The White House

Chapter 36: The White House

Robert Katzenberg, the 46th president of the United States, sighed from behind his desk at the Oval Office as he continued reading the briefing on Miami's destruction. At the hands of the very bomb that was meant to obliterate Dominica, the nuke had been repurposed by a certain bald villain and thoughtlessly chucked at the heavily populated city, resulting in the deaths the municipality's civilians as well as thousands of more outside the city who were now poisoned by the deadly radiation.

"That's not all, sir," Secretary of State, Lauren Hardy, explained solemnly as she pushed another document towards the President. "We lost contact with Plastic Man yesterday evening as well, where Ray Palmer believed that he could be another trump card due to his invulnerability to physical damage."

"For God's sake, are we just screwed then?" the portly, balding man groaned as he rubbed his pale scalp. "Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and friggin Superman! If none of these superheroes could stop that bald freak, can anything?!"

"The Justice League has plenty more members, sir," Hardy continued. "And not only that, but there are other international meta Humans who could-"

"They're all small fries compared to the likes of Superman, and he's dead!" the President exclaimed in frustration as he pounded his fists on the desk. "I'm guessing the military will be powerless to do anything either, I mean I know we lost some of our best warships during that botched invasion at Dominica."

"Please, Mister President, you need to at least show the people that hope isn't lost," Hardy insisted as she presented yet another document. "These are desperate times, and some unlikely allies have reached out to offer their services for the good of the planet."

"Lex Luthor?" Katzenberg scoffed as he read the correspondents in his hands. "That criminal wants to work with us? Heck no! I draw my line an enlisting the aid of supervillains!"

"Hear him out, sir, he has some ideas," the Secretary of State explained as she prepared to describe the document. "Like I said, these are desperate times. That individual who has commandeered Dominica…this isn't Darkseid, this is something worse. Much, much worse."

Before he could look into Luthor's proposal, the President froze as the sound of gunshots echoed down the hallway outside.

"Mister President!!" A secret service agent yelled from the doorway. "You need to get-

The black-suited man exploded into a shower of blood and guts, which quickly covered the leader of the free world and his secretary of state, leaving them stunned as Human gore was strewn about the office.

"Sorry to pop in unannounced, but I hear that you're the guy who's in charge of the most powerful country in this world," Saitama stated as he casually strolled inside, his magenta cape trailing behind him as he cracked his bare knuckles. "I don't believe we've met, HAHA. I'm Saitama, and I'm just doing anything that I can to get a good laugh!"

His arms trembling, Katzenberg stared up at the dark grey-suited villain in horror, his eyes wide with fear even as he attempted to compose himself.

"Y-you've made a grave error coming here and messing with the United States of America," the President stammered as he shrank back in his chair.

"Offering me terms of peace, only to go and plant a big old bomb on my new island," the bald villain continued, waggling his finger disapprovingly towards the world leader. "Not cool, man. It's okay though, because I've decided that subjugating this entire planet would be far more fun than peacefully co-existing anyway!"

"You damn fiend, w-we'll stop you!" Katzenberg muttered. "We have the greatest military in the world, and loads more heroes that will make you regret setting foot on this planet in the first place!"

"Sure, throw some more toy soldiers for me to play with. My beaches are still dyed red from the last batch! HAHAH!" Saitama laughed as he crossed his arms. "No, no here's the deal. Willingly submit your people to me in 7 days, or I'm going to break you all into submission! I'll transform this world into my new clown empire of fun!"

"What do you plan to do with the people you conquer?" Hardy asked outright, her face squinting into a brave glare beneath the black curls hanging over her face.

"Whatever the hell I feel like," the bald villain hissed menacingly as he was suddenly upon the woman, towering over her with a terrifying smile. "Maybe I'll see how many cities that I can punch into the ground from orbit one day, or maybe I'll find a way to turn the food supply into something funny, like say the gas that made me this way. Oh, the possibilities! HAHA!"

"Bastard, we'll never surrender to you!" the President exclaimed as he stood up from his chair, a growing defiance welling up inside him.

"I'm not here to make you surrender, I'm here to make you submit," Saitama grinned sadistically. "Like I said, 7 days. Give it some thought, because whoever still resists me after that…"

Flexing his arm, the villain threw a punch straight at the President's face. His bare fist stopping just in front of Katzenberg's nose, the wall behind the world leader exploded into dust and glass as Saitama demonstrated immense control over his power to cause destruction without harming the President's head.

"…gets punched."

Overcome with anxiety over thinking that he was about to die, Katzenberg promptly turned over his desk to vomit as he suffered a panic attack. Her hands clasped over her mouth, Hardy panted at having nearly witnessed the nation's leader have his head reduced to a red splash by the villain.

"7 days," Saitama reiterated as he walked across to the massive opening in the office that resulted from his punch. "Oh, and you might want to call emergency services. I destroyed a few city blocks when I landed. You know, by accident."

With that, the caped baldy blasted off into the sky as the force of his super jump knocked both occupants in the Oval Office to the ground.

"D-dammit, get me Lex Luthor," the President groaned as some secret service members promptly rushed in to help him to his feet. "For God's sake, we don't have a choice. We need solutions, and we need them now!"

"Yes sir, I'll make some calls now!" Hardy answered with a nod, before scrambling out of the half-destroyed room.

The clock was ticking for the particular DC universe, where the threat of the one punch man loomed over planet Earth like a shadow of despair. With conquest now in his sights, it would take a miracle to halt Saitama's devoted path of destruction.