats from beasts the size of houses, and fluids that defied gravity, lined the streets in chaotic perfection. The scent was a medley of spice, smoke, and ozone.
Thousands moved through the wide arterial plaza that led to the heart of it all: the Coliseum of Kaarn, where blood bought glory.
Despite the city's exotic complexion, the three walked unchallenged through the gate, William half-expecting a fight at the perimeter. His hand had even hovered near the hilt of his blade. But to his surprise, the guards barely gave them a glance.
"Looks like we blend in better than expected," William muttered, eyeing a few humanoids passing by. A surprising number bore Earthlike features, whether through parallel evolution, or the genetic tinkering Sakaar was infamous for.
They pressed deeper into the crowd, and slowly, the attention shifted. Like a tide turning toward the moon.
Eyes followed William first, his chiseled physique wrapped in dark, glimmering armor, a quiet storm of emerald energy rippling beneath his skin. Whispers drifted in alien dialects. A pair of women, one with six eyes and another with living tattoos across her skin, stopped mid-step, their gazes fixed in open hunger.
But it was the sight of Kara and Harley that truly shattered the crowd's rhythm.
Kara walked like a goddess who knew she had no equals. Her golden hair rippled behind her like a war-banner, her hips moved with the weight of unshakable power, and her presence drew heat from the very air. Harley, by contrast, was chaos wrapped in beauty, bouncing through the crowd with wild energy, her pigtails dancing, eyes scanning every flashing light and strange alien as if she'd landed in a neon playground.
Heads turned. Jaws dropped. Conversations stopped.
And then he appeared.
A native Sakaaran, massive even by his species' already brutish standards, pushed through the throng. At nearly nine feet tall and wide as a speeder bike, his skin was the color of dried blood and scars covered nearly every inch of visible muscle. Two smaller enforcers followed, each armored and carrying short-blade gauntlets.
He stopped a mere foot from them, folding his arms across his chest with a smug, predatory grin. His voice oozed arrogance.
"Now, now, now..." he drawled, his gaze crawling across Kara and Harley like slime. "What're a couple starlight beauties like you doing with this twig? Come with me and my boys, we'll show you what real warriors feel like."
His underlings chuckled, echoing his leer with unsettling confidence.
William's emerald aura surged instinctively, tendrils of energy crackling across his shoulders, but before he could speak, Kara stepped forward.
Her movements were smooth. Measured. Deliberate.
The Sakaaran smirked, nudging his friends. "Oh, I knew she'd be interested—"
Her hand pressed gently against his chest.
A beat.
Then another.
The smirk on his face began to falter.
With a sudden, fluid shift of pressure, Kara's fingers pushed downward. Not shoving. Not striking. Just... pressing.
And the giant began to kneel.
First it was disbelief. Then fear. His muscles bulged, veins throbbing in protest as he resisted, but her hand was unmoving, a celestial weight compressing his pride into the ground.
He hit one knee.
Then both.
Then—
THUMP.
He was on all fours. And a moment later, Kara's foot rested on the back of his head, pinning him into the sunbaked stone like a trophy rug.
She didn't raise her voice. She didn't need to.
"Any questions, boys?"
Her tone was ice laced with fire, commanding, divine, lethal.
The two henchmen blinked. One nearly dropped his blade. Both nodded, fast and frantic, sweat pouring from beneath their helmets.
Kara kicked their leader toward them like discarded garbage, her heel leaving a faint dent in his thick skull.
"Take out the trash."
They scrambled to comply, dragging the dazed brute away. He mumbled curses, his voice rising in weak protest.
"Who the hell do you think you are, when I get back, I swear I'll—"
But Kara's glare cut through the sound like a blade through silk. His voice died mid-threat. The crowd around them, who had gone deathly still, suddenly remembered how to move, breathe, and not make eye contact.
Normal activity resumed, like a simulation rebooting.
The four of them stood in the center of the plaza now, William with an amused smirk, Peter crouched on a light post watching the drama with popcorn in hand, Kara brushing off invisible dust, and Harley clapping enthusiastically.
"Ten outta ten, Supergirl! That's what I call girl power!" Harley cackled, then nudged William. "Aren't you lucky, Puddin'? You got yourself a queen who breaks egos like toys."
William chuckled, letting his aura dim. "Yeah… lucky me."
From somewhere in the city, the low horn of the arena boomed again. Their time was coming.
The air trembled with tension. The roar of a million alien voices echoed through the open sky, yet all eyes were locked on the titanic duel taking place in the arena's heart.
BOOM!
A blinding flash of cerulean lightning tore through the crimson-tinged clouds above and crashed down upon the sandy pit, striking the towering green titan known only as the Hulk. The bolt didn't just light up the battlefield, it carved a jagged scar of raw energy across the sky, leaving a charred scent of ozone that reached even the highest tier of the stands.
Opposite the raging behemoth stood a being carved in legend, Beta Ray Bill, the horse-faced champion of Stormbreaker's legacy. His very presence crackled with divine might, his battle-worn armor clinging to his alien musculature like a second skin, humming with electricity. In his hands, a colossal mace shimmered with ancient, storm-forged power.
The Hulk, unfazed by the pain, launched himself into the air with primal fury, intending to bring both fists down like twin meteors. But lightning, summoned by Bill's storm-scorched warcry, halted the descent mid-air, jolting through Hulk's bulging muscles and locking him in brief but total paralysis.
That opening was all Bill needed.
"RAAAAGHH!"
