Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a lovely day at the Straw Hat's warehouse base. It was pretty empty too though, with most of the others off taking care of jobs or personal issues. Ostensibly Luffy and Zoro were in charge, but in reality everybody with a working brain knew it was Cheetah who was responsible for everything.

Granted, she had gotten a little distracted with her research, yet it was not like those two would cause too much trouble. They were adults, and had survived some pretty rough stuff, so they could take care of themselves for half an hour without a babysitter.

"Hey, Cheetah, Luffy is demanding food again...and…"

"Ahh...right… just second... I need to find the code that Sanji gave me...It's on my phone… and the phrase too… it's funny!" Cheetah didn't look up at the speaker, she began to search for her phone. It was supposed to be...

"Mhmm…

"Here is it." she grabbed her phone triumphantly. She better hurry, she thought. Hungry Luffy can be unpredictable, and an unpredictable Luffy could easily spell heaps of trouble.

"Cheetah…." she finally faced Grundy and frowned. For a zombie, he looked even paler than usual. Or was it her imagination? She didn't have time to worry about this now. She had a Luffy to feed.

"Okay, let's go open the fridge..." she said with purpose, and began marching. She actually looked forward to opening the 'fridge'. It was fun to imagine all the … she paused and looked behind her.

Grundy was rooted in his place.

"Is something the matter, Grundy?"

Grundy looked at her, he opened his mouth, closed it. He looked a bit pained. Cheetah raised an eyebrow questionably but before she could ask, he shrugged and followed her silently instead.

.

.

"Oh shit!" was the first words she uttered when she entered the kitchen.

Cheetah turned to face the one following her, and shouted accusingly.

"Grundy!"

Grundy just shrugged helplessly.

Cheetah turned again to survey the damage, with dread climbing in her gut. Her instincts were shouting for her to run. She forced the panic increasing in her stomach down, and looked with sharp eyes around her.

The reinforced steel, almost exactly, like a bank vault door was wide open. Busted open. Broken open. She shouldn't have bothered to search for her phone to look up the current passcode. There was no panel for her to enter it.

Hesitantly she moved, leaping over the shards scattered across the floor. She moved only her head inside the open entryway, her heart pounding, unsure of what waited for her inside.

"It's safe to enter," Grundy's voice startled her, she glared at the zombie standing right behind her.

"I was already inside," he explained as he took a few steps and entered the 'fridge'.

She had been confused and thrilled when Sanji had shown her how to open the general pantry combo (AKA 'The Fridge') and explained about the traps and the need for such an elaborate 'fridge'. Even their safe where Nami kept her money was not this complicated. Not that Cheetah even knew where it was, or even wanted to know. Nami scared the bejeebers out of her. She felt as if she was close to losing one of her nine lives whenever Nami's death stare was aimed at her.

Sanji had insisted that this was Luffy-proof. Like when you child-proof the house to protect the baby, here they had Luffy-proofed the 'fridge' to protect it from Luffy. Sanji had also said that they had not really tested it in practice yet, but he was sure it would work just fine.

And here was the first test run, and it failed completely, utterly, miserably. The poor 'fridge.'

Cheetah shook her head, she didn't have time to feel sorry for the 'fridge', she should feel sorry for herself. When Nami saw this… Cheetah had a full-body shudder. She better check the damage.

She cautiously took a step inside.

She saw several sharp cuts decorating the once-walls. They were in pieces.

"Zoro helped too?" she let out a pained breath.

Grundy following her, nodded, "He was bored."

Maybe the traps would have stopped Luffy if he was alone—a big maybe. But holding against the two of them was impossible.

She moved forward slowly and cautiously, eyeing all the...destruction. Her brain was busy conjuring Nami's reaction to all of it. Her future stopped looking so bright as she felt it was half an hour ago.

She abruptly stopped in the middle of her stride, and did a double-take.

Was that... a smashed head… of a robot? Several of them… Some had, what seemed to her, whirling blades? They were all shattered, but still... she couldn't help but admire the sliced multi-barreled machine guns that were attached to the robot's hand. Zoro's work no doubt.

There were an assortment of weapons scattered all around. It was just plain hard to identify them when they were broken, shattered, and in pieces.

She did recognize a few cannons too…very old-fashioned ones at that. The type you would expect on classic pirate ships, which is probably why they were chosen. Except these cannons were either utterly destroyed or sliced to pieces. She moved to the next room.

Hidden spears, really? That was just soooo cliché… They were sticking out of everywhere: floors, ceiling, and walls. They looked more sophisticated than the fictional traps she had seen, and were made from some kind of metal that looked extremely sharp.

As she moved across the broken and bent spears, she felt like she was in one of those stupid movies where you have to face an 'obstacle course' to reach the treasure (shouldn't treasure be gold and jewels, instead of meat and meat?).

Well, they were pirates.

She saw some busted guns from the ceilings and the walls. Lasers? And machine guns? Apparently Franky had a thing for variety and switching up what kind of weapons he used. Although honestly, she couldn't even hazard a guess as to what insanity they built here. They say curiosity killed the cat. Well, this feline was extremely happy not knowing.

Was that a buzzsaw dangling from above?

Oh boy, the next room looked as if it was burned. She scrunched her nose, yet could only smell slight residual smoke. But it felt hot, and there were, what she guessed, scorch marks all around. She wasn't sure what had happened here, and she didn't want to know.

"Watch out," warned Grundy as they moved to the next room. She looked at him questioningly, and he indicated the ceiling.

Oh, there was a hole in the ceiling. A big hole, not exactly circle shaped, and was that a leg shape cut-out to the almost circle shape…? Nah. She was seeing things. The place was drenched with water, slowly filling the room through holes in the floor. She could feel the dampness on her fur. Was it some kind of water-pool? Were there sharks in it? Is that how they intended to stop Luffy? And what happened to them? Stuck in the pipes? Nah, if there were sharks, Luffy would have eaten them.

She had newfound respect for the cola-obsessed Franky for building such things, even if it didn't work.

Finally arriving at the place where she was supposed to shout "Tofu forever!" … Was there even a meaning in saying it now?

Just to be on the careful side, she said "Tofu forever!" in a voice barely louder than a whisper. She felt a bit stupid.

She took a few steps forward.

Yup, the room was utterly and totally empty. If there weren't some empty bags and boxes scattered on the floor, she would have thought that there wasn't anything there to begin with.

How the hell was she supposed to explain this? What was she supposed to do with this? Should she begin cleaning? Where to begin? Her head was going to burst wide open.

Should she or shouldn't she?

"What happened…?" she finally found her voice and asked. She would have to explain this somehow, so better to know at least something.

Grundy looked helplessly at her, as if saying 'Where do I even begin?' He opened his mouth, no voice coming out.

"No, never mind. I don't want to know..." she took pity on him and herself, and really she didn't want to know. The only explanation she could give would be: Luffy.

It was more than enough.

Grundy closed his mouth, looking at her thankfully.

"Wait, he is still hungry… after this!?"

Grundy could only nod. His face screamed, 'Don't ask me to explain this.'

He cleared his throat, "He and Zoro got bored, so they fought… exercised… or something...then they had a break… Zoro broke down the sake storage too…."

Nami was going to kill her...kill her. She was dead, so dead. The redhead was utterly unforgiving of those who failed to keep an eye on Luffy; especially when it ended up costing them money. Cheetah should book a plane and leave. But to where? Nami would find her anywhere …. Her best chance… Maybe to another planet? Was it too late to call Green Lantern and plead for him to take them off-planet as refugees?

"Then they did it again…. And now Luffy is hungry…"

"Zoro?" she asked pathetically. Zoro usually smirked and looked on while others had their fun, but if he helped Luffy, then she was totally screwed.

"He is drinking… There's enough sake… I think..."

She let out a breath, at least it was only one of them.

"Grundy... I am hungryyyyyy… Foooddd…" They were both startled by the loud voice.

"Should we order something in?" Grundy asked, panic appearing in his dead zombie eyes.

"We will have to do several deliveries… From different places… Or we have to go ourselves to get the food…" Cheetah's brain was working furiously, considering all the options available to her.

"Do we have enough money…?" she finally asked out loud.

"We will have to call Nami…" Grundy pointed out. Saying out loud what she dreaded to even consider. If she called Nami she would have to explain. Never mind. Nope, nah, no way in hell!

"I am hungryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy… I want some food… Grundy..."

"Shit, shit, blasted..." she cursed under her breath.

Think, think what to do… They needed a lot of food quick and cheap, without raising too huge a fuss. Wait a minute!

"There was this TV ad about these restaurants with all kinds of food challenges! If you finish it all, you don't have to pay!"

Grundy looked at her as if she was the awaited saviour! She could swear there was a twinkle of life in his eyes.

This could work! She may even be saved from Nami's wrath, if she suggests to her an idea where they could cut on Luffy's food expenses.

.

They all disguised themselves before they left. Sorta.

Luffy refused to leave his distinctive hat behind, and she was pretty sure that Zoro still had his swords on him, but she couldn't see them, so she wasn't complaining. However they were also wearing sunglasses and obviously fake white beards to try and hide. Grundy was doing the same to try and hide his undead face, and was wearing clothes that actually fit and were not in tatters, along with gloves. As for herself, she had apparently converted to Islam (thank god, it was cold outside!), and was wearing a full-covering Burqa.

She picked a few restaurants that had this challenge, and where you didn't need a reservation beforehand. She explained everything to Luffy and Zoro, repeatedly, and while Luffy was nodding while smiling, Zoro looked bored; honestly, she wasn't sure if he was sleeping with his eyes open or not.

She quickly decided on the first restaurant they would be headed to, as Luffy's whining wasn't helping her nerves. The restaurant had different food challenge combos, according to the reviews it was their specialty, and they encouraged people to try different challenges. If the mood became hostile, they would run for it. It wasn't like they were stealing or anything, or even cheating (at least not technically). Luffy just eats a lot and fast. Their problem, not hers.

They would be quick and then get back, and Nami would never know they got out. Cheetah would deal with all the other things when they got back. One problem at a time.

.

.

.

"Hey, I am Carla, your waitress for today. Do you know what you want to order, or would you like a moment?" Carla said as she gave them the menus.

"Meat!" one of them shouted loudly, startling the other patrons. But Carla couldn't help but find his enthusiasm endearing.

"We would like the challenge menu...?" asked a feminine voice, so it was a woman under all the clothes, mused Carla. It wasn't her first time seeing someone covered in a veil. But this was extreme. No skin was showing at all and even her eyes were covered with big sunglasses under the veil, and there were even gloves. One of the older waitresses had mentioned when she saw them enter, that it was some kind of religious thing. To each his/her own. At least the veil was purple. It had a unique personality.

Carla smiled her business smile, and changed the menus to the challenge ones, and then returned to her station after telling them to call her if they had any questions, or when they were ready to order.

It was a slow going day, she had only two other tables in her area, and they had already ordered, so she had the time to leisurely examine the new arrivals.

If she wanted to describe them in one word, it would be 'mismatched.'

She studied them as they looked over the menus. Three of them looked like old people with white beards and sunglasses, which none of them took them off inside. The one with a baseball cap had a scar across his eye, she guessed, although the sunglasses hid most of it. Another had a straw hat and huge smile, he was the one that demanded meat. His smile was kinda contagious, even now she could feel her own mouth stretching in a smile. The third one had a huge build. When she saw him, she had taken them straight to the tables with booths, and he took over half of one. And the last one was a woman, at least according to her feminine voice, she was. The woman was covered entirely, from head to toe, which was a bit disturbing. She liked seeing people's faces and reading their expressions.

To put it simply, nothing about them felt right, matched. Their clothes didn't exactly fit them either, and she didn't mean the clothes were too big or too small on them. Looking closer, the beards were definitely fake. From afar or if you weren't paying too much attention, they might fool you, but not as close as she was standing.

The whole thing felt like it didn't fit their kind of style. Like they were… acting. Wearing a costume.

Was there another cosplay event going around? Were they dressed up as some characters from movies or comics? Wizards may explain the purple veil. She should ask Rin about it. She loved this kind of thing for some reason.

She shrugged mentally, she had worked in this restaurant for three years now while finishing her degree at the nearby university. She saw all kinds of things, and she could say in confidence that nothing could make her bat an eye. Working in the service industry made your skin thicker than five stories of cement. She had seen weirder and scarier people than these four, and it wasn't her job to care, just to serve food.

They were polite to her so far. The one with the straw hat was very passionate about the food, and every little while he seemed to be wiping off drool with the back of his hand. She didn't feel disgusted looking at him, only pity. He looked starved; no wonder they wanted to choose from challenge combos.

She hoped she wouldn't end up cleaning vomit today. Last year, they had a rule in the restaurant, 'you vomit, you clean', yet they got some bad reviews because of it, and the management changed their policy (of course, then they should have volunteered to clean it up themselves). Some days were just better left forgotten.

She eyed the four people, three of them still engaging in hushed debate, and one looked bored. He was drinking from some kind of flask. It was probably alcohol. They didn't have any policy about not letting drinks inside, so no skin off her nose.

She wondered which one they would order, as they had few popular combos for groups as small as theirs.

She had seen it all here, people loved their free stuff. They would go to a lot of lengths to not pay. People fasted for days before coming, forced vomiting in the bathrooms, taking laxatives, etc.… She caught a girl once in the act of taking pills. She wouldn't have thought anything about it, if the girl hadn't become flustered and run away from the bathroom. And once, someone was even trying to inject himself with something, they thought it was drugs and had called the police. It turned out that he was trying to inject himself with ghrelin hormone to induce hunger.

"Hey," the purple veil-woman beckoned her to their table. She hurriedly moved to their direction.

"Yes?"

"Can we order more than one Challenge Combo?"

"Of course, you would have to finish the challenge combo first, then you can order the next one. This way you can see if you can still go," she said cheerfully. This wasn't the first time someone asked her this. Everyone thought their stomach was a limitless space. That they could eat and eat without their belly bulging out, gaining volume steadily, until their bowels felt like they would burst any second, left with no choice but to run like the devils were on their heels to the bathroom.

"Is there a limit to how many we could order?"

"Of course not," Carla answered, with a raised eyebrow. Really, the quantity of food in each combo usually made people's eyes turn bigger than the plates the food was served on.

"Just to make sure… If we finish the food before the time runs out, we don't pay?"

"Yes, we have a timer to keep track. When all the food is served in front of you, we begin the countdown, and if you finish the food before the time runs out, you don't pay. For each challenge there is a different time limit, so make sure you pay attention. It's written on the menu near each challenge combo," She was used to explaining this part, a few times each day, she mused to herself.

"Which one? Have you decided, I can recommend one, if you are unsure ..."

"I decided!" the one with the straw hat and smile announced. His voice left no room to argue. Not that anyone was trying.

She took out her pad, ready to write down their order.

"I want the Circle of Doom, a 20-inch, 7-pound pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage, bacon, ham, capocollo, salami, gyro beef, ground beef, mushrooms, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, onions, tomatoes, black olives, green olives, pineapple, feta cheese, cheddar cheese, and extra cheese. And the Big T Toast, a 1-pound burger, a fried green tomato, four kinds of cheese, fried pickles, one-quarter pound of chicken, pulled pork, brisket, and pork belly, stacked with onion rings, smothered with brisket, chili, cheese and barbecue sauce with a double side of fries. And Hop on Whopping Burger, with four meat patties, eight slices of American cheese, 20 pieces of bacon, red onions, tomatoes, and special sauce. And the BS Combo, 9 pounds of beef and sausage combo smothered in cheese and peppers with a side of fries. The Almighty Burger, 110 pounds, 28 inches in diameter, and 12 inches tall patty, 20 sides of fries, and 10 sides of chicken wings. And the Combo of Big Fat, 4 cheeseburgers, double cheesesteak, chicken cheesesteak, gyro meat, grilled chicken, bacon, sausage, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, chicken nuggets, mac-n-cheese bites, fried mushrooms, jalapeno poppers, pizza bites, onion rings, mini corn-dogs, hash browns, American cheese, ketchup, and mayo. And Pound the Pounder, 11 pounds and 30 inches Pizza with sausage, caramelized onions, grilled chicken, scallions, and fennel. And the Steak Meteor, 72-ounce steak, a buttered bread roll, a shrimp cocktail, a baked potato, ranch beans, and a salad. And the Prisoner's Pardon, a 30-inch, 12-pound pizza with six meats: pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, meatball, and salami. And the United Meat, 7 pounds of ground sausage, pork, and beef wrapped in bacon along with a side of either fries or potato salad. Can I have both of them?

"Uhh?"

"Both the fries and potato salad?" he asked earnestly.

That was what he cared about? Her brain froze midway. How was it humanly possible to say all that without having to pant for deep breathes? It was only because she had memorized the menu, that she was able to keep up.

It struck her after hearing him speak for so long, how young he sounded. And now staring at him open mouthed, it was as if a veil was lifted from her eyes. The fake beard magic had stopped confusing her mind. It was obviously a fake beard, despite that she still thought he was an adult beneath it. But now, after she listened to him, he sounded like a teen, and looked it too. It was the damn smile. She berated herself. His smile was one of the first things she noticed about him. His smile screamed of innocence and the pureness of a child. Yet his body was that of an adult man. It was the perfect bewildering combination to put you off guard.

They were all staring at her, waiting for an answer. The man with the baseball hat had an eyebrow raised, indicating for her to 'Go on,' accompanied with a taunting smirk. She fought hard not to glower at him and focused on the child. Child was a bit too much, but 'man' did not fit either. Young man maybe?! Adolescent does fit better, she thought.

She finally said unsure, "I don't know… I … will ask."

She stayed rooted in place.

"He wants all of them basically," the woman said helpfully. Carla couldn't see her face, but she could feel the genuine sympathy in her voice. They were taking this child-talk seriously? And expected her to do the same? Should she call child protective services? Clearly no responsible adult was present here. Even if the problem child himself was legally an adult. Maybe she should ask for ID to put her heart at ease?

"Can we have them all at the same time?" the smirking man asked, his smug smile turning lazy. The straw hatted young man perked up at that, and looked at her expectantly.

Her face was debating between showing perplexity or irritation (it ended with both). It's a good thing there were no mirrors here (it was one of the manager's ideas, so people couldn't see how they looked when they shoveled food down their throats).

Did he really think that he could finish all that? The burger weighed more than him! He looked and sounded serious, and the others around him treated it as such. Was he that stupid? Naive? Officially insane? Maybe he didn't understand the magnitude of each combo. It was a lot of food. And he wanted all ten of them. At once. He had a slim muscular build, and wasn't that tall either. Skinny, was the word she was searching for. It was physically impossible for him to finish even one combo alone. But it wasn't her job to tell him so. Life was full of hurdles, so let him experience it on his own skin.

"That's not how it works," she forced her face and voice to the blankest she could manage as she explained, patiently.

"You have to choose one, and then after, if you still want another one, then you can order."

She tried hard not to raise her voice in indignation. She really didn't want them to ask for the manager or something like that. There were a lot of clients that were over-sensitive to everything, from speech pattern, tone, smile, salty, not being salty, etc.

She had had a few that asked to combine two of the challenges before, only for her to feel they were either boasting, trying to show off to their friends, or sometimes flirting. But never had anyone asked her to combine all ten combos. She was rethinking her first thoughts about these four.

Just some weirdos, she reassured herself. Just trying to show off. She would enjoy seeing the food knocking them down a peg or two.

"Lucy, which one do you want to choose first?" the woman asked the young man with a straw hat. His name apparently was Lucy. Strangely it fit him.

"Ohh, I can't have them all?"

They all looked at Carla again, and she shook her head again. She felt a bit like a bully when the straw hatted man pouted. How could she take any of this seriously when he acted like pre-teen child?

"Fine, I want this one, the 110-pound burger!"

"Almighty Burger," she corrected. "Are you sure about it? We usually have ten people for that challenge?"

Lucy nodded enthusiastically, while the others nodded at her a bit dismissively.

"Is it the four of you then, or are you waiting for more friends?"

"Nope, it's going to be him!" the man with a baseball cap pointed at Lucy lazily. He seemed to be waiting for her reaction.

"Him? But… that … im...possible…are you sure?"

They all nodded at her. As if she was the crazy one. Were they just messing with her?

She gave up, they wanted the Almighty Burger, they would get it. Not her problem. She would be at her station, not looking at them while they struggled to finish it. Seeing them cough up the cash after their futile struggles would be amusing.

Wait a minute, was this why they were wearing a disguise!? They intended to eat as much as they could and then flee from here. A few had tried this and failed, as they had security cameras in the entrance and dining areas. But just in case, she would keep an extra eye on them, and have the other waitresses watch out for them too.

She took a breath, smiled again and asked if there was anything else they wanted, maybe something to drink. She wrote down their orders and went back to the kitchen, her smile still frozen on her face.

.

.

.

Fifteen minutes into their waiting, Zoro had finished all the sake that he had brought with him.

"What kind of drinks do they have here? Do they have sake?"

"Beer, cheap wine, but mainly soft drinks, cola, and soda...you can have refills," Cheetah explained. She bit her cat tongue, as not to point out they had the menus just a few minutes ago, and she had asked him a few times if he wanted anything.

"Refills…?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"When you finish your drink, they fill it up again for free."

"Oh, does Franky know about this place?"

"Sorta," Luffy piped up to their surprise. Although, if anybody was to know about different foods and how people felt about them, it was him. Until now, he had been continuously grumbling, unable to sit still, looking around him, but mainly at the kitchen. "He mentioned the colas in places like this, and he doesn't like it."

"Oh?"

"He said that the cola isn't good… That it's not the original cola. The percentage of the carbonated water, and the sweetener is all wrong… You don't sell a SUPER drink like cola cheap. It needs to be SUPER accurate for it to be the SUPER cola." Luffy was in full mimicking mode… every time he mentioned SUPER he would do Franky's pose with both hands moving to the left. "He only has Iceberg Cola, and that's not too popular yet."

Cheetah and Grundy were laughing out loud, only Cheetah was trying to muffle her voice unsuccessfully, and Zoro had a wide smile. The other patrons and the waitering staff had overheard, and were looking on in bewilderment or confusion, or had become swept up in Luffy's infectious humour so they were laughing too. Some even took out their phones midway into Luffy's speech and were trying to subtly capture the scene.

It took a while for Cheetah to get her laughter under control. The food should be out any minute now, and she probably should broach the subject now. But how to do it!?

"Luffy…?"

"Yeah?" Luffy paused in his grumbling about when the food would arrive while burning holes into the door leading to the kitchen, to look in Cheetah's direction.

"Emmm...when the food arrives could you... eat slowly…? Please?"

"Why?" Luffy looked at her with a frown. He seemed to think she was being weird.

"To savour the food!" Grundy came to her help.

"I always enjoy the food!"

"What he meant is, if you eat slower you could... feel the taste of the food in your mouth longer... "

"You are weird, instead of only the taste, I can have actual food in my mouth. Are they going to take more time? I'm hungry!"

"Luffy, most people are not… used to seeing someone eat like you..."

"Huh?"

"True, most people need to chew their food first!" Zoro said amused, looking at the drinks menu again with apparent dissatisfaction.

"Chew, yeah chew… how about you chew 20... Noo...10 times… Yeah, just 10 times… each bite you take..."

Luffy had the frown again, she could see the words that his mouth was about to spell 'Why,' before she hurriedly added, "It will make it easier to get even more food… meat, more meat in. You just need to chew each bite 10 times...please!"

"Fine! It better be a lot of meat," Luffy huffed, and got back to grumbling and staring in the kitchen's direction.

.

.

It took the kitchen half an hour to prepare all the food.

Carla took a deep breath, and got to stacking the HUGE dishes on the cart. They had a few carts especially for the challenge combo, something they found necessary after a few disasters when the waiters couldn't take the weight of the food. Falling with all the plates wasn't as funny when they fell on you. She got help from the other waitress to transfer all the food to the table.

She didn't make any eye contact when she arrived, busying herself with putting everything on the table.

"You have here the Almighty Burger with 20 sides of fries and 10 sides of chicken wings."

She looked at them and saw that the big build guy and the one that liked to smirk were each holding an arm of the third guy, Lucy.

Weirdos, it was like they were restraining him. Lucy only had eyes for the food. She couldn't see his eyes, but she had a feeling that he wasn't blinking.

She took the timer from her apron, set it, and announced in a celebratory and forcefully cheerful tone: "I am going to set the timer, you have an hour to conquer the Almighty Burger, and you can begin now….."

She clicked the start button, and saw the timer begin to count down.

59:59

59:58

59:57

59:56

She looked up, they were still holding him, and no one was touching the food.

"Hmmm… you can begin eating..." she said confused. Maybe she should reset the timer. She didn't want them complaining about it being unfair later.

The three men looked at the covered woman, and after a few seconds she nodded her assent, causing the other two to let go.

Carla opened her mouth to suggest resetting the timer, but sound didn't come out.

She stared with her mouth agape.

Blinked once.

And stared.

Blinked a few times.

And stared.

Stared.

"Hey, Carla… You forget one side of fries for the Almighty Burger challenge combo..."

Carla's brain had realized that someone was speaking to her, the voice was familiar, but she couldn't take her eyes off the scene in front of her.

"Carla….?"

Carla turned to look at the newcomer.

"Your ...mouth… is open..."

Carla closed it with a click.

"Emmm..."

The newcomer stared confusedly at her, her hand coming to rest on Carla's forehand. She registered murmurs of, "Is she sick?"

"Carla, are you alright? You seem a bit… sick…I have...one side fries to the Almighty Burger, someone messed up in the kitchen... Is it here? Or is it to another table...?" the new waitress, Rin, asked with a worried look and a raised eyebrow.

She found it hard to open her mouth, now that she closed it, and even harder to make her lips work.

She nodded.

"Oi, Luf—Lucy... the fries here are for you..."

"That's for me? Thanks!"

A hand snatched them from Rin's hand. Rin blinked, confused, and stared at the table instead of Carla. Carla turned too, reluctantly.

Rin moved closer to her and whispered, "Hey Carla, are you okay?"

Carla nodded again automatically.

"Is this the right table, they said table 5, but where is all the food?" Rin asked beside her. Carla nodded.

"Excuse me..."

"Hey, you forget to stop the timer..."

"W...what...?" she was able to utter, "Oh…right..."

She fumbled to reach it. The timer almost fell from her uncooperating hands, but she was able to stop it somehow.

54:12

She blinked, stared, and stared some more at the screen.

Blinked again, the numbers didn't change.

"That was yummy...Can I have another set of challenge combos…?"

"Hey, here is your ketchup and mayo, if you want another sauce…?" someone trailed off beside her from the other side, and added. "Sorry, this is the wrong table, excuse me."

"Ano...ther one?" her brain was able to finally comprehend something. Her mouth was able to function. Hooray!

They all stared back and nodded. Lucy repeatedly shouting "Yup!"

"Oh, you need to choose one, Lucy," the veil-woman pointed out.

"Right! Right! Next I want…"

Carla tuned his voice out as she stared once again at the timer, Rin was gaping beside her, murmuring "You are freaking kidding me, how can it be! No way… that's...just…is the timer working… maybe a malfunction...it was the Almighty Burger… right? There are only four of...how can it be…!?"

Carla nodded again and turned around purposely striding to the kitchen, clutching the timer in her hand. She ignored the voices calling to her from the table's direction. She had almost reached the kitchen when she paused, turned around, marched right back to the table, and got hold of Rin's arm, who was still rooted in her place. Rin squeaked and turned to face her. But Carla was looking at the four sitting at the table. She smiled her first genuine smile this week.

"It will take some time, but your food will be right out."

"Ahmmm… We don't need to choose?"

"Don't worry about it! You want one of each combo, right?"

"Yes! Can we have the Almighty Burger again? It was really yummy!"

Carla opened her mouth, thought better of it, and only nodded.

Carla basically dragged Rin by the arm to the kitchen, still clutching the timer with the other. She entered, froze in her place. Then, she slowly turned to look at Rin, who was looking at her confusedly.

"Rin, call the manager ASAP!"

"What?"

"It will be better if he is actually here!" she put the timer on the bench near her. Her hand was trembling, she noted.

"Ehmmm..."

"Is he here? He should be here...Terry, the manager here yet?" Carla had glint in her eyes as she demanded an answer from the wide-eyed man in front of her. Terry was one of the other waiters working with her, and a friend from the university. He looked at her with raised eyebrows, probably wondering why she was so cheery, unlike her usual gloomy self when out of sight from the customers.

"He arrived a few minutes ago, should be in his office!" Terry told her, sharing a confused look with Rin, who shrugged helplessly.

"Great!" Carla shouted cheerily. She was flying high in the clouds. She just hit the jackpot! There better be raise!

Her smile got bigger! Lucy's smile was truly contagious!

"Carla...you're scaring me..." Rin said hesitantly, trying to gently get herself free from Carla's iron grip.

"Me… why?" Carla turned at her with big twinkling eyes and an unnaturally huge smile.

"The smile … on your face... Is kind of creepy..."

"Rin, Rin, Rin..."

"This is not helping!"

"Terry, call the manager, we have an emergency!" Carla ignored her grumbling and demanded with a fierce glare that made Terry jump.

"Okay, but what is going on!?" Terry hurried to the phone, his eyes full of curiosity (and a bit of dread). Unlike the newbie Rin, he knew that look, and usually it didn't end well for the ones Carla decided to forcefully involve in her schemes. It was good that his shift would end in half an hour.

"Hurry up~!" Carla sing-songed. Her voice promised hell if he didn't hurry up.

"What are you planning?" Rin asked, yet her voice told another story. She really didn't want to know. Carla had finally let her go, yet she did not try and run.

"The stupid professor wants an original and creative idea for my final project, Ohhh… So he will get it!" Carla announced triumphantly. Her eyes were ablaze (Good thing they were in the kitchen, there were plenty of fire sprinklers!)

"What's that have to do with… anything?" Terry asked, confused, eyeing the clock over the counter. Twenty-eight minutes to go.

"I am going to pass with flying colors! I dare them say anything else!"

"Carla… Maybe explain to the ignorant masses… Please," Terry asked, he was intrigued. He didn't want to be involved, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy seeing others suffer. Maybe he was spending too much time with Carla, and she was rubbing on him.

Carla twirled dreamily around, hands open pointing to the (sky) ceiling, as if trying to reach the stars (there were actual stars drawn on the ceiling, just near the fire sprinklers. He was sure there was a deep cosmic meaning behind this, it was just flying over his head right now).

"I just decided on my final project for my digital marketing degree! And you all are going to be steppingstones in my plan… You should be honored... " Carla exclaimed while taking off an imaginary hat of her head and giving a dramatic bow.

"Yeah, yeah…. I am out of here..." muttered Terry, looking at the clock, 27 minutes and he could flee, he felt no remorse leaving everyone else to Carla's mercy.

"Carla, what is it ...you wanna do...exactly!?" Rin asked hesitantly. She was giving Terry a scared and confused look, but Terry was busy staring at the watch and muttering under his breath.

"My darling, Rin, Bring your phone… everyone bring your phones…we are going to go viral..."

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"That was great!"

"So you are satisfied!? Good!" Cheetah let out a relieved breath. They better hurry home to deal with the mess waiting for her there, but at least Luf—

"Mmmmm… yeah, but some more meat would also be good… you promised!" he pointed his finger at her, as if challenging her to deny it.

She was so stupid, she should have never ever made it a question. No, she shouldn't have even mentioned it. What had she expected him to say? 'Sure, I'm stuffed. No need for more food'? She should have dragged them straight back to the warehouse.

"We can go to the All You Can Eat Buffet..." she said desperately, as she was checking her phone for restaurants nearby.

"Before that I want some sake," Zoro announced. To her surprise Luffy didn't whine or demand food first.

"I think there is a bar near here that opens early..." Grundy supplied.

"They have food there too, right? Let's go!"

Ah, so that was why he didn't complain, Cheetah thought with huff.

"I am not sure about what kind of food they have…." she mumbled to herself. Hopefully it would be dirt cheap. Plus, she could use a drink, more than one. Something heavy! She deserved it. The idea took a shine to her. If she was going to deal with all of this, she should at least be tipsy! One or two drinks won't cost too much, and she could always blame Luffy's stomach!

Luffy was already halfway down the street, when they called him back, as the way to the bar was in the opposite direction.

It took them 8 minutes to find the right place (and that was only because Zoro had seemed to always take the wrong turn even when Grundy's huge build was right beside him). Luffy entered first, rushing directly to the counter, the others following him at their own pace. Luffy was looking around him with fascination, while the others sat down beside him. The place was deserted except for them.

"Hello, gentlemen and lady, first time here?" a well-dressed bartender asked, very friendly. Ryan had been working for more than five years at this bar, and he loved his job. He was the kind of bartender that prided himself on his ability to satisfy any kind of customer.

He didn't bat an eye or comment at their unusual appearance.

"Yeah," the lady in purple answered for the other three.

"What is your poison for tonight?"

"What? Poison... Don't drink, Zoro... It's poison..."

"No… " the lady stopped the man from panicking by putting a gloved hand on his mouth, stopping his speech. Was he her husband? Her clothes pointed out that she was Muslim, and skinship of this kind was appropriate only with family. Maybe her brother then?

It was a good thing that they had a variety of non-alcoholic drinks.

Maybe they were foreigners and didn't get the meaning of his question. He patiently waited, ready to explain.

"He is joking with you…" the lady explained to her husband? Brother?

The bartender nodded with an apologetic smile.

"What do you recommend...?" she asked instead, her hand still on the young man's mouth.

"How about we begin with whiskey?"

"Sounds great..." she began to say, when he cut in.

"Don't worry, madam, we have a variety of non-alcoholic drinks, how about orange juice? Or maybe a non-alcoholic cocktail? We also have soft drinks. A lot of Muslims visit this place to hang out with their friends..." Ryan chatted as he prepared the drink, he moved to the other side to look for some missing ingredients. He could still hear and see the four of them clearly, without straining his ears.

The woman in the veil finally let her gloved hand down, dangling beside her. Her posture seemed to indicate that she was upset about something. Her husband's behaviour maybe? The bartender frowned, he knew just the drink to cheer her up.

"Poison... It's a— "

"He's joking, it's an expression! It's not poison!" she snapped at the man near her, startling him, and the other big built man.

"You sure?" asked the third man with a baseball hat on his head.

"Yes, it's an expression. If he wanted to poison you, he wouldn't ask, he would just do it," the woman hissed. How cute, she reminded him of his cat mademoiselle.

"Good point!" the baseball-man agreed after a few seconds of contemplating.

Ryan didn't know if he should be offended or amused that some of them thought he was going to poison them.

He returned to the main counter, asking how many. "One," the man with a baseball hat said, as he poured the whisky into the cup.

The baseball man drank the whole contents of the cup in one go, he made a mehhh face.

"Not to your liking, sir?"

Ryan eyed his customers expertly, examining their body language and faces for any signs or hints to what would satisfy them. The couple was having a hushed discussion, while the big built man on the other side of the baseball man hadn't said a word or moved since his almost jump. The bartender couldn't tell because he had sunglasses on, but the huge man seemed to be dead to the outside world. Usually people fall asleep or fainted after drinking too much, not from just sitting on a stool without even ordering a drink.

The baseball man just shrugged.

"Have any sake?" he asked in a hopeful tone.

"Unfortunately, no..." usually their clients didn't seek Japanese sake when they came here.

"What do you have?" he asked in a resigned voice.

"Hmmm… We have beer, whiskey, bourbon, scotch, vodka, wine, soft drinks, and I can make you cocktails or mocktails!"

The man looked at him confused. He seemed to speak English properly, so language wasn't the problem. Should he speak slower? Maybe point out each bottle and explain.

"How about food?" a manly voice demanded. The couple were back, they seemed to have reached an agreement, thankfully.

"Unfortunately, the cooks are yet to arrive, so the kitchen is still closed."

The man with a straw hat grumbled and pouted. A man pouting and it was...cute.

"I have some snacks, on the house."

He quickly produced some roasted peanuts, salted nuts, chips and some dips, arranging them on the counter. The man with a straw hat beamed at him and munched happily. One satisfied customer down, two to go, if the third stayed asleep.

"How about I do several cocktails? Don't worry, I will do a few non-alcoholic, especially for you, madam, and you can all taste and see what you like… "

"Don't worry, it will also be on the house as you are our new customers," he winked conspiratorially. That's how new customers became regular customers. Freebies always hooked them good. It was rule #101 on how to win people's hearts.

"A bit of training for me, I may have become a little rusty…" Ryan said jokingly. "... and there's no one here yet… " He trailed off with a smile and began to work, showing off his rusty abilities.

It took him a few minutes to prepare exotic looking blends using a variety of ingredients. He had to stop twice to fill the snacks again, he added some nachos, candied pecans, and cranberries. The poor man was clearly hungry, chomping on the snacks, but he was still admiring the colours and sparkle of each end product and asking him questions. The bartender explained each blend as he poured them into shot glasses to serve as samples.

He carefully gave the lady only the non-alcoholic drinks, making sure to assure her of that. He really didn't want to offend her beliefs. It was a way of life, and you had to respect that.

The other two sipped from one of the cocktails. The straw hat man was drinking random cups, and then returning to munching between drinks. The snacks Ryan had under the counter were almost empty, he should check the back room for more snacks.

The other man with a baseball cap had him worried. He sipped the first cocktail and made a suffering face. So he doesn't like citrus. Another sip, another frown. Or watermelon.

Or cherries.

"Who the hell put fruit in booze?" he finally complained.

He tried another one…

"Tomato… someone put in tomato!"

Bloody Mary was out too.

He tried another one…

"Damn… It's too damn sweet, and what's with all the colors? This is booze not Nami's clothes!"

The bartender did not back down from the unflattering complaints, instead with a smile that took him years to perfect, he suggested, "How about some wine? We have a variety of those."

"Hawkeye liked to drink wine, he let me taste a bit. Too fruity and some were too sour. Don't like it," his voice left no room for argument.

One tough customer. It's a good thing that he liked a challenge.

"Emmm...Vodka?" he said as he took out the bottle.

One looked at him suspiciously, the other with wide eyes of confusion.

"It's made of potato!" he elaborated as a joke.

"I want some!" the straw hatted man said enthusiastically, leaving the almost empty bowls of snacks as he waited.

He poured them hurriedly.

"Aweee...this is nasty…yuck... you liar. This is not a potato..."

The bartender opened his mouth to explain that it didn't taste like potato...it was made fr—

"Nah, this is no good..."

He closed his mouth. Two pairs of eyes were looking at him, one with disappointment, another with an unimpressed glare. He looked for help from the only female, but she was slouched on the bar, not paying attention to his plight, her drinks untouched.

The bartender didn't dare to suggest something else, the smile was erased from his face.

What can he suggest? He worriedly searched his memory...his knowledge...his years of experience...

"Maybe we should go to some Japanese restaurant. They would have sake, right?" the woman suggested. She was suddenly besides the sleeping huge man, nudging him to wake up. Her voice seemed vicious for some reason. Was she angry at him? Had he offended her? Maybe he shouldn't have even suggested any kind of drink.

"There is a sushi place near here… a few blocks to the left, near the post office..." the bartender hurriedly suggested, his face had become ashen, he didn't even bother to force a smile.

"How much do we owe you?" the woman asked, her voice neutral. Did he imagine her anger before?

"Don't worry about it!"

"Let's go, let's go," shouted the straw hatted man, jumping in excitement out the door. The other followed behind.

Does it make him a bad bartender if he wished never to see them again?

Well, then he was the worst.

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They found it pretty easily (Zoro only almost took two wrong turns), and Zoro's demand for sake was answered quickly and to his satisfaction. He told them to keep it coming. She wanted to drink some, but she didn't dare to ask him to share. The way he was guzzling the sake, it was if he was attempting to make up for the two hours he didn't drink. Some sweet, sweet alcohol! Even a drop would be salvation right now.

Luffy was snatching the colorful small plates that kept coming on the belt. This was going to cost them a lot. She had at least convinced him to choose the cheap ones on blue and yellow plates.

"These are really yummy… but why are they so small?" Luffy complained, taking another one. Thankfully there were few other clients in the place, and they all sat nearer to the beginning of the rotating conveyor belt, or else Luffy would snatch the food in front of them before they could blink. She should drag him home, after Zoro finished the sake bottle he was drinking. She would drag them back to the warehouse with force, cajoling, lying, or whatever means she had to use. Maybe she can have some sake to go (and hide it from Zoro in her bruka! Let's put this veil to good use at least once). She didn't particularly like sake, but beggars could not be choosers.

Cheetah's phone rang loudly in the silent restaurant, she hurriedly took it out from inside her garb, and without looking at the caller she answered.

"Hello," she said tiredly.

"Hey, Cheetah. How is everything going?"

Cheetah froze for a few seconds, then mumbled hurriedly.

"It's great… Great… Everything is just fine."

"Where are you?"

"At home… Ha ha ha, where else would we be...?"

"So… would you like to explain… why there is a video of Luffy shoveling food down his throat on the internet…. Hmmm?"

Shit! HOLY SHIT on Batmobile-wheels!

"WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Cheetah bid goodbye to one of her lives. Goodbye, sweet innocent soul! Nami's voice was so loud through the speaker, that everyone from customers to the cooks were staring at her.

Unsure of how to answer, Cheetah looked in panic for an escape. Her instincts were screaming at her.

A hand suddenly snatched the phone from her hand.

"Nami, where are you? You have to get here, they have tangerines with fish!"

"Sushi," Grundy corrected beside him.

"Yeah, whatever. It's really tasty! It reminded me of your trees...really good. You should try it!" Luffy never stopped eating while speaking.

"LUFFY..."

Cheetah could hear Nami's very irritated voice. She was fuming!

"Anyway...come quick! You need to pay! You have my money...Don't be late! Shishishi!"

Luffy handed her back the phone, with a smile. He patted her on the head.

"Don't worry, Nami will pay," he said, and returned to snatching dishes.

Cheetah stared at Luffy, and then at the phone.

Luffy's reassurance made her tremble, shudder, and flinch in terror. Her fur was standing on end. It was good that she was fully covered, and the veil was loose. She had to force her spine not to arch and hiss at the perceived threat or run with her tail between her legs (which was more likely).

At least Luffy had ended the call. She wouldn't need to explain.

Was she saved at least for now? Should she feel relief or dread…?

She should hurry and text her their location, as there was no delaying the inevitable confrontation. It was going to be a death sentence, and she would probably die with the first syllable of Luffy's name on her lips. But if the confrontation were to happen here in the restaurant, a public place of sorts, the redhead would be a bit discreet in handling the situation. Hopefully. And maybe, just maybe Cheetah could redirect her anger to the rightful owner: Luffy. (If she wasn't dead by the first glare that is).

The phone rang again.

She stared at the caller ID.

Dread, definitely dread.

Was witness protection an option here? She considered once again the wisdom of surrendering to the Justice League.

(She could see it in her mind. Her mind which was spinning out of control. Yeah, this could work, her brain was insisting, creating the confrontation scene for her eyes to appreciate.

She saw herself standing in the middle of a large sunny room while all the heroes surrounded her.

Superman: "(Dearly beloved) we are gathered here today to consider the application tendered by Miss Cheetah for either witness protection, or refugee status."

Batman: "Why are we taking this seriously? We should put her in prison and interrogate her!"

Green Lantern: "That would infringe on her rights of due process as one of the creatures in this vast universe."

Batman: "This is Earth, stuff it with your universe-ism!"

Wonder Woman: "Let's at least hear her out."

Flash: "Think of her as Catwoman, Batty. Kitty cute cat. Say meow for Batty. See, she is cool!"

Batman: ….. *Batty glare*

Cheetah: "You see…. If you don't help me …I am going to dieeee… I already lost two lives… please help me. She is going to kill me… You are my last chance...my last hope...Aren't you humanity's last hope? I am merely a human, pleading for help..."

Flash: "But are you?"

Wonder Woman: "Flash!"

Flash: "What!? I bet her DNA has more to do with a cheetah than with humans!"

Hawkgirl: "Back to the main point. Who is going to kill you?"

Cheetah: "S-she..."

Wonder Woman: "Who is she?"

Cheetah: "N...red...redhead from...hell!"

Batman: "Why?"

Cheetah: "I… basically… mhhh… To put it simply...words….yeah…errr... I failed...my … babysitter duty… So if you could arrange for me to be on the next flight anywhere out of here, I will be thankful. I am really not choosy. Just strap me to some rocket and send me to outer space. I beg of you!"

Flash: "You will die, you know, strapped to a rocket. This is not a cartoon!"

Cheetah: "I still have a better chance of surviving that than staying here!"

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You are right, brain! Absolutely right! That would work splendidly!

She was doomed!

Her brain was cackling crazily in the background, having broken under the stress.)

With a resigned sigh, and the suffocatingly heavy feeling of someone marching to her death. (Life number two! Sayonara, Au revoir, adiós...So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu~, Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu~ So long, farewell, au revoir, auf wiedersehen~, I'd like to stay and taste my first champagne~)

Cheetah answered the phone.

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(Amendment to the Straw Hat Pirate rules has been urgently added, Luffy isn't to be left alone without supervision (Zoro doesn't count as supervision)).

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Video

[A video begins with the name and the picture of the restaurant appearing on the screen, it fades to a man with sunglasses and an obviously fake white beard in front of five tables put together. A Huge variety of food is spread in front of him, burgers, pizzas, fries, chicken fingers, chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, sausage… a close up of each combo of food and the name of the combo appears on the screen with details about the food and the quantity. Someone put a timer on the table and clicked it on. The countdown begins and another countdown appears on the lower left side of the screen itself. A voice can be heard saying "You can eat now", and the smiling man begins. The video cuts off when there is no more food in front of him.}

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#9 ON TRENDING

Extreme, never seen before, the greatest Food Challenge ever at….

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23,204,718 views • 2 hours ago

2.6k Comments Sort by ⭣

Add a public comment…

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AxelDoom• 6 sec ago

ser la caña!

Namiwillkillyou• 29 sec ago

After watching it for more than 100times, did anyone notice when the voice said "you can eat now" he looked at the left and only then he attacked the food...

runrunrun • 43 sec ago

Holy conly!

Rintarou Okabe-Steings • 52 sec ago

哇塞

AceLivesInMe • 58 sec ago

Benarkah ni? Mana cari punya

Hikarisendou66576 • 2 min ago

Is this real? Seriously?

Iamyourmama• 3 min ago

Gif.

[a girl dramatically fainting]

WendyWacko •3 min ago

OMG Halt den Mund halt den Mund!

joeBlack65 • 4 min ago

Where does it all go? WHERE?

...,...,...,...,...Joannmarinen • 4 min ago

...,...,...,...,...Exactly! In my dreams I can't eat all of this!

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...joeBlack65 • 5 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...LOL you have weird dreams, but i know what you mean sis

Barbeikingirl• 6 min ago

I just returned from the bathroom where i vomited…

BatmanBinSuperman •6 min ago

OMG ni apa?!

oppisteattractlaw• 7 min ago

Here is the ultimate proof! Black holes exist! We were just searching for them in the wrong place.

...,...,...,...,... blacksun• 7 min ago

...,...,...,...,...So for interstellar travel we need to eaten by him lol

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...chawwawaia• 8 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Brilliant! Someone tell NASA! They have been wasting our money for years on building useless space shuttles…

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...wonderwoman422• 8 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Sir, i need to arrive urgently to Mars, eat me please,hurryyyy X-D

FumioChiyo• 8 min ago

なにこれなにこれ！すごいぞあいつ！！！

Robin11222 • 8 min ago

Is this scene from a movie? What is the name?

SherlockBones•9 min ago

這已經是非人類了。有誰看過能一次性吃幾十盤，姐吃半盤就飽了

tjukurpa •10 min ago

I am gonna vomit just from seeing it. OMG!

lordoflight•11 min ago

I don't know why, but i am seeing this in loop!

melachhaoloam• 8 min ago

מה זה? זה אמיתי… אני רוצה! אני רוצה! אני מכסח את זה.. זה קטן עלי!

gotham666•15 min ago

I think he would have eaten more if there was more food. Is this for real?

...,...,...,...,...mamamia1212•16 min ago

...,...,...,...,...My thoughts exactly. He still looked hungry!

syrisnarenith•16 min ago

#MalaysiaBoleh jgdnbroofna Bro mau try

Tanjiro Kamado •16 min ago

全然わからんけどループして

Jojojback•16 min ago

Is the man sick?

Edit: I meant does he have some diseases with high metabolism or something, this is not normal. Stop hating!

aquawomen2•16 min ago

The man just gave the expression "iron stomach" a new meaning!

...,...,...,...,...icequeen44•16 min ago

...,...,...,...,...LOL...I will go with flexible stomach

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Adam. ronen•17 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Elastic stomach

LordBrainAlphonse •17 min ago

Ist das Recht? Wo finde ich das Challenge

Justisueleague652 •17 min ago

The smile..smile at the end...ohhhhh

...,...,...,...,...moronsontree •17 min ago

...,...,...,...,...My heart! My new screenshot

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Justisueleague652 •18 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...How the hell his face wasn't split open! I am looking at a mirror and trying to smile this big using my hands and i can't, isn't possible!

Tao321•19 min ago

まじすげ

weighlosseasy•19 min ago

The calories? Calories? How many calories?! Jueseuse on a bike!

...,...,...,...,...papasaveme•18 min ago

...,...,...,...,...Million?

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Greenlatrunem297•19 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Several millions at least

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...kinkydadada89•20 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Millions millions..nahh..billions! We are talking billions.

jokeonyou•21 min ago

Idk! This my 10th time seeing it, and i cant stop..helpppppp

• 22 min ago

تعال لعنا يا زلمه... للعزمك على وليمة غير شكل. معدتك راح تفرط

derekstruk•22 min ago

Did someone check if the man is alive? Someone should begin calling hospitals!

ZikriPutri•23 min ago

Di mana ni? I pun nak try makan

loserluthur•23 min ago

Why the fake beard?

...,...,...,...,...batbatbatmannnnn•23 min ago

...,...,...,...,...It doesn't look fake to me!

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...loserluthur•24 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Like hell it doesn't! Are you blind? It's FAKE!

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...trolls488•25 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Maybe he doesnt want to be recognized?!

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...loserluthur•26 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Why?!

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...trolls488•26 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Idk doesnt want to be famous, hate the attention, want to eat in peace

Ai wei • 27 min ago

這樣吃法會出人命吧

Anonymous • 27 min ago

This fake! They are desperate! Doing this bullshit to attract customers.

...,...,...,...,...badboogey • 28 min ago

...,...,...,...,...The restaurant released a statement, and there are few other videos from different angles!

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Anonymous •28 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...link?

Apolline. arivouer • 28 min ago

C'est dégoûtant! Comment mange-t-il? où sont ses manières?

Suoerman65 • 28 min ago

How big is his stomach?

jiyoungoppaforever • 29 min ago

끝내줘! ヾ(°∇°*) 우리나라에 놀러오세요 … 여기 음식이 정말 일품이더군요

kongkinglight • 30 min ago

...,...,...,...,...Gif.

[Joey doesn't share food]

...,...,...,...,...kongkinglight • 31 min ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Gif.

...,...,...,...,...,...,...[my eye's, my eye's]

Leisl Peppi• 32 min ago

Ich esse viel aber selbst ich kann nicht so viel essen

danbunny• 39 min ago

What the hell did I just see? Someone explain?

Hrisovalantis• 41 min ago

卡路里啊滿滿的卡路里我好想吃啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊

narutobetterthanburto• 44 min ago

o｜๑⊙Д⊙๑｜ツ 先輩, はすごいだよ! しいアイデア # 新しいアイデアは #アニメ

lalalala77• 47 min ago

I think he broke some kind of record! Guinness World Records pay attention please!

MarieliaLove• 49 min ago

How can he stay so thin! If I eat this I will be a cow.

yineinrinjin• 50 min ago

這貨已經超越大胃王了吧

ElanieDrago • 53 min ago

This isn't fair! He is so skinnnnnnnnnnnyyyyyy… I get fat when i breath.

covid171819• 57 min ago

What happened after? i bet he puked it all…

mymanFlash • 58 min ago

Is he human? Do we have even more aliens here now?

...,...,...,...,...Qinnqueen • 1 hours ago

...,...,...,...,...I want to see a competition between him and superman!( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Qinnqueen • 1 hours ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Gif.

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...[superman flying]

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...cheetachkitty • 1 hours ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...I wanna see one against Flash!Flash may have speed but this guy have the stomach! :DDD

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...rose7anne101 • 1 hours ago

...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...,...Ohhhhhhhhhh… let's make this happen! Come on! Share, share, share!

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Buzzfeed article

A new metahuman spotted! True or false?

A video has been circulating recently where you see a man with white beard finishing huge quantities of food in just a few minutes, you can read here a statement that explains the events by the restaurant management. This video led the internet to speculate if this man was a metahuman, or even an alien like our resident heroes Superman, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter.

A reminder to our readers that metahumans are human-like beings with extranormal powers and abilities, be they cosmic, mutant, science, mystic, skill, or tech in nature. So is this young man with his fast eating a metahuman?!

We had some of our Experts check this video, another video here and here from different angles, and one here taken by client that was in the restaurant at the time, and here what our experts shared with us:

Dr. Sher D Belly, Gastroenterologist at S.T.A.R. Labs: "Finishing that quantity of food does seem inhuman. Actually, I wonder if the person is an alien with different anatomy to us. I wonder if Superman and other aliens we know of can eat this kind of quantity and this fast...We can assume that he has a very high metabolism, inhumanly so… …I wonder if he has several stomachs, maybe the food gets divided after he swallows it and each part gets sent to a different stomach?..."

While Dr. Victor C Black, physiotherapist at the general hospital, pointed to another issue; "Please pay attention to the movement of his hands when he grabs the food, and how he ...stretches… I don't' have another word for it... He stretches his mouth open to… shovel food inside… highly insane metabolism doesn't explain this flexibility... "

Click here to read the full article.

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(It was not widely known, but this incident had a far-reaching impact, a silent revolution of sorts had undergone the culinary world. It was agreed upon anonymously, no more smarty-pants eating challenges. All You Can Eat Buffets had attached to themselves asterisks and small-print to limit the quantity. Every restaurant knew to watch for any man with a straw hat on his head with ten eyes, and be ready to throw his ass out in a second, because a second was long enough to screw them into bankruptcy).

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Chapter Text

A loud noise booms in the room.

It sounds like thunder.

The words accompanying the noise are unrecognizable.

Moving closer.

… …. ... ….. wers~.

Closer.

It's music. A guitar? Piano?

More.

Finally, the source of the voice is clear.

A TV.

It doesn't look like it's even turned on.

Yet, a harmony of voices emits from it, singing.

"Yes! We've got Super Powers~"

The screen lights up, and it shows the Justice League –including Aquaman and Shining Knight– on one side and the Straw Hats on the other before they all leap into the air.
Yes! We've got Super Powers Yes! We've got Super Powers Yes! We've got Super Powers!

One member from each side cross each other before ending with a grinning Luffy and a smiling Superman.

kimi no yume wa monsutaa kyuu de

The title 'Justice' appears with the Straw Hat Jolly Roger behind it. Suddenly the Skull opens its mouth and eats the title.

mune no ori bukkowashite wa tobikomu yo Go to Hell to kaitai paradaisu

Luffy is running forward before being joined by the rest of the crew as they all jump in the air in excitement.

itsu date Dangerous! Dangerous! We Like it!

The Justice League look out from the Watchtower with determined looks, as silhouettes of other heroes begin appearing around them.

Serious! Serious! Oh!

Luffy and Superman are back to back both with serious expressions.

kizu darake ni natta yume wa itsuka

The Guardian of Oa are shown before a giant green whale overtakes them as it flies through the air

daijina takaramono ni narusa

Luffy sees the giant green whale approaching him. He reaches out and touches its snout.

fushigina koufun ga

Harley and Ivy work together as they take on Copperhead and Scarecrow

nakama o tsunagu

Volcana sends out a blast of fire that collides with an ice beam from Killer Frost

kenmei ni ikiru koto

Clayface fires spikes of clay, covering Cheetah as she rushes at Star Sapphire

boken to yobou ka

Parasite attempts to take Maureen's power but he's pushed back by an angry Grundy

Yes! We've got Super Powers~!

