High above the skies of the Guardians of the Globe base, two titans clashed - parting the clouds themselves as they fought. Each sound was like a thunderclap in the middle of the day, reverberating through the very ground itself. Across the open sky, multiple orange-colored drones observed the duel between the two titans, analyzing and assessing the performance of both duelists. Yet, one got a little too close to the scene, its frame being destroyed in the wake of a thunderous sonic boom which emanated from another clash.
For his part, Lyon turned towards the destroyed drone, watching as its parts fell towards the earth.
"Damn. Didn't mean to break that one." Lyon grunted in annoyance, clicking his teeth. He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Eh, whatever. Let's keep going. Let's go for however long the transformation lasts."
"You should be watching your space more." Immortal stated, his tone sharp and to-the-point. "Fighting while in the air is entirely different compared to on the ground. It's partially omnidirectional, and your momentum can't be be slowed while in the open sky." He explained, crossing his arms over his chest. Still, the grizzled hero shot Lyon a pointed look. "Just remember that the form you're using possesses some formidable power. You've seen what... Omni-Man could do with it, so do keep in mind to reign in your strength. Only utilize it to its fullest in life-or-death situations." Immortal instructed.
"Got it." Lyon nodded. He flexed his arms, sucking in a deep breath, feeling the oxygen flow through his veins like ice. "And from the looks of it, I'm also getting stronger, too. The more I use this one." He noted, one of his hands coiling into a fist, audibly stretching the white glove around his hand.
"Yes, 'Pantheon,' was it?" Immortal asked, humming in thought. "An appropriate name, I suppose. Like a god amongst men." He remarked. Then, with a curious glint in his eyes, Immortal hummed. "Out of curiosity, what do you know of this transformation. The... Viltrumite." Immortal asked his voice hoarser than usual - more focused.
"Not much. Other than what the Omnitrix could surmise from the biology." Lyon replied, waving off Immortal as he adjusted his posture. "The usual enhanced physiology; strength, speed, hearing, durability. A strong healing factor. And something called 'Smart Atoms.'" He explained, making quotation marks. "Activates in accordance to stress. Allows them to get stronger, more so with age. Plus allows them - me, to hold air for long periods of time. Weeks on end for space travel." Lyon continued.
"Hm, I see." Immortal replied, nodding slowly as he chewed through that information. For a moment, he stared at himself, exhaling softly, if a bit angrily. Regardless, he shook his head, redoubling his focus. "Still, quite the transformation, I must say so myself. You're even making me sweat a smidge with the training we've been doing." He said, a slight smile crossing his face.
"I can keep this up all week, old man." Lyon chuckled, staring up at the mid-afternoon sky above. He sucked in a deep breath, savoring the air as he cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. "C'mon, old man, let's keep at it. I'm still a growin' boy - plenty more fight in me left." He snickered, flashing the grizzled hero a challenging grin.
"Ha! Kids these days, no respect for your elders." Immortal remarked, getting into a stance as he balled his fists. "Remember the basics, Matrix. Square yourself - get on the level of your opponent. The second-most important step in aerial hand-to-hand combat is keeping track of your opponent." He lectured, hovering midair. "Remember, aim for center-mass. While in the air, hitting the largest part of the target is most important. Grappling is also a valid option." Immortal added.
"Got it." Lyon nodded, getting into a stance himself.
Truth be told, it was Immortal who had asked Lyon for a friendly spar. Specifically, against Pantheon. Perhaps as a way to test his strength against another Viltrumite like Omni-Man. Plus it provided a way for Lyon to learn more about the budding strength this transformation allowed him to possess. And granted, while it wasn't his absolute favorite, it was by far one of his strongest. In fact, he might even take a guess to say that Pantheon could become top five aliens in terms of strength alone.
Viltrumites were pretty whack in general.
Once again kicking off their sparring session, clashing in the air as Immortal instructed Lyon through the motions once more. And though the two of them hardly fought at their full strength, they were roughly evenly matched. Though Immortal had the clear edge in terms of experience, allowing him to effortlessly dodge Lyon's telegraphed attacks. This, however, only allowed Lyon to increase his speed, flying circles around Immortal.
