The air cracked with tension as a green-skinned alien battled a hulking, purple-skinned creature in the distance. The green one glanced their way and abruptly took flight—followed closely by the roaring, monstrous purple figure.
The green-skinned alien locked in combat with the monstrous purple brute noticed the others on the ground. His eyes flicked toward Superman, Anna, and Ethan.
"J'onn…" Superman muttered while recognizing the green Martian.
Ethan raised a brow, even though he already knew. "Friend of yours, Superman?"
Superman nodded while his eyes fixed on the sky. "Met him recently. Name's J'onn J'onzz. A Martian, and one of the few left."
As J'onn phased through another of the purple brute's attacks, the creature followed in close pursuit, flying toward their position like a missile of raw hunger.
"Don't accidentally drain him dry," Superman muttered, shooting Anna a sideways glance before launching into the air.
Anna rolled her eyes, still holding onto the weakened Lobo, who was now slumped over like a lifeless ragdoll. "He's immortal, remember? You can't kill what doesn't die." She turned to Ethan. "Besides, he talks too much to die."
Superman flew toward the parasite with a sonic boom and smashed into him with both fists, sending out a wave of pressure that shattered windows below.
But the purple brute didn't even flinch. Instead, a crazed smile spread across his mutated face. "Energy…" he growled in a deep and rasping voice. "So… much… power…"
He lunged for Superman with frightening speed. Superman dodged left and unleashed a blast of heat vision.
But it was a bad idea.
The beams only made the purple monster stronger—his muscles expanded, and yellow veins lit up across his arms and neck. His grin widened.
"Damn it," Superman muttered.
Suddenly, the green alien—J'onn J'onzz—appeared behind the beast, shifting his form mid-flight and smashing a streetlamp across the monster's back. The metal pole bent like paper but the brute didn't even budge.
The creature spun and charged.
...
Back on the ground, Ethan observed with folded arms while Anna continued draining Lobo. His skin was pale, dry, and his body was shriveled almost like a corpse.
"You planning to keep that leeching session going, or are you joining the big leagues up there?" Ethan asked, gesturing to the brawl above.
Anna pulled her hand back, satisfied. "I'm full after that meal," she said with her tone laced with smugness. "I've got his powers now. Permanently."
"Well then," Ethan smiled. "Time to work off those calories."
Just as Anna took flight, Ethan glanced down at the main man, who got his mummification process done. "You'll bounce back. Probably."
He looked up at the fight again, analyzing the creature. "This guy…" he muttered while stroking his chin. "He's a walking power bank with no charger limit."
Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind, and a wicked grin slowly spread across his face.
....
High above, the battle escalated.
Parasite lunged, grabbing Superman with both hands. Yellow veins glowing across his hand as he started siphoning energy and laughed like a madman.
Superman cried out in pain as his strength drained rapidly.
J'onn tried to intervene—but Parasite swatted him away like a fly, sending the Martian crashing into a bus.
Anna arrived and he turned just in time to see her fist to the stuck on his face—but instead of hurting him, the impact made his muscles swell with more energy.
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh great. He eats punches."
She moved to hit the hand that held Superman, but again, the parasite grew stronger. She dove in again, striking his arms, legs, and chest in a rapid flurry. But with each hit, he only grew stronger, his veins now crackling with energy.
Understanding dawned on her. "Crap. He's a power sponge."
Without hesitation, she pressed her palm to Parasite's body—hoping her absorption power will work on him.
For a second, the contact created a tug-of-war: her power clashing with his. Energy flared around them—but neither side gained the upper hand.
Their powers canceled each other out.
Realizing it was a stalemate, Anna jumped back and summoned a glowing orange circle in her hand, conjuring an energy whip from the Mystic Arts. With a flick, she wrapped it around the parasite's neck and yanked him backward with stunning force.
He snarled and released Superman, tossing the weakened hero aside.
Now Anna had his full attention.
Parasite cracked his neck. "You… smell delicious…"
Anna scoffed. "You sound like a creep on Tinder."
The parasite roared in fury and flung a chunk of concrete at her. She slashed through it mid-air and advanced again. But this time, he was faster—far faster. Within a blink, he appeared in front of her, a hand outstretched, trying to grab her again.
She dodged, barely, and kicked him in the gut. He absorbed it, smiled, and retaliated with a punch of his own. She took the hit but twisted mid-air to soften the blow.