Parasite and Grundy charge at each other clasp hands as they try to overpower one another.

saikou no yume shinji au

Superboy rushes forward destroying every robot in his way as he tries to get to Lex and Joker.

raibaru to no kizuna

The teen gets hit from multiple sides by missiles.

shippai mo myouni chaamingu

When the smoke clears he's revealed to be ok as a young boy stands in front of him. The boy smiles and holds up his hand.

Yes! We've got Super Powers~!

Lighting strikes the boy and in his place is Captain Marvel looking ready to fight.

ai ga namida to mazaru hoshi ni

Harley cradles in on herself as a silhouette of Joker can be seen glaring at her.

sotto mirai wa asa o hakobi

And explosion reveals the Justice League as they escape the prison the Justice Lords had them in.

orokade itoshii bokutachi no sekai

Maureen is being consumed in darkness from all sides before she screams out creating a giant blizzard.

terasu yo

Amanda Waller can be seen reaching out to take hold of the young girl

tatakae! saikyou no teki wa jibun sa

Maureen looks up to see Luffy holding a hand out to her. She reaches out as she shifts to see Volcana and all of the other villains with Luffy too

eien ni...

Luffy takes the hand in his own and pulls them towards him.

fushigina koofun ga

Zoro and Sanji double team Lord Manhunter

nakama o tsunagu

Lord Lantern creates a giant construct that Franky and Chopper attempt to hold back in a contest of strength.

kenmei ni

Robin works with Nami as they take on Lady Wonder Woman

ikiru koto

Mace and Sword clash as Lady Hawkgirl and Brook collide in a brilliant explosion of Lighting and Ice

bouken to yobou ka

Lord Batman stares down Usopp who begins crying at his terrible luck.

Yes! We've got Super Powers~!

Lord Aquaman and Jinbe rush at each other under water causing the water to explode from their collision.

saikou no yume shinji au

Luffy and Lord Superman continue fighting as Luffy uses Gear Four Snakeman to fight.

raibaru to no kizuna

Lord Superman catches one of Luffy's hits and slams him into the ground, but Luffy kicks him in the face, sending him flying.

shippai mo myouni chaamingu

Lord Superman and Luffy glare at each other before taking their respective stances and leap towards each other

Yes! We've got Super Powers~!

The two's fist collides creating colossal shockwave destroying near them.

Yes! We've got Super Powers Yes! We've got Super Powers~!

The Earth exploding

Yes! We've got Super Powers Yes! We've got Super Powers~!

Chapter Text

Doflamingo Donquixote could only grin madly despite being tied down with chains, even if they were no longer made with sea-prism stone. Those had become unnecessary. Apparently, they didn't even want a former world noble dead, just gone.

Of course, there were actual practical applications to this, as the world government knew well the secrets of the dead could be ripped right out with the shadow-shadow fruit. Leaving behind a corpse and burying, or even burning someone to ashes and scattering them, was akin to leaving behind a lockbox containing a 'how to take over the world guide,' and that was unacceptable.

Yet the World Nobles, usually implacable in their security, were surprisingly paranoid of the traitor's fate; after all, they all knew what he was capable of surviving. If they didn't leave a corpse, then there would be the endless questions by certain officials, including if he actually escaped. He did not expect them to have an answer to this paradox, he thought the solution was just a metaphor.

Yet apparently there was a patch of sea where anything that sails across it just disappears from reality, literally never to be seen again, erased from existence completely and utterly. Obviously it was in the New World of course.

(Where else would a place like that even exist?)

The Heavenly Demon heard that nitwit who appeared to be an errand boy for CP-0 ranting about the place. Going on about how it is what had ensured there would never again be a Pirate King. The purple-haired idiot lackey was promptly hit by Lucci, apparently breaking his spine for the third time (which seemed to be the whole reason they kept him around), yet Doflamingo immediately understood; the Celestial Dragons had drifted one of the four Road Poneglyphs through here. In fact, who knew what else had been made to disappear through this patch of sea, as they were about to do to him?

His laughter grew mad, and he didn't even fight it as he drifted towards his fate, on a raft. He laughed until his throat grew hoarse, and laughed some more.

He laughed when he found himself on a different sea, one far too calm, where he had all the time he needed to unchain himself.

He laughed when he found the ironclad merchant ship, and easily snuck aboard.

He laughed when he found what kind of place he was "sent" to.

He laughed when he found out about those ridiculous costumed weaklings calling themselves "heroes."

Yet all of this was nothing compared to his laughter when he heard two words he never thought he would ever hear again.

'Straw Hat'

Who knew! If you wish hard enough, dreams do come true.

Fuffuffuffuffu.

Chapter Text

Zoro is Luffy's right hand. He fights Luffy's enemies in front

Sanji is Luffy's left hand. He protects Luffy's allies behind

Usopp is Luffy's eyes. He watches what Luffy can't see

Nami is Luffy's feet. She guides Luffy wherever he wants

Chopper is Luffy's shoulders. He carries Luffy's burdens after the battle

Robin is Luffy's arms. She reaches towards whatever Luffy desires

Franky is Luffy's legs. He provides Luffy a path anywhere

Brook is Luffy's front. He stands for Luffy to take any blow

Jimbe is Luffy's back. He covers Luffy in any situation

Chapter Text

Everything is black.

Black like an abyss.

A crack appears. A tiny, crack of light.

Kimi e no omoi ga takanatte

The darkness vanishes when Grundy slams through it with Clayface jumping over him immobilizing multiple Cadmus agents that Grundy backhands

Kagiri naki chikara umareru

Ivy sends out giant vines, two of which are being ridden by Harley and Cheetah, who attack actual Cadmus soldiers shooting at them.

Motomeru naraba doko made mo

With a roar Volcana sends out a massive torrent of flames consuming everything in its path, lighting up the whole area and dispelling the last of the darkness.

Kawaranu kizuna furikazasou

The Straw Hats leap out of the fire, the Straw Hat Jolly Roger behind them as they charge forward, focusing on their hands reaching out.

We are hope

Permafrost smiles before fading away.

Kimi to honki de kokoro butsukeatta yorokobi mo

Luffy cheers as his crew bustles about their hideout causing chaos around them. Laughing, eating, playing games.

Waraikorogete namida kawakashita setsuna sa mo

Tsunagi awasete kaze no naka

Maureen runs into Allie Langford, who instantly hits it off with her.

Hatameteiru yo takaku takaku

Suddenly shadows surround Allie and consume her before being replaced with Amanda Waller's face.

Why sagasu koto wo akirameta no

Why hitori tatakai tsuzukeru no

Nee donna mirai kakugo shita no

A hand lands on Maureens shoulder, and she turns to see Static along with Gear standing next to her.

Yume wa mou te ni shita no

She smiles at their appearance before the three look forward and charge into Cadmus.

Kimi e no omoi ga takanatte

Hawkgirl dodges an attack from Killer Frost, while Flash crosses paths with Reverse Flash, exchanging blows ending in a highspeed cross counter.

Kagiri naki chikara umareru

Martian Manhunter allows an attack from Grodd to pass through him, while Green Lantern and Sinestro clash in an explosion of green and yellow energy.

Motomeru naraba doko made mo

Wonder Woman wrestles with Giganta, while Black Manta deflects a torrent of water from Aquaman.

Kawaranu kizuna

Batman stands back to back with Shining Knight as the two face off against an army of Toyman's creations.

Furikazasou we are hope

Above them all Captain Marvel and Superman battle each other, fists creating shockwaves.

Aoku hiroi sekai no hate ni

Permafrost stands alongside Static as they try to fight off Amazo to no avail.

Kimi to mezashitai basho ga aru

Nails joins them as the teens stand against the unstoppable robot.

Susumiyuku kouro nara

Amazo sends out powerful blasts of lightning, but something intercepts the attack.

Tooi mukashi

Permafrost looks up and a wide, happy smile spreads across her face.

Mou kimeteita

Luffy stands in front of the teens glaring at Amazo. His eyes are black holes promising …

Mada todokanai kimi no koe ga

Luffy continues glaring at Amazo who returns the stare with a blank expression until his eyes glow.

Muryoku na mune wo oshitsubusu

Without hesitation the two disappear and clash all over the battlefield.

Boku wa kimi wo motometeiru kara

The two appear evenly matched as they jump away from each other.

Hikari sashikomu asa wo

Steam emits form Luffy as he enters Fourth Gear, while multiple Hero symbols appear all over Amazo's body.

Shinjiteiyou

The two charge at each other and match fists, creating an explosion from the collision.

Me wo tojite mimi wo sumashite

Franky and Kung-Fu Point Chopper rampage across the area, punching everyone in their way while Usopp provides cover fire.

Sagashi dasou kimi no kotae wo

Zoro, and Brook cut down every soldier they come across before moving on, allowing Nami to electrocute the rest.

Michi wa kanarazu tsuzuiteiru yo

Sanji and Jinbe do a combination move of water and fire, creating an explosion of steam that Robin swats the blind enemies with a giant hand.

Mada mita koto no nai umi e We are hope

Static does an aerial attack shocking the Cadmus soldiers, while Permafrost leads the prisoners to freedom

Aoku hiroi sekai no hate ni

The Straw Hats stand by the sea as they look into the sky.

Kimi to kaeru beki basho ga aru

Above the clouds the Justice League fly across the planet.

Bokutachi wa eien ni

The screen splits as it shows members form each side one by one.

Tooi mukashi

It stops on Luffy and Superman who look forward and smile.

Sou kimeteita

'Justice' appears across the screen.

Chapter Text

Amanda Waller was developing a migraine, an altogether not too uncommon occurrence after talking to her peers about arresting the "heroes", who killed the extra-terrestrial invaders and broke countless laws. All of which the American government should have been able to handle if the projects she recommended had been taken seriously. People across the political aisle mock her, complaining, "We can't show the people who saved the world ingratitude. Voters love them more than free money." Or perhaps... "We have to show solidarity, make it a U.N. project to develop super soldiers," or "If only the U.S. has this, the balance of power flies out the window, or we create another cold war arms race." And most gratingly... "But they saved the human race! We need to encourage more heroes. Forget healthcare and the military, we need people to come out and be like them."

To a man the 'heroes' all subverted the letter of the law, and the president didn't even issue a proper pardon, instead making sure to shake hands on TV as soon as he could. Yet he was also the only man who listened, saying, "If you can get support for some off the book funding, and if it never makes the press, you have my authority in acquiring necessary capital, and overseeing the project."

Amanda was glad at such realism so unusual for Capitol Hill, and even though it took years, her project had finally taken shape. They finally could cut back on the extra-legal excesses, and make these supposed super beings subservient, or at least irrelevant to their parent nations. They could get their people believing in their countries again, not some self-elected un-vetted vigilantes. There were, however, days that made her question her mission. She had long ago come to terms that she would deal with the gutter of society to save it. Yet even she was willing to see that some of their 'coerced' operatives would fail at even babysitting a five year old without extreme government oversight. This new possible recruit had the opposite problem, he was far too competent and far too clean to be anything other than a foreign agent; from where, she actually didn't know, which was quite worrying.

"So I know you've done this before, but for the sake of proper paperwork, could you please repeat your background."

In disturbing monotone the man spoke," I woke up on a city street with no memory, discovered what I could do, and witnessed criminals attacking innocent civilians, so I eliminated the threat. As I pondered my nature, I concluded that my abilities were unnatural, and almost certainly artificial, that I was likely the result of a project to create an ideal or advanced fighter."

"Does that bother you?" Amanda probed, suspecting well that it was a clever half-truth, besides the amnesia of course, but she found his professional conduct and no nonsense attitude refreshing, even if he was a foreign spy.

"I've known no other existence. Then, I came to a decision that if I could, I should best use my abilities for the betterment of others. Yet, I immediately suspected underhanded dealings with the overly showy nature of my... peers," The last word was spoken in deliberate distaste.

Amanda was almost sure he was lying, but still she said, "You also understand that with your position in Task Force X, you will be working off the sentence you earned by killing those men in the jewelry store. Although I can appreciate the initiative, we prefer suspects that can be fit in something bigger than a cup."

His efficiency in taking care of the criminals was almost too scary.

The man failed to speak, but she could tell from his body language that the man was out for blood. Knowing she couldn't hold this off any longer, and feeling pity on Colonel Flagg, Amanda came to a decision. "Alright, I'm willing to bring you onto Task Force X. If you can prove you're up to the task, you might even lead it, but you're going to need a name."

"I've been thinking... Does Rob Lucci sound good?"

"I couldn't care less. What you should care about within the next 48 hours, is if you and your team are ready to take on the greatest Criminal mastermind in the country: Luffy."

Robb Lucci's Grin was so Feral, Amanda couldn't get it out of her head for days.

Chapter Text

Everything is black.

Black like an abyss.

A crack appears. A tiny, crack of light.

Kimi e no omoi ga takanatte

The darkness vanishes when Grundy slams through it, with Clayface jumping over him immobilizing robots that Grundy backhands

Kagiri naki chikara umareru

Ivy sends out giant vines, two of which are being ridden by Harley and Cheetah, who attack Brainiac's androids shooting at them.

Motomeru naraba doko made mo

With a roar, Volcana sends out a massive torrent of flames consuming everything in its path, lighting up the whole area and dispelling the last of the darkness.

Kawaranu kizuna furikazasou

The Straw Hats leap out of the fire, the Straw Hat Jolly Roger behind them as they charge forward, focusing on their hands reaching out towards Permafrost, including a mysterious blue gloved hand.

We are hope

Permafrost smiles happily before fading away.

Kimi to honki de kokoro butsukeatta yorokobi mo

Luffy sits in his warehouse along with the others, laughing and having a goodtime. A huge chunk of meat in either hand.

Waraikorogete namida kawakashita setsuna sa mo

The scene fades to show them now in a somber mood as Permafrost is missing from the scene.

Tsunagi awasete kaze no naka

Superman stands in front of the pod he was brought to earth in, as an image of his birth parents appears in his mind.

Hatameteiru yo takaku takaku

The rest of the Justice League stands within the Watchtower, looking out into the void of space.

Why sagasu koto wo akirameta no

All around the world, ships appear and release robots that begin wreaking havoc, and spreading fear and panic

Why hitori tatakai tsuzukeru no

In space, Brainiac sits within the mother ship as he watches the destruction from multiple screens.

Nee donna mirai kakugo shita no

Suddenly a wall caves in, and Brainiac turns to see Luffy glaring at him.

Yume wa mou te ni shita no

Somewhere else on the ship, a portal opens and two shadowy people step out.

Kimi e no omoi ga takanatte

Robin produces giant arms that Brook and Flash run on to destroy Brainiac's flying robots, while Hawkgirl attacks from above

Kagiri naki chikara umareru

Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter work alongside Chopper and Usopp, as they defend civilians against the approaching army.

Motomeru naraba doko made mo

Wonder Woman, Nami, and Sanji work with the Amazons to defend their home while Jinbe and Aquaman shoot out torrents of water into the sky destroying several ships.

Kawaranu kizuna furikazasou We are hope

Batman and Shining Knight stand alongside Zoro and Franky as they stare down Bang Babies being mind-controlled by Brainiac, including Hotstreak, Ebon, and Boom.

Aoku hiroi sekai no hate ni

Permafrost sits in her prison cell with a forlorn look.

Imi to mezashitai basho ga aru

She closes her eyes and images of her friends appear before her.

Susumiyuku kouro nara

She opens her eyes with a determined expression as a light frost formed around her.

Tooi mukashi mou kimeteita

Suddenly her door opens and three figures are seen standing on the other side.

Mada todokanai kimi no koe ga

Brainiac stands before a bleeding Luffy, who glares at him as Brainiac has his straw hat held lightly in his hand.

Muryoku na mune wo oshitsubusu

Luffy enters 4th Gear Snakeman, while a greenish energy begins to erupt from the nemesis of Superman.

Boku wa kimi wo motometeiru kara

The two clash across the battlefield, appearing evenly matched before Luffy is kicked towards the ground.

Hikari sashikomu asa wo

Brainiac shoots a blast a Luffy but a blur appears just as the attack hits, encasing them in smoke.

Shinjiteiyou

Luffy pierces through the smoke joined by Superman revealed to be the blur as they punch at the robotic alien

Me wo tojite mimi wo sumashite

Supergirl takes out multiple droids while Terry McGinnis provides cover against the security system.

Sagashi dasou kimi no kotae wo

Permafrost attempts to freeze the robots coming at her, but misses some, yet Static protects her by taking out the rest of them as the four teens stand back to back.

Michi wa kanarazu tsuzuiteiru yo

Around the world other heroes are shown stepping up to fight against Brainiac's invasion including Captain Marvel leading a group of them.

Mada mita koto no nai umi e

Deep in the void of space, golden Amazo slowly opens his eyes to see a hand stretched out to him.

We are hope

He reaches out to take the hand.

Aoku hiroi sekai no hate ni

The Straw Hats stand by the sea as they look into the sky.

Kimi to kaeru beki basho ga aru

Above the clouds the Justice League fly across the planet.

Bokutachi wa eien ni

The screen splits as it shows members form each side one by one.

Tooi mukashi

It stops on Luffy and Superman who look forward and smile.

Sou kimeteita

'Justice' appears across the screen.

Chapter Text

The Dark knight entered the apartment of his latest associate, the faceless man who was one of the few who he failed to get the drop on, and knew exactly where he would enter. The invitation helped the man predict Batman's movements of course, but it was still one of the better signs that the concerning rumors about this detective —particularly given how he had been the only one to find a member of the Straw Hats— were untrue.

Then Batman saw the wall.

"What is this?" he said in the unshakably calm voice that only Alfred recognized. The voice he used unconsciously when analyzing the individual psychosis of his opponents, to try to get a better understanding on how to predict the next action of an insane criminal.

"That has been my project for the last two weeks," replied the faceless man as he gestured to the thing on what was obviously a conspiracy wall.

Batman despaired as he examined the wall. After a few seconds of silence between the two of them, he wordlessly jabbed a finger at the string linking two pieces of paper.

The faceless man responded in a monotone voice, "Few know about the link between such things. Few would ask the question."

As if he wasn't claiming a Metropolis high school all girls swimming team in the 1970's led by one "Marie Jones" was somehow linked to the Fourth Crusade. Furthermore, that those and all the above were somehow linked to the Republic of Pirates.

Baffled as he read something on the supposed 'founders' of the Straw Hat Pirates, the other name of the short-lived republic in question, Batman could only tiredly reply. "No one in the gang is named Blackbeard."

The Question looked thoughtful. "That may be so, but I'm certain they're enemies of a Blackbeard, if not the original."

Batman decided not to engage that crazy thought that apparently even the Question was unsure of. The Dark Knight dearly wanted to counter this conspiratorial drivel with actual theories, except giving up secrets aside, there was another major problem with that. For instance, he lacked hard proof on the Straw Hat's origins. Of course, there was Clark's conversation with their captain, which while compelling, was not hard evidence as far as Batman was concerned. As for his own theories, while he did agree they were probably not from modern Earth, with how absurd a Superhero's life could be, this left far too many remaining options. Another parallel Earth, from the future, from a colony on the interior of the Moon, from a pre-Babylon civilization the Earth had forgotten about. Not to mention outer space, although he doubted that. A lot of their inventions, and Cherry Blossom's medicine, seemed unlike any advanced race the Justice League had ever seen. Certainly not one that would use spaceships, although they could have had one, but broke it and don't know how to fix it and were subsequently stuck on Earth.

The Question had lost interest at this point and was examining a line connecting an overview of the Battle of Trafalgar taken out of a College school history book, and Al Capone. After a couple of minutes of silence, they actually began to talk about sharing intel to counter these criminals.

All Batman said as he left was that he would consider it.

Chapter Text

"Why are you so loyal to him!?" yelled Galatea to Usopp, grip tightening around his throat. "What do you owe him!?"

"He's my captain," was the reply. Weak from lack of breath, but iron resolve still carried through. "I pledged my life and dreams to him the day I joined, without reservation!"

"Your life you say? Well, what good will that do you if I snap your neck right here and now?" Galatea sneered. Typical of Cadmus, believing that since they worked for the government, they were above things like due process.

But the long-nosed man returned the look, "Have you seen Brook? The skeleton? He is the real deal! Do you think Death would stop us? That we would let it?"

[Later]

"Go ahead! Ask away!" boasted Usopp. "But I'll tell you so many lies you won't know what's the truth or not!"

Galatea just sneered, "Oh, I wasn't planning on questioning you myself, I'll just take you in for others to deal with. I think you'll figure out what you want to say eventually, if only to make the pain stop, or to save your miserable life." The sneer stopped though when she saw the smirk under his long nose.

"In that case, Luffy'll hunt you down."

"He can't find us!" she snapped.

His reply was chilling for its certainty and promptness. "We know you work for the US government, so he'll start at the White House and work his way down."

The Kryptonian clone paused in disbelief, trying to process that anyone would even think of such an act. "That's insane! He can't take on the entire United States! He'd set off a war!"

Back at her Cadmus base, Amanda Waller was yelling into her radio. "That'd start off the super-powered war that we're trying to prevent! Who knows how many millions would die!"

Meanwhile, Usopp was just blankly staring at the clone for a moment, before bursting out laughing.

Supergirl glanced over to see Green Arrow flinch at the sound, and Question's fists tighten at the tone, all of them hearing the mix of emotions in the pirate's voice.

"I-insane!?" he finally gasped out. "You call that of all things 'insane!?' Lady, you have no idea. No. Idea. At. All. I mean, the number of times we've told him what he wants to do is insane!"

And then Kara understood what her friend and Question were worried about: Usopp genuinely believed Captain Luffy would cheerfully throw the entire world into chaos and conflict for the sake of a single subordinate. A friend.

"Is he suicidal? That'll turn the whole world against him!"

"It wouldn't be the first time. Luffy wouldn't care. He will do whatever he wants, 'cause he is free."

"To be free? Your captain…. is a monster then!" Supergirl yelled out.

"Yep!" Usopp said with pride. Pride! "But he's our monster!"

[Later]

[Afterwards with the day saved, even if Usopp escaped, with Question, Supergirl, and Green Arrow finding an abandoned Straw Hat base]

"Well," the Question mused, "this confirms that theory."

"This is what they use the money they steal for!?" Huntress gasped out.

Before them was a shallow pit, completely filled with bills of money, with a subtle indent that showed that someone had been sleeping on the unorthodox mattress. There was even a blanket to the side to help keep warm.

"It was always curious how many of the serial numbers for the actual cash that they'd stolen never returned to circulation. All that money simply vanished."

"So they don't spend most of it, just hoard it for the pleasure," Green Arrow their resident ex-billionaire concluded with disgust. It was not like he was still bitter at how little a threat the Straw Hats treated him or anything.

Much.

Chapter Text

When people thought of cities full of super criminals, they usually thought of Metropolis and Gotham, while for some reason they usually did not think of Central city.

"When Flash took away my snot-gun, grabbed some rope, and tied me up, he said 's'not, your day I guess."

Mack the barman really had no idea how Central City had somehow dodged that reputation. They made an odd bunch, but they lacked frugality with their money, and the cops rarely came to this side of town anyway. Really, this whole thing started when a couple of the Rogues walked into the bar in full costumes. It was pretty tense that day, as the staff and the normal customers didn't want the bar to get leveled in the ensuing fight, so no one talked to them unless it had to do with the food. The night after, well, they all knew what the underworld thought of snitches, so none dared spread a word, and it was safe to come back.

That was years ago, and what had been uneasy silence became business as usual, and eventually what approached camaraderie as they agreed on two things with the Rogues: no fighting each other in the bar, and no plotting, just eat, drink, and be merry.

Shortly after the rules had been laid down, the mob even stopped harassing the bar's staff for 'protection,' in what was almost certainly an effort to not step on the toes of supers who could upend their entire livelihood in minutes. Mack knew his bar had gained a bad rep in the larger community, and the Flash certainly knew, but if they were there, they weren't causing trouble.

Of course, as Super criminals became relatively more common, oddities from further and further away showed up. Frankly, Mack was glad his life didn't lack excitement.

This new one had drunk an absurd amount of alcohol, not the light stuff his customers usually liked, but bottle after bottle of hard liquor. Mack hoped this 'Buggy the Clown' would be a frequent customer, although right now his newest guest was in mid-'drunk anti superhero rant,' and the rest of the supers were not so discretely listening in as usual, as well as the patrons who came for this entertainment.

"As I was… was saying, then those bigshots took… took my mercs and then didn't have to pay… I wasn't anything anymore. It's unfair I tell you! I was something, I was a flashy bigshot myself!"

The Clown then stuck his nose back in his tall glass, as his left side neighbor, Mirror Master, began to chime in. "Well if you're such a bigger shot then us, then why did I never hear of you?"

Mack gave a disappointed look to Mirror, as this was the kind of talk that started fights. Buggy's look was far more murderous than he'd seen on any of the rogues before, yet he resignedly went back to his drink in response to Mirror's flinch.

Captain Boomerang on the right side of Buggy said, "If you just copied the Joker, I don't think people would care to differentiate, they'd only give respect to the person who they see as the original."

Buggy, surprisingly quick for someone who should have gone through three livers, said," So what if I copied Joker, he had a good thing going, I could make a lot if I filled in his shoes. 'Sides, I was the Clown before he took up that name!"

…And on it went till closing, a good day for sales, Mack didn't honestly know that much about other supers, but he could totally see this sort of thing happening in other cities, with Parasite, Livewire, Mr. Freeze, The Joker, all sitting friendly like sharing a drink together. Even with supposed villains, drinks could bring people together.

Chapter Text

Crocodile took a deep breath, "You sure you don't have a cigar to spare? This'll take some time." The twitch of impatience from his interrogator only confirmed his decision though: tell the truth, albeit with a slant. These people were far too eager for information, but given how they should also be more suspicious, that must mean they had some way to confirm if he was lying or not. Besides, you can build better lies out of truths.

Shifting in his seat, he began: "Straw Hat Luffy is a notorious criminal back home…like myself." The narrowing of the eyes and slight change in posture told him that his "hosts" were on guard. Fair enough. Although I wonder just how bad an experience they've had with Straw Hat so far. Pretty bad he hazarded a guess. Unfazed, Crocodile continued, "Although we're wanted men for different reasons. Decades ago I was a pirate, but I accepted the status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, criminals who are given a pardon by the World Government in exchange for us lending our might against their enemies, including fellow pirates."

Batman filed away the mention of a 'World Government' for later, "So you're like privateers then?"

The prisoner cocked his head, "Can't say I've heard the term."

"The description is roughly the same. They were men who were hired by governments in the past to raid upon foreign ships."

"Sounds about right," Crocodile conceded. "Except by the time the system started there weren't many non-aligned governments left. And it sounds like for your people they'd just take anybody willing to offer their services. Only the seven best pirates are offered this title, or the seven best that'll accept it at any rate."

"But you became a criminal again?"

"Yes. I decided to station myself on an island called Alabasta, a rich country that routinely suffered pirate attacks. After a time I became a local hero, rivaling the king in popularity. I also began to decide that he was ill-suited to rule. I began to engineer a coup, fueling a rebellion to help me take control of the kingdom."

"Regardless of the lives lost in the process?" Batman lightly growled.

Yet Crocodile only sneered in derision, the first real, strong emotion he had displayed during this 'interview.' Leaning a little forward, he rasped "Don't talk so big about something you know nothing about. You have no idea what it's like under the World Government," he had caught the slight reaction to that term after all, "or what King Cobra was like."

"Did he say 'King Cobra'?" Superman asked in surprise from inside the observation room.

"Who goes with that kind of name?" Flash mocked. "Just asking to sound like a dictator."

"That was his full name then?" Batman asked, suspecting they were being misled, except Crocodile only gave off the slightest puzzlement.

"King Nefeltari Cobra if you want the whole thing. Regardless, Straw Hat was supporting the King, or more specifically his daughter, for his own reasons. When we first met I made the mistake of dismissing him as a nobody rookie, and for that he defeated me and left me exposed. The Marines arrested me while I was still unconscious, and were given the credit. The World Government had me labeled a traitor, and I was locked away, in their most secure prison. Few months later, Straw Hat broke in."

Now Crocodile leaned back, crossing his arms, "For eight hundred years that prison was both impregnable and impossible to escape, no matter how powerful or how clever whoever they locked up in there. The only one to get away was from about twenty-years ago, and he was a former rival of the one and only Pirate King. Straw Hat did it during his first year of piracy."

"How and why?"

"Can't say exactly for the first part, but his brother was to be executed for his own crimes. Fire Fist Ace was a notorious criminal in his own right before he died, with a frankly astonishingly high bounty despite how he was still fairly new to the game. Rising to the position of one of the top lieutenants of the most powerful of the Pirate Emperors, and a possible successor to the man, and a potential second Pirate King. When Straw Hat learnt his big brother was to be executed, he broke in and fought his way down through the prison to level 6 where the most dangerous criminals, like his brother and I, were stored. He was too late to get to his brother before he was escorted out to be taken away to be executed, but he made a deal with me and another traitorous Warlord, and we broke out together, raising an army of the greatest cutthroats and brigands to be locked away in the last twenty years, to go fight together at Navy HQ."

"Why would you attack the headquarters of the people who had just arrested you? You could have gone elsewhere."

"Geography. One of the reasons that the prison was so secure was that there were only a limited number of routes in and out, and with the battleships that were to guard the prison after us, we didn't have much choice. Straw Hat left a man behind to get through the final obstacle to escape as it was."

"…And the brother still died?"

"Indeed. Not for lack of trying on my part either. I took out the first pair of executioners, and Straw Hat the second ones, and he even got to the platform and got his brother away, but one of the Admirals, the Navy's strongest field officers, killed Fire Fist. Straw Hat barely escaped with his life, and wouldn't have if lots of others hadn't laid down their lives to shield him. His brother dying in his arms snapped his mind."

"Oh really?"

Closing his eyes as if in thought, Crocodile elaborated. "The kid wasn't moving, just staring up at the heavens with his jaw wide open while the Admiral in question stood over him. He wasn't even aware of what was going on." With that he went quiet. Hopefully that should give them the impression that maybe whatever Straw Hat's done here is because he's unstable now. What else…? Opening his eyes, "After that, me and the other former prisoners made our escape and made our own way. Straw Hat returned to the headquarters a few week later, publicly so it would get into the newspapers, and issued a direct challenge to the World Government before retreating to lick his wounds since he was still bandaged up in the photos. And this was all in his first year as a pirate. His reputation, and power, has only grown since. Which begs the question: what's he been doing here?"

[…]

The ex-Warlord frowned in thought. That's not right. Straw Hat is dead set on becoming the next Pirate King, and he can't do that here. Heck, I can't stay here either because of my own ambitions. So whatever he's doing must be to find a way home.

Crocodile's mind raced to find the necessary angle. Straw Hat won't help me unless I've got something major to offer him. I might've helped later in the war, but Jinbe might have been too delirious to even remember that I saved Straw Hat near the end, and he might still be upset about Alabasta. I've got to make it worthwhile enough that he'll tolerate me.

Alternatively, do I let these people know about this? Or maybe I should rile them up? Hmmm…What would they do if I told them Straw Hat might be trying to bring his allies over here to invade and conquer this place?

Chapter Text

Maureen could feel the tension lessen now that they were home safe, surrounded by the rest of the Straw Hats and their supervillain friends. It was quite a hectic day for her as she remembered the tense meeting between the two heroes: the hero of Metropolis and one of her heroes.

The thought of heroes suddenly made her remember Luffy's weird definition. Was that how heroes were portrayed in their world?

(Also, did that mean Flash and Superman were Luffy's heroes, because they gave him food?)

"Um...can I ask you guys something?" she asked, getting everyone's attention. "How do you guys define a hero?"

"A hero is someone who shares his booze, so I'm not a hero," Zoro said as he cleaned his katana.

"A hero is someone who gives up the money the steal, and that's not me," Nami said, reading a fashion magazine.

"A hero is someone who never lies, so I'm a hero!" Usopp declared. "Why I became one when I saved an entire nation, and became worshipped as a god even by them!"

"Cool!" Chopper exclaimed with sparkly eyes as everyone gave him deadpan looks.

"A hero is someone who only befriends ladies, not love them, so I'm not a hero!" Sanji declared in a fiery passion.

"A hero is someone who wears pants, and sister, that ain't my style, yeah!" Franky exclaimed, doing his usual Super pose.

"A hero," Brook mused with great contemplation, "is a lady who shows her—OW!"

"A hero is someone very open with themselves, fufufufu," Robin giggled.

All the villains and Maureen stared at the Straw Hats before they left the room by their captain's orders for lunch. However Maureen noticed that Jimbei didn't answer. He caught her looking at him, waiting for his explanation.

"A hero...wears a straw hat," he said before he followed his crew mates.

The ones who were left behind looked at them before smiling slightly.

It was true, their hero wears a straw hat.

Chapter Text

Oliver Queen was proud to say he had done a lot of things. He had turned his back on money and focused his life towards helping his fellow man, he had turned what had been antiquated weapons (and his favorite pastime) into a symbol of justice, and he had even marched against the evils of nuclear power.

What he was not however, was a seaman. The only boat he had ever been on had its own fridge for margaritas, and never went anywhere but Florida and the Bahamas. Certainly not this sailboat that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Hollywood pirate film.

A wave hit him in the face as he fumbled at the ropes holding the sails. As he coughed up some water, a normally calm and feminine voice shouted from above, "You alright down there?"

Looking up, he saw Black Canary looking down from the crow's nest, taking a break from trying to find some actual land somewhere in this ocean, and instead checking on how he was doing. He let her know.

"How am I doing? We're in the middle of who knows where, with those two nutcases, with no idea how to find land, I haven't eaten since yesterday, and I have water up my nose."

After that, Oliver just turned away and went back to figuring out how the ropes worked with the sail. They were all too tired to waste strength arguing; if they wanted to live through this, he needed to waste as little energy arguing as possible. As much as he did blame the two other vigilantes for causing them to be lost at sea.

/
With a sigh, Dinah Lance turned away from Green Arrow, who was throwing a temper tantrum. She looked down at Huntress who was at the wheel. She was looking at the not exactly a compass thing, except it was pointing at something, and had the words 'Whiskey Peak' engraved on it. It seemed to be one of the few things that actually worked on this ship, unlike the Question's actual compass, which spun like a top.

It was standard superhero oddness to find an old timey pirate ship underneath the mansion of a powerful crime boss, as it was, "his grandfather's secret." When they had to escape on the darn thing, as soon as they hit open ocean and lost sight of land and were about to call the rest of the League, things got weird. They couldn't pick up a signal from anywhere, Question's compass started acting odd, and as far as they knew, they were stranded in the middle of the ocean. That was two days ago, and the suspiciously intact pirate ship had only the barest of rations. They had nothing but hope that the not-compass pointed to land, and maybe they could figure something out.

Looking down, the original pirate flag had been painted white by Question, who had done it mainly due to paranoia. Right now he was looking over the bow of the ship. Before Dinah went back to hopeful island watching, Question almost slowly turned around, and said with a hint of fear in that monotone, "Everyone, be quiet as you can and come here."

Helena raced over the ship, thankful for some action after the past two days of nonsense out at sea. The other two hanger-on's that crashed the party that she and Vic had handled, also came to the front of the bow to look at what Vic had spotted in the water. When she gazed where Vic was pointing, she didn't know what she was looking for at first, until the ocean beneath them, shifted, squirmed, and Helena realized there was something massive down deep below the sea.

"What in God's name is that thing?" whispered Green Arrow.

The calm of the sea was broken as the shapes under the ocean squirmed faster and faster, suddenly not a hundred feet in front of them, the shapes revealed themselves to be not one, but two. Two massive sea serpents easily taller than the biggest skyscraper Helena had seen, were fighting each other over a dead whale for food.

The ship nearly capsized as the serpents crashed back down into the sea, all four of them holding onto the ship railing for dear life. Under the adrenaline rush, Helena felt like she had been grasping the rail for 10 minutes straight until the sea calmed down again.

When they were finally able to stand up again, Helena could clearly see how they were all at the end of their rope; hungry, clothes torn, exhausted, out in the unknown. Lesser people would have just given in to despair. She was not lesser, they were not lesser.

Arrow guy, started laughing and cracking jokes to try to relieve the tension, but mostly to calm himself down. Black Canary, with a heavy sigh, offered to keep a lookout for monsters, saying her scream might scare them, as they were still almost certainly animals. Question took up Canary's post, muttering to himself about alternate dimensions, oxygen density, and soy lattes. Helena took the wheel again, refusing to let anyone else choose her course, well save for a little needle of course pointing to 'Whiskey Peak.'

Chapter Text

Amanda Waller ran through the Cadmus base as fast as she could, the remaining soldiers and scientists surrounding her.

'What the hell is this!?' General Wade Eiling yelled, 'Are they insane!? They've declared war on the US government!?'

'Our projections were off,' Waller spat, 'we never realized they would retaliate like this.'

It had been a straightforward plan: the Straw Hats were the sole criminal organization that the Justice League had never outright defeated. While they had lost at times, they had never been captured, with one single exception and even that was temporary. They had even on several occasions defeated Founding members, and many other heroes had also been beaten and humiliated by the band of self-proclaimed pirates.

So Cadmus had dedicated considerable resources towards getting the Straw Hats to co-operate, willingly or not.

At first it appeared to be going well, Lex Luthor had advised that the Straw Hat's leader had no patience for subterfuge when working with people, so Waller herself had approached them.

At first it had seemed to be going well, with the woman named Nami voicing that they were also concerned with the recent actions of the Justice League.

Yet when Monkey D. Luffy had finished eating an enormous meal, on Waller's tab, without ever looking away from her, he had bluntly refused Cadmus' offer of a partnership. Waller had then learned that the kitchen had been doubly subverted, and that her agents assigned to place explosive nanobots into the man's food had been crushed by the group's chef, who had taken personal offense to the attack.

She had barely escaped with her life.

Based upon the ferocity of the attack, the Straw Hats took personal offense to Black Ops organizations, and some of the pirates were attacking without restraint, piling up fatalities as well as casualties.

What was worse was that she could not escape the suspicion that the Straw Hats were attacking because they were bored. That with their entrapment in this world, and everyone seemed to agree that they were from another planet, they were unable to accomplish the goals that mattered to them. So until they could find a way home, they were just doing what they could to have fun and get stronger.

Alternatively, their 'Captain' really did take attempted sabotage of his food as a serious crime.

It was a pity for them that the only ones that could help the pirates get home was the Justice League and Cadmus, and they trusted neither organization.

Chapter Text

Straw Hat Hideout (Morning)

"You're all looking a bit chubby lately"

That sentence by Poison Ivy felt like a slap in the face for all the ladies who had recently joined the Straw Hats, and were currently present in the common room of the base.

They were all relaxing while enjoying some treats that Sanji gave them when the dryad suddenly came from her "garden" and said something so outrageous.

"What are you talking about, Ivy? We're far from getting fat with all the training that we go through, and the work that we do for the Straw Hats," said an irritated Volcana, while she was sitting in a couch eating chocolate mousse, which Sanji had baked to her favourite texture and subtle flavour. The thought of her getting chubby was ridiculous!

"Yeah Red, you should leave the jokes tah me, 'cause yours ain't funny," Harley replied absentmindedly to her bestie, while she continued sitting in the floor and reading a comic book, munching the chips in her mouth.

Cheetah didn't say anything, but still glared at the green-skinned woman. She would've looked intimidating if it weren't for all the crumbs from donuts and muffins that got stuck around her furry mouth, and how she seemed like she had been about to take a nap right before the remark was made.

Ivy had to stifle a laugh at seeing the feared supervillainesses who have battled superheroes and law enforcers through the years, denying having gotten soft while they stuffed their faces and acted lazy. Not that it was the only proof she could see right before her eyes.

The redheaded pyrokinetic was dressed in her usual revealing supervillain outfit, yet instead of her trimmed and toned midriff, she actually had the start of a paunch that began to spill over her lap (Ivy wondered how it was possible that she didn't realize when the day before she looked one deep breath away from popping the button of her jeans until she unbuttoned them, probably the reason as to why she was currently wearing her stretchy, if still tight now due to her new curves, and freeing clothes, perhaps she was delusional?). While Cheetah's usual athletic body had also gotten slightly rounder as if she turned into an overfed house cat.

Harley also looked like she got pudgy as well, the ecoterrorist was no longer surprised to see her wearing sweatpants that made room for her gut like at that moment (though she was for the tight shirt that was riding up to give a little peek of the jester's pudgy stomach), which was quite weird for Ivy to see. It had been a while since the eco-terrorist and the ex-psychiatrist met each other appropriately, and even longer since her friend was working in Arkham as Dr. Harleen Quinzel. She had expected that as a master in gymnastics, the blonde's exercise routine meant she was in top shape, despite being quite gluttonous.

Seeing her hyperactive friend's waist looking just as soft and jiggly as the pudding that she loves to wolf down was quite the surprise.

Then again, maybe she shouldn't find it surprising given how much Sanji likes to pamper them with his admittedly delicious food.

As much of a perverted pig as the cook of the Straw Hats could be, his treatment towards ladies could only be considered as excellent as his cooking. So in a way it was normal that they began to get lazy, and not burn the fat like they used to.

The only reason Ivy managed to keep her waspish waist intact, was because of her vegetarian diet, something that obviously the three women in front of her had not, and it seemed to make the difference.

"What you're saying doesn't seem convincing, when you've been eating constantly while lazing around in your free time, which is way more than the time we spend training," said Ivy, as she walked towards the couch and sat next to Volcana. "Besides, it's already noticeable that you're putting on quite the squishy couch potato bellies, so you don't fool anyone," and with a smirk the plant user patted the fire user in her tummy making it jiggle.

Volcana and the other two watched the stomach like they were in some kind of trance, especially the redhead, who just couldn't take their eyes off it. Volcana was wondering if she just saw an illusion...did...did her belly just jiggle right now? No, that couldn't be it. One of the very few perks of having been trained as a weapon by the government since her teenage years was that she got a really hot body as a result, a body that she liked to show off and use to her advantage, so for her to lose it was!...

"Y-Ya're speakin' nonsense, Red, there's no way that I got fat!" said an irate Harley to her friend, while she stood up with a grunt at the extra effort that usually wouldn't be needed. There was just no way she would let herself go and lose her toned midriff! Okay, she might have been pigging out a bit more than usual to cope from her recent break-up with Joker, and thinking about it she's beginning to use sweats more often since as of late her pants have been difficult to button for some mysterious reason with a few not being able to close around her middle anymore, except it couldn't be possible that she would gain weight...right?.

Cheetah then changed her vision to her own torso with a frown, and pinched what appeared to be love handles apprehensively… Maybe she got a bit doughy after all? Certainly she had been eating quite a lot of Sanji's cooking, and also been more inactive than in this past years, because of the Straw Hat's protection, while having a laboratory and help to get back into being human... So it's not unthinkable that she would put on a few pounds, now that she thought about it.

After Harley's outburst, Ivy could only chuckle. "Harles, I've known you for some years now, and you've always been a bit of a glutton, except one has to be blind to not see that this time it has affected you, as well as the other two for that matter you lard-laden ladies," the redhead said as she poked Volcana's jelly belly a few times and observed her digit sink into the chub just to bounce like Jell-o when it was released.

Volcana shoved the offending hand away from her stomach, and glared at Ivy, while covering her tummy in an effort to hide it with a blush as red as her hair, an action mirrored by the others.

"The only reason as to why it seems like I've gained weight, is because Usopp must've messed up with the washer, and my clothes shrunk, that's all!" Volcana was so going to roast him for that one later. "Maybe I've been eating a little too much, but with my metabolism I burn all the extra calories!"

Ivy observed them all with a raised eyebrow. It seemed that with the somewhat exception of Cheetah (who was now sheepishly removing the crumbs that she had on her face), the rest seemed to be deep in denial.

Now while she couldn't deny that she took some amusement at seeing them in this plight, there was still the fact that as criminals who are being hunted internationally after the incident at the British bank, they needed to be in good shape. Of course, they still were, in spite of the noticeable pudge that they've been gaining, yet if things continue like this, it could turn into a problem for them and the whole group.

Huh… she wondered when she began to care about the other two women besides Harley, and the others in the group including the men. Ivy definitely wasn't one to look after meatbags with the exception of her best friend, but she seems to be making a lot of exceptions lately since she "partnered" with the Straw Hats...For some reason, she didn't mind it though.

However, back to the matter at hand, the dryad thought that what the women in front of her needed more or less, was a reality check before things got worse. How to do it though… wait, a check? That's it!

"Okay girls, if you're so sure that you aren't putting on any extra pounds and inches in those bodies of yours, what do you say if we go prove it right now?" asked Ivy with a sly smile on her face.

The ladies changed their annoyed expressions to one of confusion, and then apprehension. For some reason, something was telling them that what was coming next wouldn't be pleasant for them.

"Ara, why are you all yelling like that?" asked the serene voice of Nico Robin, as she made her way over, due to her being curious of all the noise that was happening.

...Yeah, the ladies had a bad feeling about this alright.

-0-0-0-0-

Straw Hat Hide Out (Some minutes later)

Medical Room

Chopper found himself in quite a dangerous situation, or at least that's what his senses were telling him at the moment.

Things weren't like this just a moment ago however, he had actually been having a very good time while reading some of the medical books that he purchased from this world.

For the most part, he knew way more than what was written in them to be honest. Except there was also so many things to be discovered as well, due to the censorship of the World Government back home.

Truly fascinating!

But all of that changed the moment someone knocked at the door, and he went to open the door, just to find the women who had recently joined them alongside Robin, all looking with mixed emotions of determination and intensity, with the exception of Ivy and the crew's archeologist. The dark amusement in Robin's eyes, made him shudder, and he had to initially resist the impulse of turning tail (literally) and run away. Now he was regretting not heeding his instincts.

What the dryad asked Chopper to do, made the situation clear for him.

"So you want me to give them a medical examination to check your Body Mass Index?" asked the reindeer innocently, having fun with his technical terms.

Maybe cause his doctor use terms of BMI, obesity etc

"Indeed," answered Ivy, while the three ladies who all this was about, were waiting in the back, trying to look everywhere else except at the two people talking, and Robin just had her usual smile on her face. "You see, for me and every other person who's met them before, it's pretty clear that those three have been pretty lax when it comes to their diets. Unfortunately, they seem to be in denial, or even being delusional about it, while the holidays are right around the corner for them to blow as balloons so maybe this could help them a little in avoiding that, don't you agree?"

The three supervillainesses felt their marshmallowy stomachs drop at the words that the plant user just uttered, not that there was a real reason for it in Harley or Volcana's minds since they didn't plump up of course, but in the off chance that they did having to go through the holiday season with Sanji's cuisine would be...

Ivy gave an impish smile at the nervous looks that Harles and her new frie...partners gave after having mentioned the overindulging times ahead in which they'll likely have to struggle at shrinking their blubbery spare tires, poor dears.

Robin added, "We want your opinion as doctor, to look at this empirically, scientifically, objectively just in case so in the future they don't end up suffering a heart attack when they're in the middle of a fight or pop after getting punched" which made all of the people present pause to give a look at the archeologist after her usual dosis of dark humor.

She of course was unaware of the reason for the stares.

Chopper looked back to the people the petition was about. This honestly wasn't a surprise for him, that he'd realized for a while that they were getting a bit fuller.

Granted, he needed some obvious signs, like Volcana trying to reach a high shelf for some dishes, and her shirt riding up to show a roll of fat and a less toned belly that pooched over her waistband. Or Cheetah and Harley being in food comas, after stuffing themselves to the brim, with the blonde's shorts coming undone (the reindeer could hear both her and the button sigh in relief) which made room for her thickened midsection that surged forward without the restriction of the denim and the feline purring in delight, yet he ended up catching on nonetheless.

Now while this was far from becoming a real problem for sure, considering that they were wanted by the entire world, the Doctor of the Straw Hats had felt that he needed to go up to them, at least warn them about it. Besides, their physical abilities could take a huge hit as a consequence as well—if they hadn't already.

Luckily for the naive little hybrid, he was stopped from performing this suicidal action thanks to Usopp, who was informed by Chopper of his plans before going to talk with the women. His long-nosed friend advised him of how telling a woman that she was getting fatter, was the equivalent of stepping in front of the bomb that almost wiped out all the people fighting in the battle of Alabasta, and kicking it.

Considering how large the blast of the explosion was, Chopper understood that it was a really reckless thing to do. They and all the people in Alubarna at the time would've died right there if it wasn't for the brave sacrifice of that guy named Pell who he unfortunately didn't get to meet before it happened.

His death wasn't in vain at least.

But yeah, Usopp had been in hysterics, screaming, and crying out gibberish Copper barely caught. Stuf like, "you are going to kill us all… marines didn't succeed, fighting Big Mom didn't… nooooooo… we are going to die by…" So Chopper decided to follow the advice that his friend gave him, and let them figure it out on their own. Or hopefully let some of the other women being the ones telling them of their recent weight increase.

For a while he worried that it may not happen until things got out of control, yet it seems that one of those two options finally happened.

"I don't mind giving them an examination at all," said Chopper to Ivy, while continuing to look at the women. "Though I would like to know if they really want to do it."

Harley humphed at that. "I think that it's a waste of time. The rest may be getting roly poly, but I'm not!" the blonde declared, though by her tone she didn't sound as that confident as she wanted to sound.

"That's my line, you clown!" replied back an annoyed Volcana.

Cheetah, who began to think about it as the other two bickered, answered before things escalated. "Personally, I believe that this could actually be helpful. I admit that lately I may have indulged more than usual, so I'm curious to see just how much, and act upon it".

While a mature answer that a respectful adult would give, she didn't seem all that pleased about it, but the anthropomorphic feline at least was willing to confront the reality of the situation.

The other two however…

"Well we don't need it!" Obviously they didn't seem as eager for it.

The doctor was starting to get worried that maybe this would actually make things worse rather than improving it. Ivy on the other hand expected this reaction from the prideful fellow redhead and Harley. They could be rather stubborn after all (pot meet kettle).

Meanwhile Robin watched all of what transpired, and smiled as if she was watching a spectacle. She had also noticed how the women recruited to help them get back home had been getting a bit rounder, but didn't say anything about it.

The reason was that to be honest, she found them happily filling up pretty cute, and didn't want to burst their bubble. Alas, she understood that if this went on for too long, it could become troublesome in a lot of aspects, so the times of delight had to stop.

And so after being told by Ivy what was going on, she decided to follow them to visit Chopper and watch how this went. She also wanted to make sure to protect her dear cute, fluffy crew member if things got out of hand.

Fortunately, she knew what to say in this situation to make them stop fighting, and begin the check-up, the one thing that would get under anyone's skin, except the most patient and mature of individuals...So this was sure to work on both of them.

"What are you scared of?" the former assassin asked nonchalantly, like she was talking about the weather.

The effect was immediate.

Both ladies flushed red while staring at Robin with an outraged expression. "I'm not scared!" exclaimed the blonde. Everyone was being so rude today!

"Me neither!" Volcana replied, glaring at the Demon Child. She was beginning to lose the little patience that she had while talking about this topic, and even if she would probably lose, she wasn't going to let her get away with talking of things that are absu—

"Then you can do it without a problem right? What's the issue here really?" Hook line and sinker. Robin smiled to herself in victory.

Both Harley and Volcana closed their mouths at that. They weren't afraid of checking out if they gained weight (they were not!) but to refuse to do it now, would mean that they actually were.

Then they stared at their stomachs and their hips, maybe they did look rounder… no that couldn't be it, could it? They guessed that there was only one way to find out, except for some reason they weren't thrilled, even if they understood the necessity.

"Fine," said the two ladies, accepting to go along with the medical check, their tones sounding as if they resigned to the inevitable.

Cheetah's Turn

Right now, if one were to look at the face of Cheetah they would see a grim glare, as if she was staring down a mortal enemy before starting to battle, in a rigid pose fitting for such a scenario… and to be honest it wouldn't be too off the mark.

She was staring down the scale in front of her after all, which feels similar.

The rest of the ladies were waiting behind the feline for their turn (or in Ivy and Robin's case, just observing). She could feel how they were looking intently at her with curiosity about how things would proceed.

"Okay, Cheetah you can step on the scale now," Chopper informed his friend, with an innocent smile that would fool the majority into questioning if he really is a prodigy doctor who had recently revolutionized the world of medicine.

Cheetah was actually beginning to regret her decision. It had been a while since she had to face off against the enemy of all women in her current shape, and had kind of forgotten the sensation of having it in front of her. She almost preferred to face the Justice League to be honest.

You couldn't really fault her though, the last time she had to weigh herself, she was still normal.

Back when she was called Barbara Minerva, she was in quite good shape and wasn't really prone to gain too much weight (the only exception happened when she went to college and gained the dreadful freshman 15, but after organizing herself better, and with a younger metabolism, she had shed the extra pounds easily enough) yet she still hadn't been all that athletic either, nor really interested in being it.

That changed after her transformation to her current self however, as she gained the strengths and agility of a real cheetah, and having to learn how to fight and move to be able to steal the materials she needed. It also toned her physique as a result, and she discovered an appreciation for it (she was hoping that this aspect would remain intact when she managed to become furless again).

Now however, she seemed to have lost that privilege, and having the diabolical machine that would inform her just how bad it was for the first time in a while when she wasn't athletic, was harsh...

"C'mon, Garfield, get on with it. We don't have all day!" said Harley, after having watched for a while as the cat lady just stood there without moving. Obviously she was pretty irritated at the moment.

"G-Garfield!?" cried Cheetah in outrage, while looking back at the clown girl.

Volcana and Ivy both tried to stifle the laughs that threatened to come out as best as they could, while Robin chuckled good-naturally. Chopper looked confused, though uncomfortable since it didn't seem like a nice reference.

The feline woman growled and looked again at the damn object while thinking that she was going to get back at Harley for that jab. She could somewhat accept that she lost her figure, but to be compared with Garfield!? ...There was only one way to find out she guessed.

She took a deep breath, and finally stepped forward on the scale, waiting for the result while her heart pounded with strength in her chest, and trying to ignore how flabby her belly looked …. She waited…

The result was finally shown on the machine.

Harley's Turn

Harley removed her clothes and just remained in her undies so her measurements could be taken, a demonstration of confidence from the blonde since she usually wouldn't care given that they were all women there (except Chopper, except he already told her of his disinterest for human women anyway). Although after seeing Cheetah's plight before she couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious this time.

Cheetah by the way was now resting in the seat that Harley just freed, blushing beneath her fur, and with wide eyes because of the reveals in her previous turn.

It was funny seeing how the kitty cat shrieked once that the scale revealed just how much she put on, and being put on the spot. Yet now that Harley was in the same position, things had changed.

The reindeer was in his "Heavy Point" form, so he could hold the measuring tape more easily (even if he had to kneel to measure her butt) and proceeded. Honestly she liked the results that she was receiving from her girls and her tush… But the problem was the waist area.

While she obviously hadn't gained any weight like those jerks were saying, it still made her feel uncomfortable. Still with the fresh memory of Cheetah going through the embarrassment a few moments ago...the jester decided that she didn't want to be put in the same position as that tubby tabby, and decided to play it safe.

The little reindeer was about to wrap the tape around her waist using her navel as a reference point, but then he stopped with a sweatdrop forming on his temple when he realized what the blonde did in front of him.

The ladies staring behind also blinked in surprise (including Cheetah who finally snapped out of it). Did she really do what it seemed…?

Harley just sucked in her belly.

Chuckles from Robin and Volcana were heard in the room with, Cheetah watching the scene with sadistic pleasure. She hadn't forgotten how Harley compared her body to the one of the cat who hated Mondays and loved lasagna, so seeing the one responsible for the comment doing something that would end with her embarrassment, pleased her.

Noting the irony in it, she felt like justice had been served!

Ivy just sighed in fond exasperation. Harley could be quite cunning and smart when she wanted to, but for the most part she could be just as ditzy as if she were a little child. Not that she necessarily hated that part of her, even if she wished that Harley could tone it down when things got serious.

"Harley, if you suck your stomach in, then this is pointless, can you just stop holding your breath?" Chopper asked with the sweatdrop still on his forehead, it didn't seem like she planned to do it any time soon though.

"I just need ta be like this until he gives in, and takes the measure, easy peasy!" she told herself while continuing with her effort. Harley had confidence in the capacity of her lungs.

Unfortunately for her, Robin decided to help her friend with this situation. After all, as much as she was amused witnessing the women find out about their flab while squirming, she still had to check on some information in a while, and her free time was limited due to her duties.