With a guttural warcry, Beta Ray Bill surged forward and brought the mace down in a vicious arc. The impact was earth-shattering. A thunderous CRACK rang out across the coliseum as the mace slammed into Hulk's jaw with enough force to twist steel.
Bone snapped. Joints popped. The sickening sound of a dislocated jaw rang clearer than the war drums, making the crowd collectively wince and recoil as if they had taken the hit themselves.
"OOOOHHHH!"
The reaction was instant, millions of voices shouted in unison, the sharp breath of anticipation turning to chaos. Hulk's body, now a flailing emerald comet, was flung across the arena like a ragdoll.
BOOM!
He hit the far wall with enough force to level a mountain, but instead of shattering stone and spilling debris into the stands, a shimmering energy barrier erupted into existence, absorbing the brunt of the impact. Hulk bounced off it like a pissed-off pinball, landing in a crater of cracked stone and rising slowly, green blood dripping from his clenched teeth.
His chest heaved. His eyes glowed brighter. The blow had not tamed him, it had enraged him.
Beta Ray Bill, mace still sparking, stood across the pit, not with triumph, but with determination etched across his equine features.
"Hulk! If we join forces, we could bring down this tyrant emperor! You were once a hero, the stories of Asgard sing your name in reverence! Why do you resist?"
Hulk spat a wad of thick, green blood onto the sand with a wet splatter, then glared upward, his face a storm of fury and betrayal. In that moment, his mind, fractured and tormented, replayed flashes of Earth's treachery: betrayal, manipulation, abandonment.
Hero?
They had called him that. Once.
Now?
He was a monster to them. Just as he had always feared.
His lips curled into a bestial snarl, and his rage spilled out in a sound that shook the arena to its very foundations.
"RAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
It was not a roar, it was an earthquake made flesh. He charged.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
Three strides, that was all it took to close the distance. With each step, the ground fractured beneath him, spiderwebbing out like shattered glass under divine weight. Every footfall broke the world a little more.
Beta Ray Bill raised his mace once more, but this time, it wasn't enough.
KRA-KOOM!
Hulk's fist collided with the weapon, and utterly obliterated it. The strange alien steel warped like paper, flung end over end into the air before embedding into the ground at a sharp angle, quivering from the force of the blow.
Beta Ray Bill's arms buckled. The wind was knocked from his lungs. And still, Hulk advanced, each breath a furnace, each eye a furnace of pure wrath.
The crowd went silent for the first time in the entire match.
The tide had turned.
And the green monster was just getting started and lunged at the now weaponless Beta Ray Bill who rolled out of the way as his arms were now broken.
"AHHH!"
Beta Ray Bill yelled in pain for obvious reasons, just holding onto something the Hulk punches felt like his soul was being removed from his body before being slapped back inside by a higher power.
Hulk had a mad smile on his face as he launched himself at his horseface opponent and unable to dodge Beta Ray Bill braced for the unbelievably strong punch and the next thing he knew he was on his back with the Hulk beating him into unconsciousness.
Suddenly someone in the crowd started yelling and pointing at the ground and suddenly the rest of the crowd began chanting the Hulks name for some reason earning the displeasure of the man residing at the top.
Elsewhere...
Beneath the Crimson Colosseum, in the Blood Pits of Sakaar...
Dim torchlight flickered against cold stone walls, casting shadows that danced over the hunched, waiting forms of gladiators. The air was thick with iron, blood, sweat, and the slow-burning scent of desperation. Chains clinked like distant whispers, and the low hum of the crowd above seeped into the chamber like the murmur of some ancient god waiting to be entertained.
Among the caged champions sat a blonde woman, her posture deceptively relaxed as she leaned back against the wall, one leg crossed over the other. But her eyes, those sharp, calculating blue eyes, never stopped moving. They flicked across the pit, landing on her next opponent.
A silver-skinned alien sat across from her, unnervingly still. His face was carved from apathy, his gaze fixed on a point far beyond the walls, as if nothing in this world, or the next, could stir his interest. His armor was minimal, but his physique told another story: sculpted, statuesque, inhumanly still.
She tilted her head, analyzing him like a chess piece. No visible weapon. No visible weakness. No tells.He was unreadable.
"Great. A mystery brick wall with a death glare," she muttered under her breath.
Her fingers instinctively drifted up to the sleek black collar around her neck, the suppression device. She resisted the urge to tear it off. She had tried already. Many times. Every attempt had been met with an electric jolt that felt like being stabbed in the spine by lightning.
Powers: neutralized. Escape: impossible.
She hated the feeling of being caged. Powerless. Helpless. It was an itch under her skin that made her want to scream.
"Think, dammit."
Her mind raced through possible scenarios, each one crashing against the unrelenting wall of that accursed collar. Fighting her way out? Impossible without powers. Outwitting the guards? She'd seen what happened to the last guy who tried. Diplomacy? Please. Sakaar didn't do "talk it out."
As she stared at the floor, her thoughts strayed, to him. That ridiculous, arrogant, overpowered bastard with the golden aura and that smirk that never seemed to fade. He'd saved her once. Maybe twice. She wasn't keeping count.
But the worst part wasn't that she might need his help again.It was the fact that she kind of… wanted him to show up.
Her jaw clenched, and a faint blush crept to her cheeks, unwelcome, unbidden.
"Tch. Stupid hero complex. I don't need anyone," she growled, dragging her nails across the stone floor.And yet…
From above, a massive gong echoed like the roar of a god demanding blood.
The match was about to begin.