J'onn swooped in from the side, phasing through the parasite's body and emerging behind him. He attempted to shut down the creature's mind telepathically.
"You will sleep…" J'onn murmured. He attempted a psychic link—but the moment he got close, Parasite caught him and slammed him into the ground. His hand glowed as he began draining J'onn too.
The green Martian screamed as his energy began to fade.
"J'onn… Martian… Manhunter…" Parasite murmured while assimilating his identity.
Anna let out a frustrated grunt. "Alright, that's enough!" she again summoned orange energy whip and wrapped it around Parasite's hand and yank him backward.
He released the Martian and turned to Anna. She flew in, and the two clashed, hands locked in a test of strength. They pushed against each other, but despite the stalemate at first, Parasite eventually overpowered Anna with his sheer raw strength.
Ethan, watching with interest, slowly pulled out a flask and took a sip. He then looked at Lobo's barely breathing body. "Hey, if you're still alive in there, blink twice. No? Cool."
Up above, Anna grit her teeth.
The parasite roared in response, their clash now vibrating the sky itself.
Anna floated in midair, her eyes closed as she steadied her breathing.
Parasite began to overpower her with sheer brute force, steadily pushing her back until her feet were forced to the ground.
Anna's legs shook as she dropped to one knee, still locked with Parasite's grasp. Her body was screaming to give up. But she shut her eyes. And then — she remembered.
"You're more than your powers, Anna."
Ethan's voice echoed from their long nights of training. "Your mutation doesn't control you. You control it."
"What if I can't?" she had once asked.
"Then learn. Learn to command it with your will. Learn to make it listen. Because once you do…"
"Then what?"
"Then no one — not even the gods — can stop you."
Her eyes snapped open — green flickering with focus.
Her lips parted. A soft breath. A whisper to herself. "Control… Precision..."
She suddenly started guiding her mutation and in that moment — the scale-state shattered.
------------
A short distance away, Ethan hovered beside Superman with Lobo floating behind him, bound in a cocoon of telekinetic force.
Ethan smiled and nodded toward Anna. "Feels like she's stealing your thunder, Superman."
Superman, unfazed by the banter, kept his eyes on the fight. "It doesn't matter who brings him down," he said with fists clenched at his sides. "That monster has to be stopped — before he drains anyone else."
Just then, J'onn J'onzz — the Martian Manhunter — floated toward them. He nodded once in acknowledgment.
"You know who I am?" Ethan asked while turning slightly.
"I know some things about you, Dr. Carter," J'onn replied cryptically while watching Ethan with unreadable eyes.
Ethan smiled and his eyes returned to Anna, who was now glowing with a confident.
------------
On the ground, Anna stood her ground as Parasite blinked and is confused. He was losing energy... Slowly.
"You wanted to devour me?" she said, "Now I devour you."
Parasite screamed, his knees buckling as his strength began to bleed from his skin into hers. His monstrous bulk began to shrink, his twisted form contracting.
Parasite lashed out with a wild kick, but Anna dodged swiftly, giving him a brief window to flee. He shot into the air—but she was faster. In a flash, she closed the distance and clamped her hand around his neck. This time, she didn't hold back.
She pressed harder, draining his energy and pushing him back step by step towards the ground. When they reached down, the ground cracked beneath them from the sheer force of their tug-of-war.
Parasite stumbled, his massive form shrinking, his monstrous exterior giving way to a more human — and grotesquely drained — frame. His arms flailed weakly.
With a final push, Anna absorbed the last of his active strength. The purple goo retracted, and he dropped to the ground — barely breathing, looking more like a melting candle than a man.
She looked at her hands and she smiled.
"Now that," Ethan said from behind while floating down slowly, "is what I call full control."
He grinned. "Congratulations, Anna. I'm proud of you."
Anna turned around, "I finally did it!" and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and planting a kiss on his lips.
J'onn and Superman descended next to them, offering nods of approval. But their focus soon turned toward the limp body of Parasite, who now looked like a half-melted wax figure draped in scraps of purple ooze.
Superman raised a brow. "What should we do with him?"
Ethan floated over, examining the husk. "Leave that to me." He waved his hand.
A rift shimmered into existence in front of them — not a portal, but a mirror-like crack in the fabric of space.
With a small gesture, the unconscious Parasite was lifted by invisible force and pulled into the rift. It snapped shut behind him with a quiet hum.
Superman narrowed his eyes. "Where did you send him?"