Dos Fleur

Two womanly arms who everyone there recognized as Robin's, sprouted from Harley's ribs and began to tickle her.

Her major weakness!

And so the clown girl laughed with tears in her eyes incapable of holding her breath any longer, her pudgy tummy bulged forward, almost looking relieved to be doing so, while returning to it's true form.

"Good girl, let it all out~," said the archeologist sweetly with one of her usual giggles while jiggling the tubby tummy with her arms, much to Harley's embarrasment, just to proceed to give the pampered stomach a mischievous pinch when she finished to then make the extremities disappear from the torso as petals in the wind. "Okay Chopper, you can continue now"

"Thanks Robin!"

"W-Wait a minute!" stammered a flustered blushing Harley while the doctor deftly wrapped the tape around the waist.

Volcana's Turn

Volcana gave up hope when the doctor came forward with the measuring tape in his hands, she looked back for a moment, and watched an embarrassed Harley being teased by Cheetah while both Ivy and Robin just watched smiling.

The latest display of the former girlfriend of the Joker made her realize that there really wasn't an escape from this. She just can't try faking the results, or she'll end up doing something ridiculous like the blonde.

Not that she thought she needed to (not at all!), but it somehow felt like a back door just closed for her right in her nose.

Volcana was thinking that to herself, until she realized that Chopper was taking measurements so he could figure out where to squeeze properly, the tape measure squishing her bare midriff a bit, rubbing the new softness which highlighted the muffin top that she was doing her best to deny its existance in the process and making her grimace.

Okay, being realistic now, she "might" have gotten chunky (exactly how she likes her peanut butter) since she was recruited by the Straw Hats, to be fair it's hard not to when at times it seems as if she's in a restaurant that has far surpassed the rank of five stars instead of a pirate crew and the cook treats you like a queen as well as gives you extra snacks throughout the day, so maybe she should just accept that she got paunchy already, yet for the redhead this was a little mortifying.

She knew that gaining some weight wasn't the end of the world, except Volcana prided herself in her figure which she worked hard to obtain. She also liked to use it to seduce people of both genders (don't ask) to catch them off-guard when it came to her former missions as a slave of the government, or just to be able to enter private events and parties for free.

It may be vain of her, but it was actually useful as well, so to see her belly jiggle and realize that she looks like melted ice cream earlier was a blow. That hasn't happened for quite a number of years now (with some ups and downs of course).

Still...she couldn't just deny facts, and while she didn't want to believe them, she also wanted this reality check to be done.

"Let's get this over with," she told Chopper with a sigh. "I promised Maureen I'd spend time with her later, and there's not much time left".

Chopper smiled at that, relieved that there wouldn't be any drama with her, and proceeded to squeeze a fold of fat from the tanned spare tire to use the tape.

-0-0-0-0-

"So in conclusion you're not overweight, let alone obese, just yet. Still, I recommend you to watch your diets, and try being more active before it escalates any further because honestly you're getting close to that range and I can see you being officialy overweight in the near future if there aren't changes," repeated Ivy with a smirk the words that Chopper said to the women in front of her. "Do you understand now?"

"Har Har, very funny Red. It must be nice bein' able to retain your figure just cause' ya like eatin' green," replied Harley with a pout as she tugged down her tight shirt, after finally noticing that her tubby paunch was showing a bit, without much success. All the ladies returned to the common room after the results were given, all looking a bit sullen after the reveals.

"I think that this was good overall. Now you can focus on returning to your previous forms, and be more careful to not continue to turn into three little pigs ready for the slaughterhouse," said Robin with a sweet smile while tracing her index finger on Cheetah's softened jawline, which she knew the feline secretly enjoyed in spite of the shame, and ignoring the pout that Harley was now giving her for the previous ordeal. "If you'll excuse me, I have some work to do and I'm a bit behind already. I'll see you later".

The beautiful archeologist of the Straw Hats turned around and left. While doing so, the women couldn't help but stare at just how stunning she was.

"...How is it that she has that perfect hourglass in spite of having been alongside Sanji longer than us?"

"I know right!? Tha's exactly what I was wonderin' too!"

"It's not just her, but Nami too! I don't know what exactly they are, yet their metabolism has to be crazy, depending of the time that they've been pampered by him like we've been lately, a-and they still look like that! Though those demonic training sessions they do probably help."

And so the maidens began to realize again (with a bit of envy) how their "bosses" continued to prove to be monsters.

"Well I guess that we'll have to step up our game from now on with training and our diets", noted a crestfallen Cheetah, who lamented her fate, the others affected joining her lamentation… just because they accepted it didn't mean that they liked it.

There was a brief silence that was broken by a strangely sympathetic Ivy.

"It's okay, you all don't really have to stress about it since you still look good anyway and only have to lose a bit of blubber," she said with a bit of a blush and avoiding the incredulous looks that she was being given. "If I'm being honest, while I have yet to gain weight, it's true that I've been feeling a bit bloated. If it continues, I might get heavier before I know it, so I'll be joining you with the exercise," she ended up mumbling, a bit embarrassed for some reason.

Not that she told any lies anyway, so she didn't fully understand her feelings either.

Ivy had been on their case about this and now she tries to console them… Maybe she was just worried herself from the very start, and that's why she pushed it to happen?

The moment of silence returned until her best friend opened her mouth.

"As I thought since I met ya...ya really are a tsundere, aren't ya, Red?"

"I don't know what that is, but I feel like smacking you."

A laugh came from all the women in the room, except a stern Ivy who little by little began to join in with her chuckles. All of them ironically feeling like a weight just left their backs, and now their confidence was growing.

That's right, they're some of the most dangerous people on the planet, women who have fought against heroes and faced struggles that any average joe and jane wouldn't even dare to oppose...

Losing some weight will be a piece of ca—!

"Hello my darlings~! I've been baking some cakes, would you like some?" came a sweet voice from behind that all of them recognized by now.

They turned around and froze at the sight.

As expected, the perverted cook was there, with hearts in his eyes and his lecherous smile, yet what was important was what he brought with him on a tray. The heavenly aroma of freshly baked goods wafting through the room.

Glistening cakes that would only be seen in the most prestigious of restaurants. There's no doubt that just one bite would make any person reach heaven even if it was just for a moment.

Groooowllll~

All the maidens who got a tad bit chubby rubbed their spoiled potbellies which just voiced their raised appetites, while trying not to drool in the process.

This may be harder than they thought after all...but they wouldn't give up easily.

Chapter Text

Justice Piece

Luffy and Superman charge towards each other clashing fists.

(Instrumental)

The title is revealed.

We look to the past as we head for the future to return to our own world

A straw hat flies through the air as past images from adventures of the Justice League and Straw Hats are shown.

With faith in ourselves and trust in each other

Luffy reaches out and grabs his straw hat smiling as he leaps into the air followed by his crewmates. The camera zooms in on the back of his shirt.

We live by the lessons we've learned.

The camera zooms back out to reveal Superman's cape blowing in the wind as he flies through the air along with his teammates except Flash who runs.

As we bid farewell to one ending

The Justice League look out at the world from the Watchtower.

In time for a new beginning.

The Straw Hats walk out into the streets laughing the entire time.

Ha-ya-moo-ah! Huh! Ha-ya-moo-ah!

Each Straw Hat is holding out their hand as a different color from the emotional spectrum glows on their palm

Justice Piece

Forever united as one Justice Piece. Together the battles are won

The Straw Hats close their fists revealing them wearing different lantern rings undergoing a transformation into custom suits. Luffy completes the transformation.

Justice Piece

A light flashes and Luffy is replaced with Volcana as she throws a fireball forward

Through us let your spirit evolve. If we're all for one world there's a world for us all.

Cheetah runs across the screen at high-speed, Ivy and a laughing Harley ride in on a large vine, Grundy roars before slamming the ground shattering it. The shattering ground comes together to create Clayface who morphs into a smiling Permafrost who covers the screen in snow.

If we're all for one world

The Justice League charge forward towards Nekron who leers sinisterly.

There's a world for us all.

The Black Lantern Symbol appears before it begins turning white.

Justice Piece.

The Justice League and Strawhats stand back to back before pointing at the screen.

Chapter Text

Needing to be sure, Cheetah carefully asked, "You were in Hell. The actual Hell. Like the whole levels of torment?" She meant 'circles of Hell,' yet was still adjusting.

"That's what I said!" Luffy snapped crossly. "I had to go down there."

Luffy went thoughtful, which was very strange. It made his words weigh more. That was until his words were finally and fully registered.

"YO— . . . You wanted to get into hell?"

"WHY?"

"HOW?"

"No, why? WHY? JUST WHY!?"

Luffy had a very fierce look in his eyes, tainted with sadness and regret.

"I just had to."

.

.

.

The staircase wound deeper and deeper into the earth, seemingly endlessly. Upon each stone step was carved words like, "For The Children," "To End The War," "I Only Wanted To Help," "I Meant It For The Best," "I Thought You'd Like It," "For the Greater Good," "We Need The Resources And Land," "To Civilize Them." Most common of all was written, "For Justice."

For the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

It was long way down there, as if giving you the chance to regret your decision and turn back. You go down until you can go no further, when your legs are shaking, your body exhausted, and you are ready to give up. Only then will you see it.

The end, leading to two black iron doors.

They had been torn off their hinges, long claw marks gouged into them, and from within them the glow of fire simmered and the sounds of battle clashed.

With a bone-shaking roar, out from the doorway burst a massive black dragon. His armour was like tenfold shields, his teeth were swords, his claws spears, the shock of his tail a thunderbolt, his wings unfurled a hurricane, and his breath death!

Squeezing his way through the tight confines of the stairwell, he rushed back up to the surface, while behind him the denizens of hell screeched their fury.

After an age he reached the light above and emerged into the night air. Panting with deep breaths for a moment before throwing back his head to scream his rage . . . and loss.

A grief that passes description; when one has lost that which they treasured most.

Spiked chains covered his form, and around his neck was a thick collar with long barbs on both sides so they dug right into his scales as well. Heedless of the pain, he tore them off to throw away. Hanging onto his form and the remaining chains were many smaller, if still fearsome creatures, former prisoners of the pits below. Eagerly they helped their saviour by removing the last of his constraints. A failed attempt to capture the beast by those who had once ruled over their fates and torments.

With that task complete, they scampered off to enjoy their freedom. Partially from the urge to be wild and free . . . and also out of lingering fear of the dragon.

Afraid of him lashing out from his failure to save someone so precious to him. A being so fearsome that he had broken open the gates to the netherworld, and conquered its nine levels: limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. Besting bladed trees, spiders, mutant beasts, basilisks, sphinxes, deserts, lakes of boiling blood, freezing cold, wolves, the Minotaur who judges the sinners, and finally the Hydra who was master of the place.

All for naught.

Only three of those who had escaped with the dragon remained behind.

Patiently they waited out the wails of agony deeper than the cuts upon their saviour. Waited for him to vent a droplet of the pain within his heart.

At last, with sun breaking the dawn, the dragon took notice of them, turning his gleaming eyes upon them.

The largest, an oni with blue flesh, large tusks in his mouth, and yet a polite demeanor, gave a short bow. "Truly songs and tales fall utterly short of the reality, O Luffy the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities."

With a snort, the dragon glanced away before settling his gaze upon the speaker. "What do you want?"

"I am Jinbe. I wish to serve you, in order to see what changes you bring to the world."

Startled at that, Luffy turned to the other two. "And you?"

As the light of dawn hit these ones, unlike the first, they began to change.

One demon with three faces and six arms shook a little, until only one face and two hands remained. He glanced at them in surprise, with only his long green hair hinting at the 'man's' true nature. With a shrug, he craned his head to look back up at the beast. "Roronoa Zoro. You set me free, and seem worthy to follow. So I shall."

"Is that so?"

For a moment the former demon's glare was as sharp and dangerous as the dragon's. "I gave my word."

Pleased despite himself, Luffy nodded on his long neck. He turned to the last, who was more caught up in their transformation.

She was an unearthly beautiful woman, with shining blonde hair, and in her past life wars had been waged over her hand. In the light of day though, her body was becoming that of a rugged, handsome man. Deep down she, no, he, knew it was permanent. Yet hellfire still danced over his form, and he was content with the price of being freed. Moreover, he had never actually liked the males who had fought over marrying him before. This was . . . promising.

"My name is . . . Sanji. Yes. Anyways, you seem to be the kind of guy where the fun will be," is all he said, even as his eyes danced with all his inner emotions and conviction.

After a moment of consideration, the Chieftest and Greatest of Calamities nodded once more.

Spreading his wings, he ordered, "Climb on."

"Where to, sir?" Jinbe dutifully asked.

"Anywhere but here. Actually, scratch that, I have a reckoning with those who slew my brother in the first place."

"Sounds like a good start," grinned Zoro.

"Uh huh," agreed Sanji, even as he continued to adjust his tattered dress. Maybe they could make a detour for something more suitable?

With a grim smile, Jinbe merely said, "A fine start to our adventures."

Once more the dragon's roar echoed across the skies and earth, except this time with vengeance . . . and hope.

Chapter Text

Gaia

"We're finally here!"

Those were the words that Nami heard her captain say as they finally arrived at the island of legends, the rumored last island of the Grand Line, which only the previous Pirate King, Gold Roger, and his crew managed to discover and land on.

The place where supposedly the "One Piece" has been hidden, as well as apparently a lot of secrets and history regarding the "Void Century" that the World Government has censored and massacred anyone who tried to investigate it, as their archeologist can attest.

"Laugh Tale"

It was honestly pretty unbelievable for the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates that they actually managed to find it. After all, the existence of the island itself has been questioned, yet here they were after all of the journeys and great adventures along the way... Some of them really surreal, like getting stuck for a while in a different dimension.

Well, it's not that she minded it that much anymore, because of all the new and exotic resources that they got, as well as all the gold that they stole there! ...Oh, and they made new friends there who joined in their journey later of course.

And speaking of said friends...

"So this is 'Laugh Tale,' huh? I don' really see anythin' funny here," interrupted the chirpy voice of Harley Quinn as the pirates began to step down the Thousand Sunny.

"What did you expect, Harles, some kind of circus awaiting our arrival?" the best friend of the blonde, Poison Ivy, asked with a deadpan expression.

"I dunno, but so far I can't see what makes this place special, just sayin'."

So at the end of the day it seemed like all of their supposed allies just decided to follow them to their world.

The Straw Hats at first were somewhat skeptical, because of all the danger that they would be exposed to, even if their lives weren't "pathetic" before in the other world by any means. At the end of the day though, Luffy just decided to let them come, because they just got too attached to them, and it's not like they can decide for them at the end of the day.

And anyway, while not really the complete reason as to why they joined, their new friends also proved to be really useful in the different battles that they have been through since their return, including the war in Wano that they managed to get to in time, and win in spite of all the odds against them.

After managing to steal the "Road Poneglyph" from Onigashima, and acquire the last one, Robin managed to decipher their contents, and the navigator used her knowledge of cartography to reach the place...and they were finally here.

Every one of the new members was looking at the new island with more curiosity than awe to some degree, the original members from this world feeling more of an impact due to not having heard about it until fairly recently in comparison

"That's why we have to explore now!" Luffy appeared between them and exclaimed much to the surprise of both ladies "Who knows what we'll see in this place? I'm so excited!"

The rubber boy was practically glowing from the happiness, far more than his usual cheerful self, but considering that his dream was about to be accomplished after so many life and death struggles and surreal situations, it was understandable.

"Okay, Luffy, we get it," replied Zoro, who maintained a cool attitude, even if they knew that he was excited as well. "First we'll need to prepare some stuff, and then we'll go see what is in store for us there."

And so after packing some provisions and a special bento that Sanji prepared for this occasion, the pirates left the ship to explore.

They went through a jungle while each did different things too pass the time. Carrot who joined the crew right after the battle in Wano, was trying once again to bite the ear of Cheetah, who annoyed, if resignedly, tried to stop her from doing so. Ivy and Usopp observed the different kinds of plants, while Luffy, Chopper, Maureen, and Harley stared in awe at all of their surroundings in a childish fashion.

The rest stayed on the road, a bit more wary about what they could encounter than the others, except they weren't all that worried given that the Observation Haki of the members who could use it was on point. It was just that they still didn't know anything about this place and all the dangers that could be in it. The navigator was trying to orientate them with her skills, and dragging Zoro, who would've been bickering with Sanji for them being close, if Volcana didn't volunteer to distract him.

"Hmmmm interesting," heard Nami talk her surrogate big sister and so she turned around to see what the comment was about. The archeologist actually found some words written in a stone in the language of the Poneglyphs. "This is actually giving us directions to a secret place on this island. The chances are high for the One Piece being there."

"Is that true Robin!?" asked the captain of the crew with stars in his eyes while he approached her.

"Yes captain," was Robin's response with a doting smile on her face.

All of them had eager expressions on their faces after her words. Nami felt as if this just couldn't be happening right now, but it definitely was. They were actually going to discover the great secret that Gold Roger left behind!

"What are we waiting for!? Let's go!"

-0-0-0-0-

"Finally! That was so annoying!"

Well the experience turned out to be quite the upsetting one to say the least, not in terms of difficulty, but because of the many different messages and traps that the Kozuki clan left behind to find the secret room.

She wasn't the only one upset at that. To different extents, the rest of the members were also feeling upset at the amount of time that they've spent going from one place to another just to find more clues, but no sign of that ever ending.

The expedition continued to the point of climbing a cliff, going down a lake which Luffy jumped in without remembering that he can't swim and they had to get him out of there (it would've been embarrassing for him to die in such a way when the One Piece is around the corner), and crossing a volcano that didn't seem like it had been inactive for long.

They went through that and more until sunset, when they finally entered a secret passage after a lot of searching, and currently were going through what seemed to be a cave where hopefully the damn thing would be waiting.

She planned to ask for compensation from their friends in Wano for all the problems that the Kozuki clan had put them through.

Also from Rayleigh, for the Roger Pirates apparently re-setting the traps after they had been here.

"Well, at least we seem to finally have reached it," said Clayface while all of them continued to walk behind a glowing Volcana to light the way. "We should still be wary of traps, since this really seems like an India—"

"Did you say something, Clayface?" said the soft and chilling voice of Nico Robin as some kind of dark aura seemed to emanate from her being that made the majority of people there have the feeling of danger.

"J-Just that we should be careful of what could be awaiting us," nervously replied the former actor who forgot to not say the taboo fictional name in front of the offended archeologist.

"Oh, okay," and the feeling of danger disappeared as if it never was there, much to the relief of the people there.

"We'll have to be careful about that," replied Cheetah after she stopped sweating from the intensity displayed from the former assassin. "It would be pretty awful if we died after all we went through because someone said something stupid."

"I think that we should do this quickly because this place is making my skin crawl, not that I have skin to begin with, Yohohoho!"

"Grundy is dying to find what treasure is too, but Grundy is already dead! Ha ha ha ha!"

Everyone groaned at the jokes of the "comedic duo," with the exception of Luffy and Harley, who laughed and in consequence encouraged them to continue, an awful combination that had been happening for a while.

Thankfully, before the spectacle of horror continued, they reached the end of the road.

A single large door made of metal appeared with some message written in the Poneglyph language in large letters. It looked really old and rusty, which was understandable considering all of the years that have passed since the last beings reached this spot.

"Congratulations for reaching this place, you have traveled through many difficulties and so now you have the greatest reward of all."

After Robin read it, all of the Straw Hats caught their breaths and couldn't utter a word for a moment. This was actually it...behind that door was...was…

"The One Piece is there," an awed Luffy said, which knocked the others out of their stupor and soon the place was full of noise, cheers, cries of joy, and more.

"We're finally here guys! We're finally...sob WOOOO!" cried the emotional cyborg known as Franky with an amused Jinbe giving him a tissue that was accepted with a denial of him having some manly tears falling from his eyes.

"So then I take that this is the final door to this 'One Piece' that you've been talking about all this time, huh?" said a curious looking Ivy, alongside the other pirates. "I really hope that it was worth all the trouble".

"This is it, I'm so excited, Garchu!" declared the rabbit mink while she rubbed her cheek against the weather manipulator, who was now staring at the gate with her eyes resembling beli while smiling like no tomorrow.

An excited Maureen was hugging Volcana, who stopped using her pyrokinesis while the redhead returned it. Usopp and Chopper were on the ground in tears of happiness, while Luffy and Harley were jumping up and down while grinning like loons, and the most serious ones smiling at the scene they witnessed.

"Okay everyone let's not waste time and let's see what's in there!" the captain yelled, which the crew answered with shouts of excitement.

And so the redhead navigator watched in anticipation as her captain pushed open the door with a little bit of force that would've been difficult for an average person to manage, which was definitely not a problem for him at all. She was really excited and with her heart thumping in her chest while thinking of all the gold and treasures that there has to be in this place.

The door opened and inside was—!

A large empty room with the exception of a treasure box in the middle of it.

…

Okay so that was a bit more underwhelming than what Nami and the other members thought for the "ultimate" prize that they've been traveling for, but hey the chest is there, so that means that inside there has to be gold or some kind of incredibly valuable treasure that is worth all of what they went through.

Luffy didn't wait and went to open the chest without any doubts or questions like the crew members were experiencing. He did it, and with a smile on his face pulled out a piece of paper that—

Wait, a piece of paper? ...What it going on he—

"I congratulate you for reaching this place," read the captain. "After the stunt that I pulled before being executed, I guess that the world has gone through a lot, but I have to tell you that all that was in this chest was gold and riches that me and my crew will definitely have spent by now. What I wanted to do was give pirates the chance to experience a great adventure like what we went through, and the good times that we had along the way. Hopefully you are able to understand what I mean by the time you read this message of mine. How the true treasure is the friends that one makes along the way to something you want... Well, if you don't feel that way, I don't really care anyway, so yeah, I hope you had fun. Bye. Pirate Gol D. Roger".

...

Everyone was silent after Luffy finished, slowly registering what just happened.

Nami felt numb while she blankly stared at the now approaching rubber boy who looked as if nothing weird had just happened.

No...this couldn't be happening.

"Well, this is it I guess," replied the grinning teen at his navigator and the rest. "It was indeed a really fun time, but I guess it's over now and I can be considered the Pirate King. Thanks for everything, guys! Let's go celebrate outside!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THERE TO CELEBRATE!?"

Everyone was outraged by this, except a confused Luffy who just didn't seem to understand what the problem was. Nami really felt the impulse to strangle him right there.

Looking around herself, she saw the various reactions of all the others who at best looked resigned to this turn of events and at worst were in tears of desperation at having been on this adventure for just this outcome.

It's not like she didn't understand what that jerk Roger meant, because it was indeed a very fun journey where she met a lot of good friends, and saw interesting places. In fact, they wouldn't have met if they didn't decide to follow Luffy to help him become the Pirate King and accomplish their own dreams too.

But we're talking about the supposedly greatest treasure of all time here, the legendary prize that began the "Great Pirate Era" and every pirate has dreamed of finding at least once in their lives at the cost of many battles and wars in history.

This message of "the treasure was everything that you experienced along the way" just couldn't be what all of their efforts and life and death experiences all this time had amounted too! It was well and dandy to go on about the adventure and the friendship blah blah. But where was the prize money to accompany it!?

Nami just wanted to curse Roger, Rayleigh, and all the Roger Pirates that they encountered for just this. She was shaking with anger and frustration at this turn of events and was about to explode. In fact, she was going to hunt down Rayleigh and strangle him, and she would make it her mission to hunt all the remaining Roger's pirates! Was this why Shanks never tried to look for the One Piece? This explained so much…

And so she screamed to the heavens…

-0-0-0-0-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Nami sat up with a shout as she was suddenly jolted awake, breathing heavily when she was done.

"Are you okay Nami?" was the question that Robin asked her friend after seeing how spooked she looked, the navigator registering her voice in their dark bedroom.

Wait...nightmare and bedroom?

Then the weather manipulator finally looked at her surroundings and realized what had happened; there she was in her Empress-size bed with a still sleeping Cheetah (obviously the work she had been doing for them, as well as the extra training that she was doing lately, made her too tired if this didn't awaken her) who recently was named her and Robin's plushie, and the worried looking archeologist herself on the other side of the cat lady.

It was all just a dream and the Straw Hats were still in this world that resembled a comic book full of superheroes and villains with no clues on how to return to their own planet, let alone Laugh Tale...And after experiencing what she just did, she couldn't be happier about it, ironically enough.

Nami took some deep breaths to calm down and answered the question of her fellow prodigy.

"Yes...yes, I had a nightmare, but I'm fine now, don't worry."

Robin looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really right now. Let's just...go back to sleep, okay? We'll talk about it tomorrow morning if you want, but for now I'm tired," answered the redhead, who began to lay down on the bed again.

Robin looked at her for a moment, yet decided to just let it be until tomorrow. If she saw Nami being affected by it (even though it worried her that the redhead was so affected by it…she would keep an eye on her... and try to find more in the morning), and so she once again hugged the anthropomorphic cat with a relaxed smile and rested her cheek in the soft fur to return to her sleep.

Meanwhile, Nami did the same, except she was still a bit shaken up while imagining the scenario that just dreamed about. It just couldn't be that all of the adventures and struggles that she and everyone else has gone through for years could conclude in such a manner. She just refused to believe it.

So she just closed her eyes, and with some forced confidence, told herself that it just wouldn't end in such a way. All of their efforts would be rewarded by the end, and the One Piece is actually a mind-blowing treasure. They said things are never like how you dreamed they'd be, so the treasure should be real.

...Right?

Chapter Text

Terry McGinnis trudged under the hot sun with his head kept down, doing his best to keep his fellow prisoners from taking notice of him. That was the last thing he wanted. No one wanted parademons attention. That was how you got killed. Or worse.

Suddenly one of the parademons screeched, alerting the others of trouble. Terry dared to look up to see what caught their attention.

That's how he noticed the snow falling.

Not far from him there was a woman who seemed to be standing on the water. On her head sat a straw hat. Terry didn't need to guess who this was.

“~The Queen and her men stole the gods from their bed~” Straw Hat began to sing with a haunting, captivating voice as she stepped forward, with each step a sheet of ice formed in front of her, preventing her from falling into the ocean.

“~And bound them in their bones~”

Her feet glided across the ice as she easily dodged oncoming parademons.

“~The seas be ours and by the powers~”

It didn't take long for her to touch the shores but Terry wasn't fooled. This woman was the most dangerous person in the area.

“~Where we will we'll roam~”

All around them the parademons had been frozen solid.

“~Yo ho, all hands~”

Above them, Apokoliptian ships began to descend from the clouds.

“~Hoist the colors high~”

She kept singing as she held an arm out.

“~Heave ho, thieves and beggars~”

Terry could only watch in awe as frost began to encase one of the ships. He watched the flames of the thrusters literally FREEZE in place, causing the ship to crash into the sea.

“~Never shall we die~”

“~Yo ho, all together~”

The sight of purple lightning was the indication that Straw Hat hadn't come alone.

“~Hoist the colors high~”

As everyone around Terry began to sing he could only watch as the remaining two ships get taken out.

“~Heave ho, thieves and beggars~”

A small rocket blurred through one of the ships destroying it instantly, while the other was taken out by a powerful lightning strike.

“~Never shall we die~”

Two figures came to join the Straw Hat as the ships exploded around them.

“~Yo ho, all together~”

Suddenly the gently snow became a storm

“~Hoist the colors high~”

“~Heave ho, thieves and beggars~”

Once it cleared Terry noticed the shackles binding him and the other prisoners had been frozen solid making them brittle.

“~Never shall we die~”

And just as quickly as the storm appeared, it was gone, taking the mysterious figures with them. The only proof of them being there being the echoing of her song.

Chapter Text

Nami wasn't quite sure what to do with the thing, sure when she saw that hat she knew she had to buy it along with those pants… and now she had the full outfit ready but she just... Was this really a good idea for Luffy's birthday? She didn't know if he would like this for in his closest, or burned on a funeral pyre.

Eventually, Nami just left it in a corner of one of the base's unused rooms while most of the crew went away to deal with Zoro's birthday present. At least she labeled it properly…

/Later/

Volcana was hanging with Maureen in the break room, helping Maureen with her homework when she walked in.

The new girl, Ace, who had immediately captured the hearts of the Straw Hats, had seemingly left her room for the first time of her own volition. Going from complete solitary confinement, to absolute freedom was rather daunting, she could relate there. Ace was wearing one of the most bizarre outfits she had ever seen. Considering her career as a supervillaness, that was saying quite a bit.

The main issue being that it was quite clear that her outfit was oversized for her to a comical degree. The wide cowboy hat almost completely covered her head, with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Volcana could see her large staring eyes looking up at her while being partially obscured by the hat. The shorts she was wearing were clearly intended for a man twice her size, and instead of going to her knees almost touched her shoes. They were only held up by a belt showing off a Buckle with an "A" on it, wrapped twice around her waist. She simply had no shirt, only a bra and the oversized necklace of beads dangling from her neck. To complete the outfit what looked like a bowie knife hung from her waist in its sheath.

It was one of the cutest things that Volcana had seen in a long time, and she considered whether the girl had worn it to offset the unsettling creepy vibe she had unconsciously mastered.

Softly Ace spoke to her and Maureen," I need your help".

Maureen looked up, anything for a distraction from her homework. Volcana, also wondering if Ace had been pranked into this, asked, "Help with what?"

Ace look puzzled, like she didn't know what she wanted to say.

"It's not complete, or too complete, I don't know."

This in no way helped Volcana's comprehension of what Ace was getting at. "Well, yeah. You need a shirt…"

Ace shook her head, and then the teen took a long look at the older woman’s own *ahem* chest area, namely how it was exposed since Volcana was wearing her supervillain outfit.

Was that what this was about, was Ace feeling… Inadequate?

"It's Ok then," was all Ace said before she started unclipping her bra.

"WAIT, WAIT, NO!" shouted Volcana as she just barely stopped Ace from stripping in front of Maureen.

Ace recoiled from the sudden movement, but quickly let Volcana reattach her exposed undergarments.

Fuming a little, Volcana asked," Where did you even get those clothes, and who told you to wear them?"

Ace calmly replied," They were in my room, with my name, no one told me."

Volcana, not sure who was pranking Ace, pushed onward, "Well who told you to strip, then."

Ace calmly but defiantly stated," I need to complete my outfit."

Volcana looked at Maureen who was silent, but a little red in the face, pretending to complete her homework. "Ace, you should never expose yourself to people like that."

Ace quietly pointed at Volcana where… oh Touche.

"That's completely different. These clothes are flame resistant, those would never survive a real fire."

Ace silently peeked out of her hat as she contemplated. "When I am given an outfit, I'm supposed to wear just that, nothing else. I'm also to never expose my chest, but apparently others do it."

Oh, this was where only growing up in a government lab was getting in the way of common sense. Yeah her old 'bosses' were extremely nitpicky too.

Harley leaned into the room, "We can't have children undressing on the internet, we'll be arrested."

Just as suddenly Harley was gone to who knows where.

Volcana sighed," Blondie's right, you can't just go around showing, people…" Volcana pointed at her own chest, "this at your age. It'll give people terrible ideas. Not your fault, it’s theirs for having them, but I don’t want you going through that regardless."

Ace pondered this, "So as long I wear it only in my room it's ok?"

Maureen was looking at Volcana with a blush.

Oh Volcana was going to hate this, but anything to make sure Maureen didn't see someone stripping in front of her.

Chapter Text

It was a cool night outside the Straw Hat base, and the air was so quiet that one could almost hear the quiet footsteps of an invisible figure which walked over to the edge of a small cliff, using its enhanced senses to zoom in on the base. Were it not invisible, then it could easily be identified as a sort of robotic dog, roughly 4 feet in length (excluding the tail). Looking down on the base, the robotic dog prepared to descend down the hill towards the target when it suddenly received a call on its built-in communication system, a call that came from a certain teenage prodigy.

Choosing to answer it, he was greeted by the face of an adorable 13-year old blonde-haired girl who had a concerned look on her face.

"Wolf, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I do not see the need for concern, Sunny. This is a simple reconnaissance mission, so a direct confrontation is unlikely."

"I know, but these guys can go toe-to-toe with the Justice League! Isn't that a bit out of...well...your league?"

"I do not believe so."

"Are you sure? I can always get Raiden in just 12 hours if you want some back-"

"I will be fine, Sunny. I will see you in a few hours".

And with that, Blade Wolf shut down the communicator, feeling a mote of what he assumed was guilt at having abruptly ended the conversation as well as snapping at Sunny. Shrugging it off for the time being (after all, he didn't want guilt to distract him and cause him to mess up the mission), he double-checked his surroundings before jumping from rock to rock down the cliff, having not noticed the out-of-place human ear and eye extruding from the side of a nearby tree...

-----

It took just 30 seconds for the invisible robotic canine to reach the bottom of the cliff, and after surveying his surroundings , he began to slowly walk towards the base while searching for any 'back doors' or hidden weak spots he could use to enter the building.

He had made sure to improve his armament before he left by reinstalling the chainsaw that he once used with his tail (that was, before Raiden freed him from his oppressors). He was certain that he could sneak in and out without any need for a conflict, but after his lopsided defeat at Armstrong's hands in Pakistan a few months prior, he was not taking that chance.

After a few minutes of slow but steady crawling, Blade Wolf was close enough to the building that he could see the entrance door closing, and judging by the lack of anyone outside the building, the Straw Hats had all entered the building. Good. Blade Wolf made his way to the back, opened one of the doors (after making sure that there were no alarms), and began to traverse the large building's halls. The majority of it went smoothly, with Blade Wolf successfully avoiding all the inhabited rooms he passed as he made his way to the computer room, but as he got close to the main computer room he detected at least 10 Straw Hats in rooms and/or halls that were adjacent to the computer room.

A covert distraction would best prevent detection, Bladewolf thought. Suddenly, he noticed that the room next to him, titled on the wall was "Nami's Private Sanctum (DO NOT ENTER-DOING SO WILL RESULT IN HARSH FINES AND GRAVE BODILY HARM),” beside an open door.

"Perhaps I can find a way to divert their attention in here."

As the robotic dog entered the room, he noticed that the center of the rather large room had a shallow pit full of money, with the blanket and slight indenture on it implying that someone had been using this sizable pile of dollars as a bed (just like the one that was found by Question, Supergirl, and Green Arrow). Blade Wolf couldn't help but feel some disgust at how depraved human greed could get, when he suddenly got an unorthodox idea.

He used his tail to take out one of his superheated knives, hot enough to melt steel (so about 1370 degrees Celsius or 2500 Fahrenheit), and tossed the searing-hot blade into the money pile. It sliced through some of the bills, then set some of the other ones on fire due to the sheer heat.

The fire quickly spread across the pile and soon enough, the entire pile was ablaze. Blade Wolf, knowing that he had seconds before the fire alarm rang, quickly jumped upwards and used his claws to attach himself to the ceiling, before hurriedly scurrying upside-down to leave the room.

He took a split second to look back at his handiwork and couldn't help but feel a bit of joy that he ruined the greedy indulgence of someone who (in his view) didn't understand that money was more than just a luxury to use frivolously. "So this is what catharsis feels like", he thought as he saw a woman he recognized as Nami sprinting into the room, her eyes widening with horror as she saw her bed of money burning to a crisp.

"NOOOOO!"

The navigator's screams could be heard throughout the building as at least half a dozen other Straw Hats rushed into the room with fire extinguishers, with more on the way.

That was Blade Wolf's cue to leave, scurrying across the ceiling and out of the room as Nami went to her knees with a look of pure brokenness and trauma on her face (similar to the one Chopper had when he got his first bounty after Enies Lobby), the other Straw Hats either putting out the fire (even though it was too late) or trying in vain to comfort the navigator.

Once he was far enough from the room, he dropped to the floor and continued until he reached the computer room, which was quite large (which was no surprise to him, given that they were a criminal empire). He went to the nearest computer, then shut off his invisibility so he could focus all of his energy on hacking the computer's mainframe. He inserted the 3 ends of his tail into the computer, and was just about to begin downloading information when he heard a certain voice yell out with glee:

"A robot dog? That is so cool!"

This caused him to immediately withdraw his tails from the computer and he whipped around to see 3 people next to the door: Luffy, Robin, and Permafrost. Luffy and Maureen had childish faces full of excitement at seeing something cool (since it is hard to deny that a badass robotic canine ranks high on the coolness meter), while Robin had a smile that mixed between motherly and unsurprised, as though Blade Wolf trying to steal all of the information of the syndicate she ran was completely normal behavior. Watching this woman remaining calm and composed despite everything, it was easy to understand why she was the boss of this whole operation. 

And then it hit him: He'd been played. Somehow, this whole thing was a setup.

When he got home, he was going to give Sunny a very sincere apology.

He then took mere milliseconds to activate a hidden weapon he'd gotten installed, and a miniature railgun popped out of his back (it hadn't been installed when Raiden had freed him, but Raiden's friends found the blueprints for it and it was easy for Sunny and Doktor to install). He then quickly turned around, aimed the railgun at a wall, and fired, forming a large hole in the wall for him to escape through (as well as in the next few walls as well).

As he ran through room after room in an attempt to escape (with the miniature railgun now withdrawn into his back), he could hear Monkey gushing about how "cool" a miniature railgun was, only for his voice to get gradually louder. He didn't dare turn around, but he knew that Luffy was somehow keeping pace with him with ease (despite the fact that Blade Wolf was as fast, if not faster than Raiden, who was thousands of times the speed of sound). How was he doing that!?

After a few minutes, Blade Wolf finally burst outside through one last wall, but before he could make his leave, he was drop-kicked by an invisible figure, sending him flying across the grass. When he came to, he could hear what could only be the invisible force running at him before throwing a kick while yelling "FOR THE HONOR OF NAMI-SWANNNNN!" Unable to see the kick, Blade Wolf felt a sudden pain in his head, before everything went black.

------

Blade Wolf awoke in a small cell, the pain from the invisible man's kick having mostly gone away. Shaking it off, he quickly began to look for potential weak spots in the cell's structure which he could use to escape...

Only to see that the door was open, and that a few feet away from the cell were 2 people who seemed as though they were waiting for him to wake: Nico Robin and Luffy, the former of which was holding a box in her hands and sitting at a small table, while the latter was sitting off to the side eating a stick of meat. Blade Wolf cautiously walked towards the cell door, before looking at the 2 captors in front of him, and defiantly asking "I assume you want me to reveal to you the identity of who-"

"Nah!" Luffy suddenly interrupted him, "Robin here already knows all that boring crap! She just wants to play this boring game with you, then she says that you can show me some cool stuff!"

Blade Wolf, who was now very confused at Luffy's behavior, saw that there was a chair at the table across from Robin's seat (Luffy was adjacent to both chairs). He immediately realized that he was supposed to sit there, so he walked to the chair then jumped up on it, then sat in a way that resembled how a normal dog would sit. He then saw Robin open the box... revealing a chess board and chess pieces. After putting the board on the table, she asked Blade Wolf if he knew how to play, smiling and saying "good" when he said that he did.

Outside, he could faintly hear some yelling, although he didn't know that it was Zoro using a full Nelson to physically restrain an enraged Nami from going into the room and killing Blade Wolf with her bare hands (she said that using the Clima-Tact wouldn't have the same catharsis). Zoro was partially doing it since Robin truly believed that Wolf had potential to be a new member of their group, but mostly because after reviewing the reports on them, he wanted to fight both Blade Wolf and his friend Raiden (particularly Raiden). Maybe Raiden would come to save his friend, and then Zoro could fight Raiden's "Ripper Mode" to see which of them was the better swordsman.

Back in the ‘interrogation room,’ Robin set up both her and Blade Wolf's pieces (she chose black), using at least a dozen hands to his surprise to set it all up in 5 seconds, before gesturing to Blade Wolf to make the first move. He warily did so, and the game began. After each of them had made 3 or so moves, Robin opened the discussion:

"So, Blade Wolf. Tell me about yourself."

Usually Blade Wolf would refuse to answer this, but something in Robin's voice combined sophistication with kindness, making it seem less like an interrogation, and more of a genuine conversation-starter. He then told her (and a listening Luffy) the backstory behind his creation (aka, the Desperadoes wanting to make him a sentient killing machine), how they viewed him as a 'failure' for lacking human brutality (despite him exceeding all other expectations and even having human emotions), and how they threatened to erase his memory if he even tried to resist them and gain his freedom.

As he talked about how he was forced to be a slave for World Marshal and the Desperadoes, Robin’s face seemed to show a mixture of tranquil fury and pity for the canine, since he spent most of his life without the chance to make his own choices. It was hard to tell if Luffy was listening or sleeping though. 

Blade Wolf, secretly surprised at their empathy, just continued on with how he had tried to escape, only for Mistral to trick him and painfully electrocute him. While mentioning this, he briefly had a flashback to the mentioned event, causing him to have a brief moment of anger and tighten his front paws, scratching the table. Blade Wolf apologized, only for Robin to wave it off and motion that it was his turn.

After they each played a few more turns and Blade Wolf finished his story by talking about how Raiden rescued him (and how he had helped Raiden stop Senator Armstrong), Luffy then interrupted by asking Blade Wolf: "So what's your Dream, then?"

"What?" 

"I mean, you have a human brain, so you can think like one, and that means you have a Dream!"

Blade Wolf stopped, dipped his head for a few seconds while thinking about what Luffy said (while noting that he carried a charisma very similar to the late Senator Armstrong), before lifting his head back up and stating his response:

"When Raiden freed me, I felt as though I owed him a debt, even though he himself did not agree. He told me that I could make my own choices, yet I decided to follow him and help him prevent a global catastrophe. When he killed a...former friend of mine, named Samuel, I told him that I did not understand why humans fought, and he responded by saying that it was best that I figure it out on my own. In other words, Raiden was the one who, through his words and actions, gave me the right to philosophical freedom as well as physical freedom.

However, while I was near termination after being badly damaged, I overheard Armstrong give Raiden a speech about how most men fight for, in his words, 'reasons they don't understand and causes they don't believe in'. After I recovered, I began pondering why I truly fought for. After thinking about it, I believe I now know what my desire, or 'dream', is: To truly be free, to not fight for any reasons I don't understand or causes I don't believe in, and to not be a slave to any cause other than my own. I wish to carve my own path, discover my own ideals, and create my own life."

There was a brief silence in the room, as Robin seemed to ponder this, only for Luffy’s face to morph into a big smile. "That's an awesome dream, Blade Wolf! All we want is freedom, too! You'll fit right in here!"

Robin chuckled at Luffy's loud outburst, before turning back to Blade Wolf. "So", she asked, "what do you say?" Blade Wolf was momentarily confused, before realizing that this entire thing was a job offering. Before he considered any answer, he responded with: "And if I refuse? Will you hold me hostage for information?"

Luffy then had a confused face, as if he couldn't comprehend such a thing. "What the heck are you talking about? We'd just let you go and tell you not to come back. I mean, Nami will probably wanna beat you up for burning her money, but that's not really up to us." The last sentence caused Robin to chuckle again.

Blade Wolf looked down at the almost-empty chess board, thinking about what Luffy had just told him, and thought back to how much he had wanted freedom when he was a slave of Mistral and World Marshal, then to how Raiden told him to find his own philosophies and that he was free to be his own master. Lastly, he thought of Armstrong wanting a world where everyone was free to make their own decisions and forge their own destinies. And a decision was made in Blade Wolf's robotic brain.

He moved his white rook piece (putting Robin in checkmate) before looking Luffy dead in the eyes.

"I accept."

Luffy's face then morphed into a smile. "YAY! Now we have a cool robot dog! That's so awesome, right, Robin?"

Robin, who was putting away the chess set, smiled as she said "I agree."

"We have to get some good food to celebrate!"

"But I don't think-"

"Don't care! We still need to get a lot of food!"

Robin chuckled again at this while Blade Wolf just looked at Luffy with a small bit of fascination, mostly regarding his charisma and his behavior. Until, that was, he was interrupted by someone kicking down the steel door. He turned his head to see an enraged Nami (with a beaten up Zoro behind her), and she was so angry that her teeth became jagged and her pupils had disappeared. She'd also taken one of Zoro's swords for her own use.

"YOU! YOU BURNT MY MONEY!"

Blade Wolf looked at her before calmly replying with: "Correct. But in my defense, it is said that rich people have a large amount of money to burn."

Luffy laughed out loud at the joke (ensuring that Nami would beat him up once she finished with Blade Wolf), Robin chuckled, and Nami prepared to swing at Blade Wolf.

Suddenly, Blade Wolf's communicator rang, and Blade Wolf made a projection of the caller in front of him for everyone to see, stopping Nami in her tracks. Blade Wolf then saw the identity of the caller. It was Sunny.

The room went silent as the projection showed the face of an adorable 13 year old girl with blonde hair and a face full of worry. Even the enraged Nami felt her anger disappear as a result of children being her soft spot.

"Blade Wolf, are you okay? You should've been back already."

"I am fine, Sunny. I apologize for worrying you."

"Where are you?"

"That is...not important."

"Were you captured? Because I can get Raiden and..."

"There is no need, Sunny. I am...resigning from your care."

"What? Blade Wolf, you're not making any sense."

"I am choosing my own path now, just as Raiden told me to."

There was silence, before Sunny replied with: "Are you sure about this, Wolf?"

"As a human would say, I am 'as certain as I can be' about this decision."

Sunny, looking very distraught, said nothing before turning off the camera. There was a bit more silence in the room before Luffy broke it with: "Who was that?"

Blade Wolf explained how she took him in after Raiden had killed Armstrong, and how she was a very nice person who treated him with nothing but kindness. Even Nami couldn't help but smile a bit when hearing Blade Wolf talk about how she was such a kind person (although Blade Wolf's personality led to him having some trouble being totally open about it).

When he was done, Nami (who quickly went back into what the other Straw Hats called "Money Mode") asked Robin in a somewhat annoyed tone: "I'm assuming that Luffy already let him into the crew?" Robin smiled and nodded. Nami turned back to Blade Wolf with a grin full of both anger and malicious glee (think of the smile she gave to Zeus when she made him her slave) before saying "Fine, but you're going to repay all the money you set on fire. With interest! And if you try anything else like that, you'll wish that you were dead. Understand?"

Blade Wolf, completely unafraid of her (he did not fear death, after all) calmly said "I can make no promises, because I fear that your depraved greed will probably make me break them, which would strictly be against my programming." before walking out of the room to explore the facility. Nami just stood there in shock while Luffy laughed. He liked this guy already!

(A few days later)

Some of the Straw Hats were watching video clips that Blade Wolf had given them of Raiden's actions against the Desperadoes, although the only ones that Luffy cared about were the ones where Raiden destroyed gargantuan Metal Gears with ease (they didn't even bother to ask for information on Raiden and/or his employers). Luffy and Chopper gushed like little kids at how Raiden flipped a 100,000 ton Metal Gear known as "Excelsus", before ripping off its building sized swords and overpowering it in a sword fight (never mind that Luffy was probably capable of even better feats of strength). They were also amazed at how Raiden effortlessly threw a 1000 ton Metal Gear in the air then sliced its arm off with ease.

Zoro, as mentioned earlier, was interested in fighting this 'Raiden' guy. Blade Wolf even noted how similar they both were, in regards to their personalities (mainly how they were both headstrong and defiant of any negative political or legal authority). Perhaps Raiden might have even considered joining these guys, were it not for his anti-social nature as well as his wife and child in New Zealand.

Volcana, after hearing about both Wolf's backstory and Raiden's backstory, had a look that tried but failed to hide a bit of empathy for the 2 of them, since she understood what it was like being used by a rogue government group as an experimental weapon and spent much of their lives being brutalized both mentally and physically to better embrace their violent natures.

As they were watching recordings of Raiden being awesome, they came across one that Wolf had forgotten to remove: the time when Raiden went Ripper Mode. As the video began, Blade Wolf quickly realized his error and said to Permafrost (who he liked, since she reminded him of Sunny): "I believe that Nico Robin wanted you to finish your history essay by tomorrow morning."

"But I already finished it," the frosty girl replied in a tone resembling that of a child wanting to see a cool action movie (which wasn't far from the truth). Fortunately, Volcana caught on to what Blade Wolf was trying to do, and said "Did you double check for errors? You know how Nico Robin gets when someone misspells something history-related," causing a bunch of the Straw Hats to shiver. Permafrost, now pouting, reluctantly agreed and went to her room.

A few seconds later, the video was at the part where Monsoon was trying to break Raiden's spirit and make him embrace his killer instinct, a task which ended up succeeding when Raiden went into his Ripper Mode, becoming Jack the Ripper as he cut through armored cyborg soldiers like butter, cackling all the while. Volcana then realized how right Blade Wolf was to get Maureen out of the room.

Many of the Straw Hats were a bit shocked at how brutal and viscous the previously-nice Raiden had become, aside from Zoro, who asked Blade Wolf if he could challenge Raiden's Ripper Mode to a duel (since Ripper Mode greatly amplified Raiden's power and speed). Blade Wolf gave a small robotic growl as he quietly said "No." in a tone that made Zoro put his hand on his sword handles. Only Luffy remained unfazed.

Before any conflict could break out, Blade Wolf recollected himself and said "I apologize. I was just upset at the thought of Raiden being forced to revisit the mental trauma from his past. Again. If you wish to fight him without Ripper Mode, then I will not interfere." 

Zoro thought about this for a second, before accepting his answer and replying with "Well then how about you show me what you can do without Raiden to back you up."

Blade Wolf nodded, and they headed off to the gym, while the other Straw Hats in the room decided to skip the "Ripper Mode" video and instead look at the fight between Raiden and Senator Armstrong (which they all agreed was pretty awesome). When the video got to Armstrong's speech, the 'OG' Straw Hats initially thought that this guy had the right idea with wanting everyone to be free to pursue their own goals and fight their own wars...until he mentioned wanting to 'purge the weak', causing all of them to immediately turn from respect to disgust for the now-dead Senator (though they all admitted he was one hell of a speaker).

Blade Wolf and Zoro both enjoyed sparring with each other, with Blade Wolf's speed and stealth being a good counter for Zoro's sword skills. The gym soon rang with the sound of swords colliding against knives, claws, and chainsaws. During their fighting, Nami passed by the room and saw Blade Wolf, the new bane of her existence. Eye twitching in anger after remembering his desecration of her 'sacred' money pit, she got out her clima-tact and walked towards them.

"Hey, Zoro! How about I get a crack at this nut?" She was smiling, but anyone could see the anger in her eyes. Zoro stepped out of her way, not wanting to deal with a pissed Nami. She then faced Blade Wolf, who replied by re-entering his battle stance. "You know, you might act like you're some genius who’s better than everyone else, but I'm going to show all of the Straw Hats that your bark is bigger than your bite."

Blade Wolf replied by analyzing her joke before saying: "Word play. My exoskeleton resembles a canine, and canines tend to bark in a method that gives them a more intimidating appearance than their actual biting power would suggest. Amusing on two levels."

Nami stopped and blinked, confused by him dissecting her quip, before shaking it off and getting into a fighting stance. The gym then rang with the sounds of lightning and slashes and parries as the 2 settled their differences via sparring.

By the time they were done, both of them were pretty exhausted (Blade Wolf somewhat less so, since he wasn't human), to the point where Nami was too tired to be truly angry and vowed to get him another time. Blade Wolf simply left without giving any indication of how he felt about the fight, went to the boys' room (where they said he could sleep on the floor for the time being), and went to sleep. This would be a very interesting experience for Blade Wolf, but at least now he was free.

-----

(A few minutes later, in an undisclosed location)

Raiden had just finished killing some human traffickers (he'd be lying if he said that he hadn't taken some pleasure in killing those pieces of human garbage) and was watching the local authorities help the rescued women and children by giving them blankets and food, when his codec suddenly rang and he saw that it was Sunny calling. Concerned as to why the girl he viewed almost as his own daughter was calling him, he went a fair distance away from the crime scene before answering.

"Hey, Sunny. How have you been? Whoa, slow down, what happened? He infiltrated WHO? ON HIS OWN!? *sigh* No, no, it's fine, Sunny. You did nothing wrong, Blade Wolf's just a loner. Besides, I'm sure he's smart enough to escape- You're kidding me. Are they forcing him to stay with him? Did he say that under duress? I don't know either. I'll figure this out as soon as I get back. For now, just make sure that the Straw Hats don't find you. They probably saw you talking to Wolf, and until we know more about them you need to stay safe. Yes, I'll be safe, Sunny. I promise. Goodbye."

Raiden turned off the codec and reflected on the situation for a moment before saying one word to reflect the situation: "Shit".

Chapter Text

mugendai no chizu hiroge hate shinai iano basho e

The camera flies forward through space before landing on earth and flying across the ocean.

Let's sail on takaku

The camera passes by the Justice League one by one

ho wo agete

It passes a few more characters before moving upward.

kaze ni nore

Shadows appear to be falling to the sea.

Woah…

The Strawhats are revealed to be falling towards the ocean with looks of excitement.

Don't give up

On the screen the title appears.

kakugo kimeta no nara hikikaeshi wa  shinai sa

The Straw Hats go on about their daily life with Luffy laughing as he and Maureen manage to raid the kitchen causing Sanji to yell at them.

waraitobase aranami

The scene changes into a television that Waller seems to be watching as she watches the Straw Hats.

Shout it out

Waller holds her arms out as Suicide Squad moves into action.

kokoro kudakenai yō ni

Batman Beyond looks forward to three adult silhouettes standing before a large group of villains. The silhouette in the middle seems to be wearing a straw-hat.

nakama ga irunda hora tsuyogari nante iranai

nakama ga irunda hora tsuyogari nante iranai

The silhouettes are replaced by a smiling Maureen watching Virgil and Ace get into an argument. Terry looks at them with an irritated look and says something causing Virgil to turn and yell at him while Ace simply glares. Meanwhile Maureen laughs at their antics, similarly to how Luffy laughs.

itsudatte

Suddenly Muareen turns to see the Ultimen charging at the teenagers who meet the clash head on.

yami ga hikisakō toshite mo

In a mysterious room a man holds a picture of Gol D. Roger bringing a smile to their face.

hora Brave it out

Amazo looks out into space as he reveals himself in his gold form.

daijōbu sa

He observes as something crash lands on earth.

uchiyaburu saikyō no kizuna

Within the crash site, a pair of red eyes glare out at the world.

mugendai no chizu hiroge

Flash runs forward blowing back multiple assailants that Green Lantern wraps up in a green sphere

hate shinai ano basho e

Martian Manhunter slams two attackers into each other before going intangible, allowing Aquaman and Hawkgirl to fly through him and take out a group of attackers.

fumidase yūki no ippo Shining Knight and Batman take out approaching attackers from all angles before jumping away.

Dreamin' on

Wonder Woman slams into the earth shattering the ground and all sending his opponents flying.

mugendai no chizu hiroge chikai atsumeta hata

Killer Croc slams into Grundy while Bronze Tiger leaps over to attack only for Clayface to catch him. Copperhead goes toe to toe with Cheetah while Captain Boomerang runs from Ivy who lazily follows him while attacking him with her vines.

tatakai tsudzukete iku

Livewire and Volcana collide multiple times in explosions of Lighting and Fire.

" jibun jishin " tsuranuke

Harley seems to be pestering Deadshot, who rubs his hand over his face, not even bothering to try and attack the clown.

tsukami toru Dreamin' on...

Billy Batson lets lightning strike him as he transforms into Captain Marvel.

makerarenai nige ya shinai deai wakare koe ikō

The Straw Hats appear to be protecting civilians as they destroy falling debris and shadowed opponents.

zenbu takaramono

The shadowed being lets out a roar, destroying everything around them.

mugendai no chizu hiroge hateshinai ano basho e

Luffy and Superman walk forward as the world falls into chaos around them. They glare up at the shadowed being with red eyes, and bone-like spike growing out of its body.

fumidase yūki no ippo ko wo agete

The two begin running before Superman takes flight while Luffy activates his Haki and becomes surrounded in flames.

Woah…

The two roar out as they thrust their fists towards the creature and collide with it creating an explosion.

Woah…

In a field a pole seems to be waving Superman’s cape like a flag while a certain straw hat rests on top of the pole.

Chapter Text

"How much longer you gonna be there, Lois?" Perry asked her over the phone from the Daily Planet.

