Return to the Maw

Fear.

Pure fear.

It was an amusing sight to witness as I floated within the middle of the arena, openly and defiantly looking down upon the Red King and the officials in the booth with him. I had all but openly declared war against him and I had definitely threatened his life, only an idiot wouldn't realise that fact.

Everyone in the stadium was smart enough to realise exactly what I had done and they were terrified. But they were also frozen to their seats in fear, many shaking and clutching onto one another.

A strange sight for sure.

In my old life, I had always seen comic books, shows and movies of bystanders being so terrified of the villain that all they did was stand frozen in fear. They didn't attempt to run away or do anything except stare.

I had always thought it was strange and a little stupid. My younger self always talked about how stupid it was that people just stood around waiting to die. Now that I was seeing it for the first time, it was strange. Even more so when I was the 'villain' that left them frozen in fear. Though was I really the 'villain' in this scenario?

From my perspective and that of the other slaves, the Red King and the people of Sakaar were the villains for enslaving them. But to those not in my or the slave's shoes, wouldn't that make us the villains?

I guess that this world wasn't really just black and white. There wasn't just one side that was purely heroic and another that was purely villainous. Though at the same time, there were plenty of people and teams that fit the bill of that.

This universe was very confusing.

That was when the doors leading to the underground sections of the arena where gladiators were kept forcibly opened. Slaves and gladiators rushed into the arena, all armed to the teeth in weapons of all kinds. Their arrival caused mass panic to fill the arena, screams erupting as one person ran for a nearby exit, then another, and another, and another. More and more people began to rush for the exits until every spectator was fleeing away.

Up above, guards upon floating podiums rushed down, staffs crackling with energy in preparation to fire down upon us. All the gladiators down below erupted with cries of pain as their disks activated and they collapsed to their knees.

Releasing my hold on the unconscious Beta Ray Bill, I shot forwards.

I quickly came upon one guard before he even had a chance to react. Barrelling through his podium and his body itself, an explosion of flames and smokes burst out. Yet I continued on, hitting the second and the third and so on, in the breadth of a second. All exploding like a fireworks display before any had a chance to react.

Not a single punch was thrown, just me using speed, momentum and my extremely durable body to destroy them all. One must have activated the disks because suddenly it came to a stop, the gladiators all looking up to me in awe.

"Prepare weapons!" One commander shouted, guards rushing to the edges of the stadium, the disks once more activating. They were quite irritating, I'd have to get rid of them before they became even more of annoyance. My eyes glowed red and my heat vision lanced out, a sustained duration as the red beams carved through flesh, bone, metal and stone as it dragged along the edges of the stadium.

Every single guard lined up on the edges mowed down in a moment, just like those that had come from above.

This was what fighting like a Kryptonian was like.

A being of pure destruction, yet poised and skilled. Graceful and skilled, powerful and destructive. This was what separated us from the rest of the alien races in the universe, it was what allowed Superman to stand upon par with Gods and beyond. That was the power I now had at my fingertips, that was the power I had spent the many months upon Sakaar mastering.

This was the fruit of my labours.

-X- Line Break -X-

A slave rebellion was not an uncommon or unexpected thing. During his long career as a gladiator and short time as a gladiator trainer, Primus Vand had seen the rise and fall of many slave rebellions. None had been successful and they never would be, the Red King's elite unit, the Deaths Head Guard plus Caiera the Oldstrong would ensure that any slave rebellion was quickly quelled.

Now would be no different.

"Prepare all defences!" Primus Vand ordered, guards rushing to their stations in preparation for the incoming force of gladiators. A few dozen, nothing more than that, but most worryingly of all was that their disks were destroyed. Without the disks to keep them in line, the battle wouldn't be easy.

The Red King had never been happy to spend money on training his troops or outfitting them with proper weaponry. Their weapons were old, in desperate need of repairs and the Red King was unwilling to pay. If it wasn't for the disks to keep the slaves in line, there would be countless more rebellions all over Sakaar.

