Crack!
A violet bolt tore across the once-calm sky. Clouds boiled in, thick and heavy, as arcs of charged energy converged toward a single point—the Merlin's Staff planted on the ground below.
"Oh, heavens—what is Saitama doing now!"
Far off, Sir Edmund, rattled by the sky's upheaval, ordered the mechanical butler to hack into Earth's satellites. Through the orbital feeds he saw an even more shocking sight: above the storm deck, a second lattice of arcing lightning intertwined and speared outward—beyond the atmosphere.
A chill ran through Sir Edmund. "The energy in that staff… it's beyond anything we imagined. Can Saitama really control this?"
The soil under his feet bucked. A broad swath of green turf yawned apart as if torn by invisible hands, turning into two ragged fields.
Suddenly the satellite link died.
"W-what's happening?" Sir Edmund blurted.
"The… the arc lightning struck the satellite," the mechanical butler stammered.
"Then patch me into another—hurry!"
"N-no use. That outbound arc has overcharged every satellite in Earth's network!"
Sir Edmund went pale, gripping the butler's shoulder. "Then we're blind?"
"While we can still move, to the air-raid shelter—now!"
Scrambling for safety, Sir Edmund's worry for Saitama only deepened.
Elsewhere, the President—Trump—watched as Saitama drove the Merlin's Staff into the earth and a lance of icy blue light erupted skyward. Amazement—Could the military ever wield such technology?—became alarm as the floor shuddered.
"What—what was that?!"
"An earthquake, perhaps," a lawmaker ventured.
"Rubbish! We don't get quakes here!"
A natural sciences professor thrust a fresh seismogram under his nose, delivering the slap of reality. "Mr. President, we're detecting crustal oscillations deep underground. We suspect it's tied to Saitama's activation at Stonehenge."
"What?! Stay on it—wait, I see… My God, what kind of power throws off an arc like that? Our satellites?!"
Japan.
Ogawa Kojiro rushed into the Prime Minister's office. "Sir—Saitama's surge has triggered subsea quakes! There is a ninety-nine percent probability of catastrophic inundation. We need a national response—now!"
The PM drew a sharp breath and made a brutal call. "Get me China's leadership. We will submit—become a part of China from this day forward."
Saitama had no idea his actions were shaking international orders. He only knew this was the right way to end the crisis. If Megatron and his ilk were allowed to recuperate, they'd sniff out another AllSpark—maybe even the Merlin's Staff.
The crust buckled.
Continental plates shuddered.
Worse still, above the atmosphere, a metal world—dragged to the coordinates by the signal—punched through Earth's shell of defenses and loomed into view.
Cybertron.
It had come at last.
Even Megatron, for all his lifelong yearning, could hardly believe the day had arrived like this.
"So this is how I stand before Mother—Quintessa—after all…"
Boom!
Another seismic convulsion. Vivian swayed, losing her footing.
Saitama steadied her, hand warm on her cheek. "Are you afraid, Vivian?"
She shook her head. "Not anymore."
"Good. Then let's go meet Cybertron's Mother of Life—Quintessa."
With a wrench, Saitama freed the Merlin's Staff from its socket. Instantly, a colossal pull welled up through the staff, snaring the two of them and hurling them starward.
Crack.
They tore through the storm deck; the clouds evaporated in their wake. Around the globe, anyone with a functioning tracker glimpsed a tan-clad figure and a red cape—and the woman in his arms.
What was he going to do?
When no one could yet answer, a simpler truth settled in: even while cradling a beauty, Saitama could still smash the Cybertronians.
"What a monster of a man…"
The Five Great Powers—and leaders across the world—saw it, too, and reeled at his audacity.
"Follow him—now! Launch our bravest pilots. If there's a decisive moment, we help him tip it!"
A roar of engines rose. Fighter wings blasted off from coastlines and carriers alike, knifing up toward the high heavens.
Cybertron. The Temple of All Things.
Quintessa floated in midair, face clicking and reshaping until a pleasing human visage settled into place. At her feet knelt an Autobot.
"Optimus Prime. This is the Earth you swore to protect?"
She summoned a crystal of violet energy, peered through it at the onrushing Saitama, and scoffed. "He is far stronger than you. Why would he ever need your protection?"
A purple bolt formed in her palm and lashed Optimus, the strike cracking across his frame.
"You set yourself against your own brother—for humans. Now your brother Megatron is missing, and still you would lower your noble helm to these chattel?"
Amethyst light flared in Quintessa's eyes and washed over Optimus.
"If you will not repent, then you will be my hand. Go—hunt the humans you treasure."
One hand stroked the crystal ball; the other traced her new face. "When you've bloodied each other enough, I'll take all your lives."
With a sweep of her arms, the crystal dispersed into the air. Power rolled from her like a tyrant's banner.
"On this day of my descent, Cybertron's reforging begins!"
Footfalls echoed.
Saitama and Vivian alighted on the Temple's steps.
"You'd reforge Cybertron with Earth's core," Saitama said lightly. "You're a little early for that plan."
(End of Chapter)
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