POV Rio
I arrive at the home that an emergency call came from, and it doesn't take me long to find out why Johnny Blaze had called for help.
"H-Help me!" Johnny says, with a pained, sweaty face.
Johnny was struggling quite obviously, and I already had a clear idea why that was the case. So I tapped his head to enter his mind and saw a bright blue burning flame and the struggling Johnny Blaze on the floor.
"You! Why are you here!?" asks Zarathos menacingly.
"I could ask you the same question: why are you two trying to rip each other apart?" I ask calmly.
"He keeps trying to take over my body," Johnny says with a strained voice.
"We must punish evil, and he is stopping me!" Zarathos says angrily.
"Why are you even awake? Last I checked, you were dormant?" I ask.
"Mephisto's magic slowly faded away once he was destroyed. Now I am awakened, and I bring with me, Justice!" Zarathos says with conviction.
"Sigh. Look, how about I offer you two a deal?" I offer.
That catches both of their attention.
"I'll separate you two, and you can each go your own way," I offer.
"Impossible. While Mephisto's magic may have faded, the curse is still strong. And I cannot exist without a host, and you cannot be my true host," Zarathos refuses.
"Not fully true. I happen to be an expert in breaking Demonic Curses. And you don't need a living body. You need a vessel while you regenerate your true form," I counter.
"I don't care what you do, just release me from this curse," Johnny says desperately.
"Hmm, what kind of vessel would you offer, and how do I know I can trust you to fulfil your end of the bargain?" Zarathos says with a far calmer voice.
"I can make you a body made of indestructible metal. With your magic, you should be able to transform it as you see fit, and with my spellcraft added into it, you shouldn't have to worry about magnetism. As for trust. Well, I can swear upon my eternal soul if that helps?" I offer.
"Indestructible? I doubt it," Zarathos comments.
"Well, everything I tried hasn't been able to so much as scratch it, so you can judge for yourself if I was exaggerating. But what do you say? Willing to make a deal?" I offer with my hand out stretched.
"Hmm... Fine, I shall give you a chance to do as you suggest. But should you fail, I want control over Johnny's body," Zarathos counters.
"Only if you don't fight the process and let Johnny have peace until the ritual begins," I counter.
We go back and forth several times, hashing out the deal while Johnny looks on with fear, but neither of us cares about that right now, as both of us are certain of our success.
"Where will you go?" I ask.
"What?" Zarathos pauses with surprise.
"Where will you go?" I ask again.
"I don't follow," Zarathos replies.
"Once you are free of Johnny, where will you go? I know what you will do, but I want to know what you will do. There isn't much evil on Earth left for you to punish at this point," I clarify.
"To the cosmos. Or perhaps to Limbo again," Zarathos replies.
"Limbo has been heavily gutted after your last visit. I doubt there is much for you to do at this point there. As for the Cosmos, I guess there is likely a lot you can do out there. But might I suggest another option?" I entice.
"Speak," Zarathos demands.
"I know of another universe that is filled with evil and darkness. It is even ruled by an evil supervillain team. They also have their own version of hell there, with plenty of powerful and evil Demons," I explain.
"Hmm, no," Zarathos says, which slightly surprises me.
"Is there a reason?" I ask.
"Yes, if this universe is as you say, then I would be far too weak to do anything. I may hate all evil with a burning passion, but I know my limits. If this universe has a Hell, then they likely have a Mehphisto or something similar. All I would do by going there would be dooming myself to another eternity of servitude. Perhaps when I have regained my full power and my holy wings can once again take flight, but not now," Zarathos explains with a surprisingly reasonable reason.
There was nothing more to say, so I left the mindscape and left the house soon after.
'Damn well, I guess there goes that plan.'
I wanted to use Zarathos to destroy or at least greatly weaken the Syndicate, as I needed access to Earth-3. I wasn't necessarily doing this to save that world. No, I needed more Nth Metal, and with my Thanagarian Template, I know how to get more, but to do that, I need to make sure that there isn't a constant threat of Drug Addict Superman killing me. I had long since made plans on how to deal with them. With the mind of Batman and my metaknowledge, I could easily make countermeasures. The issue is that it all becomes far less clean if I try to use that method. Which means I have to use the backup plan.
Operation Omni-Man. The plan was fairly simple. I would use their systems to send an emergency signal to all Syndicate Members, making them think that they all need to meet at their HQ. Once they were all gathered, I would distract them while I used a device to transport their entire HQ to another universe. The universe took a long time to find a suitable choice. I couldn't just choose an empty universe, as that wouldn't stop them for that long before they returned. If I was going to do this, I was going to make sure as few of them came back as possible.
I could send them to the Deadlands and to their doom at Methrune's hands, but that would be far too risky. For one, they may still escape, but most importantly, they would actually all die, which would lead to a Daedric Prince having the soul of a Kryptonian. The mere idea is a far too frightening prospect.
Nokotan could beat them, sure, but the destruction on their planet would be catastrophic. I don't know what that would do with her powers, so I figure it's best to avoid thinking about it. And Tentacle World is out cause that wouldn't harm them at all. Some of them may even enjoy it there. And none of the other worlds I had discovered seemed like they were worth it.
So I was out of options until I stumbled across a place that could work. But it seems that crisp 5-dollar bill I slipped Lady Luck did the trick, as I found somewhere that should work. When I first found the universe, I thought it was just an empty void, but then I discovered that in the endless void was a room. In that room was someone more than enough to beat anything in the Omniverse. No... in existence. Someone whose kicks are said to be as strong as the Big Bang itself.
"Hey, kid, you need some help, huh, sure let me go deal with those thugs," the man says while standing up.
Before I can even say where the thugs are, he vanishes.
POV Shift Ultraman
I slowly look up at the old man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started killing every member of the Syndicate. He was even faster than Johnny Quick, which makes no sense.
"W-Who are you?" I ask with a weak voice.
"Chuck Norris," the man says and then kicks me, causing me to cease to exist.
POV Shift Rio
I didn't even have to wait for more than a second before Chuck Norris came back.
"Done. Now, as much as I would love to talk more, you should head back to your home. Lucy made meatloaf," Chuck says.
"Will I ever get to see you again?" I ask.
"In your dreams, kid. Oh, and keep doing what you're doing. You're making a difference," Chuck says with a smile that makes me feel proud for some reason.
Before I can thank him, I wake up and find myself at my desk in my lab.
'Did...That really happen, or was that a dream?'
I check my notes but find the coordinates that I once used to find Chuck were now just a signed photo of him.
'What in the...'
Before I could even contemplate what the heck just happened, I got a text telling me dinner was ready. And sure enough, it was Meatloaf.
"Sigh. Whatever, I guess it doesn't matter. I'll deal with this tomorrow," I say with a smile and take the photo.
I place the photo in a frame and place it on my desk, and go get dinner.
Once Rio leaves the lab, the photo winks at the reader. After all, Chuck Norris can't die; death is scared of Chuck Norris. He's just busy fighting his pal Segata Sanshiro.
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Author's Note:
In loving memory of the coolest man to ever live and an Air Force Veteran. I hope his family is doing well.