Ojaga knelt beside Bruce in the crimson-stained snow.
His hands shook as he pressed them against the hole in his friend's chest.
The omega beam wound was perfect—a circle burned completely through.
No blood. Just cauterized flesh and the smell of burned tissue.
"No, no, no... Bruce, don't," Ojaga whispered. "You can't die."
Bruce's breathing was shallow, getting weaker.
His eyes struggled to focus. "Ojaga? Is that... is that you?"
"I'm here, little brother. I'm here."
Memory: Ten Years Ago
A small Bruce Wayne, barely eight years old, tugged on Ojaga's tail.
"Big brother! Fight with me! I want to be strong like you!"
Ojaga, then twelve, pulled his tail away with annoyance.
"You're too weak, Bruce. Go play somewhere else."
Bruce's lower lip trembled. He made the pouty face he always used.
"I'll become stronger than you someday! Just wait and see!"
Later that evening, Bruce ran to Martha Wayne, tears in his eyes.
"Mom, big brother Ojaga won't play with me anymore!"
"He says I'm too weak!"
Martha hugged him gently. "He doesn't mean it, sweetheart. He's just trying to protect you."
Back to the Present
"You remember," Ojaga said, his voice cracking, "when you were eight? You said you'd become stronger than me."
Bruce's lips curved into the faintest smile. "Did I... did I make it?"
Ojaga looked at the Shazam lightning scars on Bruce's arms.
The magical power that had made him a god among mortals.
"Yeah," he whispered. "You made it, little brother. You became the strongest of all of us."
Bruce's hand reached up weakly, touching Ojaga's face.
"Don't... don't blame yourself for this."
"I should have protected you," Ojaga said, tears falling onto Bruce's chest.
"That was... that was supposed to be my job. I'm your big brother."
Bruce's breathing hitched. His hand fell back to the ice.
"Bruce?" Ojaga shook him gently. "BRUCE!"
No response.
The rise and fall of his chest stopped.
Ojaga pressed his ear to Bruce's heart.
Nothing.
"NO!" he screamed into the Antarctic wind. "You can't leave me! NOT YOU!"
Something deep inside Ojaga's chest began to burn.
His back felt like it was boiling.
Every drop of Saiyan blood in his veins turned to liquid fire.
The rage wasn't just anger.
It was fury at the universe itself.
Fury at his own weakness.
Fury at failing the one person who mattered most.
The Transformation
Red ki erupted from Ojaga's body like volcanic lava.
But mixed within the crimson energy, golden light began to spiral.
His muscles expanded, definition sharpening.
His hair began to lift, defying gravity.
The black strands flickered, turning gold.
"I'll kill them," he growled, voice deepening. "I'll kill them ALL!"
The golden aura exploded outward.
Super Saiyan.
The legendary transformation of his people.
But this wasn't the controlled ascension of training.
This was rage given form.
Power born from grief.
His power level skyrocketed—500,000, 1 million, 1.5 million.
Still climbing.
Across the battlefield, parademons felt the energy surge.
They turned toward Ojaga with confusion.
This wasn't the broken warrior they'd left behind.
Steppenwolf looked up from the Mother Box ceremony.
"What is that power?"
Darkseid's red eyes narrowed. "Impossible. No mortal should possess such energy."
Ojaga stood up slowly, Bruce's body cradled in his arms.
Golden energy rippled around him like liquid lightning.
He laid Bruce down gently, closing his friend's eyes.
"Sleep well, little brother," he whispered.
Then he turned toward Darkseid's army.
His eyes burned red with Super Saiyan fury.
"NOW YOU ALL DIE."
The Slaughter Begins
The first parademon squadron didn't even see him coming.
Ojaga moved faster than their eyes could track.
His fist went through the first creature's chest.
His elbow shattered the second one's skull.
A ki blast vaporized twelve more instantly.
In ten seconds, fifty parademons were dead.
"More," he snarled. "Send me MORE!"
Kalibak charged across the ice, massive fists raised.
"Saiyan whelp! You think transformation makes you—"
Ojaga caught Kalibak's punch with one hand.
The massive warrior's eyes widened in shock.
Ojaga's free hand grabbed Kalibak's throat.
"You killed my brother," he said quietly.
Then he squeezed.
Kalibak's neck snapped like a twig.
Darkseid's son fell dead to the ice.
Granny Goodness fired her Mega-Rod at full power.
The energy beam that had leveled mountains struck Ojaga directly.
He walked through it without slowing down.
"Impossible!" she screamed.
Ojaga appeared in front of her instantly.
His punch went through her chest and out her back.
"Nothing's impossible," he said. "When you have nothing left to lose."
The Female Furies attacked together.
Lashina's energy whips wrapped around Ojaga's arms.
