Hawkman had once fought against the Egyptian sorcerer Savage.
Back then, Savage had needed to use strange sorcery to call down the spirit of an ancient Egyptian war god to possess him, just to fight Hawkman to a standstill.
But now, this bald guy in a beige coat and red cape—Saitama—was matching that level of power with nothing but his fists.
If Saitama ever told him he hadn't even used his full strength yet, Hawkman would probably have some very choice words.
After another violent exchange, Hawkman flew back into the sky.
He shouted, and a bolt of lightning descended at his command, crashing down toward Saitama.
"Move it, stranger! I don't know where you came from, but if you take this head-on, you might die!"
Saitama watched the blue-arc lightning streak toward him, then casually tilted his body—
dodging with the kind of "stand still and let the attacks graze past" pose you only see in American blockbusters.
The lightning passed by him harmlessly.
In the next instant, he grabbed Hawkman by the ankle and hurled him straight into a nearby wall.
Boom.
The poor Hawkman had just been playing the lovestruck fool for Hawkgirl,
and now he'd been beaten so badly his "dog brain was about to get knocked out."
A true "simp loses everything" ending.
Saitama waited until he'd caught his breath, then asked calmly,
"So, what do you think? Are we going to keep fighting, or not?"
Hawkman looked at Saitama, then at the complicated look in Hawkgirl's eyes.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
He had just boasted in front of Hawkgirl about fighting Savage in the past,
had almost claimed he'd nearly beaten Savage.
And now?
He couldn't even beat some guy who'd suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
It was humiliating beyond belief.
Saitama spoke up again.
"If you don't want to keep fighting, then I'll get to the point.
We came here to invite you to join our team and fight together against the great demon king who destroys the world in 2166—Savage."
The instant Hawkman and Hawkgirl heard the name "Savage," they both sucked in a sharp breath.
Hawkman, especially, straightened up.
"What? The great demon king who destroys the world… in 2166?!"
As an Egyptian demigod, he had reincarnated across three thousand years.
He'd experienced so much that very little could still shock him.
"So you're saying Savage doesn't die, even when we fight him together in this life?"
"And on top of that, you know what happens in 2166…
Don't tell me you came from 2166—time travelers?"
Saitama shrugged helplessly.
"Captain, this is your cue."
Rip Hunter walked over, looking deeply put upon.
"You're right, Hawkman.
But on that timeline, it was you and Hawkgirl who fought Savage together—
and you both still lost."
As he spoke, Rip projected the future timeline in front of them—
a scene of Hawkman and Hawkgirl's next life.
In that future, the two of them had just moved into a small cabin in St. Roch.
They'd finally fallen in love in this lifetime, enjoying the night breeze outside their new home.
Then, without warning, the sky darkened.
A man with slicked-back hair, a thick beard, and a black robe walked slowly toward them.
"I must say, Hawkman, Hawkgirl… you two are really pathetic in this life.
After all this time, you still haven't figured out how to deal with me?"
The two leapt up at once, ready to fight Savage—
But Savage's hands were already glowing with twin purple spheres of light.
Boom.
Their attack hadn't even lasted a full second before they were blasted backward.
Savage slowly drew the curved blade at his waist.
"Looks like this lifetime is your weakest one yet.
In that case, I'll play with you a little."
He licked the gleaming curve of the blade, radiating pure bloodlust, violence, and malice.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl exchanged a glance, then drew their own weapons and charged him together.
In the chaos, Hawkgirl slipped for just a moment—
Savage seized her by the wing and ripped it clean off, clutching it in his hand.
Hawkman tried to save her, but his concern for her made him hesitate mid-battle.
Savage drove his blade straight through Hawkman's body.
Hawkman died on the spot.
Savage let Hawkgirl go on purpose, watching her cry over Hawkman's corpse with amused detachment.
"I'm in a good mood today, so I won't kill you both at once.
I'll give you another chance in this endless life of yours—
a chance to kill me.
Otherwise, the years really do drag on."
With that, the man in the black robe kicked Hawkgirl aside, slung Hawkman's body over his shoulder,
and walked away.
Everyone who saw this vision fell silent.
Especially Kendra, who had only recently become Hawkgirl.
Two months ago, she had just been working at Jitters Café in Central City, serving coffee.
Then Hawkman showed up and told her she was Hawkgirl reincarnated.
Even stranger, she really had awakened powers—
growing a pair of wings on her back that she could freely retract and extend.
Hawkgirl whispered,
"So everything you told me… was true?
And in that future, I'm the one who dragged you down because I wasn't strong enough?"
Hawkman hadn't expected that, not too long from now, he would die so miserably.
For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.
He could only force out,
"It's fine…
Maybe I've just gotten used to it."
As he said that, his heart was bleeding.
One failed attempt at revenge might be bad luck.
But failing every single time?
There was something very wrong with that.
Saitama said,
"Captain, isn't this the perfect time for us to pitch ourselves?
If you can't do it, I'll do it."
Rip Hunter wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Honestly, they were supposed to be a band of righteous heroes
fighting demon kings and tyrants.
So why did this feel so much like human traffickers trying to lure people away?
Saitama grabbed Hawkman and hauled him to his feet.
"Buddy, I admit that last punch was a bit heavy.
But I had my reasons.
You're really strong.
If I didn't knock you down decisively, I might've ended up getting hurt myself.
So what I did just now was out of necessity."
Hawkman stared at him, speechless.
How was any of that "necessary"?
Under Hawkman's wronged gaze, Saitama continued, dead serious,
"As you can see, brother, you're an Egyptian demigod.
If I just showed up in front of you, said I wanted to work with you to fight Savage—
would you accept that?"
Hawkman thought about it.
"…Probably not."
"Exactly," Saitama said.
"If you wouldn't acknowledge us, you wouldn't join us.
In that case, what would be the point of us going to all this trouble to find a powerhouse like you?
So everything I just did was to prove myself to you.
And to offer you a different choice:
Join us, and let's defeat Savage together.
On your original timeline, you had no allies fighting by your side.
That's why you lost.
But now… you've got us.
So this time, you can beat Savage."
(End of Chapter)
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