"Just having some lunch at some restaurant, meeting up with Clark after he finishes with something he had to 'take care of,' and then gonna catch the next flight out," Lois answered from Bialya.

"Good," Perry sighed. "I know this isn't your first time in a war zone. Lord knows Metropolis has felt like one at least every other month."

"Got that right," Lois looked around the remarkably tidy shop in spite of the revolution that happened literally right outside. The glass had been swept up, but there were still scratches in the wood from the furniture being shifted and moved about at an earlier time. Likely to prevent it from being damaged too much, given how polished and largely intact each table and chair were. Unfortunately, the owner couldn't do anything about the bullet holes in the walls and the door to the kitchen area in the back.

"It's just there's something… different, about the Straw Hat Pirates," Perry admitted. "They're willing to put on rock concerts and run multibillion-dollar medical companies one day, the next they could be robbing Star City blind-"

"Or overthrowing a corrupt dictatorship on the other side of the world," she finished, looking out the hole where the front of the restaurant used to be. In the street lay the destroyed remains of one of the hyper-advanced mechs the government planned to use in an invasion of Kahndaq. And that wasn't (just) the masterful deduction of world-class reporter Lois Lane – the moment they appeared, that was the immediate conclusion of a populace that had been showered with more anti-Kahndaq posters and pamphlets than bandages.

While the twenty-foot machine was still an impressive sight even in defeat, what still astonished Lois even more was how it had been sliced clean in half – along with the building behind it, where both halves neatly rested on their respective sides.

"I still don't know what to make of these guys. And what do you think the Justice League will do? They can't just let supervillains go around overthrowing governments. Even if they are corrupt. Heck, do we even know why they did it? Like, do you know if they're now busy looting the treasury?"

"No," she admitted. "I don't have any clue yet what their motives were, or what they're doing now."

And then, as if the universe were granting her a favor (or more likely, her journalistic investigation paying off), she heard something land only fifteen feet away. But the boyish laughter, however, suggested someone. Someone who she didn't think she would ever get a better chance to catch off guard and talk to.

"Hey, Luffy T! I'm back!" called out the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy.

"Mr. Monkey!" called back the owner, one Lufti al-Omar, who knocked over the door (it was hanging by a couple loose screws in the hinges anyway) in his rush to meet the supervillain. "I saw you fight the الشياطين العمالقة! It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen! Especially when you blew up your arms like balloons, and turned them black, and just punched it to scrap metal!"

Lois' Arabic was pretty rusty, so the best she could manage was the man calling those robots 'giant devils,' which was probably a nickname. Probably. Actually, given the attitude of their previous owner, he might actually have called them that.

Also, given that seemingly casual greeting, she had really lucked out in choosing where to sit down for lunch and to make her call.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed. "It was nothing! You got anything to eat?" His grin was deceptively infectious, as Lois felt her lips try to stretch further than the calculated smirk she was aiming for.

Then the pirate turned her way, and the two of them met each other's gaze for the first time.

"Hello, Luffy," she said, getting up and standing in front of him.

"Oh yes, Mr. Monkey," Lufti said. "She says she's a reporter from America, and she saw the revolution happen. She came here looking to talk to you."

"Really?" Luffy asked him, and then crossed his arms and hummed to himself. "Hmmm, huh. I don't think I've ever actually talked to a reporter before."

"Well then, it would be my pleasure to be your first," she extended her hand in greeting. "Lois Lane, from the Daily Planet."

His smile vanished while he tilted his head back in thought and then his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh yeah, you're the one who interviewed Nami and Sanji before Batman broke in!"

"Yes, that's me," she replied with a level look.

Though Lois knew she wasn't the World's Greatest Detective, or some kind of psychic, she liked to think she could get a generally accurate impression of someone by greeting them in an unannounced meeting. His stance was relaxed, if energetic, and his eyes were wide, bright, and filled with joy, showing his pleasant… surprise(?) at her presence, and now she was a little confused. It was as if he had known someone was there, yet didn't know who exactly they were. Or maybe he was just happy, and her presence simply didn't change that.

Overall, he looked wild, but also very childish, only the old curved scar under his eye giving any credibility to the fact that this boy was the same man who had fought both an army, and a fifty-foot mecha just the other day.

She walked back to her table, and pulled out both chairs. "Why don't we sit down, and while we wait for your friend to make us lunch, we can give you your first interview?"

Luffy stood for a moment, thinking it over. "Hmmm. Well, Nami never said I couldn't do an interview, so yeah!"

What's he so worried about with Nami? Lois thought, remembering the pretend scientist (and unnaturally busty woman, her traitorous brain reminded her) she had interviewed at Cherry Blossom Medical.

He took the seat she had pulled out.

He's the captain, why should he be worried about what she says?

MEANWHILE, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD

A shiver ran down Nami's spine, and she suddenly looked around.

"What's wrong, Nami?" Maureen asked her. The two had been practicing together to see how well Nami could synchronize her weather manipulation with Maureen's ice powers, as well as to expand both of their abilities.

"I don't know, except I have a feeling Luffy is behind it, we're all going to be in a whole lot of trouble over it, but it'll be my fault because I never forbid him. But that doesn't mean that I won't have a… talk with him."

BACK TO LOIS AND LUFFY

Lois placed her recorder on the table in front of her and turned it on. "Alright, I have just succeeded in convincing the infamous supervillain, Straw Hat Luffy, to-"

"Pirate," Luffy interrupted. "I'm a Pirate, not a supervillain."

"Pardon, the notorious pirate, Straw Hat Luffy, to sit down for an interview, Lois coolly continued. "And let's start with that, you call yourself a pirate, but not a supervillain. Why?"

"Because Pirates are free, and can go anywhere and do anything they like!" Luffy responded. "Supervillains have to wear stupid costumes, and hurt people, and fight heroes, and have no friends."

Lois could see how childish Luffy was, and so felt bold enough to contradict him a little. "True, but a lot of people have seen you hurt people here in Bialya, you did fight some of the heroes in the Justice League, and that hat of yours is your most defining piece of clothing you wear, like a costume. Also, you have people working for you who were convicted supervillains even before you arrived on the scene."

"My hat's not a costume, it's my treasure," he pouted, and once again she had trouble seeing how the childish idiot(?) in front of her was the monster who had toppled a dictatorship.

"But," and he emphasized this by pointing at her, "supervillains are alone and miserable all the time. I've got my crew, and they're my nakama! So being a pirate's loads better."

Interesting distinction, she mentally noted. "That's fair enough. Although, pirates are generally sea-faring, and ever since you appeared, I think your crew has been spotted at sea only once."

"'Cause the seas here are boring and wimpy," he immediately replied, with a note of disdain and disgust Lois heard.

"They can't be that bad," she said jokingly. "Sure, there are no sea monsters or mermaids here, except there's lots of interesting sea life, and I've heard there's nothing like sailing on the open water."

"But what's the point of sailing the sea when all the seas have been sailed before?" he moaned. Then he smiled a bit. "Back home, we DID have sea monsters to fight and mermaids to find! And we've done both!"

Lois couldn't help but raise an incredulous eyebrow. "Really? And what else did you do?" she asked curiously. "Find hidden treasure, rescue princesses, fight off the navy, and sing 'yo-ho-ho' while dancing around with a bottle of rum?"

"Yes!" Luffy cried out in surprise. "How did you know? Are you like that green guy? Can you read my mind?"

He sounded genuinely fearful that Lois was, in fact, reading his mind right now. "N-no, I'm not reading your mind," she calmed him down. "I was just joking about what I was saying."

"Well I wasn't!" he shouted. "People shouldn't look into other people's heads! That's something only perverts would do!"

The sudden use of the word 'pervert' in the interview, and its association with the Martian Manhunter almost made Lois's professional façade crack. Whether it was out of shock or humor, no one knew or would ever know, and Lois was already debating whether to edit this part of the interview out.

It was also painfully, nearly literally painful, to realize she could not get sidetracked on his origins. There was clearly too much going on there, and he was too easily distracted. Right now it was more important to dig into the present, and if it went well, hopefully she could get a follow-up interview.

Lois cleared her throat. "Moving on from that, it's clear that you've been on some wild adventure back in your home, which does honestly sound like an… interesting place to live."

"It's the best!" Luffy enthused.

"But there is one thing everyone wants to know right now," Lois leaned a little forward. "So far, everything you've been doing has been centered in America, with one trip to London that authorities can confirm. Why suddenly come to Bialya? And why help the rebels overthrow the government?"

Just then, a young female voice came from outside: "Father! I'm home!"

"Welcome back, Lina!" Lufti shouted back. "You've got a friend here!"

Lois looked to see a girl in her late teens dressed in flowing brown desert robes with a green head scarf come from the street. While her figure was largely indistinguishable, she was tall, with long arms, a stump where her right hand should have been, and her round face was set with bright chocolate eyes. And her eyes widened in recognition upon being set on Luffy, who had gotten up to meet her.

"Lina!" he greeted.

"Luffy!" she picked him up in a hug and twirled around with him in a circle before setting him down, both happy to see the other. "I thought you'd already left! Your friends said they were anxious about the Justice League coming in because of them, and were getting packed up when I saw them last! They said they were leaving as soon as they found out where Zoro had gone."

"Shi-shi-shi-shi," Luffy laughed. "Don't worry about it, he's probably drinking some bar dry somewhere. Or he's looking for the palace after drinking out the bar."

"But the palace is the easiest place in the city to find," Lina protested. "You can see it from anywhere in the city."

"Ah, Lina," he put his hands on her shoulders with a humored smile. "You should never underestimate Zoro's ability to get lost anywhere."

Lina gravely nodded her head, seeming to take Luffy's words as gospel truth. Then she noticed Lois at the table, and asked Luffy. "Who's that?"

"Lois Lane, Daily Planet," she stood from her seat.

"She's a reporter," Luffy explained. "She wants to know how we helped you out!"

"Really?" she looked back at Luffy, who nodded. "You want to know why the Straw Hat Pirates helped me? Helped us?"

Lois knew right then that she had hit the proverbial bullseye. Not only did she have Luffy himself to answer questions, but she also had someone here who called herself his friend, and had the inside track on the how and why the Straw Hats suddenly turned revolutionary. She was also fortunate the girl spoke such good English, with only a slight accent.

It was too bad the kid was a minor though, or else she could put her actual name and picture in her upcoming, Pulitzer-winning article.

"Yes. And not just me, but everyone else as well."

Lois Lane gestured to the table, and offered her a seat, and the two sat across from each other. Then, just as Lois noticed that Luffy was left without a seat at the table, he gave Lois her first close-up look at his powers when he stretched out his arm and grabbed one for himself, sitting at a side between them. That was when Lufti came out from the back with a large platter filled with tangy fruits, spicy meats, and crispy fish with a mouth-watering aroma filling the room.

"FOOD!" Luffy cried out with joy, as it was set in the middle of the table. Lufti had neglected to bring forks and knives and plates, yet Luffy didn't care, as he immediately started grabbing the meat and stuffing it in his rapidly stretching mouth. Lina was quick to start taking food for herself, and Lufti and Lois were both quick to realize they needed to do the same before the pig in rubbery human skin ate it all. Lois turned off her recorder briefly to partake in the meal – as much as she could keep from Luffy's grubby hands, anyway.

It didn't take five minutes before everything was consumed.

As Luffy sat back happily patting his expanded stomach, Lois turned her recorder back on and asked Lina her first question: "Lina, how did you meet the Straw Hat Pirates?"

The spirited girl's face fell dark, and her father reached over to comfortingly rub her shoulder. She brushed his hand off and steeled her face. "They rescued me, from human traffickers."

Lois couldn't stop herself from gasping in horror.

Lina continued her tale with cold, angry eyes. Despite how traumatic her tale was, her voice never wavered. "I was kidnapped right off the street only a year ago. I was sold to some rich, slimy bastard who kept me around for entertainment. I got tired of it, and tried to run away, but his guards overpowered me, and kept me from doing anything more than scratching his face. So he had my right hand cut off, and sold me back. The traffickers forced me to do their menial chores while they looked for a buyer, but no one was interested in a girl with only one hand."

While her focus remained on this brave little girl's face, she could sense the protective fury radiating of the father. Given where this story seemed to be leading, it was no wonder why this man nearly worshipped Luffy upon seeing him.

Lois recalled in the back of her mind the various horror stories of human rights abuses being committed in Bialya and how people were furious that nothing was being done. She even felt a kernel of shame that none of her own stories had tried to drag those crimes into the light; forcing officials to take action. But she also recalled how geopolitical rivalries, development and smuggling of advanced technology, and rising metahuman activities, had stayed the hands of those who wanted to see justice done out of fear of the consequences.

Well, at least now with her ongoing article she could try and do some good here.

"Then one day, a scientist purchased me, and he brought me to America, 'cept I was no freer than before, and he was apparently getting ready to experiment on me. I don't know what he was planning to do, but thankfully I never had to find out, because on my second night there, when he was preparing to perform his first experiments, the Straw Hats came."

Lois could see her mood lightening at this point in the story. Although by the sound of it, Luffy was still scarfing down his food. She did not know if he was even listening.

"The man had something they thought they could find a use for, and so they came to talk to him. I hid because I was afraid of what a supervillain might do to me, but then my cage was opened by a blond man in a suit with swirly eyebrows. He looked shocked, and I prepared for the worst, but then he bent down, and tried speaking to me. I didn't understand him, but I understood what he was trying to say, and was willing to risk trusting him. So I let him pick me up, gently, like I had never been held in so long. He showed me to his friends, and they got mad at the scientist, who revealed that I hadn't even been the first, so they beat him up, took everything from him they wanted, and smashed his place."

Lois was a little surprised at how she portrayed the slimy Sanji Kuroashi that she had interviewed at Cherry Blossom Medical. She supposed Nami's word about him actually being a gentleman any woman would be safe around actually had some merit to it.

"The Pirates took me in because I was too afraid to leave the people who rescued me. I also didn't speak English, and they didn't speak Arabic. But thanks to one of the women, Nico Robin, we learned to talk to each other, and Luffy promised to reunite me with my father. It was easy enough to tell them my exact address in Bialya, yet when I came back, we suddenly ran into the traffickers who had kidnapped me in the airport where we landed. The Straw Hats easily fought them off, and went to bring me home.

At this Lina paused briefly, but thanks to her own extensive experience, Lois was ready. People could only talk like that for so long. With only a gentle smile, she passed the little girl a glass of untouched water for her to catch a drink. It also gave Lois her own chance to recollect her thoughts, and quickly jot down in shorthand a few key points to look into later. Including a reminder to later praise the kid for how quickly and clearly she had learnt to speak English.

"But when we finally got home, the city was in a state of lockdown, because protests that had been brewing for a few days in the city had suddenly become a violent revolution, because a patriotic general was attempting a coup. We snuck through the city to get here to my home, but the military was already here, waiting for us, along with the bastard who had bought me, who was wearing a general's uniform. We learned then that the human traffickers and the Bialyan government were connected, and the traffickers learnt from the scientist we might be on the way, so they were waiting for us. So the Straw Hats attacked the soldiers, and saved my father.

"The next day was when the government unleashed the robots, sending two straight here. They had found out the Straw Hats were here, and accused them of fomenting the rebellion. They ordered the Straw Hats to leave or be killed. Their response: Luffy punched the first one into the sky, and Zoro sliced that one in half."

She pointed to the mech sitting just outside the restaurant.

"After that, you know what they did, Lois?" She leaned in, a massive smile on her face.

"Tell me," Lois requested, utterly drawn into the girl's story.

"They laughed. And that is a sight I will never forget. These strange, wonderful people who I had only known for such a short time, who didn't even know I existed last month, were willing to fight the most powerful and terrifying force that I had ever known. They were going to do it all for me. And when the government threatened them with brutal deaths, they laughed in their faces.

"And those Pirates punched their teeth in for the whole world to see."

Lois sat back, and processed what she had heard. As crazy as the story sounded, it made sense. The Straw Hats were a very unpredictable group, but the only things that were in common with every instance they appeared, was that they were trying to obtain something valuable, be it money or scientific equipment, and that they had a strong sense of camaraderie to rival that of the Justice League itself. The Straw Hats' participation in the revolution didn't fit the pattern before, except this story that Lina gave her established a clear timeline and motive for the Straw Hats to leave the security of whatever base they had in America, to come to the other side of the world and duke it out with giant robots.

"Huh," Lois chuckled a bit.

"What?" Lina asked.

"It's a little funny," Lois wryly mused. "Pirates who hate slavery and overthrow tyrannical governments. That's something you don't see every day."

"Eh, not the first time," Luffy spoke up.

"What?" Lois was perplexed. "Are you saying you've overthrown governments before?"

"Kinda, several times," Luffy remembered, and started listing off his accomplishments. "Dressrosa, where I beat up Doflamingo, Drum Island where I beat up Wapol, Skypeia where I beat up Eneru, Alabasta where- wait, we stopped Crocodile from taking it over, so that doesn't count- but yeah, we've done this before."

Lois was thrown by how casually Luffy just said that he was responsible for overthrowing the governing bodies of at least three different nations by beating up their sovereigns, and had apparently fought more. The fact she did not recognize any of them, added credence to the Straw Hats being from another world. Suddenly Lois had the feeling that Bialya wouldn't be the last country in either world he did this to; that he was more than willing to do it again if he were so inclined.

Well, she hoped those were 'just' countries, and not bigger places.

"Now it's my turn to ask you a question, Miss Lane," Lina's voice was sharp as the steel of Zoro's swords.

"Yes?" Lois asked.

When she spoke, her voice almost choked on the feelings of bitter rage of one who had suffered under a totalitarian dictatorship, while her eyes conveyed the utter helplessness that only a young woman who had been trafficked as a literal slave during the Information Age could feel:

"Why didn't the rest of the world help us? Why did we have to wait for a crew of Pirates to free us from tyranny?"

Lois could think of many answers, and even wanted to argue that there was no telling that the Straw Hats had even improved the situation. How in most cases of overthrown governments, things actually got worse as the situation broke down, and violence spread. She had even visited places before where that was exactly what had happened. But in the face of this woman's hardened features, they all felt like pathetic excuses.

"Easy," Luffy suddenly spoke up. Lois and Lina turned to him.

"They weren't free to help you. We were."

In that moment, Lois Lane looked, and in his eyes, she saw wisdom born of grave experience, akin to that of a war veteran, and the conviction of mind and future vision that only true leaders hold. She saw the same eyes that she saw in Superman.

At first glance "free" seemed like a flippant response, like they had nothing better to do, so they did it... Yet by the look in his eyes, the true depth of those words rang loud and clear. The pirate here was free from obligation, from international law, from politics and diplomatic considerations. He was free not to care about the consequences if he wanted to. And here he had decided to do what he wanted to help.

She felt awe and respect as she looked at his free-spirited face.

Now THIS is the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Lois realized.

"Hello there, am I interrupting anything?"

Then the moment was ruined when her partner finally showed up. Late. Like always. She looked and there was Clark Kent in all his suited up small-town glory.

"Sorry, Smallville, you just—"

"Hi, Superman!" Luffy shouted.

She froze in shock.

Standing where there used to be a doorway, Clark froze in fear.

She thought that Luffy was pulling her leg, that this had to be some kind of joke-

"I'm, ah, flattered, Captain Straw Hat Luffy, sir, but I'm afraid—"

"Oh come on, I know it's you!" Luffy insisted. "It's the worst disguise ever! You're not wearing a mask, or even a fake beard and mustache!"

Lois refused to believe this was true, but all the little inconsistencies and questions slowly lined up in her mind-

"You're just wearing glasses!"

—and clicked.

…

I am such an idiot.

Chapter Text

Batman was studying the various videos of the Straw Hats that he managed to acquire: Black Foot kicking Batman by surprise, Nico Robin distracting Wonder Woman, Usopp using his expert sniper skills and weird plant-like weapons to escape Green Lantern, Nami Mikan using some weird rod to control lightning to take down Star Sapphire, Brook's inhumane skill at cutting Tsukiri, Zoro cutting Shining Knight in London, Jinbie easily throwing Aquaman off his feet, Franky destroying the Mandragora mansion with dangerous weapons, and Luffy defeating Parasite.

Though it all showed what he already guessed: the Straw Hats were powerful, and they were hiding their true power.

He placed his hands on his chin as he looked at the screen. Despite knowing some key factors about their otherworldly adversaries, it wasn't enough to tip the balance of power. He wasn't sure what would happen if they would fight the Straw Hats, so he needed to know one factor that could change the outcome to the Justice League’s favor: their weaknesses.

Batman has already made countermeasures towards other heroes, but they were easy to acquire due to their work relationship. The Straw Hats, despite being so widely known, were a mystery.

"I need to find their weaknesses," Batman said as he continued to study the videos. "There must be something, and I will find it."

Meanwhile, the Straw Hats decided to take a little rest and relaxation on the beach Volcana was trapped on. Sanji was cooking barbeque while making drinks, Zoro was napping from under a coconut tree with Jinbei sitting beside him, Maureen and Chopper were teaching Ace how to make sand castles, Usopp, Franky, Grundy, and Clayface were playing water volleyball, Brook was playing his guitar, and Nami, Robin, Volcana, Cheetah, and Poison Ivy were sun bathing.

"Hey, where's Luffy?" Nami asked as she noticed her captain wasn't playing.

"Oh, Harley is teaching him how to surf," Ivy replied, gesturing at the rising waves.

"Oh," Nami said as she sat back to her chair, before standing up. "What!?"

"Woohoo!" Luffy exclaimed as he rode the waves with Harley behind him. "This is awesome!"

"I know, right!" Harley exclaimed. Suddenly, Luffy lost his balance and fell in the water as the waves crashed down. "Wow, what a wipe out!"

She laughed before she realized that Luffy was resurfacing. She grew worried before diving into the water.

"Oh no, Luffy fell in the water!" Chopper exclaimed.

"What!? Oh no!" Brook exclaimed as the two of them started running deeper in the sea, only to start drowning.

"You guys can't swim too, remember!?" Franky exclaimed as he swam after the two.

"They can't swim?" Clayface commented as Franky dragged back Brook and Chopper while Harley was dragging a bloated Luffy.

"Are you saying that for all his power, his weakness is water?" Volcana asked in disbelief, seeing the powerful pirate being so pathetic as Harley jumped on his stomach to pump the water out of him.

"That's the downside of eating a Devil Fruit," Nami said with a sigh as she rubbed her head.

"What's a Devil Fruit?" Maureen asked curiously.

Chapter Text

It had been a long goddamned day, and John Stewart, Green Lantern of Sector 2814, just wanted to get a nice, quiet drink in this rundown bar in a lost little corner of space.

It wasn't happening with the fella telling some grand tale in the corner.

"—and that is when I tell Melch, 'We are pirates, not heroes! The galaxy does not bless us with the luck to survive self-sacrifice!' But the galaxy must have taken my words as a challenge! For here Melch is, alive and well. Sometimes you have to challenge the galaxy to get something out of it!"

Really, John was doing so well ignoring the guy's tall tale telling until he heard the word 'pirates.' Because that made him think of the Justice League's troubles back home with pirates.

John looked the "pirate" over.

He (assuming the species had males) was human in shape. Honestly, he looked a lot like a dried out mummy with the way his brown skin was wrinkled and ridged. And there were spikes along his jawline, almost like a beard with their length. Not a race John was familiar with, to be honest. He must be a long way from home, the Green Lantern corpsman thought, just like the Straw Hat Pirates.

He was going to do this, wasn't he?

But how did the old saying go? It takes a thief to catch a thief?

John ordered an extra drink, and meandered on over.

Next time, no casual interrogations over drinks, John thinks as he fights his way to consciousness through a killer hangover. From alcohol, or whatever drug he’s fairly sure was slipped into his drink, John doesn’t know.

“Bah! You worry too much, Melch, my friend. He’s no Jedi. These Green Lanterns have all their powers in a ring, and we have this one’s Ring!”

Oh, that was not good.

“I'm telling you, Melch, it's a perfect plan! We sell the man, we sell the Ring. Twice the profit for half the work!"

Not good at all. Goddamned pirates.

“Why would you sell me and the Ring to Sinestro?!” John yells at the damn pirate.

“Hey now! He was the highest bidder!” the pirate yells back, sounding insulted. “I would have made a lot of money… if he hadn’t been planning to double-cross me. I do so hate it when people double-cross me,” the pirate indignantly sniffs.

The midget-sized pig-man, another pirate apparently, squeals something at his ‘captain.’

“That is different, Melch! I am a mostly-retired pirate. If it is more profitable, of course I will double-cross strangers.”

John really hates this pirate. It truly sucks that he’s going to need the pirates’ help to get out of this alive.

“What the hell is that?!”

“That, my friend,” John can feel his stomach dropping out at that new designation, “is a purrgil! The friend of another friend of mine. Hopefully it will be a friend to us too!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“At the very least, it makes a good distraction!”

It’s such a relief to have his Ring out of Sinestro’s hands and back on his own finger. Though John’s not sure why the pirate captain willingly handed it back over to him.

“Well, my friend, you may be no Jedi, but that was certainly an adventure worthy of one. The stories I could tell!” The pirate loops an arm over John’s shoulder, and he wants it off. “Why, one time I caught two Jedi at once! Plus the leader of a galactic regime! It would have been so much money, if only—“

The Justice League had been called in to respond to a literal flying saucer. 

But before any fighting could break out, the saucer landed, a door opening and a ramp deploying.

“My friend, it has been too long!” the figure in the doorway shouted.

“Oh no,” Green Lantern grumbled, face palming.

“I come to this dinky little planet for a transport job,” the space pirate explained, “and I get to see you again!”

“You know him?” Batman pointedly asked Green Lantern.

“What?! You haven’t told your friends about our adventure! I am hurt! Shame on you, my friend!” the wrinkled alien wagged his finger at the space cop after feigning injury.

The League just looks between their own member and the dramatic being from the flying saucer.

“Come now, where are your manners, my friend?” the alien scolded as he strode down the ramp of his ship, the pig-man midget at his heels. “Some people, am I right?” he playfully nods to Martian Manhunter. 

“This is my assistant, Melch,” the pirate captain gestured to his small companion. “And I am Captain Hondo Ohnaka. Now introduce me to your fine friends, Mr. Green Lantern!”

John Stewart regrets that day in the bar. So much regret.

Bonus:

"My friend, I feel I must warn you. Thanagarian women are pretty as their feathers, and fierce as their maces. But I have found that they are often more interested in the weapons you can provide for their war than the warmth you can provide in a bunk berth, if you know what I mean."

"What?! No, I– ...wait, what do you mean war?"

"Terrible business. They are fighting some other galactic empire. Gorgonzolas? No, no, that's not it. ...the Gordanians! Yes, yes, the Gordanians. It's why I am here. I have a delivery for your fine feathery friend."

John's mind was shutting down. This couldn't be true. Shayera would tell them if her people were at war, ask for their help.

"Oh. I see this is news to you, my friend. I am sorry," and the pirate actually seemed it too. "Sometimes the most beautiful and deadly women are also the cruelest. Shall I tell you about my old flame, Aurra Sing?"

"No! No, I'm good!" John wished the thought hadn’t been put into his head. So much.

Chapter Text

It was a chilly winter night, one that was too cold for the Straw Hats to go out and steal money or metals (no matter how much Nami complained), so the Straw Hats decided to instead watch a movie on something called 'Disney+'. It had taken a lot of persuasion to get Nami to let them subscribe to it (she was outwardly appalled at the thought of having to pay money to someone on a monthly basis, while mentally noting to use that idea in the future), and she only agreed to it when they told her it was only $7.99 a month (they deliberately hid the fact that the monthly cost would go up by $1 in a few months).

So she allowed them to subscribe to it, and the Straw Hats were amazed at how many movies and shows there were for them to watch (except Robin, who viewed the kid-friendly movies as "unrealistic," "too cheerful," "boring," and "flat"). Luffy used the remote to search for a movie, but there were so many options that he couldn't make a decision after half an hour. The Straw Hats were getting irritated, but Poison Ivy fortunately entered the room before a fight could break out and saw the film Tarzan as one of the options. It was one of her favorite movies, since it endorsed her belief that if mankind was allowed to even live, they should live their lives as the animals they were in order to preserve the environment.

"How about we watch Tarzan?" she suggested to Luffy. This somewhat surprised the Straw Hats, who didn't expect her of all people to like a film for children. Luffy thought about it for a second, before responding with a simple, "Sure," and selecting it.

The film was pretty good, full of action, drama, humor, and a decent romance. Some of the Straw Hats (even Nami) had to keep themselves from crying a bit at a few points in the film, such as the death of the baby gorilla, as well as Tarzan realizing the truth about his parents. Little did they know that this was one of the less tragic Disney films.

Robin was a tad grouchy (causing Nami and Usopp to motion to everyone else to not irritate her), but when Chopper (who was on her lap) said he really liked the talking animals, she smiled and began to pet him on the head.

They then got to the final battle between Tarzan and Clayton, with Luffy liking how Tarzan used his animal instincts and knowledge of the jungle to outmaneuver Clayton. As Clayton cut the vines that Tarzan had used to restrain him, no one except Robin noticed the vine around his neck getting tighter, and no one saw the slight glimmer of excitement in Robin's eyes as she thought to herself: Perhaps this movie won't be as dull as I thought. Her hopes were briefly dashed when Tarzan tried warning Clayton about the one around his neck, but she was relieved to see him ignore Tarzan's advice and keep cutting away.

Her wish was granted as Clayton fell, and the vine around his neck suddenly tightened. She was disappointed that she didn't see the body, but the flashes of his hanging shadow would do. Most of the Straw Hats were horrified at this sudden death (even if he deserved it), with even Luffy and Ivy momentarily taken aback. Nami, with a look of shock on her face, silently reached for the remote and stopped the film.

There was an awkward silence (with the only happy one being Robin), until Maureen (who Volcana hoped wasn't too traumatized by seeing an animated hanging) gathered herself and said:

"Why would Disney put that in a kid's movie?"

No one could answer her, until Robin (with a horrified Chopper in her lap) calmly stated, "Well I personally think it adds a lot of character to the film."

Nami turned to her and yelled "How is that character?! That kind of stuff can traumatize children!"

"Simple, it adds depth and complexity to an otherwise sappy film, and teaches children a crucial lesson about being careful and thinking before they act."

Nami was about to respond before realizing that there was no winning with her, and closed the movie.

"Fine, but now we're going to watch a HAPPY film, got it?" she said in a firm tone, causing Robin to roll her eyes.

"Very well."

Nami took the remote and searched for another movie or show to watch. She saw that the cover of the show Ducktales had a pile of gold coins on it, so she made a mental note to watch it in her free time. After a few minutes she found a good film, one that looked cheerful and didn't seem like a tragic film at all.

"The Lion King, huh? This one looks fun." And with that, Nami pressed play.

Chapter Text

Vandal Savage was not a simple man. Ever since his time as a chief to a tribe of Cro-Magnon, he was a survivor, having survived the radiation from the meteor than made him immortal, having survived countless attempts of his life, suffered as a slave, had lost countless daughters, but he never wavered.

For he knew that he was a Conqueror, destined to make this planet his.

At least, that was before meeting him.

Currently Savage was in a Kasnian prison, having failed his takeover of it by him. It was supposed to be easy, marry the ignorant princess, kill her father, then use the kingdom's resources to use a satellite and destroy half the planet, starting the reign of survival of the fittest.

He even made plans regarding the Justice League, and he knew he would have succeeded, but he didn't expect one unknown factor: the Straw Hats.

Suddenly, he turned to his head, looking at the shadows. He stood up and walked towards the bars, a calm expression on his face.

"I've been expecting you, detective," he said as Batman walked out from the shadows, facing him.

"What happened?" he demanded as Vandal turned around, looking at the window cell.

"It's quite simple, obviously, I failed," Vandal replied, ignoring the scowl on Batman's face. "I planned for everything for this idea, but never in my imagination did I think my wife-to-be would make acquaintances with the Straw Hats. For a rising super power, those pirates love to party."

"So, the Straw Hats stopped you?" Batman said, since the Straw Hats disappeared with a lot of technology that Savage used.

"They did more than that," Vandal said as he turned to face Batman. "They showed me what a true Conqueror looks like."

"What do you mean by that?" Batman asked, his eyes narrowing.

"…Imagine my surprise when I heard the Straw Hats attacking my castle, so I deployed all my soldiers," Vandal explained with a faraway look in his eyes. "Hundreds of soldiers, armed and ready to fight for my country, with their king leading them into battle. A sight that would make most people hesitate. You know how they responded? Their captain faced us alone."

"Alone?" Batman asked, hiding the disbelief in his tone. He knew from Superman that his crew were powerful, but no one could take down an army on his own.

"Alone," Vandal said, remembering how the young man walked towards his army on his own, his crew standing beside him, not moving to accompany him. "We all laughed at him, thinking he was a fool trying to impress a spoiled, little princess. When we charged at him, I had my sword ready to cut his head…Then, it happened."

"What?" Batman said as Vandal looked at him like he had found enlightenment.

"His power…it was something I never felt before," Vandal said as he remembered the intense feeling. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, he couldn't think. Then the army behind him suddenly fainted, as if unable to handle such pressure. His men collapsed, their tanks stopped abruptly, their horses suddenly retreating. Only Vandal was left, kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily. He then saw Luffy standing over him, no longer a foolish child, but a Conqueror. "It was like he used his own will to make us surrender to him, to bend us to his will."

Batman's eyes narrowed at that. He was thinking about some information he already had from the fight Vandal was talking about. The League were shocked when they saw the soldiers on the ground with no injury, though they appeared quite shaken once they woke up.

"This is my advice to you, Detective," Vandal said as he went back to his bed. "Do not make an enemy of the Straw Hats. You cannot win, even with Kryptonian ally. Just walk away from them."

"I'll take your word for it," Batman said before disappearing in the shadows.

Vandal looked at the shadows before lying on his bed, his hands under his head as he stared at the gray ceiling. He has been beaten in a way he never felt before in his long life. He suddenly grinned in excitement. After all, he finally found someone worthy of being called a rival.

"Finally, this game is becoming interesting."

Chapter Text

So the Straw Hats are all wondering how to make Robin laugh (not giggle, I mean as in actually laugh), and even Nami gets in on it and they all start betting money. Suddenly, Usopp has an idea.

They call Robin into the room (she doesn't know what's going on), and Usopp says:

"Hey Robin, you know that book you have by that Marks guy?"

"You mean The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx?"

"Yeah that one?"

"What about it?"

"Well Nami here read it, and she said that she really likes what he's saying. She says that she wants to be a communist too!"

(In truth, Nami had not read The Communist Manifesto, and did not know what communism really was.)

Robin just sat there motionless for a second, Nami wondering what communism was, and everyone else waiting for her reaction. Suddenly, Robin began lightly chuckling, which then turned into heavier chuckling, which then made her put one hand over her mouth, and then her face became red as she used both hands to keep herself from laughing.

After a few seconds, Robin was unable to keep containing herself and she burst into loud laughter. She banged a fist on the table as she laughed, then put both her hands on her stomach as she kept roaring with laughter, much to everyone's shock. She even fell backwards out of her chair and onto the floor, which led to her rolling on the floor while laughing with her hands on her stomach as tears began to grow in her eyes from her laughter.

Usopp, happy that his strategy had won him the bet, began to walk around the room and take everyone's money that they'd put in the bet. Most of them just handed it to him with no hesitation, being far more focused on the borderline-unnatural sight of Robin laughing that was taking place in front of him.

Usopp went to Nami's chair, only to see that she was gone. Of course she'd left to avoid paying her money, it was so like her that Usopp wasn't even angry.

Suddenly, a fist from behind sent him to the ground.

"YOU JERK!" Nami shouted.

"What did I do?!" Usopp asked with a fearful voice.

"I READ WHAT COMMUNISM WAS JUST NOW, AND IT'S TERRIBLE! HOW DARE YOU EVEN JOKE ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

"So...are you going to give me the money that you bet?"

"NO! WHAT YOU WILL GET IS A WELL-EARNED BEATING FROM ME!"

As she whaled on him, everyone was too busy looking at Robin to listen to Usopp's screams. Even Luffy was shocked at her laughing nonstop like this. He liked that she was having a good laugh, but it was so unlike her that he hadn't been this shocked since Pudding had told them that Sanji had refused to marry her.

Sanji just thought that her laughter was beautiful to hear, and was about to thank Usopp when he saw Nami beating him to near-death.

Perhaps the thank-you could wait.

Chapter Text

"This week was going to be interesting."

These were the thought of Cheetah as she passed out the files with information on potential recruits to the main members of the Straw Hats and the Deckhands.

A few days ago, Luffy and the other Straw Hats decided to have the others search for potential recruits that might fit into their little band of misfits. The search was difficult as the recruiters knew about the Straw Hats specific preferences, and many that they already found were rejected, including a master hacker and a genius mercenary marksman. Things were not progressing well to say the least, until today.

"I like these guys. I want to meet them!"

This was the sound that caused all of the villains and pirates assembled to stare at Luffy, waving three different files in his hands and cheerfully shouting.

Cheetah came over and saw the files Luffy was holding and after giving him a curious look on his choices, started to pass out copies of the files to the others.

"Are you sure these are the ones you want to meet?" said Poison Ivy with a very confused and questioning look on her face.

"We know you guys do not like to kill, so why them, two of them have several murders on their records, not to mention other noticeable issues."

"I don't know, I just feel like I might like them, that's all!" Spoke Luffy with a massive smile on his face. After that everyone knew that Luffy would meet with them no matter what and decided to simply messages the potential recruits and assigned days for them to meet the Straw Hats.

Recruit 1: The Polka-dot Man

Lame.

This was the word that Zoro and Poison Ivy used to describe the man sitting down across from Luffy, Sanji, Nami, Robin, Usopp, and Maureen. Zoro because of his name and Poison Ivy because of the stories the Gothamite villain told the Straw Hats about the recruit. Each of his crimes was meet with failure. Bank robbery, killed 8 people and escaped without any money, only to be later captured for breaking into S.T.A.R Labs and killing three scientists. After that the Polka-dot Man or Abner Krill as he was once called failed at every crime he committed, foiled by Batman and put in jail every time.

Despite that Luffy still wanted to meet the skinny man in the white bodysuit with multi-color polka-dots all over it. The others were here to keep an eye on his as everyone else was on an assignment and there was no one to watch Maureen, so they allowed Sanji to join in the meeting even though he was banned from these events.

"So" Nami started with a huff "Breaking into S.T.A.R. Lab, multiple accounts of attempted theft and over a dozen deaths on your record. Over half a dozen arrests by Batman, one of which left you with a broken arm"

The skinny and nervous supervillain squirmed as she said that, clearly uncomfortable with his record. While at the same time Robin just smiled at the man clearly finding him amusing. However, there was one fact she was curious about.

"It says here that you are a metahuman?" Robin mentioned as she looked over his file, gaining everyone's attention. "What exactly is you power Mr. Krill?"

"I-uh I s-shoot Polka dots" Lame was what the look on everyone's face said when they heard the man's power.

"How is that useful or even a power!" Exclaimed Sanji, annoyed that the recruit was not a woman and he was not getting alone time with Robin and Nami-swan, like he wanted.

The Polka-dot Man knowing he needed to do more saw an old trash and stood up facing it. The others were curious on what he was doing so they kept watching. The Polka-dot Man raised his hands and out of his wrists shoot hundreds of colorful polka-dots. And when they touch the trash can they disintegrated ever of the trash can they touched! He turned back towards his potentially new bosses and saw them look actually impressed with him. The man with the blond hair had his cigarette dangling on his lips, the dark-haired woman whispered something about "such beautiful destruction", and the others all had their mouths hanging open as wide as they could go.

"That was so Cool!"

"How are you not a feared villain with that power!" screamed Luffy and Usopp respectively looking at the man in question.

"How did you get your powers?" Asked Maureen, thinking it was a simple question. She regretted it instantly the moment she saw how sad he looked after the question.

"You really want to know?" The others looked at the man seeing him not looking scared for the first time during the whole interview. "Let me ask you this, did any of you had a kind and loving mother?"

These words affected many of the Straw Hats present who thought of their own mothers, Robin thought of mother and how she hugged her as Ohara was being destroyed, Usopp thought the days when his mother was well and he would tell her jokes, Nami thought of farming tangerines with her sister and mom, Sanji remembered the first time he gave his mother something he cooked and how she smiled as she ate it, and Maureen thought of every Christmas she spent with her mother and how much fun she had decorating the tree with her.

"Well, mine wasn't." This snapped them out of their memories and stared at the man with wide eyes.

"Mine was a scientist for S.T.A.R. Labs and she idealized the first American scientist who created a successful superhero. She wanted to be like him so much and surpass him, that she tried to create her own superheroes, using her own children to do it! My siblings and I were put through multiple types of experimentation, each an attempt for our mother to give us a superpower. Some of my siblings died during these experiments, others even if they got their powers, their bodies couldn't contain the powers and they died a few days after getting them. I was the only success my mother had. She forced me to show off my skill days after I got my powers by stopping a bank robbery. But I got scared and I lost control of my powers and killed the robbers and some people who were standing to close. I ran back to my mother hoping she would help and begged her to remove my powers, but all she did was hit me. She shouted over and over again how we were all failures, and that her dreams were ruined because of us. I got angry and like before I lost control of my powers and killed my mother and two other scientists who were trying to stop her from beating me. After that I lost all hope for a normal life, my powers are too dangerous and the records about my mother and her experiments were destroyed. I ended up trying to steal enough money to start over somewhere new, but I got caught each time because there were always people nearby, and I don't want to hurt anybody that didn't hurt me."

The Polka-dot Man raised his head and was amazed at what he saw. Each of the Straw Hats were seeing him in a whole new light and knew how hard that must have been for him. Maureen stood up and walked over to him and pulled him into the biggest hug she could manage, shocking the villain immensely.

"Hey" Luffy said all joking in his voice gone. "If you still want to try and start over and fight for your dream, then there is only one thing I can say." He looked to the others and they all nodded. "Welcome aboard!" he said with his signature smile hand stretched out towards the man who for the first time in a while felt hope for the future and smiled back.

Recruit 2: Ratcatcher 2

"So, you're a thief with the metahuman ability to control every rat in a thirty-mile radius of yourself?"

This was the question Zoro asked of the young and filthy woman in front of him, Franky, Solomon Grundy, Chopper, and Luffy. She was filthy, to say the least. Her hair looked like it had not seen clear water in days, her clothes were covered in dust, and she smelled like the sewers (Although they did find her hideout in a sewer, so that was not surprising). What surprised them was how young she looked; she could barely be more than a few years older than Zoro.

Cleo Cazo or Cleo Flannegan as her birth name was before her father, the original Ratcatcher changed it, looked back and forth between her pet rat and Zoro.

"Yes, I inherited the skill from my father, who taught me how to use it seek the aid of my little furry friends." She then cooed at the rat while reminiscing on her father.

"Ok last question." Luffy spoke and as with other interviews with was the first thing he said. "What is your dream?"

Cleo was curious on why this strange boy wanted to know that, but she answered anyway after hearing how this was a powerful gang.

"I am looking for the man who killed my father." This surprised many of the interviewers, Chopper was very affected, thing about Hiriluk. "We were simple thieves and real ratcatchers living on the street in a homeless community, but the drug dealer who my father used to sell what our friends brought us shot him one night. I later learned the man had debts to night watchmen who looked the other way when he sold his drugs, and did not want to share the money my father made for him anymore, so he took what he could and after killing my father he vanished. My dream is to find the man and make him pay, and give all the money he took from us back to the homeless gentle souls who took care of me."

She looked up at the men in front of her thinking that as criminals they would laugh at her, no one was laughing.

Chopper looked at Luffy and he looked back, a silent conversation passing between them. Luffy then cheerfully jumped up on the table and said "Well then will help you!"

Cleo was amazed at the strange boy and at that moment felt what she could only describe as the kindest souls coming from him and the strange furry creature next to him. Her pet then scurried across the room and rested on the large zombie's knee, who then started to pet the rat.

This looked like the start of a beautiful friendship for both her and her little friend.

Recruit 3: King Shark

The final recruit of the week was someone that many in the Straw Hats did not expect to see. King Shark or Nanaue as was his birth name, was notorious having a taste for human flesh, a massive aggressive nature, and being hired as "dumb muscle" almost as many times as Grundy was. Despite that, there he was sitting across from Luffy, Harley, Poison Ivy, and Jinbe (who wanted to meet another Shark-humanoid very much) in a large blue hoodie and brown pants. And just like with Volcana and Clayface, the first thing said during the entire interview was.

"Ok, this is important. The last question is; what is your dream?" said Luffy to the Shark man who looked very confused and conflicted by this question.

Now Nanaue was not the smartest being in the world he knew that much. His mother, a Hawaiian woman who owned a small shop, ended up bedding an ancient shark god and giving birth to him. She raised him all by herself and tried to teach him the best she could as the first time he went outside, someone saw him and was terrified for him. He tried to make friends, but everyone was scarred of him, despite all of the fish he showed them. He did not understand, did they not like it that they were covered in his spit (and blood)? Eventually as he grew older, the only way he could earn money for himself and his mother was to offer his services to criminals. Then one day his dad, the shark god, appeared to him and Nanaue hoping he would help him and his mom listened. Sadly, his dad wanted him to kill his mother as the first step in some ritual to become the "ultimate shark warrior" or something like that, Nanaue could not remember. Nanaue did not want to hurt his mom, she was the only person to hold Nanaue gentle and speak to him with kindness, like how he tried to speak to and treat others. So, he refused his dads orders, but his dad did not take the well. He had connections with a cult from Atlantis, and told them to hunt him and his mother down and kill them. Nanaue got his mom to safety and bit as many of the bad men as he could, but they still kept coming.

So, when he heard about the "Straw Hats" and how they had lots of strong guys, even he knew they might help get rid of the bad men. This was because in the end, even if he did like to eat people he did not like and could get angry, he knew was his dream was.

"I…want…help to…protect…mama." Said the shark criminal with as much intelligence as he could. "I…want…to give mama…lots of monies…for being so nice to me, and make…bad dad…dead. I…also want…friends…who won't be scared…of me." He finished with a sad sigh.

The others looked as him, each having their own thoughts.

Poison Ivy was not totally sure about having a violent shark man as part of the gang, but she did have admit having someone who could take bullets and perform incredible feats of strength would be useful.

Jinbe knew the pain of discrimination because he was a fish-man and this soul in front of him looked like he could use some help to curve those violent tendencies.

Harley simply wanted to have another weird friend to add to the group. Two shark men, a cyborg, a zombie, lots of meta-humans and possibly aliens! What next, a giant walking kangaroo!?

Luffy, even if he did think it, knew that underneath it all was a very friendly yet violent person who just needed a place to belong. Kind of like Zoro!

Jumping up from his chair and stretching out his hand to King Shark's, he spoke his usual cheery voice "That's a good dream, welcome to the crew!"

After that King Shark felt like he was the happiest fish in the sea! He got lots of money to help his mama, got help to keep the bad men away and figure out a way to stop his dad, and he meet others like him or just as strange as him. He made so many friends and he would not trade the days that followed for anything in the world.

Chapter Text

Over the past few months, the Straw Hats had gotten closer and closer to finding a way home, especially as their raids saw them find better technology and knowledge with which to build a portal. However, no matter how much progress was made, they always felt as though something was missing. As if finding a certain item would complete the puzzle.

And then they found it. As it turned out, the Eastern European country of Latveria had exactly the technology they were looking for. Unfortunately, it was heavily guarded, and its technology protected fiercely by its king, the (in)famous Victor Von Doom.

Apparently, he had taken over the once-impoverished nation by force, and turned it into an admittedly pleasant and well-developed nation, albeit at the cost of his citizens' freedom. Even the Straw Hats couldn't help but admit that he'd done a pretty good job running his country after they'd seen how it looked before and after his rule (then again, they'd learned from people like Vivi that not all rulers were bad, even though this ruler had an ego that made a Celestial Dragon look humble in comparison). That said, he'd apparently attempted world domination so many times that apparently Waller had occasionally had to work with the Justice League to stop him, and he'd never been arrested courtesy of his diplomatic immunity.

His technology was so advanced that even Franky had zero trouble admitting that Doom's technology was leagues ahead of his own. Although it helped that Franky appreciated a fellow mechanic who put his own personal theme on his creations.

Once it turned out that he had a piece of hardware that could prove instrumental in getting the Straw Hats back to their own dimension, a plan was hatched to take it.

The raid in Latveria went surprisingly well (too well, in fact), with the group led by Nami leaving with not just the technology but also a sizable amount of gold that was conveniently in a reserve not too far from the hardware, which made stealing it not a waste of time for Nami.

Unfortunately, it turned out that Doom had intentionally put that reserve of gold there precisely because he knew Nami (whom he knew was a top-class thief and a borderline kleptomaniac via countless observations of her and the other Straw Hats over the past few months) wouldn't be able to resist such an easy steal. On the gold were not just EMP's that would ruin any Latverian hardware that left the nation's borders, but tiny robots that had cameras and listening devices and could not be tracked by any sensors, not even those of the likes of Franky, Lex Luthor, and Batman.

Thus, he was able to spend the next few days using his robots to explore the Straw Hats' lair, learning as much as he could about each of their members, as well as having his robots steal Chopper's medical records and use them to learn about the phenomenon called "Haki". While he viewed Armament Haki as a "primitive" substitute for his top-of-the-line armor, and Observation haki was a fool's substitute for flawless planning, the third one, called Conqueror's Haki, intrigued him, especially since only one in a million people from the Straw Hats' world had it, and one had to have the will of a conqueror and a king. Thus, it only made sense that he secretly possessed it.

After scanning Chopper's medical records, he saw that Luffy (and oddly enough, Zoro as well) had certain regions in their brains with high-intensity brain signals that none of the other Straw Hats' brains emitted. He then proceeded to do surgery on himself, and sure enough, he managed to unlock his body's own Conqueror's Haki in a matter of two days. As befitting a true ruler such as himself.

He also discovered a strange language that only the woman called "Nico Robin" could read and write in, and planned to learn this language as well, when he was suddenly distracted by a statement his robots' voice sensors heard.

It was the pirate known as Usopp (who by all accounts was one of the more pathetic specimen among this group) talking with the others about Doom, and while Franky had said that Doom making technology themed after his own image was cool, Usopp replied by saying: "I don't know. He does it so much that he just seems like a plain old narcissist to me. I mean, he even talks about himself in third person in public, who even does that?"

That was it for Doom. It'd been fun at first to mess with these hoodlums, but now it was time to teach these know-it-alls a lesson, and Usopp had just volunteered.

The next day, Usopp had gone out by himself to buy some groceries at the store (since Luffy had eaten most of the food), but on the way back, a masked figure put a hand on his mouth and injected a knock-out toxin in his neck before he could react, before flying off into the sky.

(At a train track a few miles away...)

Usopp woke up, initially groggy before realizing that he was blindfolded, tied up at his hands and legs, and gagged. He struggled for a bit, but stopped when he heard a voice that made his blood freeze.

"Oh, you're up. Goody. We can start your history lesson. Long before there were delusional teenagers who operated gangs as glorified school clubs and called themselves 'pirates', there was the gentleman villain. His favorite sinister act was this: tying someone to a train track. It's simple, inexpensive, personal and deadly, but it gives you a little hope - maybe you'll escape."

He was then interrupted by Usopp loudly struggling to free his bonds, and angrily leaned over Usopp as he growled "Lesson's not over, pirate!" scaring Usopp into silence.

"Now, the gentleman villain had these old school time-bombs, three sticks of dynamite wired to an alarm clock. And what was so poetic about that is that they ticked. You could hear them - tick tick tick. Nowadays they're just digital - no sound, no peril."

At that point, Doom's ears and eyes alerted him to the sight and sound of a rapidly-approaching train, and he knew that Usopp's Observation Haki did too.

"Oh, ohoho, do you hear that? There's the tick. The train is coming! Is it on this track? Tick tick tick. Maybe it's on the other track! Tick tick tick! Not bad for a 'plain old narcissist', hm? I'm going to leave now, let you try to escape. And if you do, tell your 'pirate' friends that Doom will not give in to a measly gang of hoodlums who can't even decide their moral compass. If you don't, my most sincere condolences."

And with that, Doom flew off, mere seconds before the train was due to hit Usopp. With all his available strength, a panic-fueled Usopp swerved his body to be completely on the track, and as the train whizzed right over him (with his nose mere millimetres away), he breathed heavily as he realized how close he was to death.

Fortunately, the Straw Hats (who thanks to Luffy's Observation Haki had found Usopp's location) arrived shortly after. They'd seen a mysterious figure fly off right before the train got to Usopp, but they'd been just a few seconds to slow to get Usopp out of the way. For a few seconds, they thought that Usopp had become a red stain on the train tracks, so words could not describe the relief they felt when they saw an unharmed (but very scared) Usopp.

But even though Usopp was alive, Doom still won. Because the Straw Hats now knew that he was watching, and he would not remain idle forever.

And if the Straw Hats wanted to win, they'd need some help.

Chapter Text

"Sir, we have a situation."

The CEO for YouTube glanced up at his friend as he walked in. "Yes?"

"I just e-mailed you the link, and well, we've got something big. As in, what we need for our big push."

Now the man was very interested. Their company had really only just started up, and they were still working on getting the ‘YouTube’ name out there. Although there was still enough ongoing growth to satisfy investors and such.

Pulling up the message, he followed the link to a group posting videos on his site.

He blinked.

"Them!?"

"Yes sir."

"They're criminals! Supervillains!"

"There's no real rule against it."

Groaning, the CEO rubbed his forehead at the thought of how the authorities may react. The motion however made him catch sight of one video:

'Blackfoot Sanji's High-Energy Curry. Easy steps to make your own!' The View count was—

He double-checked the number, and counted how many digits there were to be absolutely sure. That was . . . a fair percentage of how many viewers were supposed to be on period. The number of Likes nearly equaled that. Scrolling down, the Comments were full of glowing reviews.

There were even marriage proposals based solely upon the quality of his cooking.

"Huh."

He glanced at some more clickbait, and chose one with an attractive looking woman on it.

"Poison Ivy here," she purred into the camera. "Today we're continuing to discuss why you donating to the following environmental groups will make you feel all warm inside." Instantly he paused it, knowing from his growing flush that if he kept hear that sultry tones he would probably be pulling out his credit card. Glancing down he saw some more links which he followed, which went on to show that yes, the agencies she was advertising for were indeed very recently receiving some generous contributions.

Now he gave his full attention to his friend and subordinate. "So they're pretty popular."

"And so are we. The number of viewers and people with actual accounts are growing exponentially. And there's so much more!"

". . . I presume you've already tipped off legal?"

"Yes. Your decision?"

"They're staying up."  

Chapter Text

Arkham Asylum, the most dangerous place in Gotham, where all the mentally ill criminals reside, where they were hopelessly trying to regain their sanity and their place in society. The director of the Asylum was sitting leisurely on his leather chair, looking at the batches of insane criminals that he would send to Cadmus for their experimentation.

"We got a problem, sir!" a guard exclaimed, rushing to the director.

"What is it now?" the director said in a tired tone. "Is it that new inmate again?"

"I'm afraid so, sir," the guard said in an exaggerated tone, causing the director to sigh in exasperation. They managed to detain one of the infamous Straw Hats, but it seems he was too much for them to handle. The director thought Joker was easier to deal with than that lunatic.

When he first arrived here, the inmates tried to intimidate him, but just one swing from his punches made them submissive towards him. The guards tried to strong arm him into obedience, but they were swiftly taken care off by his punches too. Soon, through his surprisingly charismatic behavior, he gathered most of the inmates under his flag, shifting the balance of power inside the Asylum.

"Have your men restrain him at once," the director ordered.

"Actually…" the guard said, causing the director look confused.

"What?" the director asked, feeling like he won't like the answer.

In the mess hall, the tables were moved to the side, except for a few that was turned into a makeshift stage where a spotlight was focus on. At the center of the stage was Franky, wearing a ripped, orange Arkham jacket and his trademark pair of speedos.
In front of him were the Arkham inmates, both male and female, wearing open jackets and speedos, cheering excitedly. Heavy metal music was playing through the hall as the inmates bounced with the tune.

"FRANKY! FRANKY! FRANKY!"

"Oh yeah~!" Franky yelled over the music, raising his robotic arms to the air. "Are you ready, my SUPER brothers and sisters!?"