Bernadeth struck from behind with superhuman force.
Big Barda's Mega-Rod fired point-blank.
Ojaga's golden aura simply absorbed everything.
"My turn," he said.
His ki exploded outward in all directions.
The shockwave vaporized Lashina instantly.
Bernadeth screamed as golden energy consumed her.
Big Barda tried to retreat, but Ojaga grabbed her ankle.
"Please," she gasped. "I didn't want to—"
"Neither did I," Ojaga replied.
He hurled her into the stratosphere.
She didn't come back down.
Steppenwolf backed away, electro-axe trembling in his hands.
"You're not the same warrior I fought before."
Ojaga landed in front of him, golden hair flowing in the wind.
"No. Before, I was holding back. Before, I had something to lose."
His hand closed around Steppenwolf's axe handle.
The weapon crumbled to dust.
"Now I have nothing but rage."
Steppenwolf tried to open a boom tube to escape.
Ojaga's ki blast destroyed the portal before it fully formed.
"Where are you going?" Ojaga asked conversationally.
"The party's just getting started."
His punch caved in Steppenwolf's chest armor.
The ancient warrior flew backward, crashing into his own flagship.
The ship exploded.
Steppenwolf's scream was cut short.
The God Falls
Darkseid stepped forward, his 5 million power level radiating menace.
"Enough, Saiyan. You've had your tantrum."
Ojaga turned, golden energy crackling around him.
His power had reached 2 million and was still climbing.
"Tantrum?" he said softly. "This isn't a tantrum."
"This is justice."
They clashed in the center of Antarctica.
The impact created a shockwave that circled the globe.
In Tokyo, seismographs exploded.
In New York, windows shattered for fifty blocks.
The very fabric of space began to crack around their battle.
Thunder rolled across clear skies.
Lightning struck without clouds.
The laws of physics bent under their power.
Darkseid's punch could shatter mountains.
Ojaga caught it in his palm.
"Is that all?" he asked.
His counter-punch sent Darkseid flying across the continent.
The dark god crashed through three mountain ranges before stopping.
When he stood up, golden blood ran from his mouth.
For the first time in eons, Darkseid had been truly hurt.
"Impossible," Darkseid growled. "I am eternal. I am—"
Ojaga appeared behind him.
"You're nothing."
His ki-enhanced chop severed Darkseid's left arm at the shoulder.
The dark god screamed—a sound of pure rage and disbelief.
Darkseid spun around, omega beams firing from his eyes.
Ojaga dodged, grabbed Darkseid's head, and drove his thumb into the dark god's left eye.
Darkseid's scream shattered every piece of ice on the continent.
Golden blood poured from his ruined eye socket.
His severed arm lay in the snow, still twitching.
"You dare?" he roared. "I am Darkseid! I am—"
"You're leaving," Ojaga said flatly.
Another punch sent Darkseid crashing into his flagship.
The dark god struggled to his feet, cradling his ruined arm socket.
One eye burned with omega energy.
The other was gone forever.
"This isn't over, Saiyan."
"Yeah, it is," Ojaga replied. "Run home. Tell everyone what happens when they threaten my family."
Darkseid opened a boom tube with his remaining hand.
But before leaving, he turned to his remaining forces.
"All parademons! Destroy the Saiyan! I want his corpse!"
Four thousand creatures swarmed toward Ojaga.
The sky went black with wings and claws.
Ojaga looked at the approaching horde.
His power was fading.
The Super Saiyan transformation was burning out.
Golden hair flickered back to black.
His muscles began to shrink.
But he'd accomplished what mattered.
Darkseid was broken.
The invasion was over.
Earth would survive.
The parademons struck like a metallic hurricane.
Claws raked across his skin.
Teeth bit into his shoulders.
Without Super Saiyan power, he was just a talented fighter.
But he kept moving.
For Bruce.
For Earth.
For the chance to say goodbye.
After twenty minutes of brutal fighting, the last parademon fell.
Ojaga collapsed to his knees, covered in wounds.
His base power level was back to 200,000.
Human-range again.
Mortal again.
But alive.
He crawled back to Bruce's body.
His friend looked peaceful in the snow.
Ojaga knelt beside him, taking Bruce's cold hand.
"Little brother," he whispered. "You can't die. I won't let you."
"I have to think of something. I HAVE to."
He slapped his own face, trying to focus through exhaustion and grief.
"Think, Ojaga. Think! There has to be a way!"
Around them, the other heroes began to stir.
Diana groaned, pushing rubble off her body.
Clark's hand broke through the ice covering him.
They were alive.
But Bruce...
"I'll find a way," Ojaga promised his silent brother. "I don't know how, but I'll find a way."
The Super Saiyan transformation was gone.