"And awaken the Mawkaw Magkong!" His words sent a ripple of shock throughout the guards, all hesitating as they looked down towards the bubbling pool of lava at the centre of the Maw.

"Sir, incoming!" One guard shouted, pointing to the sky.

There, floating in the air were two figures.

A Brood and a humanoid figure.

Primus Vand and the guards below recognised them both instantly. "Ge-"

But before Primus could even finish the first word of his order, Tah and the Brood shot towards them. The guards upon podiums didn't stand a chance, the Brood landing upon them, tail whipping out and piercing through their thinly armoured chests. As for Tah, he was nothing more than a blur, a trail of explosions erupting in his wake.

Debris and body parts rained down upon all those below, all raising their arms to protect themselves.

That was when the blur that was Tah rushed past them all, those closest to this path blown off their feet, some plummeting down to the bottom of the Maw. He made a beeline directly for the doors and before Primus could even open his mouth, they were suddenly blown up, a massive eruption of noise echoing throughout the Maw.

A roar reached their ears soon after, gladiators pouring in through the open door, Korg and Hiroim at the very front.

'Dear God, what do we do?' Primus wondered, unable to do anything as he watched the gladiators begin to rush through the guards and make their way down towards the centre of the Maw. All the guards that attempted to block their path were cut down in quick succession, unable to put up much of a fight against the gladiators.

"You seem surprised." Spinning around, Primus looked upon the leading figure of this rebellion, the one who called himself, Tah-Rao. A young man, whose black hair was wild and unkempt, a line of stubble growing upon his face. Form rippling with muscle, radiating strength and power despite being relaxed. "Why? You trained us so well after all."

"Tah-"

Once again, Primus couldn't even finish his sentence before the Kryptonian disappeared from sight. Yet it was not only Tah that moved, Primus also found himself moving, the world around him nought but a blur as he was moved elsewhere.

"You took pleasure in training us, didn't you?" Primus could say nothing, trying desperately to free himself from the grip that Tah had upon his neck. "Korg wanted to kill you himself, you know? For pitting him against his brothers. As did Elloe, for killing her father. I proposed a more fitting death for one such as you, a death that they both agreed to."

That was when Primus felt a wave of heat rush over his body, panicking he looked to see what it was. But in his mind, he already knew what it was and where they were.

The Mawkaw Magkong.

"Panic should not be in your eyes. You're a gladiator, Primus, act like one." With the grip on his neck released, Primus was suddenly able to breathe again, yet the one thing keeping him plummeting to the ground was gone also. He cried out in shock, fear, and desperation, hoping that someone would save him.

The heat at his back grew hotter and hotter.

There was just a single moment of realisation as he saw a wave of red, burning magma rise up around him that he realised there was no one going to save him.

He was going to die.

That was the last thought that crossed the mind of Primus Vand before the Mawkaw Magkong swallowed him whole.

-X- Line Break -X-

Looking down, I watched as the lava creature swallowed Primus Vand completely. I had nothing against the man personally, but Korg did and honestly, Korg was of more use to me than some random character who never did much in the way of anything in the comics.

Elloe, not so much.

Still, despite the Maw having fallen to my rebellion, it was hardly a defensible location. I only came here for the additional soldiers that were here, and the weapons as well. Once I had them, I'd move on and begin taking over Sakaar in full. Freeing slaves all over the planet and growing my numbers larger and larger every day.

I'd let the Red King come to me, then I'd tear him limb from limb.

The only reason I wouldn't do that right now was that I wanted Caiera. I wanted her to come to me, to realise the truth for herself about the Red King and the longer a rebellion was dragged on, the more desperate the Red King was the more depraved his actions would become. Then she'd learn the truth and that's when I'd swoop in.

As a blob of magma was thrown up at me, I took a deep breath and released it all. The magma was quickly dispersed and rapidly cooled, crashing against the sides of the Maw in piles of rocks that shattered upon impact.

"I guess I should finish this one off as well," I told myself taking a longer and deeper breath as I looked down upon the Mawkaw Magkong, a being made entirely of lava.