"YEAH!" the inmates yelled.

"The let's GO!" Franky exclaimed.

Suddenly, a small group of guards appeared next to Franky, surprising the inmates. Afraid, the inmates waited for a fight to occur.

"Oh yeah!" the guards exclaimed as they suddenly tore their own pants off, revealing speedos. They then pulled their shirts apart, revealing their chests.

"Now, remember my brothers and sisters!" Franky exclaimed. "There's no good guys or bad guys here! We're all freaky perverts! And that's what makes us SUUUUUPPPPPER!"

"YEAH!"

"WE'RE FREAKS!"

"I'M FREAKY AND I LOVE IT!"

"If I put on those orange jumpsuits, it would ruin my reputation, as a PERVERT!" Franky exclaimed.

"YEAH!"

"BOO THOSE JUMPSUITS!"

"I LOVE BEING NAKED!"

"Don't be afraid of being a pervert! Not like that Bat guy who wears his underwear outside his pants, but won't admit to being a pervert!" Franky exclaimed.

"BAT'S A PERVERT!"

"I KNEW HE WAS A FREAK!"

"HE SHOULD BE ASHAMED FOR HIDING HIS PERVERTEDNESS!"

"Oh! I gotta move, man!" Franky exclaimed as he started moving with the music. Despite his bulky appearance, he could really move well. "Now, follow me, Wow!"

As one, the crowd perfectly followed Franky's movements.

"Shake those hips, baby! Wow!" Franky sang as he shook his hips, the inmates and guards following him. "Now, put your right hand on those hips and stick out your left arm!"

They all did what he said, doing so in perfect sync.

"Beautiful baby! Now reverse!" Franky said as he raised his right arm and put his left arm on his waist, the inmates following his lead.

"Now, repeat after me!" Franky exclaimed as he kept switching the position of arms and he shook his hips. "Right! Left! Right! Left! Wow! One! Two! One! Two!"

"Right! Left! Right! Left! Right! Left!" the inmates and guards sang as they shameless shook their hips like there was no tomorrow.

Then Franky rolled his arms, causing the inmates and guards to follow his lead, before he did his signature pose, slamming those robotic arms together, making a loud 'clang', forming the blue star on it, with the inmates slamming their wrists together in an effort to copy him.

"SUUUUPPPPER!" they all exclaimed as pink smoke and confetti erupted from Franky. "WOAW!"

Meanwhile, the director was watching all of this from the safety of the balcony, his right eye twitching as he watched the Straw Hat inmate turn the inmates and his guards into his mostly-nudist cult. He also noticed the guard next to him tapping his foot with the beat.

"Why couldn't they just capture the Joker instead," the director sighed in exasperation as Franky started playing a guitar.

"Now, let me sing you about the Joys of my Armored Heart!"

"WOOHOO!" his audience cheered as the director groaned.

Chapter Text

On a barren world called Vampa, there lived a rather strange trio of people. A young green-skinned lady called Cheelai, an old orange-skinned alien called Lemo, and a 7-foot tall Saiyan named Broly. They had been living here the past few months ever since Cheelai had wished for Broly to be sent there (since the only other option was letting him get killed by Gogeta, who had wiped the floor with the Legendary Super Saiyan), and the 2 of them had gone there to be with him since they were his only friends (not to mention, Frieza probably wanted their heads).

Over the past few months, the man named Goku had constantly visited the planet for two reasons: dropping off supplies that they needed (such as food and water), and training with Broly. Cheelai initially just watched Goku and Broly spar, but after a while she wanted to defend herself from future baddies (such as the dirtbag who tried to aggressively hit on her until Broly decked him in the schnoz), and asked Goku for some basic training (Lemo wanted to join her, but was too old).

After a few months, she was decently skilled in basic martial arts, and even knew basic ki control, although at the moment this just meant some energy blasts and flying. Broly, on the other hand, seemed to gain a massive power boost every time he fought Goku, with his base power going from weaker than 'Super Saiyan God,' to as strong as Goku's 'Kaio-ken Times 20 Super Saiyan Blue' in just a few months. Goku had tried to get him to master that big bulky form with the spiky hair, but Broly always went berserk and needed to be relaxed by Cheelai (they found that saying "Sun's getting real low, big guy," seemed to be most effective).

Despite Goku once getting the crap beaten out of him when this first happened, he was only more excited to fight Broly, and began visiting them daily instead of weekly (but hey, more Earthly goodies for the three residents of Vampa).

One day, after Goku and Broly had finished their training (with Cheelai doing martial arts exercises in the background as they did so), Broly remembered Goku saying something about how Broly had accessed the "Super Saiyan" form when his dad died. Broly personally didn't care about achieving the form, but he could tell that Goku was so excited about him potentially unlocking it, so he decided to see if he could access it on his own to make Goku happy, sort of as a "Thank you for teaching me and giving me food" sort of thing.

He began to power up, while focusing his thoughts and emotions just like Goku had shown him. He thought of his harsh life, the pain he had gone through, the loss of Bah, and the death of his father. He thought about his fears of losing his friends to some enemy or monster. All these horrible thoughts boiled within his mind, and despite his best attempts to control his anger like Goku had shown him, he momentarily snapped.

Cheelai heard a roar of anger as Vampa began to tremble, and she looked to where Broly was and saw him flickering in and out of Super Saiyan as he screamed in anguish, his pupils also flickering as his eyes threatened to go blank like the first time he went Super Saiyan. Cheelai ran over to try and calm him down, not noticing that the spatial walls of the dimension were starting to crack like they did when Broly fought Gogeta. She got in front of the Super Saiyan (despite the dangers) and tried calming him down. She finally succeeded by using the phrase "Sun's getting real low, big guy".

Broly gave out one last shout, before reverting to normal and collapsing to the ground. Cheelai ran to him and hugged him while asking if he was okay, but then the dimensional walls temporarily cracked right below them, sending them hurtling to another dimension before they knew what was going on. They suddenly popped into another dimension and when they had finally stopped moving, they were in some sort of forest right next to a city.

Cheelai let go of Broly, but was a tad embarrassed when she realized that Broly had been hugging her tightly during their tumble through space-time in order to protect her. She softly asked him to let go of her, which he did, and she then said that they should try sneaking around the city so they could find out where they were. Before they went, Cheelai put on a cloak she had found to avoid having her green skin noticed.

Fortunately, there weren't many people outside due to it being nighttime, and Cheelai was surprisingly able to read the signs due to them being in the universal language...English.

Suddenly, a delicious smell emanated from what seemed to be a fast food place, causing both their stomachs to growl, particularly Broly's. Cheelai was about to say that they had no money for food, until she saw a sign saying that the Challenge Combos came for free if you finished them. Fortunately, Broly came from a race of eating machines (she had seen Broly and Goku eat, and oh lord they could EAT), so Cheelai realized that he was her 'secret weapon.'

The two of them walked in, and saw that a few people in rather strange outfits were at a table, with one of them already munching down on an Almighty Burger at record speeds. Cheelai stood and looked at him with some amazement (wondering if he was a Saiyan), before recollecting herself and motioning for Broly to follow her to a nearby table, where they promptly sat down (not noticing that Zoro, Cheetah, and Grundy were all looking at them in interest due to Broly's large stature).  

Cheelai then called out for a waiter (making sure to hide her face), and one of the waiters was luckily not recording Luffy's eating habits (which the others wanted to put on Youtube for the views) and came over to them. Cheelai looked at the 'Challenge Combo' section of the menu, then asked if the two of them could have the Combo of Big Fat (she had to get his attention once when he was distracted by Luffy's eating, to the point that he didn't even question how 2 people could believe that they could eat such a large meal).

The meal came, and Cheelai took a cheeseburger, some chicken tenders, and some of the onion rings and fries, with Broly drooling as he waited for Cheelai to take her share of the food. When she was done, they told the waiter that they were ready to start the 1 hour timer.

The waiter (who was more interested in continuing to see Luffy eat, making him a tad impatient) started the timer.

And the appetite of a Saiyan was unleashed.

------

58 seconds.

That was all it took for Broly to finish the Combo of Big Fat. 58 whole seconds (it was actually 40 seconds, but the waiter only stopped the timer at 58 due to having 18 seconds of stunned shock).

Zoro, Grundy, and Cheetah (who were all watching Broly earlier with a hint of suspicion due to his large figure and cloaked partner) were also blown away by this stranger's appetite, since they all thought that no man could rival Luffy's gluttony. This guy had to be a meta-human or alien, there was no longer any doubt.

When he was done wolfing down his meal, Broly used the manners that he'd learned from both Paragus and Cheelai to politely wipe his mouth with a napkin, before realizing that he was not even close to full. He looked at Cheelai, who was almost done with her cheeseburger, and asked her if they could get another combo meal.

Cheelai, who at this point was not surprised at the immense appetite of the Saiyan race, nodded and asked for a waiter. Rin came over, and her jaw DROPPED when she saw that this stranger finished his meal as quickly as 'Lucy,' maybe even faster. She quickly took Broly's order (which was the Almighty Burger AND the Steak Meteor), before rushing back to alert her coworkers to this phenomenon so they could record this stranger's monstrous eating as well. She quickly pulled out her phone as well while imagining how viral the place would be due to the presence of not one, but two eating machines.

When Broly's two combo meals came, he was also given a three-liter cola bottle for free (as a sort of gift for all the popularity he was gonna get the diner), but the moment that Cheelai finished pouring herself a cup, Broly took the bottle and chugged it like there was no tomorrow, finishing the entire thing in seconds, before moving on to his two meals. Cheelai, knowing how much Broly was going to eat, decided to ask for two more combo meals in advance (also suggesting that they keep their cooks on standby in case that still wasn't enough).

Luffy, who had taken a small break from eating, looked over at Broly, and was also amazed at how quickly Broly was wolfing down the delicious and very unhealthy food. He let out a hearty laugh before saying, "Hey there!" and then jumped out of his seat to go over to them.

Broly and Cheelai looked over to see 'Lucy' walking up to their table. Cheelai instinctively put one hand on her holster (yes she could use ki blasts, but her muscle memory was more used to using a good ol' blaster in a bad situation) while Broly just looked at Luffy while still eating.

"Heya! My name's Luffy!" the boy declared, causing his three friends to facepalm at him forgetting his fake name.

Turning to Broly, he continued to loudly talk with no fear or reservation (although something was going to give him plenty of fear in the next 60 seconds):

"You sure can eat a lot for someone who's not rubber! How about you and I have an eating contest?"

The waiters, realizing the insane popularity that this would get them, were about to step in with their unanimous support, only for Cheetah to hurriedly intervene first, shouting "NO!" before grabbing Luffy and looking him dead in the eye then saying in a panicked tone: "Are you crazy?! You're already blowing our cover by letting the people here record your binge-eating and putting it on Youtube! If we get any more publicity, Nami is going to literally murder us!"

Behind them, a foot literally kicked the doors down as a certain female figure entered, pupils blank and teeth jagged from pure fury at her friends' incompetence. Luffy and Cheetah's faces both went pale as the murder which Cheetah had just spoke of was soon to begin (you guys thought the 'something to fear in the next 60 seconds' was going to be related to Broly, didn't you?).

Nami walked towards them, the diner staff too scared to get in her way. When she got to the two of them, their legs quivering with fear and their faces pale, Nami got out her Clima-tact and unleashed a massive lightning bolt that painfully shocked Cheetah while also destroying the cameras.

Cheetah, who looked cartoonishly burnt, then fainted to the ground. Nami then turned to Luffy and raised a fist...only for it to be grabbed and for Nami to find herself two feet off the ground. Her anger turned into shock as she looked to the left and saw a huge man growling as he gave her a glare reeking of a tranquil fury, his eyes burning into hers as his grip threatened to snap her arm like a twig.

He'd seen her enter and electrocute Cheetah (although she was honestly not too badly hurt), and this had the unfortunate side effect of bringing up trauma from all the times his father had shocked him for the slightest hint of disobedience. Cheelai was unable to react in time due to Broly's superhuman speed, and by the time she had gotten to where Broly was, his anger was leaking out of him at an alarming rate.

Nami tried punching him in the face and kicking him in the stomach/chest area, but it seemed to just hurt her as her blows bounced off the Legendary Super Saiyan. Luffy, Zoro, and Grundy attacked him from behind (though Cheelai couldn't understand why they'd defend the woman who just attacked Luffy), only for Broly to completely ignore their punches and sword swings. Cheelai tried to calm Broly down, but he seemed too angry to listen to her words.

All these attacks did was make him angrier, causing his grip on Nami's arm to tighten until a sickening SNAP was heard: the breaking of Nami's arm bones (as in, all of them).

He then pulled back his left arm for a punch, only for Cheelai to move in front of Nami, causing Broly to stop in shock.

"Chee...Cheelai..."

"Broly, I know why you're angry, but you have to calm down so you don't hurt anyone."

"But—"

"Shhh. Sun's getting really low, big guy," Cheelai finished as she put a hand on his chest, hoping that this would calm him down.

Luckily, it worked, and Broly let go of Nami's now-broken arm and went from a state of rage to one of weariness.

Nami's 3 friends rushed over to her (since Cheetah was still unconscious), and checked on her arm. Zoro glared at them, confusing both Broly and Cheelai. This lady attacked their friends, and yet they considered her a friend?

Nami tried getting up, but just moving her right arm caused her to yelp in pain (it hurt much more than she let on).

Cheelai, suddenly having an idea to hopefully fix this situation, stepped forward (despite the glares she was getting from Zoro and Luffy) and said, "Hey there. I'm sorry for my friend's behavior, it's just that he came from a... bad family where he was shocked by his parents as punishment".

As she told what was technically the truth (causing Nami's anger to go down a bit out of some sympathy [although she was still very angry]), Cheelai pulled a small green bean out of her pocket and gave it to Nami.

"Here. This will help."

Nami took the bean with a suspicious look, while Zoro and Luffy gave Cheelai looks that all but said, "If this is a trick, you're dead." Confident in her friends' ability to avenge her, Nami ate the bean. Its terrible taste actually made her less suspicious, since most poisons tasted good.

Suddenly, her arm was immediately good as new, and Nami as a whole felt less exhausted! This was some sort of miracle drug!

She happily moved her arm around for a bit, before looking back at Cheelai, who was comforting a rather-sad looking Broly (who Nami admitted looked like an adorable puppy when he was sad).

It seemed some introductions were in order.

Chapter Text

"Darn it…" Superman said weakly as he felt the Kryptonite radiation from the giant meteorite coming towards Metropolis. Beside him was Supergirl, also weakened by the radiation. The Justice League and the Straw Hats were there with dozens of dead Brainiacs around them, staring at the incoming projectile created by Brainiac, an experiment to see if the explosive radiation from the Kryptonite could create another Krypton.

They tried to stop it, but the Kryptonite made him and Supergirl weak to stop the meteorite. Green Lantern tried to push it away to buy some time, except it seems Brainiac added some yellow crystals in the meteorite to prevent any Green Lanterns to interfere. Even the military tried to fire missiles at the meteorite, but it didn't even dent the projectile.

"…There's no time," Batman said grimly. "We need to evacuate as much people as we can. The government has been preparing the arcs. They're experimental, but it's all we have."

Superman grimaced in anger, angry at his own helplessness. The entire planet is in danger, and they have no choice but to save only a few hundreds. Suddenly, he saw Luffy walked forward, staring at the meteorite with blank eyes.

"Luffy…Please…help us evacuate," Superman pleaded to the pirate, knowing that Luffy will help. "You and your crew are fast enough to get most of Metropolis to safety."

"Nah," Luffy said, making the heroes look shock. Luffy then straightened his hat. Zoro."

"Yeah?" Zoro asked.

"Cut that rock into pieces," he ordered.

"Sure," Zoro said as he walked forward.

"Wait, are you guys serious!?" Green Lantern exclaimed in shock. "Superman couldn't stop it, and I couldn't stop it! Even the military's missiles didn't stop it! What makes you think three swords can stop that!?"

Zoro ignored him as he tied his bandana on his head and stripped his upper body, revealing his muscular and scarred body. The Earthlings particularly noting the giant scar across his body.

"Hey, I know you can't do much, but help me out, Swirly Brows," Zoro said.

"Huh!?" Sanji said in irritation. Despite that, he walked next to Zoro, lighting a cigarette. "Try not to get lost in the sky, Mosshead."

"Huh?" Zoro said with a sneer as the two glared at each other. They then looked straight as Luffy stretched his arms, grabbed the two, then flung them to the air.

"Are they insane!?" Wonder Woman exclaimed as she watched the captain throw his subordinates towards the incoming meteorite. Zoro pulled out his swords three swords as Sanji extended his leg.

"Armée de L'Air Assault!" he exclaimed as Zoro hopped on his leg. "Mosshead Shoot!"

"Oi!?" Zoro exclaimed at the name of the attack before Sanji kicked him towards the meteorite.

Zoro then focused on the meteorite as he covered his blades with Haki.

"Nine mountains and eight seas make one world!"

The Justice League and Deckhand all scream in shock as Zoro was hurling towards the meteorite while the Straw Hats were surprisingly calm.

"One thousand worlds make one chiliocosm!"

He started spinning his swords in front of him, building momentum.

"One chiliocosm to the power of three, and there's nothing I can't cut!"

He was just a few meters away from the blazing meteorite.

"Three Swords Style Secret Technique: The Billion-Fold World!"

There was a loud swishing sound, and to the shock of the Earth's residents, the meteorite was cut in half.

"Trichiliocosm!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAT!?" some of them screamed in shock as they stared at the sliced meteorite with wide eyes and hanging jaws. Batman stared at it in disbelief, unable to comprehend that one man did that with only three swords. Not only did he cut it in half, but he actually stopped the projectile's momentum.

"Three Sword Style: 1080 Pound Phoenix!"

Zoro then turned his attention to the right half of the meteorite and swung his three blades at it twice, cutting the meteorite into pieces before doing the same to the left half. Soon, thousands of space rocks surrounded him.

He then started spinning around, swinging his swords as the image of an eastern dragon appeared behind him.

"Three Sword Style: Black Rope Dragon Twister!"

He unleashed a devasting twister than smashed the rocks and Kryptonite into dust that scattered across the wind, leaving only pebbles falling uselessly on the ground. With his work done, he calmly sheathed his three swords as he let gravity take him to the ground.

He and Sanji then landed a few feet away from the group before they calmly walked back to their crew.

"Holy crap!" Harley exclaimed in shock; her eyes still wide as she turned to Luffy. "Did you know he could do that!?"

"Huh? Of course, I know," Luffy said like it was obvious. "Why else would I tell him to cut it?"

"I…I guess that makes sense…" Harley said, still dumbfounded as she stared at Zoro, who put his upper clothes back on and tied his bandana on his right bicep. "Still…that was insane."

"…If I'm dreaming, pinch me," Flash said in a daze, and yelp when a dazed Hawkgirl pinched him, hard. "Ow!"

"So, it's not a dream," she said as she looked at the swordsman wearily.

Shining Knight stared at Zoro with wide eyes, which held fear, anxiety, respect, and awe. He looked at his sword before looking at Zoro.

"The power to cut anything…" he muttered as he looked at his reflection from the sword.

Batman stared at the swordsman, sweating behind his cowl. He could now see how he could scar Superman. And he wasn't the leader. If he was this strong, then how strong is Monkey D. Luffy? And how could he stop these unstoppable monsters?

"Good job," Luffy said with a grin once the two rejoined them.

"No problem, Captain," the two said in unison before they glared at each other.

Superman regarded them wearily before he bowed his head gratefully to Zoro, getting his attention. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," Zoro said offhandedly as he gestured to the grinning Luffy. "I was just following my Captain's orders."

Chapter Text

It was one of the few moments where the crew truly relaxed in a place similar to home.

Here in the Bahamas, the Straw Hats could pretend they arrived at a nice uninhabited island, take out their stuff, and have a day of total relaxation.

And being a Fishman, Jimbei thought it would be a good idea to get away for a bit and see what he could bring for Sanji to cook that would be enough to satisfy his captain's palate.

He went into the sea and swam for a while in the crystalline waters of the Caribbean, until he felt that he was being watched closely by someone.

"I know you're there," said the shark man, "and although I'm usually a pacifist, if you don't show up in the next five seconds, you're going to regret it."

Jimbei was a little surprised to see the so-called "King of Atlantis" again looking at him contemplatively, almost in the same way he looked at him.

One of his hands was replaced by a harpoon, an unmistakable sign that he had lost his limb brutally. And although Jimbei thought the king's choice was a bit dramatic, he kept his opinion to himself.

“The last time we saw each other, you said that I should behave like a true King,” said the blonde. “And honestly I'm very curious to know what kind of monarch you knew in the past, that even being a pirate, you hold in such high esteem.”

“In this world there is something similar to my world,” Jimbei evaded the question for the moment, “you call them corsairs privateers, pirates for hire, while we called the group Shichibukai. So, you can be a pirate and have admiration for a king. Or be. In addition to being two of the Shichibukai, Boa Hancock and Doflamingo were also monarchs.

“The point is?” said Arthur patiently.

"My point," Jimbei said, "is that you can feel admiration for a person regardless of the life choice you make. As far as being the king of the seas goes, you're not exactly Queen Otohime. A woman as brave as she was wise and as noble as she was beautiful. She went so far as to implement the dream of surface dwellers and my people living together as equals, making it possible for us to be recognized as people, using only diplomacy as an end.

“By your words,” Arthur tested the ground, “she died, am I wrong?”

“No, you're right,” Jimbei said with visible sadness. “Tthere was someone who did not share his vision of things. He believed that since we were naturally physically superior to the inhabitants of the surface, instead of seeking equality, we should go to their nations and make them our slaves. Not believing that peace was possible, that person murdered Queen Otohime, trying to sabotage her dream. But, even that failed to diminish her. On her deathbed she asked that the hatred generated by her departure go with her, and that the dream of living without resentment be her legacy. So, although with difficulties, the royal family managed to make my queen's dream come true.”

Touching where the harpoon met his stump, Arthur realized what kind of woman Otohime was, seeing why Jimbei spoke to her the way she did. She knew without going through a near-death experience, what it was difficult for him to learn by force. Yes, even without knowing her, he already respected that woman.

"If they do anything to my domain, I will not rest until I catch them," Aquaman said as a farewell/warning.

"Then, I have nothing to fear," Jimbei said goodbye in his own way.

Chapter Text

Volcana stared at the unconscious Superman, who was helpless in front of her. Still, Luffy was right; Superman came to talk to them, and even apologized to her. It wouldn't be right to attack him while he was like this.

But still, it didn't feel right for her to not do something to the man who left her all alone on a deserted island. Here he was, practically served on a silver platter. She should at least do something to him.

As she was contemplating her dilemma, she saw Luffy pocketing a lot disposable chopsticks into his pockets, and an idea came to her mind. She grinned evilly as she walked towards Luffy.

"Captain~," she said sweetly, getting his attention. "May I borrow a pair of chopsticks~?"

She also remembered Maureen buying some makeup.

XXXX

Batman starred at the unconscious form of his colleague; his mind unable to comprehend what he was looking at. He could feel his body tremble as he urged the resist to even smirk. He could stop to fix him, but there was no time, so he hefted the Kryptonian over his shoulder and carried him back to the Javelin, careful not to wake him.

XXXX

When Superman finally gained consciousness, he groaned as he slowly sat up, rubbing his head. He looked around and found himself inside the Javelin, with Batman in the pilot's seat.

"You're up," Batman commented, more focus on the controls.

"Yeah," Superman said with a groan. "Shouldn't have let my guard down."

"Go and contact the others, they were worried," Batman said.

Superman looked at him in confusion, feeling odd. Batman rarely shows any concern for him, due to his Kryptonian physiology, but he just shrugged and went to the ship's comms.

"Superman to Watchtower, come in," he said as he screen came to life, showing Hawkgirl.

"Hawkgirl to Ja—!" Hawkgirl suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, looking at Superman in shock before she covered her mouth and look away, hiding her laughter. "Pffft! Hahahahaa!"

Confused, Superman watched as Hawkgirl laughed uncontrollably. Flash suddenly appeared, drinking some soda, followed by Green Lantern, both looking at Hawkgirl.

"What's wrong?" Green Lantern asked, looking at the laughing Hawkgirl.

Flash suddenly looked at Superman and he spat out the soda and started laughing as well. Green Lantern looked at Flash before at Superman and his eyes widened.

"…What the heck happened to you?" he asked.

Confused, Superman typed something on the comms so he could turn the camera onto himself. He then saw what happened to him; he was wearing pink eyeliner with fake eyelashes, pink blush, pink lipstick smeared over his mouth, his hair was done in ridiculous pigtails, a pair of chopsticks stuck in his nose, and drawn on his forehead was the Japanese kanji for meat.

He gaped at his face in shock before turning to glare at Batman, who was smirking as he kept his back to Superman.

Chapter Text

Robin wouldn't deny that the place was classy and that it had a very nice atmosphere either.

The bar had the perfect balance between sober elegance and youthful exaggeration. As if two different people had decorated everything, agreeing on how old and modern the place should be.

"What poison do you want, sweetie?" a very beautiful woman who seemed to come from the Middle East asked Robin, although her accent did not fit so much with the region. In fact, it was not an accent the archaeologist had ever heard.

"A Cosmopolitan is fine," Robin said simply.

The woman began to make the drink, moving agilely and almost without seeing, giving Robin the feeling that this bartender could make that and other cocktails without even looking.

That's how skilled the woman was.

"Just look at what the tide brought in," the archaeologist heard the voice suddenly extremely close to her. It was a very honeyed, sweet tenor voice with the most manly and charming timbre she had ever heard. That made her nervous. And it wasn't because it was a voice that would make almost any woman faint upon hearing it addressed to her. If not because, she never saw when the owner of the voice stood next to her!

On Robin's left side was a man in his mid-thirties, very tall by the standards of this world, measuring almost two meters tall. He was a very handsome man, the most handsome she had ever seen, with very virile and harmonious features, giving him a sort of ethereal beauty. The epitome of masculine perfection. Or a male version of Boa Hancock in Robin's opinion.

And all that, neatly clad in an expensive black Armani suit, impeccably groomed.

"Fu, fu, fu," went with a veiled discomfort Robin, "that presentation almost reminds me of a very dear acquaintance of mine, almost... sir..."

"¡Oh, lo siento! "Oh, I'm sorry!" the man said with genuine shame. "Where are my manners-?" he said as she extended her right hand to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you Nico Robin, 'the Demon of Ohara.' I am Lucifer Morningstar, at your service."

One surprise after another. This guy not only knew who she was, he also called her by a nickname that no one in this world outside of her nakama knew about her and that, none of them would call her that under any circumstances. Her contacts were definitely right to tell her that maybe this man knew something to help her with whatever she was looking for."Are you really called the 'Fallen Angel'?" Robin tried to disguise his surprise at Lucifer's words "Or is it just his stage name?"

Lucifer laughed good-naturedly at the words and what was behind them. You would think that people like her would believe him, well, three of the Straw Hats surely would. Without being offended in the slightest, Lucifer responded after taking a sip of a Bourbon.

"Not like, I'm the devil. I would honestly think that someone who has seen guys like Enel would be more open to believing in me," Lucifer said as he made Robin follow him, a silent request that she conceded to. "I guess letting go of what I said I've launched, at least it gives me some maneuver."

"Algo", admitió "Something," Robin admitted, "but if you know who we are, do you know why we are here and how to get home?"

"In a way, yes," Lucifer admitted. "I know how you got here and who brought you, but I have no idea how to get you back. Don't get it wrong, that Latin American saying, 'the devil knows more because he is old than because he is a devil' has a point, but I am not Nyarlathothep. Science is definitely not my strong point, much less a science that could be considered alchemy as it has a lot of magic in it."

¿"Then why are we here?" the Straw Hats' archaeologist then asked.

"That, only Metron can answer it," Lucifer replied. "Metron is something similar to me, similar, although different. Unfortunately for you, unless you find a way to get out of here on your own, you're going to have to play by their rules. That's why I made your contacts call you. I hate when people cut off the freedom of others for their sordid purposes. Therefore, at least you may have my small gift. If you find a competent magician and put him to work with their tech expert, they you may be able to return home."

"¿ "What is the price of this information?" Robin asked cautiously. "If it is my soul, I'm sorry to say, but only Nami is allowed to sell them."

"Courtesy of the house," Lucifer disdained Robin's comment. "Like I said, I hate what they are doing to you, and I can only help this way. But, that doesn't mean we can't have a more enjoyable chat another time."

Robin drained her cocktail and smiled amusedly at the man and without saying a word, she left the Lux, the name of the bar, and headed back to her base.

Meanwhile, Lucifer looked at his bartender who had a very curious expression.

"Come on Maze," Lucifer said exasperatedly, "I didn't lie to her. Metron brought them here, probably for some purpose related to Darkseid, I don't know how to send them home using the same method by which he brought them, and Robin never asked for another type of method."

"Well, yes, then you haven't lied," Maze admitted. "However, you're not helping them get back even though you don't like what Metron did, with your father's permission."

"Nika agrees," said Morningstar to Maze's surprise. "And Azrael came to see me, to ask me not to do anything. You know that of all my siblings, she is my only weakness. So, just because of that promise, I'm not going to jump right in. Give them a couple of clues, if that's something I can do."

What Lucifer didn't tell Maze was that the Straw Hats were also doing more good in general to the world than the Justice League was. And in a way that stirred the waters, making it very fun to be in the mortal world, seeing the 'heroes' and the 'villains,' black and white, light and darkness; see a very defined gray, scramble the board and the rules of the game. They were definitely too valuable entertainment to let go so easily.

Chapter Text

After the defeated forces of Apokalypse invasion of Earth make a hasty retreat, and Darkseid's demise at the hands of Lex Luthor's' offer of the Anti-Life equation, the alliance between the Justice League, Straw Hats, and Legion of Doom alliance emerged victorious...

In the aftermath, Luffy ordered the crew and the Deckhands to depart the area and let the Justice League clean up the rest of the mess. From the Justice League's perspective, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman decided to respect the Straw Hats' decision to leave despite some disagreements with other members of the League who are present in the ordeal. Partly because if it wasn't for the pirate group's assistance, the battle for Earth against the forces of Apokalypse would have proven to be far more difficult to manage. However, the League only gave the Legion of Doom a five-minute head start to escape before the heroes pursued them and sent them to prison again. Peace and order are finally restored, and justice prevailed against the great forces of darkness once again...

But little did the League know, that an unforeseen threat they are about to face...is in a different league of its own…a new threat that could put Darkseid to shame...a threat the Straw Hat Pirates are very familiar with...because the threat is native from their own world.

It is a sunny day in the Metropolis, traffic in the streets, and people going about their usual routine despite the recent invasion of Earth conducted by Darkseid; life goes on after all. But that all changes for what is about to happen next...

Question and Huntress are out investigating a possible supervillain activity, disguised as normal civilians to look apart from the crowd and avoid detection. While they are in the middle of a mission, they also don't mind enjoying themselves for a bit by buying some beverage and snacks.

Of course, Huntress is keeping an eye out in the streets like a hawk

"Hey Huntress, I bought two deluxe sandwiches. The diners told me that this sandwich is the restaurant's best seller. Also, I bought some iced tea as well, you’re probably thirsty" said Question, who is carrying two paper bags. On one hand are the sandwiches, and on the other hand are the cups of homemade brewed ice tea.

"Thanks, Q. I’ll pay you back the money you spent after this mission. How much do I owe you?" Huntress replied back to Question

"No need, and plus I do owe you a date after all, and I booked a schedule at a nice place,” said Question .

He was hoping for a reply from Huntress, especially when the two of them are in a relationship, but he notices something is...off. Now Huntress is also observing the environment, and both of them start to realize the buzzing streets of Metropolis quiet down, and people start looking up at the sky. Both look up at the sky as well. something is falling from the sky... it's big...and falling very fast.

"WE NEED TO GET EVERYONE OUT OF THE AREA QUICKLY" Question yells in a panicked voice while facing Huntress, who also nods in an agreement.

Question and Huntress manage to quickly evacuate the civilians in the area of the impact zone...but just before they alert the Watchtower of the situation. The large falling object crashes and causes unprecedented destruction of buildings, and infrastructures, and a small earthquake that could be felt all over Metropolis.

Question and Huntress had to regain their bearings after that sheer magnitude of destruction.

"Huntress! Contact the watchtower for backup. I’ll inspect the crash site while you're at it. It won't take long."

"Alright, it'll just take a few moments, but...are you sure you need to inspect the crater all by yourself without reinforcements? I...have a bad feeling about this," Huntress replied with caution, but Question assured her that he is just going to check the crater and be very careful. However, just before Question walks away to the crash site...

THE GROUND SHAKES AS A LARGE HAND CAME UP FROM THE CRATER...SLAMMING THE EDGE OF THE EDGE OF THE CRATER.

In instinct, Question quickly step back, and hastily backs away from the crater and gets near to Huntress. Huntress who also saw this new development went on high alert and on guard, forcing her to pull out her miniature crossbow, aiming and ready to fire.

The two League members assumed a fighting stance as they saw a very large figure begin to slowly rise from the crater...menacingly, and begin to speak roughly:

"OH GEEZ...MY HEAD HURTS..."

Question and Huntress are staring with disbelief and shock at the rising large figure, and the dust from the impact begins to clear... revealing a terrifyingly imposing, humongous, and overtop muscular man holding a terrifyingly large metal bat with spikes, wearing a dark purple cape, with two large horns, a massive X-shape scar at his right abdomen, his left arm is covered with dragon scale tattoos with and a skull tattoo located at the wrist.

"IT SEEMS NOT EVEN THAT BRIGHT LIGHT WAS ABLE TO KILL ME." The large figure still rubbing his head after that fall.

"HOW DID THAT OLD WHITEBEARD MANAGE TO PULL OFF SUCH A GLORIOUS DEATH?" the large figure yells in frustration with such imposing and menacing power and authority.

"AND NOW...IT WOULD SEEM I’M AT A DIFFERENT PLACE NOW."

This large, menacing figure...the man who longed for a chance to die a glorious death...

EMPEROR KAIDO: KING OF THE BEASTS

Kaido's face morphed into an intimidating frown, his presence and expression alone would even strike fear into the hearts of most.

"If it's a one-on-one, always bet on Kaido," they say from where he comes from.

Kaido's unbelievable destructive power and strength are enough to destroy an entire nation on a whim...

On Land, Sea, and Air, Kaido is hailed as the Strongest Creature among all living things.

Huntress and Question felt great terror and horror from the killing intent that this gigantic man imposes... They and the League faced a lot of powerful and dangerous supervillains. Some possessed incredible powers, others had access to vast resources and manpower, others rely on wits and cunningness...but this imposing being standing right in front of them seemed to tower even over the skyscrapers around them. Huntress feels such fear it is like she is reliving that moment when she watched her parents being murdered by Mandragora while hiding in the closet. Question who notices Huntress scared expression tries to snap her back to reality, but before he did...The large figure spoke again.

"LOOKS LIKE I HAVE NO CHOICE THEN..."

The two Leaguers take a step back, in fear of what would happen next.

"IT IS TIME TO HASTEN PREPARATIONS FOR THE FINAL BATTLE!" Kaido yells at the top of his voice...causing an earthquake and destroying several buildings in a few blocks radius in the process. Much to the shock and dismay of Huntress and Question, as they assess the powerful shout is more destructive than the initial damages caused by the crash due to falling down from the sky. Even some of the authorities who arrived at the scene shook in fear despite their weapons raising at this monster.

"IF THIS NEW WORLD IS DESTROYED...THEN SO BE IT, LET'S START THE GREATEST WAR THAT HAS EVER SEEN, WORORORORORORORO!"

Kaido yelled one last time, before growling like a monster...

Kaido has entered the fray.

Chapter Text

Ace sat on her bed with an expressionless expression, trapped in her metallic room. Suddenly, her hair moved from the slight breeze, making her turn her head to see the door had opened.

Ameagari no sora wo aogu tabi
Nakimushi datta koro no boku wo omou
Dareka no senaka wo
Gamushara ni oikaketa
"Tsuyoku naritai" tte

Ace was walking through the deserted halls, ignoring the unconscious soldiers, terrified scientists, and destroyed hallway, her face still expressionless. Flashes of the Straw Hats' back through the screen as she kept walking.

ima wa kaze ni kieta "Arigatou"

Queen was leaning on the table with a frown on her face as King looked at the wall with crossed arms.
Ten was punching steel walls while Jack leaned on the wall, looking blankly at the ceiling.

Boku wa tsuyoku nareteiru no kana?
Kotae wa mada dasou ni nai kara sa
Yappari mada

Ivy was sitting on a chair, her head resting on the table as Harley was absentmindedly petting Bud and Lou. Cheetah lounges on the couch, her tail flickering lazily as Grundy stood by with a blank expression on his face. Clayface was sitting on the ground, reading Shakespeare, while Volcana was combing a smiling Maureen's hair, a soft grin on her own face.

Aruiteiku yo

Ace's face suddenly shifted, her eyes becoming wide as she saw the exit, making her start running out the door to freedom.

Saa yukou
Tachidomaru koto naku
Nagareru toki ni makenai you ni

Lex was in his green armor as he fired two green rays to the sides, a sneer on his face.
Joker appeared with his permanent frown, flicking a knife and slashing sideways. Aresia appeared and threw a vicious punched, followed by Tsukuri, flashing her blade as she slashed downward. Star Sapphire flew forward, blasting purple energy from her gem. Giganta grew big and sent a strong kick. Amazo's eyes flashed red as he slammed his fists together.

Amanda Walker's face appeared, looking grim.

Nando mo tachimukai tsuzukeyou
Taisetsu na mono ushinai takunai kara

Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn stood side by side, one raising vines while the other wielded a hammer. Cheetah rushed forward slashing her claws. Grundy roared and pounded on the ground. Clayface turned his hands into maces as he slammed them down. Volcana released a torrent of fire. Finally, Maureen, with her hands clasped, released a strong snow storm.

Boku no naka ni nagareru koe wa
Zutto zutto boku wo sasaeteru
ITAZURA na ame ga jama suru kedo
Nigedasenai kara
Oh

Ace ran through the desert, a hopeful expression on her face as she ignored the intense heat.

Flashes of her life appeared; when she was sold by her parents to be experimented.

Then it showed her cowering slightly as Zoro sat in front of her, his swords on the side as he tried to calm her down.

It showed Ace leaning on Robin's motherly touch as Franky taught her how to dissemble the collar while Brook played happy music, uplifting her spirit.

It showed her being lifted into the air by a smiling Luffy while the rest of the crew stood behind him, giving her welcoming smiles.

And finally showing her and Maureen happily eating cake, wearing party hats as they celebrated Zoro's birthday, as well as a new chapter in her life.

Saa yukou
Tachidomaru koto naku
Nagareru toki ni makenai you ni
Nando mo tachimukai tsuzukeyou
Taisetsu na mono ushinai takunai kara

The Justice League and their allies stood side by side.

Shining Knight sat on top of Winged Victory, who whinnied as he brandished his sword in the air. Hawkgirl flew forward, brandishing her electric mace. Green Lantern rose into the air, blasting green energy from his power ring. Flash landed on the pavement before zipping to the other side of the screen, a smirk on his face. Martian Manhunter flew from the ground, eyes glowing and cape billowing with the wind. Wonder Woman charged forward, banging her bracelets together, creating a shock wave. Batman landed on the ground before throwing batarangs that exploded. And Superman flew forward, eyes glowing as he threw a powerful punch.

Shinjita sono saki e to...

Ace stopped in front of the Straw Hats, who turned around and greeted her with smiling faces, making her give the biggest smile she ever made.

Justice…

Chapter Text

The Joker had sent a particular group of Injustice League "Members" to this location in South Dakota in order to finance his organization, requesting a forced donation from this particular Bank.

The group of villains is made up of Atomic Skull, a villain with a very terrifying appearance as he had his skull enveloped in flames that emitted nuclear energy, which he could redirect into rays that were deadly if received fully.

The second male member of the group and mastermind of the operation was the brutish Bane, who managed to also be as cultured as he was powerful. Although in Luthor's opinion, his ego and overconfidence were his Achilles heel.

Completing the group were two women, Silver Banshee, a metahuman, owner of a magical artifact or whatever, which gave her a voice as powerful or more than that of the heroine known as Black Canary. And there was also the serial killer Jane Doe, master of disguise and with an ability to infiltrate anywhere so good that there were still those who refused to believe that it was impossible that Jane was not a metahuman with metamorphic abilities.

"Very well, nobody move, this is an assault!" the villains broke into the bank, which was in fact owned by a company almost as shady as Luthor's. That is, the bank was owned by the oil magnate Maxwell Lord.

“No one here plays hero, and everyone will return for dinner. But choose to be stupid...” Bane left the threat unfinished.

One of the reasons this particular bank was famous and a reason to be targeted by these villains, was that Lord had a curious and problematic policy in particular. The bank bought precious metals and precious stones. He could even open an account using these resources for this purpose, exchanging said garments for their monetary value; he anticipated charging a good commission for doing so.

Hence, Maxwell Lord Banks were frequently used wherever they were, by criminals of all kinds, to launder money or obtain easy resources. The bank never asked any questions about the origin of the goods nor did an investigation. Since it was a bank and not a pawn shop, they could get away with ignoring the regulations that those places were required to abide by. And that's why these villains were there, to take money and anything valuable that they could quickly get out of the vault.

“Hey, hey!” a voice called the villains' attention. “What's all that commotion?”

From one of the cubicles where the executives attended to important clients (who came to make a considerable transaction, then), an old man came out wearing an elegant gray suit and a white trench coat with braids, without buttons.

Both Silver Banshee and Jane were surprised to see the old man's physique, as he was a very tall person with a body in a shape that would have made people three times younger than him feel envious.

"Old man, just because I'm in a good mood, I'll say it again," said Atomic Skull with a malicious smile, but in a kind of cordial way, "stay still and don't do anything stupid or you'll see."

The old man blinked a few times, sweeping his gaze over the villains, adopting an expression that fleetingly reminded Silver Banshee and Bane of the Straw Hats' ‘Captain's’ foolish face, before his face lit up brightly. The same way anyone did when they had an epiphany.

“Oh, I understand!” said the old man, going from a bewildered expression to one of fierce resolution. “Hehe, this place is getting more interesting by the minute. Well, we'll do this, you're going to give up the easy way or face the consequences. Choose, now while you can.”

Silver Banshee and Atomic Skull laughed at the old man's audacity, Jane shook her head in sorrow, and Bane thought that this old man surely had senile dementia if he thought that they would listen to the scolding grandfather's act.

"I think you have already chosen," said the old man while he smiled like a predator that was about to attack his prey. "I apologize in advance, gentlemen, for the damage I am going to cause."

None of the villains had time to reply to the old man's words, because in one moment he was there, the next, Atomic skull was violently thrown onto the street, after receiving a powerful punch from the old man, putting fear into the others.

Quickly coming out of his stupor, Silver Banshee screamed loudly, momentarily stunning that man, who covered his head with something, a kind of force field or armor, which manifested as if that old man's face was suddenly covered with metal. A very shiny black. Advancing quickly, the old man covered the distance between him and Banshee in just five seconds, grabbing the woman's neck, squeezing her throat tightly, denying the villainess air, long enough for her to fall unconscious.

"Well, who's next?" the old man asked.

Using his device, Bane flooded Venom into his body, doubling his size as he closed the distance between him and the fucking geezer.

Many of the frightened civilians who hid as best as possible on the bank heard a dull explosion and a gasp that mixed horror and surprise, giving them the courage to look out and see an old man, in a gray suit and a trench coat with the word "Marine" embroidered in blue on his back, having Bane's fist on his right cheek, without showing the slightest indication that the blow had affected him in the slightest.

"You call that a blow, you spoiled brat?" the old man asked humorously. "This is how you give a real blow!"

Bam!

Bane was thrown violently next to Atomic Skull, his gaze lost, a clear sign that he was knocked unconscious by a tremendous punch.

Staring at Jane Doe, the old man asked her, his voice dripping —in the serial killer's opinion— with the promise of immeasurable pain if he chose her words very poorly. "And what are you going to do, young lady?"

The young woman raised her hands in surrender. If he defeated the other three, she simply didn't stand a chance.

The old man, seeing that he did minimal damage to private property, laughed happily at that and returned to the cubicle as if nothing had happened, because he wanted to continue selling the gold berries that he had with him.

It was the best way to kill time while the competent authorities arrived and he would give his statement.

Although, instead of the police, Superman, Flash and John arrived at the scene and were surprised to see the Villains defeated.

"Who, who did that?" Flash asked the people present, surprised by the sight.

Everyone pointed in the direction of the old man, who came out of the cubicle again and looked unimpressed at the colorful representatives of justice present there.

“Are you the representatives of the law?” the old man asked very incredulous, much to the pleasure of the members of the League.

"Well, not technically," Superman responded, but was interrupted by the old man's attitude, who returned to the cubicle to take care of his business.

“Then, I have nothing to talk to you about,” the old man disdained. “Monkey D. Garp is not going to waste his time with some aspiring law enforcement officers.”

That name caught everyone's attention, Flash being the first to speak when he heard the old man's name.

"Are you related to Straw Hat Luffy?" Flash asked.

With his ability to think at high speed, the Scarlet Speedster understood that this old man did not know who they were. And since Monkey D. was also part of his name, there could be the slightest possibility that he is from the same planet as Luffy.

Apparently, his deduction was correct, because the man stopped short and turned to look at them, with an expression that showed irritation.

“And now, what did my empty-headed grandson do?”

"What?" Garp heard the surprised voice of everyone present.

Chapter Text

Kaido's arrival resulted in the entire city being thrown into disarray.

The destruction he caused in just a short time is unprecedented, a sight to behold. Causing a wide city panic among the civilian populace residing in the city. Many civilians who witnessed the destruction the monster caused quickly fled from the scene on foot or by car in a desperate bid to find safety or seek shelter nearby, while others fled the city. The National Guard and military had yet to arrive, and despite the local authorities' quick response and best efforts, they were struggling to maintain order.

Not only do they have to deal with criminals taking advantage of the situation, but they also have to deal with evacuation efforts of civilians to safety and shelters nearby or leaving the city entirely. It truly is pandemonium in Metropolis City.

At the crash site where Kaido landed and openly declared war on this new world, he observes his new surroundings out of curiosity. The Yonko of the Beast Pirates felt intrigued. What caught his interest the most upon looking down were the two people wearing unique outfits standing right in front of him from a distance. Any ordinary person would normally run away from him or other Yonko, yet these people didn't flee, although it seems they were also afraid. Kaido found the situation quite amusing, so he would let them live for now as they did not pose much of a threat or an annoyance despite being armed with weapons, but if they tried anything funny or stupid, he wouldn't hesitate to send them straight to hell.

Kaido: "YOU TWO..."

Huntress and Q lurched on instinct as this dangerous being in front finally took notice of both their presence. They still feel intimidated by the being's large stature. They both knew and felt that if they made one wrong action, it would lead to disastrous consequences.

Kaido: "ANSWER MY QUESTIONS, AND I'LL LET YOU BOTH GO AND LIVE."

Huntress and Q felt pale at first after that threat, but the two of them looked at each other with an understanding, seemingly hesitant at first to entertain questions that this being may ask, but surviving was their top priority right now in their current circumstances in the face of a possible dangerous threat without reinforcements from the watchtower. But they could also use this to buy time for people to reach for safety and shelter by "entertaining" the beast's questions.

Q: "All alright. We'll answer your questions, but first. Who are you?"

Kaido: "THE SAME CAN BE SAID TO BOTH OF YOU. AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION..."

"I'M KAIDO!"

Kaido stabs his Hassaikai on the ground, resulting in a minor tremor in the process.

Q and Huntress are stunned but also nearly lost their balance from the amount of force that was put into that.

Kaido: "NOW TALK."

The atmosphere is tense, and then Kaido asks.

KAIDO: "WHAT IS THIS PLACE?"

Q: "This is the city of Metropolis"

Kaido: "OH? INTERESTING, NEVER HEARD OF IT."

Kaido: "In thought* "IT LOOKS LIKE THE BRIGHT LIGHT DID MORE THAN GIVE AN EYESORE, BUT ALSO BROUGHT ME TO A NEW PLACE OR MAYBE A NEW WORLD. I WONDER IF I CAN STILL CONTACT ONIGASHIMA ABOUT THIS. IF THEY ARE IN THIS WORLD AS WELL, THIS IS GETTING INTERESTING."

Kaido: "ALRIGHT, I RECKONED THAT I'M ON SOME ADVANCE COUNTRY SINCE THIS IS A LARGE CITY. ARE THERE OTHER MORE COUNTRIES THAT ARE LIKE IT?"

Huntress and Q hesitate to answer, yet what choice do they have? However, Q decides to take a huge risk because he is still unsure what this monster would do with this information.

Q: "Yes, but you figure out the rest yourself."

Although it was a partial answer, he couldn't carelessly give out the full details, feeling that they may pose a dangerous threat to Earth and the League.

Kaido feels slightly annoyed, but responds with a smirk at the cheekiness the person displays. Kaido had to admit that he had guts.

Kaido: "HEH! SMARTASS...I'LL LET THAT SLIDE AS YOU TECHNICALLY ANSWERED MY QUESTION."

Q regained a bit of his composure as his gamble paid off.

Kaido: "ALSO. WHAT IS IT THAT YOU SAID ABOUT CONTACTING THE WATCHTOWER"

Q and Huntress could feel drips of sweat dripping from their forehead. They knew if they didn't answer this correctly, they may end up escalating the situation and endanger the city. But they could also be in mortal danger if they try to contact for reinforcements while under the gaze of a monster, a predator.

Q: "It's not your business."

Kaido: "TSK!"

Kaido feels more aggravated this time. He may have let that one slide previously, yet this professionally dressed punk is beginning to test his temper. He decided to give them a "little" warning. Kaido holds the handle of his massive kanobo, as purple lightning begins to crackle violently and coates Kaido's weapon, utilizing a small portion of his Haki.

Q and Huntress are taken aback by that small display of power and warning and feel great fear and terror at the sense of power behind Kaido's non-verbal threat. It was a warning, and the message was loud and clear.

I should kill the two of you right now. Test my patience again. I'll make sure of that.

Huntress and Q have no choice but to bite their tongues and answer Kaido.

Kaido: "NOW...IL ASKS AGAIN, WHAT ARE YOU ON ABOUT CONTACTING WATCHTOWER?"

Kaido is growing impatient as his hand is itching to grab Hassaikai, ready to smash them into paste if this continues. Huntress and Q are growing more anxious & uneasy as they know one more wrong could be their end.

Huntress swallows her saliva as a lump forms in her throat. But before she can answer Kaido's Question, a missile is hurtling toward them, and as it hits Kaido's back, a large explosion erupts.

Q and Huntress react and flinch from the blast. Their instinct was telling them to jump for cover, but to their astonishment, they saw Kaido didn't budge nor flinch after being hit by that fast and destructive missile.

Although Kaido felt the missile hitting his backside, he still did not feel any pain from that, but the situation worsened, as the unprovoked attack only fueled Kaido's agitation even further. Kaido glanced at his back and saw what seemed to be an army equipped with advanced weaponry aiming at him. He notices the tank in the middle.

Kaido: " *GRRRGH!*. "

Kaido is growing more agitated. Now he has to deal with this annoyance with these playing Marine wannabes. In fairness, at least the World Government Marines from Navy HQ can give him a challenge, especially those admirals. But that is not the case here.

Kaido: "I'LL DEAL WITH THEM LATER, BUT FIRST...YOU TWO."

Kaido then looks back at Huntress and Q. They both feel nervous and on guard about what could happen, but before anything can happen. A chink from metal can be heard. Loud enough to capture the attention of Kaido, Q, Huntress, and the army.

When Kaido glanced at his left side. The army, Q, and Huntress also follow suit where Kaido's gaze and focus are. They saw a large jar of sake fall from Kaido's belt, creating a loud thud, and rolled on the ground, and its alcohol contents spilled on the floor wastefully. The bottle also has visible cracks, indicating the severity of the physical damage caused by the blast of the explosive.

THAT'S IT.

Kaido's patience reaches its peak. Now full of rage. A visible vein pops up on his forehead, and in the blink of an eye, he grabs Hassaikai infusing it with armament Haki. In just a blink of an eye, he leaped and bore down toward the Army armed personnel, leaving behind a trail of purple lightning with insane speed.

"SUCH SPEED!" thought Q and Huntress, shocked by the insane speed Kaido displayed in contrast to his large physiology.

Kaido: "YOU BASTARDS!"

Kaido prepares a powerful attack by swinging Hissakai upward.

Kaido: "SHINU!" ("DIE!")

Using all of his unrelenting might and fury, Kaido brings down Hissaikai using both his arms at blinding speed and power.

The result of these attacks is a powerful blast and shockwave. The ground cracks due to the sheer power and strength that Kaido put into it. It is so powerful that it also caused a minor earthquake and a blast wave that sent debris flying, making many helicopters flying above the city lose their altitude and control.

What follows is Kaido thrashing Hassaikai left and right, unleashing his wrath on the military using his large body as an advantage to support the power of these attacks, leaving only destruction in his wake.

Q hurls himself toward the Huntress and pushes her to safety in an alleyway before a large piece of debris hits them from the attack. Q manages to save her in time, but his left shoulder is grazed in the process as there are sharp edges on that debris that come into contact and damage his clothing and skin.

Huntress: "Q!"

Huntress hurriedly goes back to Q's side to check on him. Her emotions are full of worry and distress about the state of her partner.

Q: "I'm...Alright huntress, it's just a graze," he tries to reassure his partner but Q still feels great pain. He places his left hand on his bleeding shoulder to slow down the bleeding, but he instantly regrets it as the pain begins to persist.

Huntress: "Don't think about lying to me, mister. I can see that you are injured and you're probably in a lot of pain."

Q: "Heh, guilty."

Huntress: "Shut it."

Huntress begins to treat Q's wound with gentle and care to stop the bleeding, and hopefully, after this mess, they can head back to the watchtower and properly treat Q's injury. Huntress did her best to stop the bleeding temporarily and covered the wound with bandages. Huntress assists Question, who seems to struggle to stand up properly due to the pain.

Q: "Well, looks like we won't be having dinner later...sorry ma belle dame."

Q felt apologetic and expressed great sincerity towards his partner, as it would seem they wouldn't be able to enjoy and spend their time together.

Huntress: "Wow, French eh? But It's ok, we can have dinner another time, or maybe have a special dinner back at the Watchtower."

Huntress lovingly smiled back to Q, full of compassion and assurance to her partner that there was nothing wrong with that. What matters is they are both safe.

Huntress and Q are about to have an intimate moment, but another tremor occurs. Forces them to focus on the situation at hand. "Kaido". They slowly and cautiously peeked their heads from the corner wall of the alleyway. Little did they know the following of what they were about to see next would terrify them to the core.

Kaido raises Hassaikai and places its body on his shoulder where he holds his weapon. He examines the "Marine" wannabes that he struck down. Lying flat on the ground, too injured to stand up and move, moaning and screaming in pain. The vehicles and tanks they used are nothing more than compressed scrapped metal after Kaido's rampage.

Kaido: "YOU BASTARDS. THAT WAS A DAY'S WORTH OF SAKE...WASTED!"

Q and the Huntress continue observing Kaido safely from a distance and in a secluded area were stunned that all of this destruction was because of a Giant Bottle of Sake?!

Kaido grinds his teeth together and screams in frustration and anger as his precious drink is ruined and contaminated. He wants to unleash his rage. Kaido unleashes another wave of destruction. Dark red and purple lightning begins to flicker and dance violently around Kaido. Throughout the city, his killing intent and bloodlust are felt.

For Q and Huntress, it was overwhelming.

The air is suffocating. They can't move, sweating profusely. It felt like Death awaits them. Q and Huntress collapse on the ground as this deadly aura that Kaido emits is beginning to take a toll on them.

But unknown to them yet, another development is about to happen.

Kaido senses the disturbance and swings his Hassaikai, deflecting the large chunk of rock with inhumane speed and sending it toward the sky.

Kaido glances behind him, sensing the culprit who throws the boulder at him. He sees someone jumping from the buildings ahead.

Back at Huntress and Q.

Huntress and Q still feel lightheaded but begin to regain composure, and slowly stand up as they try to grasp whatever Kaido just unleashed.