Ethan turned to him casually. "Somewhere with no energy to absorb. He won't hurt anyone there. Once he's starved down to his core biology, I'll transfer him to STAR Labs."
"You don't trust STAR Labs now?" Superman asked while tilting his head.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You saw what he did. He absorbed heat vision, energy blasts, mystic whips… Let him weaken first. Then I'll transfer him."
Superman considered this… then gave a reluctant nod.
But J'onn wasn't satisfied. He narrowed his gaze, his mind slipping outward, gently probing into Ethan's consciousness — just enough to skim the surface thoughts.
That's when he realized his mistake. What he saw… was enough to give him nightmares for the rest of his life.
A void of flame... An ancient, cosmic inferno.
A phoenix, cloaked in blinding orange fire, rose from behind Ethan's psyche like a god of death and rebirth. Its wings spanned galaxies, its eyes pierced through time.
J'onn screamed and staggered back, clutching his head as if struck by a psychic lance. He dropped to one knee, sweat dripping from his brow.
Superman rushed to him. "J'onn! What happened?! Are you okay?"
J'onn looked up at Ethan with wide eyes — in fear. "That… That mind… I saw… I saw fire… a bird of fire… endless… power..."
Ethan stepped closer with his hands in pockets, "Next time you want to peek into someone's head, J'onn," he said, "be careful who you choose."
His blue eyes glowed with a subtle ember — a spark of orange that whispered of cosmic rage.
"Because some minds don't like being touched… and some can burn you down to ash."
The Green Martian looked down, fear etched across his face as a slight tremble ran through his body.
Ethan then turned back at them.
The dust had barely settled. Smoke curled from the shattered ruins of buildings, flames crackled from broken vehicles, and the air was thick with the scent of scorched metal, ozone, and blood. Yet, despite the carnage and chaos, the cameras kept rolling.
He tilted his head slightly, genuinely perplexed.
"Do they just not care about their lives?" he mused. "Or is the scoop worth more than safety?"
He would never truly understand the press.
His gaze shifted toward the wider destruction: Metropolis and Gotham, both scarred from the recent battle. Roads split open, streetlights flickered, sirens wailed in the distance. Ethan closed his eyes and extended his consciousness outward with a pulse of telepathy.
A map unfolded in his mind — an emotional and physical outline of the city. He felt them all. Pain. Fear. Broken bones. Concussions. Bleeding. Trapped.
So many people.
He opened his eyes, "Someone needs to do something about this…"
And then he floated upward, slowly, steadily, rising into the sky.
Superman and J'onn both looked up, sensing the shift.
Anna crossed her arms with a gentle smile. She already knew what was coming.
Ethan's hands moved — slow, precise gestures that cut through the air with purpose.
Then, with a sharp flick of his wrist, a green magic circle ignited into existence.
It hovered over his palm, humming with life.
Then he pushed it upward.
The circle expanded rapidly, glowing brighter as it grew — wider, larger, until it stretched across the entire skies of Metropolis and Gotham, covering both cities like a second moon.
Superman's eyes widened. "What is that?"
J'onn stared in awe and fear.
------------
The green magic circle began to pulse rhythmically, waves of vibrant energy descending like warm rainfall. Wherever it touched, wounds closed, pain faded, and broken bones reset with gentle grace.
Children trapped under rubble were suddenly free and unhurt.
Firefighters who had suffered smoke inhalation gasped as their lungs cleared.
Citizens with gashes, bruises, fractures — every injury began to vanish beneath the green glow.
On the ground, a female reporter stood just outside a news van. She had a shallow cut on her cheek, still fresh. But as the emerald light washed over her, she gasped.
Her skin shimmered. The cut vanished completely.
She blinked, stunned. Then instinct took over.
The camera swung to her as she straightened her blazer and lifted the mic.
"Ladies and gentlemen," she said breathlessly, "this is Lois Lane, reporting live from the heart of Metropolis."
The camera panned upward to show Ethan, still floating amidst the colossal spell circle.
"Moments ago, Ethan Carter — also known as the new superhero named Aeon — cast what appears to be a city-wide healing spell. And as you can see…" she gestured to her own cheek, then to the citizens around her, "…it's working wonders."
People were beginning to cheer. To cry. To laugh.
Lois turned back to the camera with a shaky smile. "I don't know what kind of hero he is yet, but this world may have just been given a miracle. We'll keep you updated as the situation unfolds."