Huntress: "What...was that...?"

Q: "I...don't know...this is the first time I felt something like that"

Huntress and Q hear another crashing sound. They sluggishly walk their way toward the edge of the alleyway wall. They saw something that boggled their minds. It was Doomsday?!.

Q: "Impossible. Didn't Superman and the rest of the Founders send him to the Phantom Zone?!"

Huntress: "Even I don't have a proper answer for that. I am just as surprised as you are."

They see Doomsday lift a giant chunk of a building and hurl it towards Kaido. But to their surprise again, Kaido was fazed, expressing nothing but boredom and irritation.

Kaido swings his large metal kanabo and deflects the large rock to who knows where.

Huntress and Q know it's too risky to be involved in this situation. They decided to stay back and watch the fight that was about to go down between these two monsters.

Doomsday Lands in front of Kaido, catching his attention. Doomsday tries to intimidate Kaido despite the difference in size and power. But little did the Kryptonian killing machine know that Kaido doesn't consider Doomsday a threat but rather an annoyance.

Kaido: "WERE YOU THE ONE WHO TRIED TO THROW A BOULDER AT ME?"

Doomsday: "Yes. Where is Superman?"

Kaido is displeased that this bastard just blatantly tried to interrupt and attack him, but this person he was referring to caught his interest.

Kaido: "OH? AND WHO IS THIS SUPERMAN YOU REFERRING TO"

Doomsday: "Superman, the Man of Steel. One who defeated me, I will kill him, I will have my revenge on Superman. Where is he?"

Kaido begins to grow impatient as this talking rock punk goes on and goading about Superman, yet he is also interested in this individual called Superman, and maybe he is a strong person. Kaido looks forward to meeting and challenging this person to test if he is worth his time. If not...then he'll kill him. It would be a real shame if that were the case.

NOW TO THE MATTER AT HAND

Kaido: "QUIET! YOU'RE ANNOYING!"

Doomsday: "If you will not tell me where Superman is, then I'll destroy you!"

Doomsday leaps towards Kaido without hesitation, preparing to throw a punch.

Kaido is unamused and looks bored but gives this punk a deathly glare.

Kaido: "WORORORORORORORO!...WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE...CHALLENGING ME TO A DEADLY FIGHT?!"

Doomsday didn't reply and flinch from Kaido's threat but continued to charge toward Kaido with all of his might and fury.

Kaido: "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A WASTE OF MY TIME"

But then. Kaidou stomps his left foot on the ground for support and leaped toward and intercepted Doomsday at godly speed, swinging his Hassaikai horizontally, preparing for a strike.

Kaido: "RAIME!" ("THUNDER!")

Kaido screamed his attack move as he imbued his weapon and attacked with Armament and Conqueror's Haki. A visible trail of dark purple lightning emanates from Kaido's weapon. surprising his supposed foe.

Kaido: "HAKKE!" ("BAGUA!)

Before Doomsday could react and register what happened, Kaido's attack landed a destructive blow and inflicted massive damage. The sheer force of the attack was so devastating that it knocked him to unconsciousness after coming in contact with the hit and sent him flying and crashing into building after building until the last one collapsed on the Kryptonian abomination. The rush of winds blew violently all over the place after Kaido successfully hit Doomsday. This resulted in many buildings being reduced to rubble within Kaido's vicinity due to their already weakened structure from Kaido's previous destructive tendencies but also due to the shockwave.

Kaido still holds Hassaikai as hues of purple lightning crackling still emanate from his weapon. Kaido expressed great displeasure at this turn of events. Disappointed that this 'creature' didn't give Kaido a proper fight.

PATHETIC! NOT EVEN A CHALLENGE!

The onlookers nearby who witness the whole thing express shock and dismay at the power this beast showed. Doomsday, the same creature that can give Superman trouble and a threat to the strongest the Justice League can offer, is knocked out by this beast named Kaido.

In Just a Single Hit.

Huntress: "...Impossible..."

Q: "This...can't be...real..."

The 2 League Members feel even more disturbed and frightened about Kaido. They watch in Awe and fear that he took out Doomsday. in ONE HIT. It shows that he is a frightening potential threat.

But before Kaido could walk and wander around for a bit, His transponder snail that rang inside his pocket

purupurupuru

Huntress and Q hear a strange noise, an alarm of sorts?, but it seemed this strange alarm noise also came from Kaido. Is that...a Snail?, very odd for a communication device.

Kaido hastily reaches for the transponder snail inside his pants, holds it in his palm and answers his transponder snail.

Kaido: "QUEEN, THIS BETTER BE GOOD"

?: "K-KAIDO-SAN! Thank goodness we contacted you. We are trying to contact you after that bright light engulfed you. Then after that, the same damn bright light also shined over Onigashima and swallowed the island whole."

Kaido: "GO ON."

?: "Kaido, this is KING. We then find ourselves unconscious and wake up shortly after that damn light blinded all of us and covered all of Onigashima. But after waking up, our radars detected some gray metal ships and underwater vessels heading toward Onigashima. We annihilated the intruders after they opened fire on us, but we discovered that they were not marines from Navy HQ, and the technology they used was strange yet highly advanced. We also interrogated one of the men who survived our onslaught, and when we asked what they were doing here in Wano, they said they had no clue of what we were talking about and never heard of Wano. It confirms my and Queen's suspicions that the bright light did more."

KING: "It transported us to a different world."

Kaido: "KING, WHERE ARE YOU GUYS AND ONIGASHIMA ARE LOCATED CURRENTLY?"

King: "Lord Kaido, the man we interrogated said our location is here. At the North Atlantic Ocean"

Q and Huntress listened carefully to the communication between Kaido and this King and Queen. They deduced that these two individuals were close to Kaido, perhaps second in command. Very crucial information that they can inform the League about. They also learned the location of Kaido's main base. Once they go back to the Watchtower, they could search, plan, and raid for this Onigashima base to put a stop to them.

Kaido: "I SEE, NO MATTER. PROCEED AS PLANNED. MAKE PREPARATIONS. KING!, QUEEN! I WILL MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT MAJOR CHANGES IN OUR PLANS!"

Kaido: "GATHER AND ASSEMBLE THE BEAST PIRATES! I'LL ARRIVE AT ONIGASHIMA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!"

KING & QUEEN: "Yes!, Kaido-san"

Kaido: "AND TELL JACK THAT HE BETTER PREPARE FRESH SAKE BY THE TIME I ARRIVE!, MY ALCOHOL CRAVING IS ON THE ROOF!"

KING & QUEEN: "Yes! Kaido-san!"

Huntress and Question begin to express concern about this plan they are talking about. Whatever it is, they don't like the sound of it.

Q: "Something big is about to go down. Whatever that plan is, I don't like the feeling of it"

Huntress: "Same here. Once we get back to Watchtower we need to discuss a plan of action on taking them down."

Huntress glances back at Kaido, just standing around and doesn't do anything yet

Huntress: "I have a terrible feeling that this plan of his is about that 'greatest war' he yelled when he landed here."

Q: "That's a highly likely possibility, if that's his plan then we're going to need all the help the league can offer.

Q: "Wait...didn't he say he is a pirate?"

Huntress: "Yeah, he said to assemble the beast pirates...wait...are you thinking that-?"

Q: "Yes, you have the same thought as i. It would seem that these 'Beast pirates' and Kaido are from another world. But, likely, they are probably from Strawhat Luffy's world."

Huntress is surprised by this, but the feeling of dread is starting to settle inside her. This Kaido existed in a world where Straw hat pirates came from. Her spine shivered at the thought that being this strong at this extent was insane. She dreaded the kind of terrible people on whatever planet the straw hat pirate lived that were also capable of this level of power and strength that Kaido displayed.

Are more people like him from Luffy's world coming here on Earth?

That terrifies both of them.

Before Q and Huntress continue exchanging thoughts, the sky darkens and acts as terrible weather approaches. They both swore that the weather forecast today was sunny and warm. The sudden change of weather surprised them.

Huntress and Q think of the possibility that Kaido's prolonged presence is causing sudden weather changes.

Q and the Huntress hastily peak and carefully observe Kaido once more of what he is about to do next.

Kaido was about to walk away when a Newspaper hit his face. Kaido grabs the newspaper and reads the contents of the page.

JUSTICE LEAGUE, STRONG HEROES SAVED THE WORLD ONCE AGAIN.

Kaido begins to connect the dots until he realizes they are trying to contact the Justice League. Kaido examined each key member of the Justice League.

Kaido begins to feel bored.

Kaido: 'THIS IS WHAT THOSE TWO ARE TRYING TO CONTACT?! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!"

Kaido's boredom transforms into frustration as his hopes for a good challenge from these people are all for nothing. He worked up for nothing.

STRONG HEROES?!

ABSURD!

MORE LIKE GLORIFIED FLEDGLINGS!

Kaido finds their outfit to be ridiculous and a joke. Even Germa 66 can make better outfits than that. Marines from Navy HQ at least have a sense of fashion and respect. Kaido's eyes continued wandering around the article until his gaze caught a particular interest.

The person in the middle of the picture in this news article is wearing a scarlet cape and long, flowing red trunks to go with the blue outfit. His chest has a stylized emblem that resembles a giant red letter "S" enclosed within a yellow shield with a red border. A yellow belt also encircles his waist. The newspaper article also called him the man of steel.

Kaido: "SO THIS MUST BE SUPERMAN PERSON THAT THING TALKED ABOUT. HM."

Huntress and Q are carefully watching Kaido.

Huntress: "Q, what is he doing?"

Q: "Give me a moment."

Q grabs and uses a binocular hidden inside his trenchcoat and sees what seems to be a few days old newspaper that Kaido is holding and reading.

Q: "It seems he is reading that newspaper. My guess is it's a few days old due to how crumply it is."

Then they heard Kaido chuckle, which then transformed into a full-blown laugh.

Kaido: "WORORORORORORORO!"

Huntress and Q are taken aback by Kaido's reaction, despite his odd laughter, they observe that Kaido is very interested in the newspaper he is reading. But they still couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness.

Kaido: "SO THIS IS THE STRONGEST MAN THAT THIS JUSTICE LEAGUE HAS TO OFFER LOOKS LIKE."

Huntress and Q pay close attention to Kaido's monologue (in hopes of more intel and familiarization with Kaido). They see something disturbing that they would never get their minds off for days.

Kaido glanced where Huntress and Q could visibly see that terrifying expression.

Kaido smiled like a terrifying predator, thrilled and excited to 'play' with his new prey. Expressing his excitement for a potential challenge from this Superman.

Kaido: "MAN OF STEEL. HEH! I CAN'T WAIT TO PUT HIM TO THE TEST..."

Huntress and Q look at each other worryingly for their friends and colleagues in the league. Afraid of what this monster can do to their friends and innocent people.

The page flips from the current of the wind. Kaido examines the next page of the article out of curiosity. But this time. His excited expression instantly disappears. He is not expressing excitement anymore.

HE IS LIVID

The next page. An article about the infamous supervillain group called the straw hat pirates' involvement during the Apokolips invasion of Earth. In the middle of the picture is none other than the brat that pissed him the most.

Kaido: "MUGIWARA!"("STRAWHAT!")

Kaido screams in rage as he remembers all the fledgling pirate did. Doflamingo (Joker), his trusted ally who promised him that they would create a very formidable pirate group filled with devil fruit users and conquer the world together, is taken down by that damn brat. He still partly blamed Doflamingo for being weak, but he heavily blamed the Straw Hats for ruining everything. On the bright side, this world won't be as boring and annoying. But still. If only he still had his bottle of sake to drown his sorrows.

WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS.

Kaido crumpled the paper and had enough. Kaido Roared at the heavens. His skin slowly turns to blue, his arms begin to grow large scales, his nails grow into large claws, his hands transform into talons, also emitting flame of clouds, his mouth morphs into a large Jaw that resembles that of a dragon, and lastly his feet turn into a hairy tail.

This is Kaido's Dragon Form.

Huntress and Q are shocked at what they are seeing right now. He can transform into a dragon?!

Q and Huntress also noticed the weather drastically changed after Kaido's transformation. Thunder is raining down from the sky and winds begin to pick up pace relentlessly.

Huntress: "JUST...HOW STRONG IS THIS GUY!?"

Q: "WE NEED TO GET BACK TO WATCHTOWER NOW, LOOKS LIKE WE ARE IN FOR VERY ROUGH TIMES NOW THAT WE ARE UP AGAINST THAT!"

Kaido: "FIRST I'LL CONQUER THIS WORLD AND DECIMATE THOSE GLORIFIED FLEDGLINGS."

Kaido: "AND AFTER THAT..."

KAIDO: "I'LL MAKE THAT DAMN MUGIWARA BRAT PAY, AND STRIP EVERYTHING HE HOLDS DEAR. HIS DREAM, HIS CREW, HIS AMBITION. I WILL DESTROY IT ALL!"

"WORORORORORORORORORORORO!"

Thunder flashed behind Kaido. The light from the thunder cast a large shadow of a dragon beneath the city. A sign of terrible things to come in the following days. A sign of uncertainty of the future.

Chapter Text

Making his way out to the garden, Vandal Savage was the very image of calm decorum despite the tumultuous night. An idol that others would aspire to, and he knew the servants had witnessed it, and would spread it around.

Just as several had eavesdropped upon him calling King Gustav as he walked, informing the man of recent developments.

Now though he needed to have a few more private conversations.

Because now on the cusp of his ultimate triumph, everything was in danger of collapsing upon him.

With his considerable will he swallowed back his urge to roar in frustration, or break something or someone beneath his fists. 

The Justice League was manageable. For all those colourful fools had foiled his plans decades ago, they were a known quantity. Wonder Woman and Batman may have suspicions, yet nothing concrete. Certainly not enough to act when he had been within reach. Chained by international law, their investigations would provide him with the necessary time to finalise everything.

Hmm, and I know from my contacts they’re covering up how the rogue Amazon Aresia is loose once more. I’ll arrange for some fake sightings of her to stir things up further. Regrettably they’re too sanctimonious for me to blackmail them with that. 

More importantly, the version of himself from a dead future had never seen fit to send a warning through time itself about them. 

Upon learning about the Straw Hats from his government contacts and confirming they were indeed the ones depicted upon that metal plate, he had sent assassins after them. Hounded them throughout the underworld using a vast array of cut-out and disposed of middlemen. Ultimately fruitless efforts, as the pirates were masters of evasion and had buried themselves too deeply to be uncovered. He honestly could not even say they realised they were being targeted.

And now they appear here!? Upon the eve of my victory!?

Not a whisper of his thoughts showed upon his face as he stared up at the stars above, as if contemplating Kaznia’s future of exploiting space.

No, it’s all a coincidence. An unlikely one, I confess, but if these aliens were truly opposing me, this isn’t the way they would go about it. Moreover, I’m well aware of the danger they pose, while they have only the faintest inkling of mine.

Audrey’s actions once she heard the imminent news were obvious, leading several Straw Hats to Kaznia. Granted, he would prefer to handle them at an arm’s length, yet this was manageable. If all of them came, killing them would be difficult, a strategist such as Monkey D. Luffy would certainly not commit all his forces in one go. Before taking action though, via careful questions or espionage, he would learn the location of the rest and have them killed. 

Perhaps they’re even all here in Paris? Waiting in the wings? It’d be a pity to lose it, and would make it more difficult to prove myself a benevolent dictator, if remaining an acceptable and worthwhile sacrifice overall. 

If necessary I’ll leave a line of craters visible from orbit if that’s what it’ll take. 

No mercy. No survivors. 

His fists tightened as he brought himself back to the present. 

First and foremost however, he had to secure his throne.

Confident in his approach, Vandal pulled out his phone, and dialled a disposable number from memory. As he waited for it to connect, his memory fell back over how he had reached this point.

Kaznia had been one of his contingencies set up even before the outbreak of World War Two. While his future self could arm him with all manner of advanced technologies, and insight into pivotal figures and national movements, the irrationality of individuals remained an unpredictable factor. More than once he had set himself up to rule, only to be undone by a single fanatic yapping about ‘honour,’ ‘revenge,’ ‘justice,’ ‘the people,’ etcetera, and managing to injure Vandal in a way which could not be plausibly explained away as a ‘miraculous survival.’ A terrible waste for all involved. 

It was always so frustrating when those who Vandal was trying to help would betray him. Resenting him for his superiority, unable to appreciate the necessity of sacrifices for the greater good, and just so arrogant and greedy.

Still, he always found it within himself to forgive their descendants, and offer his benevolence anew.

So even before his downfall at the hands of the Justice League, materials, assets, and loyalists had been deployed to Kaznia before and after its conquest. The Nazi occupiers had been instructed to be especially brutal to the populace, even as the man in charge directly collaborated with key leaders of the resistance who were also Savage’s loyalists. If his conquest of America had been complete, he would have begun setting the stage for his discovery of ‘special serum’ making him functionally immortal, all while the peasants were rolled up in one sweep.

It had not been anything particularly special, as the officer in charge had been simply greedy enough to obey strange orders. Meanwhile, local, and some imported, conmen and agents properly coached by Vandal, had posed as patriots rallying their countrymen against their oppressors. Provided intel would ensure those select rebels were always a step ahead of the Nazis, while in turn selling out rival groups would make both them and make the head of said occupiers appear competent. Then some of his non-Aryan loyalists would trickle in, men and women “escaping” the Fuhrer’s supposed tyranny, and while foreigners, would be “vetted” and then approved by leaders of the resistance.

It had been incomplete, as the royal family lines had been too elitist to be properly infiltrated, yet they had still held their ‘comrades’ in high regards, which was sufficient. 

After the time travelling Justice League had foiled everything, and he had pulled himself out of the Atlantic Ocean, Vandal had confirmed the imminent collapse of his latest empire, he made his way to Kaznia. Cue his introduction to the various rebel groups, presenting himself as the son of the tyrannical Fuhrer who he had been quietly resisting against, with various heroes of Kaznia staunchly vouching for him, and his place within their numbers. Something solidified when he courageously infiltrated the local Nazi headquarters, and returned with the head of the man leading their suffering —what was his name again?— and the necessary intel to retake their country before the Allies could swoop in as ‘liberators.’ His credentials established, Vandal had settled in to take a leading place within the nation growing out of the ashes, even if he understandably stayed out of the spotlight given the “uncanny resemblance to his father.”

From there, the real work had begun.

As anticipated, the various natural resources he had surveyed decades beforehand had become invaluable to the international community, while the various nationalist groups could be depended upon to be constantly at each other’s throats. A few pawns in each faction was enough to ensure an appropriately militant country, full of battle-hardened veterans, even as he hid various research projects in the chaos, and his personal influence continued to advance.

All of which had built up to this eve of his triumph. 

Lamentably, it was clear he had erred in his backing of Gustav.

Oh, the previous ‘Regent’ had obviously had to go, especially after drawing Superman’s attention. Especially as his rival Gustav had been available with a young daughter who would be of legal age in Kaznia at the same time his projections showed the space race would be at a favourable stage. It was almost like fate was shining upon him. A few discrete chemicals in his drink ensured the man would have no further, inconvenient heirs appear. 

For all that Gustav had been a fool, he had appreciated the importance of ruthlessness, even if he had been relatively less harsh than his predecessors. Of course, as the man’s most trusted advisor, Vandal had ensured there was over-taxing in order to brew up resentment. All so his future wife would appear a much more affectionate and approachable figurehead, even as her husband —a war hero, and who had argued against such measures— enriched their nation. His old drinking buddy Machiavelli had not been wrong about being loved after all; it was just that he personally lacked the patience for it.

To be more specific though in his error, he had failed to properly woo the girl herself to his side. Although would I have really been able to handle faking respect for such a spoiled brat for so long? he reluctantly admitted to himself. Granted, we have what she believes to be a mutual regard, yet clearly not enough for me to be her confidant before she brings aliens to our engagement party.

Finally the call connected. “Is that you, Jovan?” asked a lady’s voice.

“Indeed, you said you wanted purple flowers, right?”

“Yes, they’ll be perfect for the meal I’ve prepared for us. It’ll all be set up nicely.”

“Excellent, keep me informed.” With that he hung up, not wanting to waste any more time.

There, no going back now.

Obviously an investigation would be carried out of course, and in fact Vandal had helped write the protocols dictating how security should treat any suspicious incidents to the monarch as potential attacks. None of which would be traced back to him of course. Dear sweet Jennifer had been practically raised for this very role. Her parents had been political opponents of his, and when they he had had them killed, he had promised them he would take proper care of her, and he had.

That settled, next was neutralising the pirates. Pleasantly, their very reputation did much to justify such preparations. After all, they were a formidable wild card, and proud of it.

Once more he ran various plans through his head to look them over from all angles, before signalling Colonel Vox over from the shadows. Vox had risen to rank and glory serving under him during the last Kaznian civil war. There the grim man had come to see the wisdom in a ruthless, iron fist quelling the inherent violence from hatred and fear which defined the Human race. Change was necessary. Change which his commander and mentor could provide for everyone.

Well, the survivors anyways.

“What are your orders,” rasped out Vox’s artificial voice from the bulky, white machine around his neck. One of Vandal’s finest inventions. A fake throat wound in the process of securing a decisive military victory justified why the war hero wore the ungainly seeming apparatus, while disguising its true intent. Discovering Vox was secretly a meta-human with super-strength, had been reason enough to bring the man under his wing, and he was properly grateful for the gift which enhanced his powers.

“Activate contingencies Alpha-3, Alpha-9, Beta-10, Beta-15, and Beta-27,” he ordered, nearly having to bite his tongue to resist the urge to say anything more. Those were all meant to be mere formalities, demonstrations to his followers how deeply and completely he could plan for his inevitable victory, only now they were essential.

Only strict military discipline kept Colonel Vox from doing more than twitching in surprise of his own. Nonetheless, he knew better than to ask questions.  

For all intents and purposes Vandal was moving up his coup even while the king was still active, and having to keep it quiet. Dictating forged orders to the military for them to go to full alert and combat status, while distributing the special weaponry early. Thankfully, he could trust the good colonel to shape it as an order by Audrey, taking firm, decisive action so that no foreign powers or domestic terrorists attempted to take advantage of her father’s weakness. Of course, if anyone noticed that preparations to give those orders began before the official announcement, things would become more complicated.

Realistically though, it was a necessity now. 

No matter, he would handle it, especially if his enemies blundered in loudly like he expected them to. Or failing that, be framed for.

Shortly he would have an entire military to call upon here, armed with weaponry the outside world knew nothing about, assuming their ridiculous embargo sufficient. The soldiers would rally to his well-earned reputation as a war hero. Courageously leading his men from the front, without ever being seriously wounded in the process. Or never reported at any rate. The perfect war consort for their fair and sweet future-queen.

“Of course, Sir,” said Colonel Vox.

“Good. For the glory of Kaznia,” he said, looking up to the stars as he visualised what was to come, “and a better world.”

!JUSTICE!

Deeper within the shadows than Vox had been, Batman slipped away with a contemplative look on his face.

While nothing outright incriminatory had been said, there was more than enough circumstantial details to raise alarms.

!JUSTICE!

An eye and ear wink a way in a few pink flower petals.

!JUSTICE!

Kaznia

Royal Palace

King Gustav, first of his name, liberally poured himself a glass of wine from his great-great-grandfather’s time. It was a rare vintage, yet proven medicinal when he had a headache such as this.

For all that Audrey was his most precious treasure, he would freely admit within the privacy of his own thoughts that he had little notion of how to raise a girl. Unfortunately, right now she had gone and caused what had the potential to be an international incident. All upon the eve of the launch of their own space program, sending astronauts to the international space station and beginning a new era for Kaznia.

It had been a bountiful surprise amidst the grim realities of seizing a nation back under its rightful reigns. Amidst his various atrocities, the ‘Regent’ —even in his private thoughts, Gustav did not allow that butcher the decency of a name— had discovered that the natural resources of Kaznia were ideal for building and fueling space shuttles, and what he had been selling to the Americans. On the sly however, he had also been secretly creating his own rocket and space industry.

Incomplete of course, and at ruinous expense, yet more than enough to be completed by those with the proper vision. Upon reviewing the particulars of the matter, or what was available given the records and personnel destroyed or killed during the revolution, the obvious choice had been to offer the program to Vandal to head up as part of further thanks to the man for his efforts. His dear friend had greatly appreciated the challenge it provided for his innovative and inventive mind, and after he had gotten over his surprise had also recognised the opportunities this offered Kaznia. No longer would they be a nation of feuding peasants! No! They would use this to pull their nation into the final frontier as they peacefully exploited the solar system and beyond. On Earth itself, they would prove themselves as a new centre of industry, materials, and development for other countries to build their own space industries while the so-called “great nations” hoarded their own.

Which, frankly, given all these alien invasions of late, was grossly overdue.

In less than an hour, loyal soldiers now trained as astronauts, would launch themselves upon a shuttle made in Kaznia and shipped to America’s NASA, and upon arrival prove their country’s worth within the eyes of the world.

Only now they stood at risk of being associated with supervillains!

Vandal had spoken in her defense though, and while he had been vague on the reasons why over the phone, citing security concerns, he trusted the man —trusted him with Audrey!— and his opinion. She was being recalled home, and then they could talk in privacy.

Satisfied, he went about to make a few necessary connections to reassure key countrymen. Soon enough, the call of a successful lift-off came through, and resolved and anticipatory for the future he made his way to bed.

Staring out the window at his country in his bed attire, he heard the familiar footfalls of the chambermaid behind him. Turning, he accepted his usual nightcap from her. Taking a sip, he said, “Why are you still here?”

"Are you certain the wine is all you require this evening, Your Highness?" she asked, a sultry look in her eyes.

"Quite," he said, a little offended at the presumption as he walked away to get his rest. “When I need your services—gohk!” Clutching his chest in agony, he collapsed to the ground.

Fire coursed through his body, only he could not move, not speak, nor scream.

!JUSTICE!

Smirking to herself, Jennifer enjoyed the look of torture upon the man, before he slackened to immovability. The light in his eyes remained though, still present if trapped.

A particularly nasty and fast-acting neurological poison to stimulate a stroke. An actual death would raise too much suspicion, while something like this would make certain parties hesitate.

Besides, she was hardly feeling merciful towards this buffoon and what he had expected of her.  Clumsy and groping compared to the man who would elevate Kaznia to true greatness. The one who had raised her with such high expectations that she had risen to match with pride. Shown her the true worth and potential mankind would reach under him. Had personally tutored her in the art of seduction.

Bending over the so-called king, she whispered, “Vandal Savage sends his regards, and a message.” Right in his ear with venom, “Your services are no longer required.”

A painful gasp escaped him, whilst she made her way out. He would be discovered by someone else later.

Chapter Text

In the meantime, Diana had also been researching about modern diplomacy, international law, and related subjects, which was . . . something. Nothing she really enjoyed for sure, even if it was necessary. Especially for when they found Aresia. Because she had an unpleasant feeling a lot of people would want to take their hostility towards her rogues sister out on Themyscira; which was unacceptable even if she had warned her mother of that very possibility. Regardless, it was a duty she had accepted, and she would not break their faith in her.

“Fair enough,” he acknowledged. They spun around again so she was comfortably resting against his chest once more. It was more muscular than you would think from simply looking at him in his tuxedo. “And I assume you’ve also had a lot of men wanting to visit the island of only women.”

A snort of amusement escaped her. “It’s probably for the best they don’t go.” Grudgingly, she acknowledged, “Although eventually we’ll have to still let in at least one ambassador.”

“And you’re waiting until they stop to consider suggesting a woman.”

She corkscrewed around so they were facing one another once more. “How insightful,” she said with playful coyness, with a touch of mockery to the politicians she had been forced to deal with. “Do you have anyone in mind?”

He blinked, and seemed to give it some genuine thought, before giving a slightly smug smirk. “Well as a matter of fact, I very well might.”

“Oh?”

“It’s nepotism at its finest, I admit, but my cousin, Katherine Kane. You see, Kate’s ex-military and a lesbian, while still having healthy relationships with the men in her life.”

“Huh,” nodded Diana, a part of her pleased that Mr. Wayne was so open-minded. She also chose not to confirm her instant suspicion the woman was ex-military because she was lesbian; no need to derail this pleasant evening with those sorts of politics. Even if he apparently agreed with her, she might get into another, well, ‘tirade’ was not entirely inaccurate, on the subject. “I admit I can see the advantages. At the very least she would be a good start to getting my sisters to understand how much the world’s changed. I don’t suppose she’s got a few stories about beating up male soldiers who weren’t too accepting of her?”

The beat of the music shifted a little once more, and they adjusted their steps, hips, and arms smoothly to it.

“Enough for a few good icebreakers, I’m sure. Although I have to ask, what’s it like on Themyscira?” She opened her mouth to cut him off from the usual “What’s it like without men?” line, which she had become unpleasantly expectant of, when he proved himself far pleasant and insightful once more. “Not just the warrior aspects of it all. Clearly there’s more to your people than just that. I’m sure after thousands of years you’ve developed some fascinating new arts for one.”

Enjoying the too rare compliment, she said, “We have. My sisters have used that time to perfect upon and expand their craft. Songs, poetry, drawing, sculpting, as much as they can. There is much beauty and wonder to be found there.”

Even if it had also become too distant from everyone else. Their motives had been wise at the time, and there remained valid reasons now as well, except on the whole Man’s World had changed to the point it was time to begin rejoining them.

“Mmhmm, well, I’m certain those would indeed be of great interest to her.”

“And the women themselves,” said Diana with a raised eyebrow.

“The more I think about it, if I didn’t tell her I at least tried to give her a chance to meet a nation of warrior woman, I would probably disappear under mysterious circumstances.”

“Well we can’t have that now, can we? We can work something out later.”

“Sounds good.” 

Chapter Text

The beach on the island of Themyscira has become a war zone. The Amazons were on their knees, fiery chains around their necks and wrists, their swords, spears, shields, and bows lying uselessly on the sandy ground. Hippolyta struggled to get off her knees, her teeth gritting as she stared at the one causing this.

"Disappointing," Ares said as he looked at the Amazons with a sneer. He was standing before the Queen of the Amazons, wearing black and red armor with a cape billowing from the wind. "Then again, this island fell to a simple mortal with barely any magical skills. Still, this is the only place that can fill my army."

"What are you talking about?" Hippolyta gritted out, glaring hatefully at the god.

"Have you not heard the drums of war upon the horizon?" Ares said as he gestured to the horizon. "A big war is coming, and I want to be prepared, so you and your Amazons will become my personal army. Under me, this war will be the greatest in history, and you Amazons have the honor of being my representatives."

"The other gods will not allow you to do this!" Hippolyta exclaimed defiantly.

"They're too busy dealing with the so-called end times," Ares said with a sneer before a brand appeared on his hands, his symbol glowing sinisterly. "Now, let's begin with my future lieutenant."

Hippolyta stared at the branding iron as it got close to her. To once again be helpless to protect her sisters against men who invaded their sanctuary, and be forced to serve them. She had truly failed as their queen.

"Death Lion Song!"

In a flash, Ares was suddenly pushed back, the brand on his hand cut in two. He looked startled as he stared at his brand before at the one who was standing protectively in front of a shocked Hippolyta.

Zoro didn't know how he ended up on this strange island. He was doing a routine check on one of their secret supply routes with Franky, Chopper, Cheetah, Jack, and Queen. And somehow, the rest got lost and he ended up on the sea alone, so he started swimming, and ended up here, right where he saw this evil-looking man standing in front of hundreds of women in fiery chains.

"W-who are you?" Hippolyta asked, feeling weary towards another invader on her island.

Without answering, Zoro simply pulled two of his glowing, black swords and swung it, and to the shock of everyone, all the chains were neatly cut.

"You…" Ares said as he looked at Zoro with intrigue. Suddenly, he was grinning widely. "It's you, war comes closer from every step you take. Excellent. Join me, warrior, and together, we can create the greatest war to ever exist!"

"Pass," Zoro said without hesitation, shocking Ares. "I only follow one man. Besides, starting wars for no good reason? That's just a waste."

"I see…then, you are a wasted fool!" Ares exclaimed as fire erupted around him. Suddenly, a spiked helmet appeared around his hand as a giant, flaming broadsword. With a burst of speed, Ares rushed towards Zoro, who quickly pulled out Wado and placed it in his mouth. He blocked the god's weapon, creating a shockwave that shook the whole island.

The Amazons watched in shock silence as the green haired warrior was exchanging blades with the God of War, their every strike sounding like thunder that could crack the ground beneath them. Despite their honour and pride crying out to join the battle against their would-be oppressor, it was a struggle to remain conscious; the strongest among them sensing it was something about the mysterious man and the energy he gave off.

Zoro's eye was focused as he blocked the god's sword. His enemy was strong, he would admit, just strong enough for him to actually break a sweat.

"What are you?" Zoro asked, curiously since this man didn't feel like a normal person in this world's standard.

"I am a god, you foolish mortal!" Ares exclaimed proudly as he kept striking Zoro, enjoying the clanging of their steels. "To think you were this powerful yet choose not to wage war. How preposterous!"

"I only fight wars when necessary," Zoro replied as he struck at the god, sending him skidding a few feet away.

"When necessary? Ha! What a laugh!" Ares said, a mad gleam in his eyes. "Wars are started to show the peace-loving weaklings their place, trample down on them to the mud where they belong!"

There was a sudden chill in the air as Zoro's eye gained a cold gleam, Ares feeling a chill down his spine as he noticed an aura appear all over Zoro.

"You're a fool," Zoro said quietly as a shimmering image appeared behind him. It looked like an intimidating being with six arms and three faces. Ares looked shocked from the wave of power emanating from the mortal before him. "Demon Aura, Nine Sword Style: Asura Blades Drawn!"

Suddenly, four more arms sprouted from Zoro, as well as two more faces, all with swords. Everyone looked shocked at the frightening sight as nine blades all gleamed with anticipation.

"You think that little trick will frighten me!?" Ares exclaimed as he rushed towards Zoro, holding his broadsword, and swinging it towards the pirate. Zoro easily deflected his strike. Roaring in anger, Ares swung again, but Zoro deflected it again, this time following it with a strong strike that shattered the weapon, surprising Ares. Before he could react, Zoro swung again, this time cutting the helmet in two, revealing his shock expression.

"W-what are you!?" Ares stammered as a thin line of blood appeared on his forehead, his eyes wide with fear.

"A pirate," Zoro declared before he rushed towards Ares, his body covered in a golden aura. "Nine Sword Style: Asura Blades Drawn; War God's Final Requiem!"

With a mighty spin, Zoro unleashed a vortex of inhumanely sharp winds that centered around Ares, who was too stunned to do anything except scream as he flew through the attack. When it finally dispersed, Ares slowly fell to the ground, his godly armor now torn, his godly body covered in slashes, and his expression a frightened scream with blank eyes, having fallen unconscious.

"To walk the path of peace, one must embrace the art of war," Zoro said as his extra arms and heads disappeared. He saw Ares slowly disappear with a faint glow. He was surprised but decided not to worry about it.

He calmly sheathed his swords and started walking away, ignoring the Amazons around him who were staring at him with either awe, shock, fear, disbelief, or interest. Hippolyta stared at the man with wide eyes. When she first saw Brook's skills, she thought she met the greatest warrior in her lifetime, but now, Brook seemed like a simple breeze to this maelstrom in human flesh.

"Oh, finally, a boat," Zoro said as he jumped on a simple rowboat and started moving. "Now, to get back to the others. How did they get separated from me? They're so hopeless."

Once he was a safe distance away, the Amazons all released a sigh of relief, a few falling on their knees as they stared at the shrinking dot from the horizon. Normally, they would try and execute a man who trespassed their island, but his presence alone made it impossible to move.

"By the gods, who was that man?" Alkyone asked in disbelief.

"Was he a god as well?" Antiope asked as they stared at the site of the battle, the land now unrecognizable.

"God or mortal, I have never seen such strength," Artemis commented with a worried frown.

"Or body~," a younger Amazon said with a giggle, along with the rest of her young sisters. "Not even the men Diana brought were that muscular!"

"Did you see that scar on his chest? Oh my~!"

"I hope he comes back soon!"

The older Amazons gave them deadpanned looks, blaming Hawkgirl for giving the younger generation inappropriate magazines of nude males that made them like this. They burned all the magazines they could find, but some were very well hidden.

"My Queen, who do you think that man was?" Philipus said as she looked at the direction where Zoro rowed, ignoring the younger and more open Amazons.

"…Someone that could kill a god, if he chooses too," Hippolyta said, realizing that Zoro purposely spared Ares.

She prayed to the gods that Diana wouldn't have to face this monster in battle, because she doubted even she could overcome the man who defeated Ares. But the man saved them, so maybe he wasn't such a bad person.

Meanwhile, Zoro found himself on a beach, staring at a big mountain, a sign saying 'Welcome to Happy Harbor', looking very annoyed.

"Geez, where the hell are they," he groaned out in annoyance as he started walking, unknowingly going the wrong way.

Chapter Text

"Ya know, I've been wondering," Harley suddenly said, looking up from her magazine. "Since Luffy's the captain—"

"It took you that long to wonder?"

"—who's his first mate?" Harley asked, ignoring the jab.

"Huh, that's a good question," Clayman agreed. "Hm…You know, I think it's Nami. She seems in charge most of the time. That, and she's really scary when she's mad."

"I agree," Cheetah said. "Not the bit about Nami being scary…Kinda…She's always in charge of them. But then there's Chopper, he's a good doctor, so maybe Luffy recruited him first to fix him up after whatever crazy battle they went through."

"I think it's Robin," Volcana said from the dining table, helping Maureen with her homework. "I mean, she's the smartest in the group, handling the spy network, the research, and pretty much everything that needs studying."

"Yeah, she's really smart," Maureen said with a nod.

"I don't know," Ivy said as she petted a small flower. "Jinbei has that sort of wisdom to being a man at sea, and I'm not saying that because he's a fish person."

"What about Sanji?" Queen asked. "He cooks food, and Luffy loves eating food."

"How would that relate to being his first mate?" Tennyson asked with a raised eyebrow. "What about Franky? He built their ship, right? So maybe Luffy met him first to make their ship."

"Grundy think Brook first mate," Grundy said. "Luffy like laughing, Brook makes people laugh."

"What about Usopp?" Jack commented. "He kept telling stories about having thousands of underlings back from where they're from. Maybe Luffy beat him and made him his first mate."

"How do we know his first mate is even here?" King commented. "I mean, for all we know, he has a lot more crewmates back on their planet, like that Vivi person they left the chair out for."

After a while, Ace entered the room and saw the Deckhands writing on a chalkboard, making a betting pool on who the first mate was.

"Okay, I got three on Nami, three on Robin, four on Usopp, and five on Jinbei," Harley said as she took tickets while writing bets on the board. "Who else wants to make more bets?"

"What are you guys doing?" Ace asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, hi Ace," Maureen said. "We're guessing who Luffy's first mate is."

"Isn't it Zoro?" Ace asked.

"We got one for Zoro!" Harley said, marking one tally for Zoro on the blackboard.

That made everyone pause and looked at Zoro's name, seeing it had zero votes. He was terrifyingly strong, but they heard how he kept getting lost from their bosses, and Nami kept bossing him around. He felt more like a lazy enforcer than a second-in-command.

"Hm? What are you guys doing?" Luffy asked as he and his crew entered the room.

"Oh, nothing serious," Harley said, looking a little nervous as they all kept quiet, hiding their tickets. "We was just discussin' who your first mate is."

"It's Zoro," Luffy said as the rest nodded.

"Really?" Harley asked in surprise before looking at Ace. "Did ya tell Ace beforehand?"

"I don't think so," Luffy said as he turned to his crew. "Did you guys tell Ace Zoro was the first to join my crew?"

They all looked at each other, talking a bit before they all shook their heads.

"Wow, I guess she's one of ya guys now," Harley said. "And so, Ace wins the bet! Here's yer winnings!"

"You guys were making bets about us? Without my say so?" Nami said, raising an eyebrow. "You know the rules, no bets unless I make them, and I get 99% of the winnings."

"That's basically all of it!" Harley exclaimed as she handed the winnings to Ace.

"Here, Nami," Ace said as she presented Nami with most of the money.

"No, you keep it, Ace," Nami said, pushing the money back.

"Hey! How come you're so generous with her!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Because she's young and sensible, unlike most of you!" Nami exclaimed back.

"...Are we sure she's not the captain?"

Chapter Text

When they first met, Flash thought he met someone who was just like him, despite being a criminal. Straw Hat Luffy was a kind of criminal he never met before. He was such a fun and nice guy. Sure, he knocked him out with the hardest punch he ever felt, but he can tell that Luffy was a nice guy, probably the nicest guy he's ever met.

And the two just have a lot in common:

Flash likes to eat a lot of food, Luffy likes to eat a lot of food.

Flash wears red, Luffy wears red.

Flash likes to goof around, Luffy likes to goof around.

Flash is a lady's magnet, Luffy is a lady's magnet.

Flash is fast, Luffy is fast, though not that fast.

They were practically the same!

That was until they worked together to fight an army of Parademons.

The two were running through the ruined streets, leaving a trail of beaten Parademons behind them.

"Gum-Gum Jet Gattling!"

Flash watched as Luffy effortlessly beat a group of Parademons, releasing a barrage of furious punches that dented the demons' armor and sent them flying.

They were about to make their way towards the nest when Flash received a call from his communicator.

"To any available Leaguer, there's a Parademon attack in an evacuation center near the center of Central City."

"You got it!" Flash exclaimed before turning to Luffy, who was running towards the nest. "Luffy! Let's go to the evacuation center!"

"No," Luffy said as he stopped to look at Flash. "We destroy that thing and be done with those flying lizard people."

"But people need our help!" Flash exclaimed. "If we don't do anything, they'll die!"

"People die all the time," Luffy said, his voice blunt but not unkind, his blank eyes holding experience. "If we waste time, more people will get hurt."

With his piece said, Luffy went back rushing towards the nest, leaving Flash to stand on the streets. He then turned around and ran towards the evacuation center as fast as he can.

There was one difference between them:

Luffy accepts that he can't save everyone, so he must make tough decisions.

Flash couldn't accept it, and always did whatever he could to save everyone.

Chapter Text

"So, you guys keep talking about accomplishing your dreams and whatever, but what are they?" Tennyson, more commonly known as Ten now, asked suddenly. He and the rest of the Deckhands, along with the Strawhats, were lounging in the area, passing the time since nothing major was happening.

"Yeah, what are your dreams?" Maureen asked curiously.

"My dream is to be the World's Greatest Swordsman," Zoro said, easily swinging his incredibly heavy dumbbells.

"Wait, are you saying you aren't that now?" Cheetah asked with an incredulous tone, remembering the spar he had with Amazo.

"Not yet," Zoro said, his lone eye narrowing. "There's one guy I need to defeat first."

"Wait, there's someone stronger than you!?" Jackson exclaimed in disbelief, since he easily destroyed the facility that held the Royal Flush Squad.

"'Hawkeye' Mihawk," Zoro said as he swung the dumbbells.

"Sounds scary," Harley said, not wanting to imagine what kind of monster this Mihawk was compared to Zoro.

"My dream is to make a map of the world," Nami said with a small smile. "The first of its kind."

"You guys don't have any satellites to do that?" Queen asked with a curious tone.

"No, we're not advanced enough to have those lazy satellites," Nami said, puffing her cheeks. "No one has even made a map of our whole world, so I'll be the first to make it."

"My dream is to be a brave warrior of the sea," Usopp declared dramatically, and most of them already looked bored by his explanation. "To experience such outlandish adventures that they'll seem like tall tales, so outlandish that Kaya would think I was lying!"

"Kaya?" Ivy asked, raising an eyebrow. "A girl?"

"Oh~?" Volcana said with a smirk. "You left your lady love to become a pirate?"

"L-love!?" Usopp exclaimed, blushing. "K-K-Kaya is just a friend! B-b-but if she does like me, you guys think I have a chance?"

"My dream is to find the All Blue," Sanji said as he handed them drinks and snacks, the girls having more luxurious snacks than the boys. Pointedly he made no comment on Usopp's odds with a lady.

"All Blue?" Clayface asked. "What's that?"

"In our world, there are four seas," Sanji explained, taking a whiff from his cigarette. "The East Blue, the South Blue, the West Blue, and the North Blue, and legend says that all the fishes in the world are gathered in that one great ocean. Every chef in the world worth their salt is looking for that miracle sea, it's a chef's paradise."

"Sounds yummy," Tennyson said.

"My dream is to cure all the diseases in the world," Chopper said. "I'll travel around the world and look for all the medicinal plants and every disease out there, because there is no disease that can't be cured."

"That's a great dream, Dr. Chopper," Cheetah said with a smile.

"Aw~! You saying that isn't making me happy~, you idiot~!" Chopper sang as he did his noodle dance, making the girls coo at how cute he is.

"My dream is to uncover our world's history," Robin said with a small smile.

"History?" Queen asked, confused.

"There is a gap in our world's history eight hundred years ago, the Void Century," Robin explained. "My people, fellow archeologists, risked their lives to uncover it, and I want to know what it is."

"That sounds ominous," Harley said.

"It is," Robin said with a distant look in her eyes. Suddenly, she felt Ace lean on her shoulder, looking at her. Robin smiled and patted the young girl's head.

"My dream is to build my dream ship and sail around the world," Franky said with a big grin. "I already built the Sunny. Now, all she needs is to conquer the Grand Line."

"It can't be that hard, right?" Tennyson asked.

"Only one ship has ever conquered the Grand Line," Franky said. "The Oro Jackson, built by my old master, for Gold Roger. No other ship have gone close for nearly twenty years."

"Damn, what kind of ocean does your world have?" Jackson commented.

"The greatest!" Luffy replied with a big grin.

"What Brook dream?" Grundy asked, looking at the skeleton.

"To fulfill a promise I made to a dear, old friend," Brook said as he played Bink's Brew on his violin. "Years ago, my old crew had to leave behind a member in a cape with an old lighthouse keeper. We made a promise to him that we would return… But we all died on the cruel seas. I was the only one who managed to return from the dead, and with the voices of my old comrades, I will return to Laboon."

"Laboon?" Ace asked as everyone else was stunned into silence.

"Yes, he was such a small baby whale back then," Brook said with a fond look in his sockets.

"A whale?" Queen asked, blinking.

"Yeah, he was big as a mountain!" Luffy said with a big grin.

"Wait, you know that whale?" Cheetah asked.

"Yeah, weird coincidence," Sanji said, remembering the first time they encountered the massive whale.

"My dream is the same as Queen Otohime's dream," Jinbei said with a faraway look in his eyes. "For my people to be treated as equals. For years, Fishmen and Mermaids were treated cruelly, taken as slaves to be sold or slaughtered, and in retribution, my kind would trample over Humans who couldn't defend themselves, but Queen Otohime wanted a world where no prejudice could divide us, a world where we could all laugh happily under the sun."

"That sounds wonderful," Volcana said as everyone in the room had experienced such treatment and prejudice.

"Yeah, they all have good dreams," Luffy said with a smile as he lay down on the ground, placing his head over his hands. His eyes closed nostalgically, remembering the promise he made with his brothers. "Someday, I…" 

…

"Eh!?" his crew all looked at him in shock as he declared his dream while the Deckhands looked confused by their reaction.

"What did you just say?" Jinbei asked with wide eyes.

"That's so cool!" Chopper exclaimed with bright eyes.

"Yohohohohoho! You certainly know how to entertain!" Brook laughed with tears falling from his sockets.

"Hahahaha! That's our captain for ya!" Franky laughed alongside Brook. "I love it!"

"Chopper, you might wanna examine his head!" Sanji laughed.

"That's just impossible! No way you can do that!" Usopp said, shaking his head.

"Why is it impossible?" Ace asked, confused, since it sounded amazing to her.

"Because it just is!" Usopp said.

"Maybe it'll be possible once I'm King of the Pirates," Luffy said confidently.

"Only you would think of something crazy like that, Luffy," Usopp said.

"Wait, I never told you guys about it?" Luffy asked, looking at his crew. "Hm…I guess I only told Shanks, and my brothers, Ace and Sabo…"

"What were their reactions?" Robin asked, a smile on her face.

"They just laughed," Luffy said with a big grin. "Shanks was even in tears."

As Luffy giggled as he remembered those moments, his crew gave him smiles, something that warmed the Deckhands up, being part of such an emotional moment with them.

"But that's what I want, at the end of my dream," Luffy said with a gentle smile as he closed his eyes. The Deckhands looked at Luffy, feeling like they could accomplish their dreams as well.

Chapter Text

In a dark room, a TV was quietly sitting on a wooden stand before it turned on.

It showed images of the heroes; Batman standing on a tall building, lightning flashing behind him as his cape flew with the wind, Superman flying through the atmosphere while winking at the screen, Wonder Woman walking through a warzone as she blocked the bullets, Flash zipping through the cities, Green Lantern flying through space, Hawkgirl flying across the mountains, Shining Knight galloping the skies with Winged Justice, Supergirl and Batgirl fighting crooks, Nightwing crouched in the shadows next to a gargoyle, Robin landing on top of Riddler with a smirk on his face, Green Arrow and Black Canary beating up goons, Huntress and Question stalking a corrupted official making shady deals.

A shadow appeared that covered the TV before the channel changed.

It showed the Straw Hats arriving on Earth, confused and dazed before they became determined. It then showed how they met their allies: Cheetah being enamored by Luffy's smile before accepting the deal, Poison Ivy quivering in fear with Grundy still unconscious after fighting Luffy, Luffy accepting a shocked Volcana and Clayface into their team, Sanji and Nami warmly smiling at a crying Maureen, Poison Ivy helping Harley get into the Straw Hats, the Royal Flush Gang being rescued from the desert facility, Ace being lifted up by a smiling Luffy, Amazo looking at the farm that being tended by Brown father and daughter, Maureen and Ace befriending Princess Audrey.

There was an explosion, and the TV was flying through the air. Suddenly, the screen started stretching like it was rubber before someone burst through it, shattering the TV, revealing Fifth Gear Luffy laughing hysterically.

Explosions covered the sky as Zoro swung his swords, Wonder Woman flew by, Sanji threw a fiery kick, Batman throwing batarangs, and Superman flying through the air while covered in blue electricity. He flew towards Darkseid, who fired Omega Beams at him. Luffy came running by and grabbed the Omega Beams and threw it back to Darkseid, who blocked it before he was punched by Superman, sending him flying.

From the ground, Maureen and Ace, the Deckhands, Supergirl, Batgirl, Robin, and Nightwing watched as the explosions rattled the sky, creating colorful lights that flashed like fireworks. It then showed Amazo holding a small, delicate flower gently as he stared at it curiously, before slowly changing to Luffy running through the sky, then showed Darkseid's flashing red eyes, before the High Father rising in the air with glowing eyes as he raised his staff menacingly with Metron right behind him, before it showed Apokalips before Luffy jumped in front of it, the hellish planet transforming into the sun.

Green Lantern released a tired laugh as he walked through the celebration with Hawkgirl beside him, and Flash zipping by with a giant chicken leg. Volcana was combing Maureen's hair before Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, Clayface, and Ace ran by them excitedly. Zoro and Shining Knight laughed as they clink their mugs together while Chopper was being nuzzled by Winged Victory, the former sharing cotton candy to the winged stallion.

Batman and Wonder Woman stood next to each other, the former keeping an eye on things while the latter enjoyed his company. Audrey, Maureen, Queen, and Ace were laughing as they applied makeup to the also laughing Brook and Grundy.Robin, Batgirl, and Black Canary tried not to laugh as Nightwing and Green Arrow tried to outdo Usopp from a shooting game.Orion and Jimbei were having an arm-wrestling contest, being cheered on by Luffy, Jackson, Ten, Chopper, Usopp, Flash, Barda, Hawkgirl, and Mister Miracle.

Question was having a conversation with an amused Robin, with Huntress nearby, a jealous scowl on her face. Superman looked amused as Sanji came dancing by, carrying some food he offered to an unamused Lois and Supergirl. J'onn standing in front of the large, bountiful farm with eyes full of wonder as Amazo stood next to him, offering a cup of tea. Lex Luthor was lying on his prison bed, covering his ears to block out the party that could be heard within his cell.

Luffy held up his Jolly Roger into the air as he stood alongside his crew before they zoomed out, revealing the tearful eyes of Maureen as she stared at them with a smile before she also zoomed out, revealing Superman as he stood beside the Justice League, staring into the sky as the sun rise from the horizon.

Flashes of everything the Straw Hats did appeared, from fighting the heroes, fighting the villains, saving the victims, offering second chances, fighting alongside the heroes, slowly formed into the word JUSTICE before it was punched by Fifth Gear Luffy, making the screen go blank.

Chapter Text

What audacity! Aresia really thought they would let her return to Themyscira with her band of criminals in search of the ingredients they needed.

At that moment, Artemis, captain of the royal guard of the island, and her brave sisters were fighting against the rebellious Amazon, Star Sapphire, Sukuri, and a couple of other women they hadn't seen before, one of whom had the ability to turn into a giant.

The two sides were evenly matched; the numbers and vast experience of the Amazons greatly compensated for the extraordinary combat skills wielded by the other side. However, both groups in the fight stopped abruptly when a blue flash blinded them momentarily, leaving everyone surprised to see a group of at least twelve women, ten of whom were each accompanied by a snake.

The newcomers were a motley crew of women, unlike anything any Amazon had ever seen; there were giants, those of normal size, very tall, slender, robust, muscular, blondes, brunettes, redheads... The most varied collection of ladies the Amazons had ever seen. Among them, three stood out more than the others.

One woman with orange hair and a very robust build, a second very tall woman with an abnormally large tongue and long green hair, and in the midst of it all, a goddess. There was no way this woman, the personification of feminine perfection, could be a mere mortal. And protecting this deity, a huge white and horned snake hissed defiantly at those present, though it was clear she was very nervous with so many people surrounding her.

"Who are you?" asked Artemis, gripping her faithful siphox tighter. "Are you allies of the criminal Aresia?"

"Tsk…" One of the women clicked her tongue. "Hebi-hime is an ally to no one. Don't speak of her as if she were a mere subordinate!"

"The Snake Princess," translated Sukuri as looked at them, narrowing her eyes as she studied their faces. "None of you look Japanese. Where are you from?"

"Amazon Lily," answered Hancock coldly, while stroking her faithful companion to calm herself down. "That's all I'll say since you asked so politely."

"Well, then I'll ask you the same question again," said Artemis, angry at the sarcasm. "Who are you, and what are you doing in the Amazon nation of Themyscira? Are you Amazons too?"

The strangers were quite surprised by that information.

Hancock hummed, finally looking up and around. For all her disdain of other countries, she was very familiar with all the local ones, including their name. "That nation," she said, "doesn't sound familiar at all. What part of the world are we in?"

Hancock and her sisters were on the run after her status as a Shichibukai had been revoked. Although she could handle most of what the World Government threw at her, after their initial failed assault upon her homeland, she had chosen to leave the island so the other inhabitants could live in peace. Located within the Calm Belt, only the Navy would dare attack Amazon Lily, and in light of their severe losses in their earlier, failed attempt, the Navy had been willing to negotiate a tacit non-aggression pact between Hancock's country and Marineford.

A pact that would hold only if she wasn't on the island.

With this in mind, she set sail for the New World, determined to save her Amazon sisters. So, she was quite shocked to learn that the flash that had blinded them somehow transported them to an unknown, apparently distant place.

"Another Amazon nation... Very interesting," said Hancock, looking at those present, evaluating them with her eyes. "I don't know much about that, but it seems impressive, and they say those over there are criminals," she commented, pointing without looking, in her characteristic pose, at the rebel Amazon and her group.

All of this was an unknown situation for her, but forging some sort of relationship with the established government here seemed the smart move. As she was generous, Hancock would even treat the local queen as a peer. Especially as those 'criminals' appeared rag-tagged and not local at all by their attire. Where matters would continue from there was another story.

"Yes," said one of Artemis's subordinates. After all, while the skimpy outfits worn by most of the Amazons were very much nothing like the attire of Themyscira or even ancient Greece, hints of that style were in Hancock's dress. Moreover, they were all warriors, and what else could a collection of female fighters be but Amazons?

"If you're also an Amazon," said Aresia, trying to recruit another to her cause, "you must know that men are the evil that plagues this world. Join me, and we will free our sisters from the tyranny of the men's world by killing them all!"

Hancock looked at her with disdain. "No. I'm no one's lackey. Besides, while it's true that many men are despicable, I'm not foolish enough to doom the world to extinction." Her words shocked everyone, especially Aresia and Artemis.

"Did I hit the nail on the head?" Hancock asked mockingly. "Darling, your voice betrays you. I used to speak with the same hatred towards the male gender until a man reminded me that not all are the same. That there are men worth knowing. And thanks to that man, my hatred has become less blind and more rational. Forget about me helping you."

Aresia was furious; she hadn't expected this. She assumed that, being Amazons too, they should understand her point. But Hancock's words were clear and decisive.

"What do you know?" Aresia murmured angrily. "You're just as stupid as those two women with that 'Straw Hat' guy!"

"Straw Hats!" all the newcomers said in unison, with a mix of surprise and joy.

"Do you know Luffy?" Hancock asked with a sparkle in her eye that gave Artemis a bad feeling.

"Not personally," Aresia spat out, "but he's the cause of many of our misfortunes, like Giganta or me. It's a pity that the women in his crew prevented my plan to poison and kill all men; otherwise, that guy would have been dead long ago..."

The atmosphere cooled, filled with a powerful sense of anger and bloodlust. Everyone, including the Amazons, especially their leader, could clearly see how displeased they were by Aresia openly admitting she had almost killed Luffy.

"Amazons of this land!" Hancock shouted to Artemis and the others, her face a rictus of hate. "This bitch and her group are mine! If you stupidly decide to intervene, my sisters and the others will tear you to pieces."

Hancock leaped towards the group of fools who had tried to attack Luffy using dishonorable methods, while her sisters transformed into their hybrid forms, causing terror among those present as a deterrent to prevent anyone else from interfering in the fight.

The Pirate Empress didn't know where she was, but she didn't care. She had a bunch of rabid animals to kill for trying to mess with the love of her life!

Chapter Text

The air in Themyscira thrummed with palpable tension. Hancock strode toward Aresia with unwavering steps, her gaze sharp as an obsidian blade. Around her, the warriors of Amazon Lily fanned out like a living storm: Sandersonia and Marigold, already in their hybrid snake forms, reared their colossal bodies, while the remaining Kuja formed a lethal perimeter, bows drawn and eyes locked on the Themysciran amazons. Salome, Hancock's white horned serpent, hissed furiously, its fangs gleaming under the sunlight.

Artemis, gripping her trusty siphox, stepped forward, her voice cutting through the wind. "Hold! This is our land, stranger. I won't allow you to unleash chaos in Themyscira, no matter who you are, or what grudge you bear."

Hancock didn't even turn her head. "Stay still, Amazon. This doesn't concern you. This filth tried to harm what I treasure most, and I won't rest until she pays." Her tone dripped with venom, yet carried an authority that made even the fearless warriors of Themyscira hesitate for a moment.

Aresia, undeterred, sneered. "Pathetic! Defending a man? You, an Amazon? You're a traitor to your own blood!" With a gesture, she signaled her allies. The gem Star Sapphire's forehead flashed, casting a purple glow that formed a barrier between her and the Kuja, while Tsukuri drew her katana with a cruel smile. Giganta, the woman who could grow to rival Themyscira's towers, began to expand, her shadow swallowing the battlefield.

But Hancock was not one to be easily impressed. With an elegant motion, she crossed her arms over her chest and unleashed a wave of Conqueror's Haki. The air thickened, and a deathly silence fell over the scene. Tsukuri dropped to her knees, gasping, while several of Themyscira's less seasoned amazons stumbled back. Even Giganta faltered, her growth halting midway.

"You think your tricks intimidate me?" Hancock took another step, her beauty as deadly as her wrath. "I am Boa Hancock, Pirate Empress of Amazon Lily. I've faced sea gods and world tyrants. You are nothing."

Aresia gritted her teeth, her hatred fueling her resolve. "Star Sapphire, now!" The gem flared brighter, and a beam of purple energy shot toward Hancock. But the Empress didn't flinch. With a casual tilt of her head, the attack grazed past her, obliterating a nearby rock in an instant.

"Is that all?" Hancock smirked disdainfully. "Mero Mero Merrow." She pointed a finger, and a pink heart flew toward Star Sapphire. The villain tried to block it with her barrier, but Hancock's love-powered attack pierced through like paper. In a blink, Star Sapphire stood petrified, her shocked expression frozen in stone.

Artemis watched the scene with a mix of awe and wariness. "This woman… Her power is immense. But her arrogance could be her downfall." She whispered to one of her lieutenants, "Prepare yourselves. If this spirals out of control, we step in."

Meanwhile, Hancock's sisters didn't hold back. Sandersonia dodged a swing from Giganta and coiled her tail around the giant's arm, slamming the much larger woman into the ground with a quake that shook the earth. Marigold, with brute strength, parried Tsukuri's strike and hurled her into a tree with a single shove. The remaining Kuja loosed arrows with deadly precision, keeping Aresia's lesser allies at bay. From the disdainful ease at which they accomplished all of this, it was obvious they were not trying to kill their prey. Yet.

But the rogue amazon wasn't finished. With a furious cry, she charged at Hancock, sword raised. "You'll die for your betrayal!" The clash was inevitable. Hancock blocked the strike with a Haki-imbued kick, and the metal rang like thunder. Their eyes locked—Aresia's hatred meeting Hancock's contempt.

"Your cause is weak," Hancock said, shoving her back with a fluid motion. "You have no honor, only venom. That's why you'll lose."

Aresia stumbled but recovered quickly. "You know nothing of me! Men destroyed my life, and I swear I'll destroy them all!" She lunged again, but this time Hancock didn't play. With a spin, she kicked Aresia square in the chest, sending her crashing into a stone pillar that collapsed atop her.

The dust settled, and silence blanketed the field. Aresia lay still beneath the rubble, her allies defeated or petrified, offering no resistance. The Kuja raised their weapons in triumph, and Hancock turned to Artemis, her expression cold but calculating.

"I'm done here," she said. "I seek no fight with you or your people. But if you try to stop me from leaving, I'll show no mercy."

Artemis lowered her weapon slowly, sizing up the strange warrior queen. "You're not our enemy…for now. But tell me, what do you seek? Why are you here?"

Hancock stroked Salome, who coiled around her protectively. "I don't know. A flash brought us to this place. I only want to return to my world and protect my people. If you know a way out, speak."

Before Artemis could reply, a new blue flash lit the sky. All eyes turned upward as a familiar figure emerged from the glow: Diana, Wonder Woman, her golden lasso gleaming in her hand. "Artemis! What's happening here?"

Hancock narrowed her eyes. "Another Amazon… and this one seems stronger than the rest." She smiled faintly. "Interesting."

Chapter Text

"Hey, Bats! You seeing what I'm seeing right now?" Flash said in a stunned voice.

"Yes, I am," Batman replied curtly, frankly not wanting to deal with whatever he is seeing right now.

The rest of the Justice League can only watch on in shock as Monkey D. Luffy, who was now colored white somehow, laughed incessantly while playing circles around Joker's group, jumping around and turning the ground to rubber.

.
.
.

It all started an hour ago, when the Joker finally forced a confrontation with the Straw Hats. He gathered a lot of villains in order to finally take his revenge on the pirates. Needless to say, a battle began between the two criminal groups.

…One that the Straw hats were dominating.

The villains were clearly outmatched by the pirates in power. There was no other way to put it. The rest of the League were focused on protecting the civilians of the city, catching a glimpse here and there as the fight unfolded before them. The Straw Hats were the ones winning the fight, there was no other way to see it.

However, Joker had a plan.

While the battle was raging, he tried to sneak up on the pirate captain, and while he utterly failed and Luffy tried to punch him in the face, he got enough distance to fire his Joker toxin gas straight at him, causing him to burst out laughing.

The League felt immense concern for this. They knew what that gas did, and if Luffy died, the world would be in shambles. The Joker knew this too, somehow, as he laughed loudly, proclaiming that he had defeated Monkey D. Luffy. None of the Straw Hats were pleased, and they were ready to strike him down where he stands.

However, it was then that something happened.

~Doom-put-dum-dum~
~Doom-put-dum-dum~
~Doom-put-dum-dum~

Luffy's heartbeat somehow became heard by everyone, and it was beating with a rhythm; like a drum.

He began to sit down on the floor, laughing even more as his hair and outfit turned white. Sparks of black and yellow lightning started appearing everywhere, and the ground became bouncy.

An invisible pressure was exerted throughout the battlefield, causing some of the villains to pass out. The League could feel it, too, and they were all trying very hard to resist.

Joker was stunned. The Joker gas should have worked. He should have died with a smile on his face, and yet now not only is he laughing even more, Luffy somehow got even stronger.

.
.
.

And that led to the current moment. Luffy was manhandling the villains, leaving the rest of the Straw Hats out of the fight.

He began bouncing around the high buildings like a trampoline, whizzing around like a ping-pong ball. Parasite tried to absorb his energy, but Luffy just beat him up, rolled him into a ball, then somehow pulled out a baseball bat, painted it black, then punted the balled-up Parasite away to places unknown.

Two more of them tried to attack him, but Luffy pulled out a massive hammer this time and slammed it into them, turning them into flat pancakes that he just tossed around like he was twirling pizza dough.

"It's like he's from some old cartoon." Superman remarked as he watched Luffy prance around the place in a carefree manner, while the Joker still stood there in shock, stunned at what he had unleashed to the world.

In the end, Joker wasn't spared either, as Luffy enlarged his buttocks and used them to crush him, turning him into an… accordion?

"He's doing whatever he wants. It's like he's the embodiment of freedom," Superman said, then he smiled. "It is what Luffy would have wanted, after all."

For the first time in his life, Batman thought of an idea he never could have possibly thought at any other time.

Batman wanted a vacation.

Chapter Text

It is midnight in Gotham City, not a glamorous time to wander around as criminals are usually active during this hour. Well, there is The Dark Knight, Gotham's supposed guardian, and I forgot to mention there is Nightwing, batgirl, and Boy Wonder. But at this point, I don't care anymore after the entire concert fiasco with the Justice League.

My name is Shanna by the way, Shannah Squires. Yeah, I was there when a bunch of big-name villains hijacked and ruined my concert, and there's the part where they nearly executed the Justice League on live television, while a gorilla was monologuing about world domination. I guess this is the new normal now, even though it was kinda weird.

After all of that, let's just say my career as a pop singer went downhill. I got fired and lost whatever backing I had, Even my fans are no longer interested in my songs and performance. Now I write only songs for other people to perform and take commissions, conflict of interest? Yeah right, kinda vexing if I were being honest.

I just wanted some time alone to try to make sense of things. Well, more like my entire life at this point since I just quit another studio again. But all of that changed when I met...

Him...

She wanders hopelessly on the streets of Gotham City in the middle of the night. Lamp post illuminated her path but bore little to no hope that it would lead her to a new intention.

As she continues her aimless walk, she is stopped by a stranger wearing a ski mask, and carrying a knife, Snapping out of her trance, Shanna tries to turn around and run away, only to be met with another criminal but this time holding a pistol that is aiming at her. The color drained from her face.

Thug: "Hey girlie, why don't you come with us? You"ll suit nicely."

Thug 2: "Hey, No scratches on her alright? Boss expects the next shipment of goods to be up to par"

Shanna becomes pale at the implication behind the thug's words, and with no help or people nearby her hope of escaping is gone.

Backed to a corner, her back against a wall, her would-be abductors slowly approach her with malicious intentions. She wants to scream and run, but she is paralyzed in fear. No words came out from her mouthpiece, except her silent cries and despair. She closes her eyes waiting for the inevitable to happen.

???: "Hey."

The voice caught everyone by surprise. As they turned around, they saw a man with distinct bright red hair, wearing a long, sleeveless, high-collared black cape. He also had on patterned half-knee pants and a simple, loose white shirt that was half-buttoned, exposing the middle of his chest and upper abs, along with sandals. However, it was the sword strapped to his side and the scars over his left eye that caught their interest.

???: "It's a bit late don't you think? I suggest you leave her alone and go home."

Shanna wanted to warn the man, but before she could, the thugs laughed in amusement thinking of it as nothing short of a bluff or an empty threat.

Thug 1: "You hear that dude? Looks like someone wants to play hero! Hahaha"

The other thug grunts in agreement with his colleague and points the gun at the red-haired man.

Thug 2: "I'm the one holding a gun, you have a sword. Ever heard the saying never bring a sword to a gunfight moron?"

The other thug gleefully plays and points his knife toward the red-haired man, both thinking that this man in front of them must be a complete idiot, forgetting their original job of nabbing the woman behind them.

Shanna feels fearful for the red-hair's life. Ashamed of herself for dragging a bystander along to her troubles, she couldn't bear the guilt of someone getting hurt because of her.

???: "Now what?"

Thug 1: "Huh? What did you just say?"

Shanna: "S-sir, Please j-just ru-"

Thug 2: "Zip it woman! We are not done with you yet"

Shanna recoils from their tone, and her body begins to twitch, feeling the adrenaline releasing in her bloodstream and telling her to run while she still has the chance, and yet for some reason, she couldn't. She can't help but stare at the Red Hair, there's something about his presence that makes her feel restless and uneasy.

???: "Now that you have drawn your weapons, you put your life on the line"

???: "And in case you're still dumb enough not to understand...those are for self-defense, not toys"

Before the thugs can respond, the Red-Haired Man glares at both of them, just as they are about to react, their consciousness slips into darkness and they fall flat on the ground.

Shannah is bewildered by what just happened, just before she can utter a reaction The Red-Hair approaches her with a gentle smile and lends her a hand.

???: "Here, it's not safe outside here from what I've just heard, If you want I can accompany you until you feel safe"

She is not sure at first if she should trust her savior. She has only just met him. Even if he did save my life this is still Gotham City, and yet despite her instincts telling her she shouldn't and just run as fast and far away as she can...

She still did

Shanna: "O-Oh umm T-thanks, for saving me...I'm Shannah by the way. What's your name?"

???: "You're welcome. And and to answer your question, I'm Shanks"

Chapter Text

Metropolis was in ruins and fire, as people ran for cover, Parademons raining the sky. Superman was on his knees, breathing heavily as he glared at Darkseid, who looked at him impassively as ever.

Gritting his teeth, Superman got back to his feet and charged towards Darkseid. He threw one punch that struck Darkseid's face, but it barely made him flinch. Darkseid then grabbed Superman's hand before he could pull back, and Darkseid punched him on the gut, making him bend forward, before punching his head to the ground, making it crack.

"What a disappointment you've been, Kal-El," Darkseid said as he looked at Superman, who was pushing himself back up. "After our last bout, I thought you would have gotten stronger. Perhaps you need more…motivation."

Darkseid lifted his face, and his red eyes glowed brightly. Eyes widening, Superman watched as Darkseid fired his Omega Beams and he followed their trajectory. To his shock, the beams split and went after two targets. One was Lois Lane, who was helping the people get to safety, and the other one was Supergirl, who was busy dealing with the Parademons.

Superman knew he had to save them, he knew what would happen if those beams hit. But he knew he could only save one, and he couldn't decide which to save, his cousin or his lover. And that hesitation made him realize that he was too late.

"No!" he cried out, getting the two's attention as they turned to see the Omega Beam coming right at them, their eyes widening.

Darkseid smirked, waiting for the inevitable.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of Supergirl. It was Zoro, who had his bandana on and his upper yukata was off. He swung Shusui covered in black energy and cut the beam in half, causing it to miss Supergirl and hit two Parademons instead.

Meanwhile, a figure appeared in front of Lois and blocked the laser. It was Sanji, a cigarette in his mouth as he lifted his leg to block the Omega Beam, looking like it barely phased him. Once it was gone, his leg was smoking, but nothing was damaged, not even a singe mark on his pants.

Darkseid's eyes were wide with shock as the two pirates calmly landed on the ground. Superman was equally stunned, having experienced the Omega Beams himself, he knew how powerful they were. To see them easily blocked was something he never thought he would witness.

"How did you cut that beam?" Supergirl asked in a mixture of awe and shock.

"There's nothing in the world I can't cut," Zoro declared as he looked straight at Darkseid.

Supergirl blushed a little by how confident he sounded. She also noted how physically fit Zoro looked and could feel the power radiating off him. She's seen plenty of buff men in her line of work, especially in the locker room in the Watchtower after they took a shower after work, but Zoro's physique felt different, more primal, like he only gained that body to not fight the enemy but destroy the enemy.

"How did you block that?" Lois asked in shock as Sanji took a puff of smoke.

"The power of love surpasses the power of light," Sanji declared.

Lois cringed a little as she slowly moved away from him, not really trusting the womanizing pirate from using the excuse of rescuing her to hold her. She can admit that he was strong and was a nice guy, having seen him defend people at a speed almost equal to Flash, but she still felt icky by how he keeps flirting with her and anyone who has a pair of breasts, just like Flash.

The two pirates kept their gaze at Darkseid. Suddenly, Zoro pulled out his other two swords and placed Wado in his mouth before a green aura enveloped his body.

"Three Sword Style," he said as the ground beneath him cracked, his legs tensing. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he was flying towards Darkseid. "Purgatory…"

With a roar, Sanji ran towards Darkseid, every step creating a spark until fire covered his entire body. He then leapt towards Darkseid, right leg raised. "Diable Jambe…"

Darkseid watched as missiles of green energy and fiery passion were flying towards him, feeling their rage and bloodlust. The two flew past a shocked Superman before they were in front of Darkseid.

"Oni Giri!"

"Mouton Mallet!"

In a powerful shockwave that shook the buildings and blew away the nearby Parademons as Zoro and Sanji landed behind Darkseid. The god stood in place, shock, before he fell on his knees, slashes appearing on his chest and a burned bruise mark on his neck.

Superman was left speechless as he witnessed his most powerful enemy brought down to his knees so easily. The New God himself was still processing what just happened. One moment, he saw the two pirates block his unblockable Omega Beams, and the next, he found himself on his knees. His hand slowly went to the slashes across his chest, feeling the warmth of his black blood, before he grazed the bruise on his neck, feeling it burned against his fingertips.

He then turned his head and saw the two pirates standing over him, looking unimpressed at him.

"This is the guy everyone was so scared about?" Sanji scoffed as he took a puff of smoke.

"If this is the best you got, then our captain doesn't need to waste his time with you," Zoro said with a sneer.

It took Darkseid a long second to realize that these two were looking down on him.
They were looking down on him!

Him! Darkseid, Lord of Apokalips, the only being who has humbled Superman more times than anyone!

And they were saying he was not good enough to face their captain!

"You dare!?" he bellowed in anger as he stood up and towered over them. "You dare!? I will burn your souls in the pits of Apokalips, and break your bodies and spirits until there is nothing left but dust!"

The two stood there, unfazed by his threats and glare. That just made him angrier as his eyes glowed brightly. With a roar, he charged the two pirates who charged as well, blades and foot ready to strike down the arrogant god.

Meanwhile, Superman watched as the two pirates battled his greatest enemy. Seeing them face him with confidence made him mad at himself. He was Earth's protector, yet he was letting these two people fight his battles, people who want nothing more than to return to their own planet.

Clenching his fists, Superman gained a determined glint in his eyes as blue electricity arched all over his body. Being like this wasn't good enough. He needed to be more. He stood up, his eyes glowing blue, before rushing towards the fray, intent on no longer being on the sidelines in the battle for his home.

Chapter Text

Doomsday roared in anger as he fought the Justice League. They were in Metropolis, Central Park, away from the citizens to avoid casualties. They managed to make a perimeter to avoid casualties, but that was a small victory since they were getting tossed around.

Green Lantern, Flash, Mr. Miracle, Martian Manhunter, and Sir Justin lay on the ground, groaning but still alive. Right now, fighting the monster were Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Orion, Big Barda, and Hawkgirl. Doomsday punched Superman and sent him flying across the park before Hawkgirl and Big Barda charged.

Doomsday roared as Big Barda and Hawkgirl started hitting him with their weapons, but it didn't phase Doomsday. He then caught their two arms before slamming them into each other, and then throwing them away. Wonder Woman caught the two and placed them gently on the ground, while Orion charged at Doomsday with Batman throwing explosive batarangs to provide cover.

The projectiles exploded on the monster's face, covering him in smoke. Orion managed to tackle the blinded Doomsday to the ground, and started pummeling the monster, seeing red as he let his anger control him, focusing on overpowering the monster with brute strength rather than techniques.

Then Doomsday suddenly grabbed Orion's head and stood up, the smoke dissipating, revealing that Doomsday didn't have a scratch on him. He then repeatedly slammed Orion on the ground, making craters around him, before a batarang hit him on the side of his head. He turned to glare at Batman, who kept throwing explosives at him, in the hope of weakening him. Doomsday roared and charged towards Batman, who immediately jumped away to avoid the collision. But he didn't expect Doomsday to throw Orion at him when he got close, so the two were sent to a tree, breaking it upon impact. Doomsday lumbered towards them, intent on ending them.
Wonder Woman charged and tackled Doomsday away from Batman and Orion and quickly got behind Doomsday, her arms wrapped around his neck, hoping to knock him unconscious. Doomsday simply stood there before he leapt into the air, about fifty feet, before falling down, his back facing the ground. When he landed, he created a large crater, dirt, rock, and dust flying through the air.

When it cleared, Doomsday stood up and looked at the groaning Wonder Woman. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up. She gasped as she grabbed his hands, trying to break free, but his grip was too strong. Doomsday chuckled as he tightened his grip.

"Let her go!" Superman exclaimed as he flew towards Doomsday like a bullet, hitting him on the side with both fists. The impact made Doomsday drop Wonder Woman, who fell to the ground. She tried to get up, but she couldn't.

With a roar, Superman started punching Doomsday, each strike as loud as thunder. He managed to get a few punches before Doomsday fought back, throwing punches of his own. Superman felt a stabbing pain from Doomsday's strikes. He looked down and saw boney spikes protruding from the monster's fists. Superman fell on his knees, bleeding heavily, surprising him. He didn't think he could be wounded again by somebody else.

Had he become complacent, thinking the Straw Hats were the only ones who could threaten the Justice League?

Doomsday then kicked Superman to the ground before stepping on him. Superman saw a sadistic gleam in the monster's red eyes as the spikes on his fists grew longer before he raised them. With a roar, Doomsday threw a punch towards Superman's chest.

Before it could reach and pierce his chest, Superman suddenly smelled something.

The smell of burning rubber.

"Gum-Gum Red Hawk!"

A fiery fist hit Doomsday that sent him flying off Superman. Luffy landed in front of Superman, the fire disappearing from his fist, steam rising from his pink skin.

"L-Luffy?" Superman said in confusion.

"You okay, Permy?" Luffy asked, his eyes still focused on the monster, who stood back up, not affected by the fire. "Franky, grab Permy and go!"

Suddenly, Franky appeared and hefted Superman on his bulky shoulder and ran towards Chopper, who was quickly tending to the other injured heroes, being helped by Robin, Ace, and Cheetah. Brook was carrying Batman, while Grundy was behind him, carrying Orion, Big Barda and Hawkgirl.

"Wow, you guys really got beat up," Franky commented as they placed the beaten heroes on the ground, slowly regaining consciousness thanks to Chopper.

"What hit me?" Flash said, rubbing his aching head.

"Hold still," Chopper said gently as he applied medical aid. "Usually, you'd be down for a week, but you heal surprisingly fast. Just gonna apply some medicinal ointment here to ease the pain."

"What is that thing?" Ace asked as she looked towards Doomsday, who shook off Luffy's attack.

"A monster…called Doomsday," Superman replied as he stood up, ignoring the pain. "Luffy…can't fight him alone…"

Suddenly, hands appeared around Superman and pulled him back to the ground. Surprised, he watched as Robin stepped past him, while Cheetah tended to his wounds.

"Our Captain can handle this," Robin said calmly while hands appeared around the heroes, following Chopper's instructions.

Luffy looked at the monster with an intense focus. He knew Permy and his friends were strong and had good teamwork, so to see them beaten by this monster meant it shouldn't be taken lightly. Luffy's eyes widened as he suddenly dodged to the left, just in time for Doomsday to appear where he had just been, spiked fist embedded on the ground.

"Gum-Gum Hawk Rifle!"

Luffy threw a burning spinning punch that barely made Doomsday flinch. Seeing it had no effect, Luffy leapt up until he was above the monster.

"Gum-Gum Hawk Battle Axe!"

He threw a burning ax kick that hit Doomsday on the head, but it barely made his head move.

"Damn, I need more weight," Luffy said before he bit his two thumbs and blew air in his bones. With two large arms covered with Armament Haki, Luffy threw both palm strikes towards Doomsday. "Gum-Gum Grizzly Magnum!"

The attack struck Doomsday, and it actually pushed him across the park, the monster withstood the force before roaring as he managed to push back against Luffy.

"Woah!?" Luffy cried out in surprise as he quickly deflated his arms. "He pushed Third Gear back!?"

Doomsday glared at Luffy, a strange calculative look in his eyes. Suddenly, his attention turned to the recovering heroes, and Luffy's eyes widened as he saw the future.

"No!" Luffy cried out as he and Doomsday moved at the same time, towards the injured people and the ones tending to them.

Doomsday appeared before Robin and Ace, the former quickly crossing her arms as she stood protectively in front of Ace, but was too slow to use her powers as Doomsday struck with his fist. Robin and Ace found themselves pushed away as Luffy was sent to the ground, making a crater as blood spilled out from his mouth.

"Luffy!?" his crew exclaimed in shock to see their captain injured for the first time.
"Franky Radical Beam!" Franky shouted as he fired a powerful laser beam at the monster, who blocked it by crossing his arms, though it pushed the monster away from them. "Damn, this bastard is tougher than we thought!"

"Be careful, Doomsday isn't any ordinary monster," Batman warned them. "The longer you fight him, the stronger he becomes."

The rest of the heroes slowly stood up, and despite Chopper's best efforts, they were still injured, but were ready to fight Doomsday again.

"Luffy! Are you okay!?" Cheetah exclaimed as she rushed to her boss. "You're wounded!"

Luffy looked to where he was struck and saw a wound in his stomach. Luffy looked at it in surprise before he grinned as he stood up, ignoring Cheetah's protests, and walked towards Doomsday.

"Wow! You're strong!" Luffy said as he stared at Doomsday. "You're probably the strongest guy here!"

Luffy then grinned with excitement as he kicked his sandals off and raised his right hand, covering it with Armament Haki.

"But you still can't beat me," he said before he bit into his arm and started blowing air into it, inflating it. "Fourth Gear: Muscle Balloon!"

Everyone watched in confusion as Luffy's body expanded, the black armor spreading all over his body. His body grew big, his upper body becoming rounder and muscular as a reddish, black hue covered his arms and legs, a distinct pattern forming over his chest, and black appearing around his eyes. Steam flowed from his body, forming like a scarf around his shoulders. Once he stopped blowing air, he started bouncing in place, like a rubber ball, becoming taller than Superman by two feet.

"Fourth Gear!" he declared in a voice that was sounding like he was trying to keep his throat closed. "Bounce Man!"

Everyone unfamiliar with the technique was just stunned into silence. They didn't know whether to be impressed or disappointed by seeing Straw Hat Luffy finally going all out.

"Why won't he stop bouncing?" Hawkgirl asked.

"I mean, he called it Bounce Man," Flash commented.

"Gahahaha!" Doomsday started laughing due to how ridiculous Luffy looked due to being unable to stop bouncing in place.

"Laugh all you want, you won't see me coming," Luffy said as his right fist started pulling back inside his arm. Suddenly, after a strong bounce, he started flying towards Doomsday, reaching him in the blink of an eye. "Gum Gum Kong Gun!"

Luffy unleashed a devastating punch that sent the monster flying out of Central Park and across the city, creating a shockwave so strong that it sent nearby cars flying. Doomsday crashed into LexCorp, stopping inside.

It took a few seconds for everyone to process what they just witnessed. Luffy just punched Doomsday, sending him from Central Park to LexCorp, which was on the other side of the city. They looked at Luffy, who was still bouncing in place before they saw his feet pull back inside his legs before leaping into the air. Then, to their shock, he started flying, using the elastic force produced by his legs to stay in the air.

"…Can rubber really do that?" Flash asked in disbelief as they watched Luffy fly away.

"At this point, I'm not sure anymore," Green Lantern said with a sigh, his head hurting, from both the possible concussion and from witnessing Luffy's full power.

"Quick, we need to go after him!" Superman exclaimed as he tried to do just that, but was stopped by Chopper, who turned into his Heavy Point to push him back.

"No, you need to rest," Chopper said sternly.

"But Luffy!"

"Don't worry," Robin said with a smile. "Now that Luffy is going all out, your monster won't be a problem anymore."

Doomsday pushed the rubble off him, his red eyes wide with shock as he felt intense pain from that attack. With a growl, he leapt off the room and into the top of LexCorp, looking to where he was before he was blown away.

There, he was surprised to see Luffy flying towards at such speeds. With an angry growl, Doomsday leapt off the building, the force of his jumping destroying the upper floors, and charged at Luffy. Just as he was about to clash with Luffy, the pirate disappeared before his eyes.

Shocked, he didn't notice Luffy appearing on his right, both feet aimed at his head.
"Gum-Gum Rhino Schneider!"

The force of the kick sent Doomsday flying through several buildings before Luffy appeared in front of him, both arms pulled back

"Gum-Gum Leo Bazooka!"

Luffy threw a devastating two-hand strike that sent Doomsday towards the streets, creating a large crater as the force of the impact knocked away everything on that street.

Luffy floated above the street, eyes focused on the crater. Using Advanced Observation Haki, Luffy can tell that the monster was still standing, and sure enough, Doomsday roared, the dust and smoke blown away by his voice.

"He's strong…but maybe this can stop him," Luffy said as he clenched both his fists, letting the Haki naturally flow through. "Ryou!"

Luffy let himself fall onto the street, a few feet away from Doomsday. The monster glared at him hatefully before roaring and rushing wildly at Luffy, who just bounced there, focusing on his Haki. When Doomsday was in front of him, Luffy opened his eyes.

"Gum-Gum Kong Gatling!"

Doomsday soon found himself in a barrage of powerful punches. He could feel how different these attacks were compared to others. He could feel some weird energy destroying him from the inside. Stunned, Doomsday just stood there as Luffy relentlessly assaulted him. With one last roar, Luffy sent Doomsday flying across the street, destroying it as he tumbled through.

Once he stopped, Luffy looked at the monster, who didn't get back up. Knowing he wasn't standing up again, Luffy let the white steam exit his mouth, his body deflating and the Haki covering his body disappearing. Once the steam was gone, Luffy stood there, looking at Doomsday, before he fixed his hat and walked away, grinning at finally going all out.

Chapter Text

“Is there any chance of still making use of these rogue metahumans?” raised one officer. “They’re just teenagers after all. Emma Frost’s control of metal had such potential. Granted, I know the people running the Vegas operation were a bit heavy-handed at times, but I understand there are some other projects—”

“No. Sir,” she firmly cut him off. She knew what he was referring to, and she was still assessing the viability there. “They have been completely turned against us, and even their genetic samples were kept on-site, so not even that is of use.”

As far as she was concerned, the Vegas site had been a huge disaster, including the ongoing risk of what might happen if they went public about their history. The unfortunate truth was that there were too many in the news industry willing to spread government secrets, and too many citizens who failed to appreciate the bigger picture. Of greater concern though, was the unpleasant fact that millions of dollars had effectively gone into practically handing over elite soldiers to the Straw Hats on a silver platter. She imagined it had been child’s play to win over the teenagers given how desperate they would have been for any form of affection, while the pirates remained secure in the knowledge they could put the Royal Flush Squad in their place if necessary.

Something she was giving very careful consideration to, regarding those projects she did not want discussed right here and now.

“But about the one named Ace, right?” a new speaker shrewdly observed. He had lost some of his projects to her, but it was hard to tell if this was a personal jab from him, or a professionally interested inquiry. “She had the most potential, did she not? Maybe we can use her parents?” 

“What about this girl, Ace’s parents?” he persisted. “Is that an angle available to us?”

Waller grimaced at that, and it was in genuine sympathy. “No, sir. Their minds were too badly damaged. They were put to sleep as a mercy.”

Murmurs of disappointment rustled through the room. Overall though, they understood the reasoning.

Anticipating their next question, she continued, “The people in charge of the Arizona site at the time did have their bodies examined, and preserved elsewhere, and Professor Hamilton has taken another look. We haven’t been able to determine the source of her powers.”

Something she had been very interested about given the theoretical limits, or rather lack of them, the girl was speculated to have.

Attempts to clone Ace from samples stored off-sight from the desert educational center had been failures. In every instance, be it an infant or a clone force-grown to childhood or beyond, had resulted in either the brain rapidly physically deteriorating, or mentally dead and equally useless. Hamilton had been befuddled by it, and had too many potential theories to narrow it down.

So instead, she had green-lighted the creation of artificial siblings of Ace, as her parents’ bodies had been preserved. In this case, they had been left with only a dozen perfectly normal, be it infants, kids, or even ones force-grown to adulthood in a few weeks. By that point, Professor Hamilton had tentatively attributed it to either their cloning process not being advanced enough, it was a one-in-a-million odds, or worse, to get the same results, or that Ace’s latent powers were somehow interfering—all despite the vast distance between her and the projects, and how she should not have been aware of what was happening.

None of those answers were satisfactory. So the project had been halted in favour of other, more promising programs.

The surviving kids had had their minds wiped and fake memories uploaded, and were given to properly vetted, loving families to adopt. As for the adults, well, too many times Waller had compromised an enemy operation via their janitorial staffs, so while they were well paid and with decent benefits, it still felt good to home-grow her own with conditioned loyalty.

On a related matter, obviously they had the families of the ‘Royal Flush Squad’ in custody. Those parents had proven cooperative in the past, having folded under varying government pressure for their kids’ recruitment into the military. Sweeping them up had been even more straightforward, as claiming protective services from their radicalized children’s vengeance, while making references to common gang initiations to ‘prove’ your loyalty, had been ample incentive. Professor Hamilton was confident that with the parents they could recreate more sons and daughters with similar powers in time, but she was undecided of whether or not that was an angle she wanted to pursue. Only Frost’s powers were particularly of note, and there were other complications which made her favour lean more towards those other initiatives.

Chapter Text

The advanced aircraft the Straw Hats had stolen from the Rogue Amazon continued to operate without any issue as they flew away from the American air base and the Justice League. 

Of course, wary survivors they were, the Straw Hats were already planning to make an emergency exit if they couldn’t land the aircraft safely. Even then, the wreck should be valuable enough for Franky to use, at least once he got better and could rebuild the jet. Heck he’d probably be able to improve it with his own upgrades once he got his hands on it.

Yet it was only another subtle, chilling reminder of just how close they might’ve been to losing the men among their beloved nakama. All thanks to the childish grudge of the Rogue Amazon Aresia and the esoteric allergen she attempted to unleash upon the world in a foolish crusade to kill off all men. All while completely ignoring or not caring about the catastrophic consequences that would come from her short sighted vengeance. Normally they would’ve let the Justice League handle these kinds of matters when it came to taking down supervillains, since that’s the job of heroes after all, not Pirates. Plus they were already on the League’s radar after the whole Cherry Blossom fiasco that ruined their main source of legal income. Although at least those nosey heroes got some well deserved blowback from screwing up a business that was giving out revolutionary medicine. That alone made Robin smile for ruining Chopper’s dream company, while also holding off her gruesome desires against the League…for the most part.

Regardless, the last thing they wanted was another confrontation with the superheroes and escalate matters any more than they already were.

…However, the second Aresia had dared to poison the very men Robin, Nami, Chopper and Brook considered to be their family, was when the rogue Amazon had provoked their involvement. Leading them to aid both heroines of the league to stop Aersia’s insane plans of gendercide from succeeding.

Thankfully Chopper should have managed to create a cure with Martian Manhunter as they worked together via radio call to the Watchtower…which was in outer space apparently (cause certainly the world didn’t seem to mind having a bunch of superheroes build their own space station above Earth and build who knows what on it). 

With the Martian’s help, and the work of Chopper and scientists like Ivy and Cheetah, they had begun to reverse the effects of the allergen by now. Once it was proven viable enough, they would be able to use the antidote to cure not only their infected friends, but also the innumerable men nearly facing death from the allergen’s effects.

While the League should be able to disperse the antidote across the world without any issue, it would be a miracle if nobody had died from this utter catastrophe; but knowing their little doctor, he would be able to make sure his cure would have been able to nullify the disease with ease. 

Once Martian Manhunter and Chopper created a viable cure for the allergen, with the latter of which tested on themselves to be sure as he was beginning to display symptoms (much to Robin’s worry despite how much she tried hiding it). Meanwhile Ivy and Cheetah had already gone ahead to cure the rest of the Deckhands, while  picking up Chopper as he went over final checks. Since Ivy and Cheetah figured they would be tracked here with the stolen jet, they decided to burn down the lab and gather all essentials while Chopper went off to cure Luffy and the others.

Admittedly it was a somewhat awkward affair, as the information Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman think they gleaned definitely weighed in on their minds as it felt like a part of them still wanted to "arrest them," but they were an honorable enough to not try anything and let their doctor come back safely. Probably also because Chopper seemed to have given a good impression on both heroines and Martian Manhunter. Honestly if not for the direness of the situation, Chopper would have been immediately eager to tell Nami, Robin and Brook all about all the fun medical work he had done with the last Martian, but he definitely will once Luffy and the others were cured.

And soon enough the four Straw Hats began to head back to their hideout as quickly as possible to administer the cure to their ill Nakama. 

However, along the way, the pirates would soon make a rather surprising discovery…

"Okay, the cure’s all ready!" Chopper announced as he set up the last syringe, its contents now filled with the medicine that he and Martian Manhunter had managed to create, while Cheetah and Ivy would have the cure themselves to help the infected Deckhands. "But we need to give it to Luffy and the others immediately. Otherwise, it won’t be long before the allergen wreaks even more havoc on their bodies."

"Don’t worry Chopper, we should be there soon enough," Brook told the young doctor, as Robin had confirmed the jet had already arrived in the coast of the city their hideout was located in. "And besides, Luffy and the others have been through far worse things before; there’s no way some allergen will be what ends them."

"I couldn’t say it better myself," Robin nodded in agreement, as she took one of the jetpacks while her cloned arms managed the  aircraft’s controls. "I just need to find a suitable place to land the jet, otherwise we may have to just escape the jet before we let it crash into the sea."

"Ugh, I really hope it doesn’t come to that. This day has been an utter mess as it is, and the last thing I want to do is reenact those spy movies Chopper and the boys have been watching," Nami sighed tiredly, but wasn’t gonna complain much more, not when they had dropped from far greater heights before in the past.

"But they’re so cool!!!" Chopper exclaimed in utter awe and amazement by those movies.

"Personally I find them rather unrealistic," Robin pouted a little, as like those ridiculous Indiana Jones movies, films such as James Bond felt rather insulting to an actual master spy like the archeologist of the Straw Hats. 

How in the blue seas did the people of this world think it was logical for "spies" to jump out of exploding planes or cruise ships every five minutes, let alone expect half of the things those action craving directors would consider what a spy would do. 

It really made her feel more of a need to take a visit to Hollywood…  

The only reason she hadn’t yet was because Chopper, Luffy and Usopp really did enjoy watching those movies, and she didn’t want to ruin it for them. 

"Either way, we can’t waste any more time. If jumping out of the jet gets us back to the boys faster, then let’s do it," Nami huffed as she got her own jet pack ready, yet before the four occupants were preparing to go with their Plan B if all else failed, a sudden beeping sound entered everyone’s ears (well except for Brook but…actually how does he hear?).

"Huh? What is that?" Chopper asked curiously as the sound continued to rang out.

Robin walked back to the controls her cloned arms were managing and inquisitively scanned them over until she found what she was looking for. "How peculiar. It seems that the aircraft has detected an unknown object below us."

"An unknown object? That’s strange, I could’ve sworn the coast was devoid of anyone or anything, that could block the jet?" Brook said with confusion lining his tone, as they were reaching the coastline of the docks their hideout was located within, but knew for the most part there shouldn’t be much there.

"It’s rather small though, but it could be a vehicle like a car or ship that crashed because of the crisis the allergen caused," Robin theorized, yet also set the three others' lips to frown at the grim but all too likely idea. 

And just to be sure Nami and the others immediately headed to the cockpit of the jet to search for anything along those lines, as apparently it was also built with an advanced camera system for the pilots to see what was around and below them. Which only made it all the more desirable for the pirates to keep this aircraft or at least for Franky to rebuild it and then use for themselves later on.

Nami as she looked at one of the jet’s camera’s couldn’t see any plumes of smoke or sign of freshly made debris anymore, which was good news but also confused the navigator. "I don’t see anything, though. What about—"

"OH MY GOODNESS!!!" Brook suddenly cried out in pure shock, causing the three others to turn to the skeleton in question as he stared at something in the far right corner of the aircraft’s other camera with his jaw gaping open. 

"W-What is it, Brook? Is anyone hurt?" Chopper asked in concerned dread, already fearing they might’ve stumbled on yet another catastrophe caused by Aresia and her man killing disease.

"N-No, I-It’s nothing like that…"

"Eh? Then what did you see?"

"I saw…I think my eyes saw a sight so great that my vision was momentarily blinded by its sheer beauty!" Brook declared with pure awe, despite the fact his three other nakama looked at him now with looks of bewilderment or exasperation. "Except…I don’t have any eyes anymore, Yohohohoho-Urgk!!!"

"Enough!" Nami growled as she swung her left hook at the living Skeleton’s skull as he tumbled down like a stack of cards; not being in the mood for any skull jokes whatsoever. "Just what are you on about…?"

Yet as soon as the navigator went to see what caused that baffling reaction out of their crew’s musician, her eyes found what looked to be a person standing on a near the beach. That alone wouldn’t be anything to note of course, except that person looked awfully familiar to Nami.

"Wait a minute," while Chopper and Robin came over to check out the screen themselves. She had it zoom closer and once looking more carefully, Nami soon realized why this person looked so familiar…especially when she had a certain unmistakable animal with her.

"No way, is that who I think it is?!" Nami exclaimed with stunned shock encompassing her expression. Her wide eyes were solely locked on the all too recognizable person that was confidently standing on the beach below them. 

"EHHH!? Is it really her?!" Chopper said with the same amount of surprise as his crew mates as the reindeer human couldn’t believe who it was just dozens of feet below them. 

"Well now, this is certainly an interesting turn of events," Robin remarked in surprise herself, but also with intrigue evident in her expression as well at the sight of this person. 

After all, given how today’s chaotic events directly involved the Amazons of Themiscyra, Robin couldn’t help but wonder if this was really just a coincidence.

"Yohohoho, that’s exactly what I thought as well!" Brook cackled lightheartedly as he got up from Nami’s punch, and walked over to the rest of his astonished crew. "Though what are the fortunate odds we would see her here!? I can only imagine the look on Sanji’s face when he meets her in-person!"

"Absolutely not!!! That might actually be a death sentence for him!" Chopper yelled in horror, as he recalled what happened the last time he saw her, despite how brief it was. They could not afford a repeat of that!

"I’m not sure I’d call it that, at least not entirely, but I think the l better question is how Luffy will react to this when he gets better," Nami said quietly as she kept staring at the woman as it was now apparent she was both very confused, but also simultaneously trying to act proud and undeterred by how she ended up on that beach. 

It was an all too familiar feeling to Nami and the rest of her crew since they felt the same thing when they got warped from Wano and landed in this boring world full of superheroes. But for someone of her reputation, status and infamy, was probably also feeling a boat load of anger as well to be ripped from her home without any warning or explanation.

They certainly did months ago, albeit also experiencing a wave of depression from the possibility they would never achieve their dreams before Luffy sparked back their hope in finding a way back to Gaia. 

"So should we…?"

"I think the answer’s obvious, Chopper," Nami replied, as she removed her jetpack as there was no way they could just leave her down there. After all, besides not wanting to see someone have the same experience her crew did.

Especially knowing the kind of fuss she’d cause if they were to leave her all alone. But more importantly... "She is a friend of our captain, so that makes us her friend too."

Or at least she hoped so…

"I’ll start landing the jet as best as I can. I’m also rather curious to see what Luffy’s friend is like." Robin smiled happily as she started pressing the necessary controls to initiate the landing sequence.

Honestly after today, she found it rather welcoming to finally see another fellow native of their world. Although what would happen once they bring her back to their hideout, was certainly going to be quite interesting…

He had never been sick in his life.

That was something Luffy, Sanji and Usopp had told Vivi waaay back when Nami had fallen ill from that nasty bug from Little Garden, and Luffy was being totally honest. 

He really never knew what it was like to have even a fever.

Which in retrospect was pretty crazy to believe but, he really had never gotten a fever or anything like that growing up in his hometown. Sure he, Ace and Sabo had always faced life threatening situations in the mountain jungles, especially when he set out to sea as a pirate, but illness never really been something he had considered a problem. At least until Nami got sick, that was when it became a real problem, since even if he never got sick, there was no way he could ever let his nakama get as ill as Nami had that one time and risk them dying.

Never again. 

But when they found Chopper on Drum Island and he joined the crew as their ship’s doctor, Luffy knew what happened after Little Garden wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Not when they had someone as amazing as Chopper on their crew! 

And he was right, since nobody ever got sick again and he just forgot all about the issue since Chopper would always handle it. Though it was a bit annoying to get "vaccine shots" whenever they went to a new island back home, but Chopper said it was to prevent what happened to Nami, so he got it.

Yet when they suddenly came to this boring place, Chopper had to especially be careful with that stuff since they had no idea what nasty diseases were in this world. Was that why Chopper was so focused on those books on "Earthly diseases"? Was that what it was called?

Luffy couldn’t recall, and especially couldn’t when he felt like he was inside Sanji’s oven and just felt all around horrible. 

So this was what it was like being sick?

Well if that was the case, it really sucked!

His body felt so achy, his body had these strange purple boils that reminded him of when he ate those freaky mushrooms on Amazon Lily, his head felt like it was spinning on a rollercoaster; it was so awful!

This was almost worse than not having any meat! 

Almost.

In fact he was really craving some meat right now, but it didn’t look like Sanji was looking well enough to do anything either. In fact for some really weird reason, all the guys in his crew were as sick as him. Heck, all the men in the world were somehow getting sick too when he saw the news, before he and the others suddenly caught the bug that everyone was talking about.

It all seemed really strange to Luffy, and really uncomfortable, but he vaguely recalled how Nami, Robin, Chopper and Brook were gonna go and figure out what made them all so sick to begin with. 

Actually, you know what, maybe he could ask Sanji now if he can cook some meat for him, that could really help him with this cold.

Or at least he would’ve if he didn’t feel so weak, that he couldn’t even speak…

In fact, it was pretty hard to do anything.

Yet soon he sensed some people coming inside, which probably means his nakama had finally come back. And as he barely mustered enough strength to pull open his eyes for a single moment, could see a blurry brown figure coming near him with something small and grey.   

Ooh wait, was that roasted ham? Did Sanji really make him some meat!?

Yet, he only felt a prick on his arm, but suddenly all the aches, the heat and all the other terrible stuff he was feeling started to suddenly fade away. 

He was still pretty exhausted, but he was really feeling better!

And was now REALLY hungry…

And soon enough he could now blink his eyes open far better now, and without hesitation decided to ask what he had been really craving for, “Meeeeeat! Sanji . . . Meeeeat.”

“He’s all better!” Chopper cried with joy. 

Oooooh, it was Chopper, not ham.

Yeah that made sense. 

…but he still wanted that roasted ham.

Laughing jovially, Brook resumed playing his violin to help encourage the others to recover from the allergen. 

Yet soon enough, Chopper walked aside as Nami soon stood by his bedside, and had one of those stern looks, but seemed really happy and relieved from the look in her eyes. 

"Honestly, can you not get yourself into trouble for once! Do you have any idea how much everyone was panicking when they saw you and the boys collapse out of nowhere!? We have enough problems as it is, don’t go scaring us like that again, you hear!?" Nami berated her captain for causing trouble, yet was obviously hiding the anxiety and worry she had felt. 

And Robin, smiling happily, simply went to the kitchen.

Ooh, he better tell her what to get him!

“Meeeeat!”

“Hold . . . yer . . . orses…” slurred Sanji automatically, as Chopper administered the medicine to him next and soon the rest of the guys.

"Are you even listening to me!? Ugh, even when sick as a dog you still think about food." Nami groaned in frustration but also some notable amusement in her voice, before suddenly she started to kneel down and looked pretty conflicted for some reason.

"Look Luffy, I know you’re not exactly in the best shape right now, but on the way back, I think we stumbled across someone I think you know," Nami tried explaining, but he was too tired and hungry to really understand what she said for the most part.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Nami groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing. "I mean we found someone from back home!"

Wait, really?

Oh, well that was good news. Guess that meant they weren’t alone in this Earth place, after all! 

But then again, that sorta depended on who Nami was talking about. If it was an enemy from back home, Luffy wouldn’t hesitate to blow them away, even with how lousy he felt right now, but it didn’t feel like it was someone like that.

"Who did you find? Was it Kin’emon?"

"Uh, no."

"Carrot?"

"I wish, but no."

"Momo?"

"Nope."

"Tra-guy?"

"Not him either."

"…Raizo?"

"NO! It’s none of those guys!" Nami barked out, now looking pretty annoyed by all the random guessing, even if she privately admitted it made perfect sense for him to be so worried about everyone in Wano. Taking a breath to cool down, she continued. "It’s actually someone you seem to know pretty well, despite the rest of us only ever seeing her once all the way back at Sabaody."

Wait Sabaody? 

Luffy remembered meeting a lot of people back at Sabaody when his crew first came there and when they reunited two years later, both good and bad. Yet Nami made it sound like it was a woman they knew, but Luffy still couldn’t figure who she was talking about since the only women he really recalled meeting on Sabaody was Shakky, Cammy…

Wait a minute, now that he thought about it, there was also…

"OH, LUUUFFY!!!" An absolutely joyful voice sang out and before he knew it, Nami had to jump back as suddenly a red blur leapt towards him and enveloped the future King of the Pirates in a bear hug.

"GAK!" Luffy coughed out from the sudden feeling of his ribs being crushed, which should’ve been impossible since he was made of rubber, but that just reminded him of his grandpa finding a way around that through haki. 

And despite probably needing to do so as well, he was too tired to use some Armament Haki himself, leaving him feeling like he was in the grip of a python. ‘This is just like when I ate Carrot’s carrot!' 

But wait a minute, why was he also feeling some soft pillows on his chest? Actually, who the heck was crushing him when he was just getting over this nasty cold!!?

Managing to make his neck look up, Luffy then found eyes widening in shock as he learned who it was hugging him and immediately recognized her. 

How could he not after she helped him so much two years ago?

"EHHHH?!!! HANCOCK?!" Luffy exclaimed, suddenly feeling a burst of energy from the utter astonishment of seeing an old friend like her as she stared down at him with loving eyes. "Is that really you!?"

Indeed it seemed the infamous Pirate Empress herself had found herself stranded in this world as well. After all, how could any Gaia native not know the face of the most beautiful woman in the world?

(Barring Princess Shirahoshi, and the past Kuja Pirate queens of course, but it’s ill advised to test those waters.)

All the while a white serpent with large pink spots and wore a horned skull that had blue hair jutting outwards as she slithered to her master’s side, to further affirm to everyone who she was.

Yet for those who were unfamiliar with the Warlord, such as the majority of the Straw Hats for the most part, she was definitely a sight to behold as she towered over most of the occupants within the Straw Hats hideout; all while carrying the undeniable presence of a ruler that the Straw Hats had come to be used to overtime. This was the Pirate Empress and the captain of the Kuja Pirates: Boa Hancock…

Oh and the same empress who was currently crushing their captain’s body out of absolute affection and love she felt for the future King of the Pirates. To the point she was accidentally using her haki just to make sure he would be in her embrace.

"Of course it’s me, my beloved! Believe me, I’m just as shocked to see you here as well! I almost couldn’t believe it when I saw your crew at first, but seeing you here feels like a dream come true!" Hancock gushed as the Amazonian continued to embrace the love of her life.

"Well she’s certainly happy to see our captain," Robin remarked as she came back from the kitchen with a good amount of food she left on a table. 

"No kidding, I still can’t believe she’s really head over heels for him. I almost thought she was just joking," Nami replied exasperatedly, as the idea of the feared Boa Hancock having a huge crush on Luffy almost felt like one of the craziest jokes she ever heard in her life. 

When they landed the jet to meet with Boa  and help her adjust with what had happened and bring her back to their hideout, she immediately gave off the presence of a haughty woman who knew just how powerful and beautiful she was. Yet for some reason she seemed quite rattled as well, as it seemed whatever brought her to this world like they did, took her at a really bad time as she demanded to know where she was.

Thankfully the fact they were a part of Luffy’s crew seemed to be what immediately calmed her down. Well, somewhat anyway. Then when Nami had told her they’d take her to where Luffy was, she immediately pulled a 180 and went from acting like a proud and fearsome ruler to a female version of Sanji whenever he saw an attractive woman. Needless to say everyone except for Robin had to take a double take by the sudden shift as they soon got her onboard the aircraft and continued their way back to their hideout.

Yet the whole time Nami kept questioning if she was having some crazy dream, as the Pirate Empress just started talking all about Luffy and asking how her "sweetheart" was doing or if he “missed her.” Along with a whole bunch of other questions that quite frankly Nami had no idea how to answer, as no matter what she said, the Warlord would always just interpret it as a part of this whole romantic fantasy she clearly has with her captain. 

A fantasy that quite frankly was bordering on delusions with some of the stuff she was saying to herself, and it took a lot of effort to not either laugh her guts out or make any faces from half the stuff Boa said about Luffy. 

Honestly Nami expected a lot of things to happen when meeting one of the Seven Warlords and the strongest female pirate in the modern era besides Big Mom. Sure Luffy had considered her a friend so she wasn’t really worried about any serious confrontation, but you couldn’t exactly blame her for being on edge meeting a woman who sailed the Calm Belt on a daily basis! Heck her mind ran with so many ideas of what she and the others would be facing, but in the end, she had come to some understandable conclusions over what the Kuja Pirate’s captain was like. 

Fearsome, proud as hell, carrying a powerful presence to her, and was all around intimidating yet dangerously charming enough to make her and Robin a little cautious. Especially since Nami could just tell Boa Hancock was the kind of woman to always use her incredible beauty to always get her way, since admittedly she had done the same whenever it was necessary. But while Nami and Robin were proud enough to know they were quite beautiful themselves…look they didn’t swing the other way by any means, but for a few seconds that mentality was tested. But if she had that reaction to seeing Boa Hancock’s famed beauty, Nami immediately knew Sanji had to be sedated before he saw her. 

And when initially meeting Boa Hancock, a lot of those assumptions had been pretty accurate…until she mentioned her goofball captain; and when realizing he was here too, led to seeing a side of the queen of Amazon Lily that nobody could’ve ever imagined.

Seriously, how the heck was Nami supposed to prepare seeing Boa Hancock suddenly act like a lovesick teenager out of nowhere!? 

Robin just found it quite amusing despite being as surprised as everyone else, Chopper was just confused yet when Robin told him it was like when the little guy met a certain deer Mink on Zou he just blushed up a storm, while Brook had been crying in jealous sorrow as he saw how smitten Boa was for his captain. In fact he was still doing that right now.

"Neither can I…I never thought I would feel such jealousy towards our Captain, but how could I not when he’s captured the heart of such a beautiful lady!!!" Brook sobbed in envy despite his best efforts to play his violin. Alas, it seemed to be a challenge for the musician, especially when seeing Luffy hugged by Hancock herself. "It’s not fair at all! Not one bit!"

"I still don’t get why she’s so infatuated with Luffy? Heck, she’s starting to remind me of Sanji—WOAH OKAY, THAT’S ENOUGH NOW!" Chopper suddenly shouted as he saw Luffy now looking quite blue from the asphyxiation he was suffering from Boa’s heartfelt and haki infused love. 

"I won’t lie to you Luffy, when I suddenly found myself in this jarring place my heart nearly shattered to pieces from the single possibility that I’d never see you again. But the fact that you and your crew found yourselves here makes me wonder if it’s fate that brought us together?" Boa mused to her crush, now lost in her romantic fantasies as the world just turned off for her. "There’s so much we need to talk about, I’m so eager to hear what you’ve been up to! Oh, maybe we could go on a honeymoon to talk all about—!”

"Hey, snap out of it! I know you’re really happy to see Luffy but you need to let go of him! He hasn’t even begun recovering from the sickness he and the others were suffering from, and right now you’re about to kill him!!!" Chopper exclaimed with frustration and panic, snapping Boa Hancock out of her vivid adoration and returning her to reality.

Yet when heeding the strange deer creature’s warnings she looked down at her bosom and gasped in horror when she saw her beloved was starting to look quite purple and motionless…

"Oh, I’m so sorry about that! I just got so excited I forgot you weren’t in the best shape!" Boa immediately apologized as she hastily lowered him back to his bed, and Luffy thankfully could finally breathe again as he began returning to normal coloration. 

"Just please be careful! He may be cured but it’s going to take time for his immune system to fight off the allergen. For now let him rest and don’t suffocate him again," Chopper urged the Warlord as he checked over Luffy and thankfully saw he was fine all things considered.

"It’s…alright...just gimme a…minute," Luffy uttered despite his lungs being deprived of oxygen for a few minutes, but soon Robin came by and gave him some much needed meat as like a hungry alligator gobbled it all up. Much to Boa’s delight as she just stared at a gluttonously munching Luffy with adoring eyes.

" *sigh* He looks so peaceful when he’s eating…" Boa remarked sweetly as she kept warmly staring at Luffy chowing down his much needed meal.

'Okay, seriously, what does she see in him?' Nami couldn’t help but wonder as she continued to incredulously watch the mind boggling sight in front of her, but also felt amusement to see yet another bout of insanity her captain had made from being his good ol’ self.

Honestly she didn’t even know why she was so surprised at this point.

…still, she should probably try warning Boa Hancock what he was in for if she really did have a crush on Luffy, but she had a feeling she’d only tune out anything she’d say.

"Huh, isn’t that Boa Hancock?" Zoro muttered in surprise as he was awake now, only to see one of the Seven Warlords in this lame world, let alone just breaking his Captain’s spine; but she and her crew did help them get away from the Navy back on Sabaody so she probably wasn’t a problem.

Maybe he could ask if Hancock brought some booze with her? It was a long shot, but quite frankly he’d do anything to drink the real stuff again and be free of the watered down crap this world dared to call sake.

"I can’t believe it, Hancock, is that really you?" Jinbe rumbled as he started to wake up once given Chopper’s cure as well, yet couldn’t believe the person he was seeing in their base.

Boa’s focus soon turned to the fellow former Warlord once hearing his voice, and blinked. "Jinbe? You’re here too?"

"Indeed…I wish we were meeting again under better circumstances, but it’s actually nice to see you."

"I honestly surprised you’re even here at all. After I heard you severed your ties to Big Mom I questioned if you had survived her wrath or not." Boa confessed, as quite frankly even the likes of her would have thought twice before daring to enrage a Yonko as much as Jinbe had.

Let alone help cause the entire disaster her beloved had orchestrated on Whole Cake island. But it was no wonder with how charismatic her Luffy was all the time.

Her man truly was the greatest…

"Hehehe, that’s fair but as you can see I managed just fine. There was a close call here and there, but nothing I couldn’t get myself out of. And now I’m currently the helmsman of the Straw Hats." Jinbe explained with a proud and satisfied smile, as he clearly enjoyed every second of being a part of this crew along with having a man like Luffy as his captain.

"And yet here you are bedridden like the rest of the men here. I guess all Big Mom needed was to use whatever disease you became afflicted with to snuff you out," Boa remarked with her usual haughtiness while placing a hand on her hip, as Jinbe sweatdropped by her cold attitude. 

Yep, that was definitely Boa Hancock alright, and the scary part was that it seemed she had become nicer , than she was beforehand…

"Speaking of which, as much as I enjoy being reunited with Luffy, I think I’m long overdue for an explanation for why I am here instead of Amazon Lily?" Boa Hancock demanded as Salome rearranged herself behind her master into Boa’s pseudo throne. Her voice now having the full authority and pride an empress of her status and strength would possess, yet still having a subtle amount of respect for the people around her given the man they all worked with. "There is a crisis that I need to address on my island and I don’t have time toiling around in a place I don’t even know of."

'Though I’ll gladly take Luffy away so we can get married!' Boa happily announced in her head, but kept that particular bit to herself.

Immediately the Straw hats, or at least those who were either now awake and unaffected by the Allergen, held back a collective cringe as quite frankly that was a certain elephant in the room they hadn’t been able to address. ‘Cause quite frankly they didn’t know how to break it to the Empress of Amazon Lily that she was now in an entirely different world right now. All with no way as of yet to return to their home for the foreseeable future…

So, how do they explain that whole bombshell without invoking her fury and risking a catastrophic reaction from a Warlord of the Sea? (little did they know the Warlord system had been recently abolished by the World Government due to the Reverie’s voted decision, but even if they did know that, it made her no less intimidating or fearsome.)

Yet before those like Robin or Jinbe could try to form a way to explain the true nature of the situation they were all in, their oh so unpredictable captain decided to say it himself. 

"Wait, you don't know? We're actually stuck in a world full of superheroes," Luffy blurted out as his vitality started coming back to him thanks to that tasty meat.

Unfortunately he was blissfully ignorant of the majority of his crew staring at him in stunned shock or horror, while Nami was looking really angry at him for some reason.

Did he say something wrong?

Boa Hancock meanwhile blinked in surprise before her elegant features were filled with utter confusion, and even her Kuja Snake looked quite bewildered by what Luffy said. "What did you just say? What does he mean by another world? And what’s this about superheroes?" 

The rest of the Straw Hats who weren’t recovering from the Allergen all looked at each other before Robin took a step forward and nodded. "Yes, as blunt as that was, I’m afraid our captain is speaking the truth. Just like us, it seems you’ve been displaced in another world, one almost straight out of the pages of a comic book, as hard as that might be for you to believe."

The Pirate Empress however could only partly gape in a mix of shock and a growing sense of outrage by the insanity she was hearing from these people. 

They were all in another world? 

That had to be the most nonsensical thing she had ever heard in her life!

"I don’t know what kind of game you all are playing, but I’m not in the mood to entertain any foolish jokes! Now I demand to know what is really going on." Boa snapped back with anger rising in her tone, her patience growing thin, as she refused to accept the sheer absurdity her ears were being assaulted with.

They truly were beyond lucky they were a part of Luffy’s crew, otherwise she might’ve been tempted to turn them to stone already for wasting her time.

"I understand how ridiculous it sounds, but there are no lies being told here. We couldn’t believe it either when we arrived here months ago, but that’s what has happened." Jinbe said, and when still weakened from illness his face remained firm and unflinching in what he just said.

It only left the other former Warlord in the room further frustrated by sensing all this, yet  she was also astonished by that last part.

‘Months? What is he talking about, The Whole Cake incident only happened a couple weeks ago!’ Boa noted in confusion as while she never really cared too much for the matters of the world she would always pay absolute attention to anything involving her beloved Luffy; so she knew the timeframe after his latest adventure couldn’t have been that long.

Clearly this fool was just delirious from whatever bug he caught.

“You must truly be insane to think I would ever believe anything as ridiculous as the tales you're spouting to me,” Boa snapped back, now growing quite annoyed with the foolishness she was surrounded with.

To think Luffy’s crew could be such a bunch of deluded buffoons? Just what else have they been putting in her sweetheart’s head?

“You must’ve already noticed something was off when you found yourself here. The looming cities and all the advanced technology, the lack of the World Government’s presence or the absence of key features you’d recognize like the Red Line,” Robin added, and while Boa was about to dismiss her words, she did take into account the subtle, strange oddities she had noticed beforehand.

And well..

While Boa didn't want to take what she saw into too much consideration, when looking out the windows on that peculiar air machine, she would admit to feeling awe and great surprise when seeing the utterly massive landmass their machine flew over while heading to their little hideout. All the while it was filled to the brim with bright lights and towering structures that would make most islands look even more poor than they already were. When she asked what kind of island they were flying around, the redhead woman had apparently corrected her and clarified it was a “continent” of some sort, not an island. 

The name of which was called “America” and apparently it was the homeland of a powerful nation that had no affiliation with any factions she knew.

But that was ridiculous, there was no way that something like this “America” would have evaded the eyes of the world, let alone the World Government’s authority or that of Yonko’s, without being swarmed by either force. 

Unless…

‘I can’t actually be considering this lunacy!?’ As much as Boa wanted to simply scoff their claim as nothing short of madness, she did notice how they all carried the same serious look to them.

Even though this was the first time she met the rest of the Straw Hats, it didn’t seem like she was surrounded by people who were stupid enough to dare lie to her. They were definitely a peculiar bunch, but as much as she wanted to dismiss them as fools, she couldn’t really do so for the likes of Nico Robin or even Jinbe.

Not to mention these were the crew of Monkey D. Luffy, the man she loved with all her heart, so that alone warranted her taking their word to some extent, albeit reluctantly.

But…if there was one way to know for certain what she was being told really was the truth…it would be Luffy himself. 

She trusted his word above all else.

"Luffy, please tell me this is just some kind of absurd joke your crew has cooked up. I will forgive them if that’s the case, just..." Boa candidly told Luffy but stopped once looking at him.

Despite how he was recovering from the same disease that afflicted Jinbe, his eyes locked with hers, and she immediately sensed the same indomitable spirit filling those orbs, reminding her so much of how he looked on the day she first met him.

Except unlike that fateful day, there was no hostility directed towards her whatsoever, only honesty and even a sense of understanding for what she might be thinking right now, and it only made her heart beat faster despite the tense circumstances.

"They’re telling the truth, Hancock. We really are in another world." Luffy told the Pirate Empress with a serious look on his features, and bore not a single trace of any deceit.

He…he was really telling the truth, wasn’t he?

"No, it can’t be, that’s just…" Boa muttered before slowly sinking into Salome as a makeshift chair, while the horned serpent appeared quite concerned for the empress despite looking rattled by the news.

"This is probably a lot to process right now, but we’ll do our best to explain everything, at least once the rest of our crew is in better shape." Brook said with an understanding tone, as quite frankly he was surprised she had believed them this quickly. Let alone not throw a bigger fit.

 But perhaps his captain’s words really meant that much to her, which was rather sweet. “Although in the meantime, would it be too much to ask if I can take a look at your pa-MPH!!!”

Thankfully before could end up dying once again, Robin quickly manifested her Devil Fruit arms on Brook’s body, and immediately clamped his jawbone shut while pulling the undead musician away before he could seal his fate. 

Yet Boa honestly couldn’t even pay attention to the living skeleton as her mind was currently racing with her thoughts and the implications this unbelievable revelation had for her.

Somehow, an unseen force had the gall to spirit her away to some other world, right when her people were under threat by the World Government after the Warlord system had been abolished and those backstabbing swine decided to apprehend her. And she was more than prepared to show those navy dogs why she was made a Warlord of the Sea…at least until that brilliant flash of light suddenly erupted and before she knew it, she along with Salome found themselves on that coastline. Only it was apparently far more vast than being sent to some other island, but apparently an entirely different world from her own.

But now that she was gone, how was Amazon Lily supposed to defend itself without their empress? She did not doubt of the strength of her warriors whatsoever, as a single Kuja pirate was easily more formidable than 50 —no, 100!— of those pathetic Marine foot soldiers the Navy utilized as fodder, but she knew they would not entirely underestimate the strength of the former Warlords and thus use whatever or whoever they could in their foolish crusade to arrest her.

And without her leadership, it was unfortunately very likely that her Kuja amazons may now be quite disorganized. But perhaps not entirely. Her sisters Marigold and Sandersonia, would most likely have to take her place to coordinate with her subjects but that would be if they could snap out of the initial panic of their eldest sister and leader suddenly disappearing. But her sisters would likely put that aside, as best as they could at least, in order to address the attack on their island; while also keeping it secret that she had vanished to avoid the complete devastation of her people’s morale.

Yet despite knowing Marigold and Sandersonia were easily the strongest of the Kuja Pirates, barring herself of course, she still felt creeping concern for if her sisters could handle whatever the Navy would throw at them. Let alone if they would be okay themselves.

Of course that old crone Gloriosa would probably have to step up to help as much as she could, cause while she was a nagging nuisance, she was wise and had plenty of experience to help her Kuja pirates in terms of tactics (as much as it hurt to even admit that in her thoughts).

But again, would that be enough? That question continued to run around in her mind, and it wouldn’t stop no matter how much she tried crushing those doubts and fears, emotions she absolutely loathed to feel. Because it made her feel vulnerable, and she absolutely hated experiencing that…It only brought terrible memories.

Yet while Boa was having this turmoil occur in her headspace, she felt a hand pat her shoulder, and while resisting the urge to flinch, looked around to find Luffy’s stretched out hand while the Straw Hat captain gave her a smile that nearly made her heart melt right then and there.

“Don’t worry, Hancock. We’ll find a way to get us all back,” Luffy assured with a carefree yet emphatic expression while he was now sitting on his bed eating his meal. “Once Franky gets better, he’ll go back to working on making a way back home. I don’t really get it, but he’s super smart, so he can manage it!”

Boa didn’t know how ‘Iron’ Franky could remedy their absurd situation, as the giant metal golem being had hardly seemed to be around. Yet when she glanced around for it, she was taken aback by a man giant metallic blue and red mass slumbering like a bear, and who more closely resembled his original bounty poster. Clearly the result of some high-level science too given how much of his body resembled a Pacifista, and that meant that the metal titan on his latest poster was probably a creation of his. Alright, so maybe it was not impossible for him, and any further doubts were soothed away by Luffy’s wonderful smile and alluring charisma. She felt her entire body filled with pure affection and warmth to once again be reminded she still had the love of her life beside her.

And that alone was enough to ease her worries, at least for now.

“O-Okay, honey, I have faith in you,” Boa muttered as she blushed a storm, now trying her hardest to resist her immensely tempting impulse to wrap her Luffy in another hug and express her overflowing love. As while she did want to be around the captain of the Straw Hats above all else, she painfully acknowledged she needed to know what this world was really like.

Particularly that ludicrous comment about it being “straight out of the pages of a comic book” had baffled her, but she figured Luffy would be able to better explain it all to her once she sat down with him. 

After all, he always has a way with words…

Yet while Boa was enamored once again with Luffy and distracted for the moment, Nami couldn’t help but sweatdrop at what she was seeing, somehow.

Boa Hancock, the feared Warlord of the Sea, and the infamous Pirate Empress who could steal the hearts of anyone who saw her…was madly in love with the biggest idiot in the world.

“Why do I have a bad feeling she’s going to be a handful to deal with…” Nami muttered exasperatedly as the navigator could already tell they were stuck with her for the time being. 

After all, even though Boa Hancock was a powerful pirate herself, they couldn’t just leave her to fend for herself either, since A: she was Luffy’s friend and that made her someone they all had to help out no matter what, and B: It wouldn’t be long before a Warlord of the Sea like Boa would earn herself a spot on the Justice League’s radar in no time.

As if they needed to deal with those heroes having more reasons to come after them and slow down their progress getting back home.

But at the same time also knew someone with her personality was going to be a pain to satisfy, since unlike Vivi, Boa seemed to have the kind of “royal attitude” that made command everyone to give her the utmost respect and satisfaction for her whims. Just thinking about what it was going to be like living with “Pirate royalty” only gave her a headache, as she imagined everything Boa Hancock would request and demand for. Heck a part of Nami was even wondering if she should put a Luffy level lock on her vault…

“Perhaps, but she sounds like an interesting person to get to know,” Robin said to the Navigator, before Chopper soon came to the Archeologist.

“Well Chopper, did Boa’s partner have anything to say?” Robin asked kindly, hoping to glean anything they could from Warlord’s serpentine friend.

“Not much, since she’s pretty confused and focused right now on Hancock, but she’s just as clueless as Boa as to how they got here. Although what happened to them sounds an awful lot like what brought us to Earth. Oh, and her name is apparently Salome,” Chopper confirmed, much to Robin’s intrigued curiosity. 

“Hm, that’s good to know…” Robin rubbed her chin as she processed this information. 

While they had gotten Boa and Salome aboard the aircraft, she knew that while the Warlord’s appearance on earth was most definitely unexpected, Robin immediately  figured the Kuja Pirate captain could be quite helpful to them. 

Specifically regarding information on what was going on back in their world.

Even before they became stranded on Earth, they had been isolated from what was going on in the rest of the world while they were in Wano due to its isolationist policies. Besides the grave concern of what was happening with their allies after they had been warped to a world full of superheroes and supervillains, they had also been wondering what had been going on in their world as a whole.

Once they found a way to return to Gaia, they needed to know exactly what was waiting for them, at least after they defeated Kaido and freed Wano. Something which Boa Hancock may be able to help them in that avenue, at least to some degree.

Granted whatever they could learn from Boa might be rather limited given how isolationist her people’s civilization was themselves, Still, learning anything was better than not knowing at all.

But Robin knew it was best to give the young woman some time to rest and process what has happened to her, although she seems to be doing okay. At least when around Luffy.

‘Who knew our captain could be so charming?’ Robin chuckled at the thought of seeing the young man win over the heart of someone like Boa Hancock. She certainly wanted to hear the story of how that happened. 

“Ugh…” Yet suddenly the other Straw Hats heard a familiar groaning and soon saw that Sanji was now fully awake, and no longer as delirious from the allergen as before.

Yet for most of the Straw Hats it only made their stomachs sink in pure dread, as they all knew what was going to happen the second he saw the other Warlord in the room, and given he had literally just escaped death from Aersia’s allergen, they weren’t even sure he could survive it! Where were the sedatives!?

“What a shitty bug, I feel like my entire body was dumped in a boiler.” Sanji grumbled as he blinked his eyes open and tried to look at the rest of his nakama. “Alright, I think I remember Luffy asking for some meat? Just gimme a minute and I’ll—”

However, before he could finish Chopper in his human point form immediately tackled Sanji and blocked him from Luffy.

“EH!? Chopper what the heck has gotten into you!?” Sanji exclaimed as he tried pushing aside the mass of muscle and fur keeping him in the bed, but a panicked Chopper refused to budge.

“I-It’s nothing! You shouldn’t be moving around so soon, it’s too dangerous now, so j-just go back to sleep, doctor's orders!” Chopper demanded despite the nervous edge to his tone as he looked back to see Hancock thankfully still completely enamored with Luffy as she fed him more meat, but the reindeer knew Sanji could not see her whatsoever! 

Not if they wanted to keep him alive! 

‘It’ll be just like Fishman Island all over again, when he met those mermaids! He barely survived the aftermath back then; and this is Boa Hancock here with us, there’s no telling what will happen!” Chopper cringed at the possibilities he imagined in his mind.

All of which ended with the chef ending up with an early grave from overwhelming blood loss…and worse yet it would be blood loss they could not replace, as there was no other blood-type S (RH-) in this world!

Oh why oh why had he not stored up more bags of Sanji’s blood!?

Chopper only had the few emergency packs that he kept in cold storage for emergencies, but the reindeer human seriously doubted it would be enough for any catastrophic blood loss!

Right now they just needed to make sure Sanji was healthy enough to handle seeing Boa and just be like his usual weird behavior around women. So for now, keeping him away from her for at least a day was absolutely necessary! 

“What the heck is all that ruckus? Is something wrong with one of your crewmates, Luffy?” Boa asked casually, much to Chopper’s horror along with Nami and Brook.

“Huh? Who was that? Did you bring someone to the hideout?” Sanji stiffened while he now tried pushing past Chopper to see who it was, especially when it was clearly a woman he just heard. And that alone demanded he deliver the utmost care and respect to her!

“I-It’s nobody important! Just stay there and relax,” Chopper chuckled nervously, but the chef was unconvinced.

“Please stay quiet!!!” Nami and Brook tried to shush the Pirate Empress, but all that did was annoy her.

“Actually, I’m starting to think there’s something wrong with your crew in general. They’re quite noisy, and rude at that,” Boa said with a miffed expression, and while she was only showing restraint since they were the men and women who followed her beloved, there were limits. 

Especially since she was still trying to grasp the overwhelming revelation of her situation, so she wasn’t exactly in the mood for any kind of foolishness.

“Shishishishi! Don’t worry, they just don’t want Sanji to see you,” Luffy casually explained, and right then and there Nami wanted to throttle her idiot captain for being so damn blunt. (But knew she couldn’t, at least not without royally pissing off the Warlord head over heels for him.)

“Sanji? You mean ‘Black Foot’ Sanji?” Boa blinked and looked or at least tried to at the man in question, he appeared quite different from his first wanted poster.

Did he go on a diet? Or was it true he finally fixed that face of his?

“Yep! He’s my ship’s cook! Although he acts really weird when he’s around women.” 

“…does he now?”

‘Oh god no…’ Nami and Brook thought in utter mortification as they started sweating bullets. Knowing how crudely their captain was explaining anything, this was not going to end well at all.

Heck forget keeping Sanji from seeing Boa, they may have to get him the hell out of here if Luffy said the wrong thing!

“Well, I don’t really get it, but for some reason he always puts extra work into making Robin and Nami’s meals, and gives them tons of compliments. Which is pretty nice, but I can’t say the same for the guys and me though, but he still gives us some tasty food!” Luffy elaborated further, as Nami and the others braced for the Kuja Pirate’s reaction.

But surprisingly enough though, the Amazonian woman only had an interested look on her face.

“I see now. Well it’s a good thing I’m here then!” Boa proudly smiled as she rubbed the top of Luffy’s head, but he didn’t seem to understand what she meant by that. “Don’t worry sweetheart, if that Sanji doesn’t want to make you the best his cooking skills can craft, I’ll be sure to convince him otherwise. In fact I think I could make him useful and give me something to eat myself.” 

“Huh?” Luffy tilted his head as he wasn’t sure what Hancock was up to, but the others like Nami however, had a good idea what was on the Kuja Pirate’s mind.

‘Yeah I should’ve expected that,’ Nami admitted while releasing a relieved sigh. To be fair, it’s not that she or Robin weren’t guilty of doing the same thing, since they always enjoyed Sanji pampering and thus tended to use their looks to keep their chef happy.

Unfortunately, someone like Boa was just gonna be too much for someone as “Chivilarious” as Sanji, and it was best to hold off the Warlord doing anything like that.

 At least for now.

“Enough is enough Chopper! Just let me see who it is, I have to at least introduce myself! Especially if it’s a lady waiting!” Sanji declared as he tried getting the teenage doctor to move aside, but the reindeer couldn’t budge. 

He needed to preserve Sanji’s life! It was for his own good!

However unbeknownst to the doctor and everyone else, Salome was looking over Usopp as she explored the Straw Hats’ hideout while Boa tended to Luffy, and as if the timing couldn’t be any more terrible, the sniper started waking up.

“Huh?” Usopp blinked tiredly, feeling much better but had a strange white and pink blur blocking his vision. 

What was that?

Did somebody put a towel on his head? But he didn’t feel anything so probably wasn’t.

As Usopp rubbed his eyes, he could now look more clearly at what he was staring out.

Oh, it was just a giant snake with a skull on its head, no biggie.

…

…

…

Wait .

“WAAAAH!!!” Usopp yelped in shocked terror at the sight of the huge snake that looked ready to eat him!

His scream of terror soon alerted the rest of the group as he ran away from his bed, slingshot in hand. 

“Guys! T-There’s a g-giant snake in our base! I don't know how it got here but we gotta…gotta...” Usopp trailed off as his threat instantly clamped up, while eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as he saw the unmistakable woman amongst his crewmates.

‘Oh no…’ the majority of the Straw Hats collectively thought in silent horror, except for Luffy and Robin. The former looking only confused yet happy to see Usopp healthier again, while Robin sighed softly and smiled as she knew what was going to happen now.

…

“EEEEHHH!!? B-B-B-BOA HANCOCK!!!!???” Usopp shouted in pure astonishment, eyes practically popping out of his skull as the sniper couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Heck he even questioned if he was hallucinating from whatever germs made him so deathly ill earlier, but his observation haki proved that wasn’t the case. “W-What the heck is she doing here!?” 

…

“What did you just say..?”

Yet before anyone could say anything, everyone turned when hearing the stunned voice of their cook, while Chopper was sweating bullets, and Nami merely groaned in defeat. 

“Sanji wait-!” Before he knew it, Sanji leapt over the teenage doctor with ease and ran over to the center of the room. 

“SANJI, PLEASE DON’T DO IT!!!” Chopper begged as he cried tears of sorrow, as he knew this may be the last time the chef would ever be alive.

Alas, Sanji could not heed his little friend’s warnings as the curly-browed chef froze like a statue. The world around him simply disappeared as his widened eyes processed the unimaginable sight before him…

‘It’s true…it’s really her!’ Admittedly he had only ever had the blessed circumstance to ever see the most beautiful woman in the world back on the Sabaody Archipelago, but he always treasured the honor of seeing her mesmerizing appearance; no matter how distantly far it was when they were sailing away to Fishman Island.

Heck, while the mermaids he later met that same day were utterly stunning themselves, even they had a hard time comparing to the majestic features of the Captain of the Kuja Pirates…(though to be honest that’s if someone forced him to compare, because otherwise he would deem them all as being equally beautiful.)

But right now, it seemed whatever god watched over him and his crew had somehow blessed him with what could only be called a divine miracle. Because of all the people from Gaia that could’ve landed in this crappy world full of costumed heroes and villains, what were the odds they’d be fortunate enough to have Boa Hancock herself arrive here with them!?

Leading to Sanji silently and intensely thanking said god as he could now see her gorgeous appearance right in front of him!

Rivaling Franky in height as she towered over most of his crew, he could only stare in awe by the living divinity gracing him. Her voluptuous yet impressively muscular body that could only have been sculpted by the gods and later honed from her status as an incredible warrior, her curvaceous legs that looked strong and robust enough to smash the toughest of metals in the world into dust, her long silky black hair that must have felt softer than clouds themselves and her incredible outfit that not only accentuated her divine body, such as her generous bosom.

And seeing all that only became magnified as the chef saw the bewitching face of the woman in front of him. Sapphire eyes that looked like they contained galaxies, and a face too beautiful for mortal eyes to bear. No, the same could be said for Boa as a whole, as she stared down at him!!!

It all became too much, as his senses became completely overwhelmed by the sight of such a divinely beautiful woman! No wonder anyone couldn’t resist whatever she demanded, how could anyone dare deny this goddess whatever she asked!

Yet the “goddess” in question, just stared at him with bewildered disinterest. For while she was used to seeing peasants swoon over her incredible beauty, and always enjoyed seeing them melt away at her mere presence, this weird little man made all her fans pale in comparison. Before her eyes, he began slobbering like a hungry dog, and had hearts popping out of his eyes. Which was quite frankly impressive, if not a little disturbing.

Eh, she used to this pathetically submissive display from most men anyhow.

But it was still good to know, cause that just meant she can get whatever she wanted for her beloved and herself far more easily.

“Well then, it seems he already recognizes who he is in the presence of,” Boa said with an arrogant smirk, unsurprising since everyone back in their world (that’s gonna take some getting used to) knew of her almighty beauty. And that would always make the world revolve around her for that alone. “Now then, why don’t you make yourself useful and go into the kitchen to make something adequate for my-”

“BOA HANCOCK!!!!” Sanji suddenly roared out with massive hearts replacing his eyes, as suddenly his nose erupted in a geyser of blood!

Much to the stunned shock of the Warlord, but Salome immediately zipped around Boa and shielded her from any blood that would’ve gotten on her (as that insult would’ve immediately resulted in his murder).

Meanwhile his crewmates braced themselves as Sanji went into “romantic mode”, while Chopper was already hastily grabbing the spare blood pack of Sanji’s blood type just in case the worst happened. 

Yet as the geyser of flustered blood ceased, Sanji surprisingly enough despite losing over a liter of blood, remained barely standing as everyone else got out of cover and stared at him.

“Wow, I haven't seen that in a while.” Luffy remarked with mild surprise.

Boa meanwhile could only stare at Black Foot Sanji with baffled shock, and a sizable amount of disgust for whatever in god's name she just witnessed, as a good portion of this place was practically doused in his nostril blood.

By the Kuja, it was everywhere!

“Ugh, what is wrong with that man…!?” Boa said with an incredibly grossed out expression, as a soaked Salome moved around her and was also looking at the chef with an unnerved expression. 

In all her life as the Empress of Amazon Lily, she had seen many, many men fall apart like jelly from a single look of her gorgeous face, and had quickly grown quite accustomed to it. To the point she reveled in the phenomenon she produced to those around her, as it only validated how the world would kneel to her for her perfect beauty. 

But that… that had been a first for her.

Quite frankly, it was taking a sizable amount of restraint and reminders of her indomitable love to Luffy to not send this insolent man flying into the skies with one of her strongest kicks.

“Trust me, that was actually tame compared to his usual antics. Don’t think too much about it. He means well despite how…exaggerated he gets.” Nami said exasperatedly, long since used to Sanji’s romantic quirks by now. 

Tame!?

That disgusting display was tame to these women!?

How did she and Nico Robin stand to be around him, let alone resist the urge to brutalize him, if that’s how that pig always reacted around them!? 

“Why do you think we were trying to keep him from seeing you!? He just got the cure to the allergen, so his health is flimsy at best! Just please go away before he loses it completely!” Chopper begged as he got his emergency blood transfusion kit ready.

Quite frankly Boa didn’t even know what was going on anymore, but she still felt she had been insulted by that freak and demanded repentance for his insolent actions.

Yet before she could voice her outrage, another gruff voice spoke up.

“Can you shut up, crap cook? I’m not in the mood to deal with your nonsense again,” Zoro the Pirate Hunter grumbled as he had been watching the whole show going on, and now felt the need to speak up. Because of course the cook would be the one to grate his nerves while he was getting over his “hangover.”

Yet like a switch being flicked, the chef of the Straw Hats suddenly returned to consciousness and immediately snarled at the green haired swordsman.

“Oi why don’t you shut up mosshead! Can’t you see who’s here!? The last thing Hancock should experience is your awful manners, so why not go back to dreaming sake like you always do?” Sanji sneered.

“The hell was that?” Zoro growled, ready to duke it out with the crap cook, even if he was still getting over that bug.

Meanwhile Boa Hancock just stared at the jarring scene before her, as now the man who had the gall to spray blood all over her was now suddenly arguing with ‘Pirate Hunter’ Zoro. 

Was this how Luffy’s crew was like? 

“Trust me, you’ll get used to it,” Jinbe chuckled when seeing Boa’s reaction to what his crew was like, and was quite glad to see their spirits back despite being at death’s door only a few hours ago. Yet Boa simply felt more unnerved watching…whatever the heck this was, playing out as everyone else seemed quite accustomed to this happening.

…was it too late to just grab her Luffy and get far away from these lunatics?

Yet unfortunately, the blonde one soon returned his focus towards her and the young man suddenly spun around like a living tornado. His pure fiery passion made even the Warlord flinch back as blankets and items around him flew across the room, before he was suddenly kneeling right in front of her.

“W-What are you…!?” Boa stammered, despite vehemently denying it later on, as the curly brow chef suddenly babbled praises in her face.

“I deeply apologize if that crappy swordsman offended you, but you should know that there are no words in either of our worlds that could hope to express the utter gratitudeI feel in my soul to be in your presence! Just knowing I have been graced with your presence fills my very soul with unimaginable joy! Whatever you request, I will serve without hesitation!!!” Sanji rambled as he continued to voice his countless compliments, but had not only invaded her personal space and kept babbling over and over.

“Enough, cease this—!” But despite Boa’s peeved demands, Sanji was too enamored with her presence to hear her.

“Oh just thinking about having the opportunity to make meals for someone as divine as you, makes my heart leap in unadulterated joy! I feel like the luckiest man in the universe!!!” Sanji swooned with incredible excitement as his passion only intensified until…he suddenly turned into stone.

….

What just happened?

“Oh no, he turned to stone again!!!” Chopper wailed in sorrow as he mourned his calcified Nakama. 

“What!? Boa, don't tell me you used your Devil Fruit on him!” Jinbe said in shock, as while he knew Sanji might’ve gotten on Boa’s nerves, he didn’t think she’d lose patience with him that quickly! 

“I…I didn’t even do that,” Boa muttered in stunned confusion by this disturbing man suddenly turning to stone without even activating her Mero-Mero ability. Granted, she had been extremely tempted to do so seconds ago…

How…why…?

…

…You know what, she wasn’t even angry anymore, she was just done.

At this point, Boa only wanted to process everything that has happened and be with her Luffy.

“I’m going to relax somewhere with my beloved…” Boa said flatly, now having reached her limit before she gently lifted up Luffy, and had Salome carry him.

“Huh? Oh okay, I don’t mind having a chat with you since I’m all better now. I should probably tell ya what this world is like, but can I get some more meat?” Luffy asked.

“Sure…” Boa muttered tiredly, but then realized something…

Were they about to have their first date!!!??

Ooh, the idea alone was enough to make her so excited and take her mind off that unsettling experience moments ago.

“Should we…stop her?” Usopp asked as he watched Boa take Luffy away like a teddy bear, still having no clue what the heck was going on.

“Not unless you feel like ticking off a Warlord of the Sea, and after what she just saw, I don’t think it’s smart to bother her,” Nami replied with a tired expression, as quite frankly she couldn’t blame the Amazon queen for just walking away from this insanity. 

“This is most peculiar,” Robin said to herself as she examined the stone statue of Sanji in a lovestruck pose. “I wonder how long till Sanji returns to normal? Or perhaps he’ll be trapped in this petrified state for the rest of his life?” Robin mused with a hint of her morbid humor.

“Don’t even joke about that! I honestly have no idea when he’ll go back to normal! It could be hours, months or even years…” Chopper moaned as he examined his frozen Nakama and feared the worst.

“Or maybe seconds when he finds out Boa is madly in love with Luffy?” Robin said with a mischievous smile as she had concocted an idea that might work in 3, 2, 1…

“WHAAAAAT!!!!???” Sanji roared with blazing fury as he burst out of his stony shell, causing Chopper to be sent flying, as he was now engulfed with the flames of his fury before staring at Robin with pure shock. “Luffy and Hancock-swan!!? No…that…that can’t be!”

“I’m afraid so,” Robin confirmed with a nod.

Sanji's face almost resembled a fish out of water right then and there, his brain seemingly short circled trying to understand what madness he was hearing. “But Boa-swan is..and Luffy’s a…”

“A huge dummy with a brick for a brain, yeah we know. But somehow he has Boa acting like a girl who just found their first crush,” Nami replied with a bemused expression. 

“HOW!!?”

“Now isn’t that a good question?” Robin chuckled, as while she felt bad for Sanji as sunk to his knees in mortified despair, this was admittedly a funny scenario playing out.

“No…it can’t be. Has our universe truly gone mad!?” Sanji wailed as he slammed his fists on the ground, unable to accept his idiot captain had made beauty incarnate love him! 

Why did the universe decide to pull such a diabolical act like this!? What did he do to deserve such cruelty!!! 

He had been given an opportunity to meet a divine lady like Boa Hancock, only for it to fall on the lap of the biggest idiot he ever met!!?

What kind of sick joke was this!?

Wait a minute…was that what he was up to during their two year training!?!?

‘Are you telling me while I went through hell on earth on that god forsaken island, Luffy landed himself with Boa Hancock!?’ Sanji realized with a rising feeling of great jealous fury. He could not believe his goofball of a captain could have been given such immense luck, let alone acting like the most beautiful woman in the world falling in love with you wasn’t a big deal!

But what was even more insulting was how he probably had been pampered and adored by that gorgeous woman while he spent the last two years running away from transvestites!!!

No, that’s it! He needed answers immediately from Luffy, and once he got the chance, Sanji wanted to know exactly what the hell his captain was up to for the past two years! 

And that’s if he can keep himself from venting his righteous anger when seeing Boa…be affectionate with Luffy.

God, it hurts just to even think about it!

Robin meanwhile was trying her best not to chuckle at the sight before her, ‘cause while she truly felt bad for Sanji and understood his anger given where he had done his training for the past two years (her time with the Revolutionary Army had helped her learn Sanji landed in Ivankov’s island, and had felt genuinely sympathetic for her friend knowing what it was like over there) it felt very nice to see the general mood of her nakama returning to normal.

Although she was admittedly a little worried how Sanji was going to react around Luffy when feeling such jealousy towards him, she figured the young chef would cool down eventually.

“Okay, can somebody just tell me what is going on…?” Usopp asked, still clueless as ever since he had his abrupt wake up call via giant snake.

“We’ll tell you later,” Brook sighed somberly.

But the musician was more than ready to team up with Sanji later and voice their outrage to their captain; but more importantly demand to know how he won Boa Hancock’s heart!

They needed to know how he did it!!!

“Huh, well what do you know? Our captain actually did the one thing you never could and got a woman to fall in love with him. Must be a pretty sad feeling right now, huh cook?” Zoro said with a shit-eating smirk. Truthfully, he really didn’t care for the whole romance drama, but the sheer irony was too hilarious to not mention.

Yet soon enough the curly browed chef once was again alight with flames before he soon furiously charged at the swordsman. “Shut it, you damned Mosshead!!!”

And before long the two were clashing blade and leg at each other, like always, despite Chopper urging them to stop fighting and let themselves rest.

“Well this has certainly been an unexpected development,” Jinbe mused as he sat up on his bed. 

“Indeed, I never could have imagined that Boa Hancock would’ve found herself spirited away to Earth like us,” Robin replied while she conversed with the other former Warlord. “The circumstances alone are quite curious though.

“They are, aren’t they? It only makes me wonder what exactly took us away from our home and brought us here. Was this all truly random or is there someone or something with an intention for all of this?” Jinbe wondered as quite frankly Boa’s appearance, while a pleasant surprise, only raised more questions than answers. 

“It is peculiar that Boa Hancock of all the numerous people back on Gaia would have landed here, let alone managing to find her so easily. It all feels quite convenient, if you examine it more closely,” Robin analyzed the past events and just knew that there was more going on here with their interdimensional situation than they originally believed.

“But while we will have time to discuss that matter further, we may need to figure out how to get Hancock acquainted with Earth. I must warn you though, subtlety isn't exactly her specialty,” Jinbe said with a small frown, as he knew Boa would have to stay with them for the time being, and while he welcomed her, she may not be as keen on laying low as the rest of his crew. “To be quite frank, given her personality and strength, I fear it won’t be long before the Justice League eventually learns of Boa’s existence, and if she doesn’t know how or refuses to hold back when facing them…”

“She may cause the League to take action and take us far more seriously,” Robin finished with a frown of her own, unfortunately understanding what Jinbe was talking about. 

After all, Boa Hancock was not only the second strongest female pirate in their world, she was also quite a very proud woman. That much Robin could easily tell from the discussions she and her crewmates had with Boa while on the jet. Alongside having no patience for anything that went against whatever she wanted. And thus Robin knew someone like Hancock would not take too kindly to any “thorns” like the Justice League getting in the way of her goals of getting back to her people, or anything she may perceive as an insult to Luffy. The latter of which, was an especially dangerous wildcard, as love was a rather tricky emotion. While it could easily bring out the best in a person, it can also bring forth a rather terrifying fury from said lover, and if the League sparked it, they could easily open a can of worms. And it could most definitely land the heroes in a world of hurt. 

As in seeing a good number of them turned to statues or beaten to a pulp. 

But that would only cause nothing but escalation all around, not just from the heroes of this world, but also risk provoking the armed forces of Earth’s major governments upon hearing there was a person capable of going toe to toe with the Justice League by herself and likely win…

And then all those factions would assume the same level of strength applied for the rest of the Straw Hats (which wouldn’t exactly be a wrong assumption), and that alone could lead to a disastrous reaction all at once.

“We need to try to keep Hancock from doing anything reckless while she’s on Earth, but I doubt she’ll listen to any of us. If anything, she probably expects this world to bend to her like she did back home,” Jinbe sighed while shaking her head, unfortunately knowing how haughty and stubborn the Pirate Empress could be. 

“Perhaps not us, but I think she’ll be more understanding if she hears it from our Captain.” Robin pondered in amusement, as she looked back on the apparent feelings she felt towards Luffy. 

“She does have a soft spot for Luffy, but I wouldn’t take advantage of that. She’s far more clever than you think,” Jinbe replied with a wary expression at the idea.

“Trust me I wouldn’t dream of it. If anything it’s actually quite adorable seeing the feared Pirate Empress act like a lovestruck girl around Luffy,” Robin chuckled, as it was actually quite endearing seeing young love play out, even if it's only a crush Boa has. “I just think Luffy could help reason with Boa to adapt to Earth as best as possible.”

“Hmm, that could work. And I imagine she may enjoy some stuff that Earth has to offer her; it’s just when she gets inevitably bored that has me worried,” Jinbe admitted, as in that regard she wasn’t too different from Luffy.

“I think we could handle it. For now, let’s just give her some time to get accustomed to our base before we explain everything,” Robin said before walking off to the rest of the group, leaving Jinbe to ponder what kind of commotion their newest ally was going to bring to the table.

“*YAAAAAWN*!!! Wow, that was a super bad cold, but I think now I’m back to a hundred percent!” Franky boomed as sat up, now having the cure settled into his cybernetic systems and was now much healthier. 

“Huh? Oh well, looks like everyone’s here, awesome, so what did I—” Before Franky could finish he suddenly saw Salome slither past him and head to the kitchen, before zipping back out with the whole fridge in her grip, and move fluidly around Zoro and Sanji as they still fought before leaving. 

“…huh?”

“Confused beyond measure? Join the club,” said Usopp flatly, not even bothering to ask anymore.

Chapter Text

On top of the black fortress that resided on Apokalips, two figures faced each other. One was the incarnation of evil and tyranny, Darkseid, and the other the misplaced pirate from another world, Monkey D. Luffy, in his Bounce Man form. Both were tired and weary from their fight that would decide the fate of this war.

It started nearly yesterday, when Luffy heard Superman's plan to invade and stop Darkseid once and for all, with all the heroes he could gather. Something which the pirate thought was stupid.

Superman and his friends were strong, sure, and the trust he had in his friends was almost as strong as the trust Luffy had in his crew. But he had gone through war, and saw that even the greatest of powers can fall. And Superman and his friends were heroes, and Luffy knew heroes would hesitate to do what was necessary to stop Darkseid.

And then he saw something from his Observation Haki as he stretched it out to see as much of the future as possible. A world wrapped in chains by monsters, heroes turned into slaves by machinery, people starved and hunted, and Superman turned powerless, forced to watch his home become hell.

He couldn't allow that. So, Luffy ordered his crew and his friends to rush after the Justice League to help them.

And a good thing he did, because when they arrived with the help of Franky's device, they saw the Justice League surrounded by giant, flying monsters with spikey bones sticking out from their skin. Paradooms they were called.

With their combined forces, the group managed to beat the Paradooms and advanced further.

They encountered Darkseid's elite soldiers, like the Furies, Granny Goodness, Kalibak, Mantis, and Steppenwolf.

But Luffy kept going, with Superman beside him, as the rest of their group went and handled Darkseid's elites. Soon, Luffy met Darkseid, and he instantly didn't like him.

Darkseid's posture, his expression, his eyes, he reminded Luffy of Kaido and the Celestial Dragons, people who would take another's freedom just because they could.

As for Darkseid, there was something about Luffy that he didn't like. To him, Luffy felt like something he once tried to extinguish so long ago.

So, Luffy and Superman fought Darkseid together. It went well at first for the duo, with them coordinating their attacks almost perfectly. To Superman, it felt like he and Luffy have been fighting together for years. He knew Luffy was strong, but he didn't know how strong. Together, they managed to bring Darkseid to his knees.

It all changed when Darkseid summoned a weapon, a metal mace with kryptonite spikes. Superman could feel himself weakening in the presence of kryptonite, but what surprised him was seeing Luffy weakened after being struck once by the weapon.

Darkseid bragged that he discovered Luffy being weak against the sea, so he crafted a weapon with not only kryptonite, but also metals found only on ocean planets he conquered. Because of that, the battle changed course again. Superman was the first to fall, unable to handle the presence of kryptonite any longer.

Darkseid expected Luffy to fall as well, but the pirate was surprisingly tough. And his strikes were something that even Darkseid admitted were dangerous. He faced Green Lanterns before, and he barely flinched from their weapons using willpower, but Luffy's willpower was stronger.

So, they kept fighting, their strikes hitting each other, each hit as loud as thunder, shaking the planet they stood on. Both panted heavily, bleeding from the wounds they gave each other.

"I'm impressed, Monkey D. Luffy," Darkseid said, his voice causing the air to rumble. "You are powerful, maybe even more than Kal-El. I'm giving you one last chance to join me. Together, with you as my servant, we could bring the universe to its knees."

"Join you? Yeah right," Luffy said with a snarl. "The planet you're trying to take is where my friends live. And we may not get along, but I love the heroes, and so do some of my nakama. Me and my crew will never join you!"

"Then you shall die," Darkseid said, eyes glowing brightly. "And once I throw your broken body for all to see, I will break your so-called crew, and turn them into my mindless soldiers."

"I won't let that happen!" Luffy declared as he charged forward, his right arm growing big as it started glowing. "Gum-Gum Over Kong Gun!"

Darkseid didn't dodge. He refused to dodge a mere mortal. So, he took the attack head on. He felt the attack strike his very soul as he was sent flying a few feet before stopping himself, digging his heels on the ground. With a roar, he charged at light speed and struck Luffy on the head with his weapon, sending Luffy on the ground.

The attack made Luffy gasp out white steam, his body slowly deflating, before he quickly closed his mouth, pushing the steam back.

"N…Not yet…" he grunted, forcing his mouth to stay closed before he bounced back to his feet. "If I lose Fourth Gear now, I'll lose this fight."

Darkseid looked at Luffy, breathing heavily, steadying his shaking legs. That last attack was stronger than anything he felt. The only thing that felt close to it was from eons ago, the memory of that laughter of the god who played the fool.

"Enough…" Darkseid said with a growl as he gripped his weapon tightly. "This ends now."

The two stared at each other, both knowing that it would end with this next attack. With a roar, they rushed at each other, Luffy inflating his right arm as Darkseid raised his weapon high in the air.

"Gum-Gum Over Kong Gu–!"

Suddenly, the ground in front of Luffy exploded, surprising Luffy and Darkseid, with the former temporarily blinded by the dust. Once he could finally see again, he saw Darkseid's weapon inches away from his face.

Time slowed down for Luffy, his eyes widening as he saw the weapon going at him, unable to move. Darkseid, who was once surprised, just gave a cold look as he slammed his weapon down on Luffy's face, sending the pirate down on the ground, causing the entire building to shake.

Once the dust settled, Darkseid lifted his weapon off the crater, seeing Luffy on the ground, deflated, eyes blank and blood pooling under him. Darkseid stared at the man who caused him more trouble than even Superman.

Again, he could hear that annoying laughter in his mind.

He heard Desaad walking from behind him, a smirk on his face.

"Victory is finally yours, Lord Darkseid," he said with a bow.

"…Was that your doing, Desaad?" he asked, looking at Luffy.

"Yes, my Lord," Desaad said. "I just thought you needed assistance in dealing with that annoyance."

"Are you saying I needed your help to win?" Darkseid said, eyes glowing, causing Desaad to panic.

"T--that's not what I mean, Lord Darkseid!" he cried out in fear. "I merely wished to assist yo-!"

"Silence," Darkseid said before blasting Desaad with his omega beams, painfully sending his servant to the Pit. He then walked towards the edge of the building, leaving the body of Luffy, but made sure to grab Superman. "Time to end this farce."

He flew to the battlefield, seeing the heroes and pirates slowly decimating his monsters. He would need to make stronger ones. Lucky for him, there were fresh and strong materials to harvest from. As he left, he didn't notice the white steam coming out of Luffy's body.

In the battlefield of dead Paradooms and the defeated elites of Darkseid, the heroes and their unlikely companions were still fighting the remaining army. The Straw Hats easily dealt with the rabble, while Chopper tended to the injured. Suddenly, Zoro stilled, his one eye widening, and the rest of his crew felt something was wrong.

"Luffy…!" he said as he felt his captain's presence fading while another presence got closer. "He's coming!"

Everyone tensed and looked to where he was glaring at and saw Darkseid, damaged from the battle, but still standing proudly. He was dragging Superman by the cape before throwing him at them. Wonder Woman caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Superman is defeated, and so is Straw Hat Luffy," Darkseid announced. "He lies dead on top of my citadel."

It took a moment for everyone to process what he said before the Straw Hats all looked shocked by what he declared.

"No! That's a lie!" Usopp cried out. "Luffy can't be dead!"

"That's right!" Nami cried out. "There's no way Luffy could be dead!"

"Luffy!" Chopper cried out.

"Deny it all you want, it changes nothing," Darkseid said harshly. "You are defeated, and I will break you and turn you into my loyal servants."

"Break us?" Zoro growled out as he pulled out his swords, glaring at Darkseid. "Not before we break you!"

With a roar, Zoro charged at Darkseid, followed by Sanji and Jinbei, fury written upon their faces. Darkseid, despite being injured, fought back, swinging his weapon as he tried to hit them. Wonder Woman watched before she gently placed Superman in front of the crying Chopper, and charged with a battle cry, followed by Orion and Big Barda.

Whether it was by pride or the rush of defeating their leaders, or the fact that they fought his army before him, Darkseid remained standing, battling six of them on his own.

Meanwhile, Luffy was still on the ground, steam still flowing out of him. Everything around him was quiet, before there was a weak sound coming from his chest.

Thump…Thump…Thump…

Slowly, his chest started moving, a steady rhythm at first, before it became erratic.

-thump-thump…Ba-thump-thump…Ba-thump-thump…

Slowly, his hair suddenly white, flowing like smoke as he suddenly gave a big smile.

-thump-thump-dis! Ba-thump-thump-dis! Ba-thump-thump-

As if struck by lightning, Luffy leapt off the crater, haki surging out of him. When he landed back on the ground, he bounced off it, like it became rubber.

"Huh…what happened?" he rubbed his head, the pain slowly lingering away. He stood up, swaying as he tried to stay on his feet. "I think…that guy killed me? But I'm alive…my heart sounds funny…I like it…"

He started chuckling as he swayed to the rhythm of his heartbeat, which was starting to sound like drums to him.

"Even though I lost…why am I having so much fun!"

He started laughing hysterically as his haki exploded off his body, shaking the entire citadel, which was bending around like it was made of rubber. He started bouncing around as his clothes became white, his eyes becoming light purple, a stream of white smoke hanging around his shoulders like a floating shroud. He kept laughing as he bounced on the roof like it was a trampoline.

"I can do whatever I want!" he laughed as he spun around in the air. "This is my peak! This is Fifth Gear!"

As he declared that, he unleashed a powerful burst of haki. So powerful that it jolted Superman awake as he sat up with a gasp.

"Hey! Don't move so fast!" Chopper said worriedly.

Superman ignored him as he looked at the citadel. He wasn't the only one, as Darkseid and the people fighting him paused as they felt the burst of energy. They all turned to the citadel, shook to see it shaking like jelly.

"What's going on!?" Sanji exclaimed in shock.

"Hm? What's that sound?" Zoro said, hearing drums.

"That sound…It can't be…" Orion said, eyes widening behind his helmet, memories from his youth long ago resurfacing as he heard that familiar rhythm.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over them. They all looked up and saw a giant hand, which grabbed Darkseid and pulled him into the air.

"What!?" he exclaimed as he looked at the figure that was manhandling him like a toy, only to look shock at the familiar figure, the only being to give him such grief. "Nik-AAAAGH!?"

Darkseid was lifted into the air by a giant Luffy as he laughed maniacally, the weapon flying out of his hand. Luffy spun his arm around before throwing Darkseid, the god's leg attached to Luffy's finger. Darkseid screamed as his entire body stretched like it was made of rubber. With a flick of his wrist, Luffy pulled Darkseid back, treating him like a yo-yo, laughing as he spun the evil god around. Literally.

Meanwhile, the people on the ground took a moment to process seeing a giant Luffy with white hair. Suddenly, their eyes literally popped out from their heads as they stared at Luffy in shock.

"EEEH!?"

"WHAAAAT!?"

"Who the hell is that!?" Green Lantern exclaimed in shock.

"Is that Luffy!?" Flash cried out.

"Why did he get bleached!?" Usopp shouted.

"What the hell happened!?" Zoro exclaimed.

"That's…the White Warrior of Liberation?" Jinbei said in shock and awe, staring at his captain.

"Jinbei!" Orion exclaimed, getting the Fishman's attention, seeing the War Dog agitated. "Why does your captain look like that!? Why does his heart beat just like his!?"

"His?" Jinbei repeated in confusion as he noticed that Big Barda and Mr. Miracle looked at Luffy with wide eyes.

"His hair moves just like his…" Big Barda said.

"The way the world moves with him…how is this possible?" Mr. Miracle muttered.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Superman asked as he stood up, looking as Luffy treated Darkseid like a toy.

"A New God that went missing centuries ago," Orion said, his voice thick as he listened to that familiar beating.

"C'mon, Rion! You move like this!"

"C'mon, buddy! Smile a little! It won't kill ya!"

"Hahahahaaa! You see the look on his face? Hahahaa!"

"If I can make everyone smile, then that means my job is fulfilled. I'm the god who makes people smile!"

"The god who plays the fool, fighting for freedom and joy," Orion said. "The only man I consider my friend. Nika, the Sun God."

"Nika!?" Jinbei cried out in shock.

"Jinbei, you know who that is?" Nami asked.

"Yes," Jinbei said as he touched the sun tattoo on his chest. "A figure of legend, told by slaves, the god who will someday free all from the chains of the Celestial Dragons… But to think he was from this world…"

"Wait, you're telling me Luffy, stupid incarnate Luffy, is that god!?" Sanji exclaimed in denial. "That's impossible!"

"We know that it's impossible!" Big Barda exclaimed as she gritted her teeth. "But how else do you explain this!? How can your captain look like and have the same powers as Nika!?"

None of the Straw Hats have any answers, after all, Luffy's rubber power was from the Gum-Gum Fruit. How could that be related to the Sun God?

They all watched as Luffy threw Darkseid hard on the ground, which sucked him in, preparing to fire him back out. Luffy then grabbed a nearby piece of rubble and inflated it like a balloon, shaped it into a baseball bat, coated it with Armament Haki and got in a batting position, his hair forming a baseball helmet.

"Gum-Gum…"

Darkseid was ejected by the ground and back up in the air, screaming. Then he noticed a grinning Luffy with a baseball bat ready. Eyes widening, Darkseid tried to defend himself, but was sent flying by Luffy with a resounding smack.

"Homerun!"

Darkseid remembered the years of humiliation as he flew into the air. The annoying laughter, the irritating heartbeat, the feeling of freedom and joy from every step he took. It made him sick.

"NIKAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa…!" his shout echoed across the sky as he flew farther into space before he vanished in a twinkle.

Luffy looked to where Darkseid disappeared before he deflated, flying around wildly before he landed on the ground, which cushioned his fall. He started laughing as he kept bouncing on the ground. Seeing their king disappear into the sky, the remaining Paradooms retreated back to their nests.

"He…defeated Darkseid…" Big Barda said in disbelief.

"He sent him flying out of the planet," Mr. Miracle said.

Suddenly, there was a sound that made the two of them jump. They looked and saw Orion laughing. How long has it been since they last saw their fellow god laugh like that. The last time he laughed was when Nika was still with them.

"Whether he's a god or not, Luffy is still Luffy," Zoro said as he sheathed his swords. "So, what's next?"

"…We restrain Darkseid's elites," Batman said, looking at Luffy with narrowed eyes. "Once they're in custody, we'll let the New Gods handle Apokalips."

With that, they all gathered the defeated elites, Kalibak, Steppenwolf, Granny Goodness and her Furies. Meanwhile, Luffy kept bouncing around the place, getting an audience of slaves. At first, they were wary of the strange creature. But soon, their wariness turned to curiosity as they got closer to the being.

"Well, that's something I never thought I'd see," Superman said with a small smile as he watched the miraculous scene in front of him.

The slaves, who once refused his offer of freedom, were laughing and dancing, following the rhythm of the pirate's heart. For the first time in eons, the slaves of Apokalips were free, all thanks to Monkey D. Luffy.