"Speed alone won't do you any good without the willingness to use it." Immortal instructed, his eyes darting rapidly to keep up with Lyon's speed. "Go on the offensive. Utilize your speed and strength to the fullest. Put together everything I have taught you." He said as a small, eager grin grew from his lips.
"You sure about this, old man!?" Lyon asked, zooming straight past Immortal-
Only to be caught in his grip the second he flew past him.
"I'm sure." Immortal said with certainty.
Flashing Immortal a ferocious grin, Lyon broke out of Immortal's grip and delivered a powerful kick to his side, strong enough to send him flying. Now taking the offensive, Lyon flew with every ounce of speed he could muster, the observation drones lagging behind him as he raced for Immortal. With another crack of the sound barrier, he appeared right before Immortal, his fists poised to strike.
Only for Immortal to respond with a sudden elbow to Lyon's gut. With his momentum practically cut, Immortal responded in kind, counterattacking as he attacked at Lyon's weak points. The neck, the thigh, the stomach, the chest, all were attacked in a flurry of blows by the grizzled hero. However, little did Immortal know, Viltrumites were capable of taking incredible punishment.
Lyon grinned, matching Immortal smirk with his own.
"Hm." Immortal hummed, retracting his fist as he allowed Lyon to stand back up. "A growing boy, indeed." He dryly remarked, a low chuckle escaping his throat. "I could feel your skin hardening with each blow, resisting my fists. Viltrumite physiology truly is formidable." Immortal stated.
Lyon responded with a low chuckle from his throat.
"Oh, you've got no idea, old man."
"Ow, ow, ow...." Lyon audible muttered, every bone in his body aching as he reclined into a seat, relaxing his body as he let out a sigh. "Phew, that was a good workout. Immortal doesn't play around." He said, grunting in exhaustion. "Think I've still got a long way to go." Lyon grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Reaching out in front of the arm rest, he pulled out a small plastic water bottle. Unscrewing the cap, he greedily sipped at its contents, his brows remaining scrunched in thought. Idly, he shot the Omnitrix a quick glance, noting that it was still taking a while for it to completely recharge. A small frown found purchase upon his features, noting the mild inconvenience of the recharging feature.
It doesn't have to be that way... Lyon darkly thought to himself, the thing whispering in the back of his mind - tempting him. But his thoughts continued. Think of the power you can wield. You don't have to be held back. You can prevent what is to come. He thought.
"No..." Lyon gritted out, taking a pill from his belt and putting it into his mouth, his teeth crunching against the capsule's shell. "You don't get anywhere in life takin' shortcuts. Dad taught me that... I do things my way." He growled, swallowing the substance as he let out an exhale, the headache fading away soon after. "God damnit..." Lyon muttered.
Just then, the Omnitrix soon sounded with its familiar chime - glowing a vibrant green. Focusing on the device, Lyon stared at it, thoughts churning as he gently brushed his fingers against it. Bored out of his mind, Lyon once again primed the Omnitrix, cycling through the list of aliens he had at his disposal. He noted that Vitriol and Upgrade were pretty close together on the list, as well as seeing as Dra-Gantic was on the very end of the playlist along with Dread-Naught.
Lyon wasn't quite sure how the Omnitrix sorted out its aliens, but it seemed to do so automatically. Probably by size, he reckoned. Regardless, he began feeling more and more comfortable using the Omnitrix with each day that passed, with him transforming into an alien practically every single day. And the more he realized it, the more he became conscious of the fact that there was hardly a day where just stayed... himself.
Continuing to stare at the Omnitrix's face, he mindlessly cycled through each and every alien at his disposal. He noted Heatblast's face was the first he would see upon booting up the device, also noting Diamondhead was right next to him, along with Upgrade, Ghostfreak and Ripjaws. A small, miniscule smile crept up the edges of his lips, wondering if the Omnitrix itself felt sentimental about the placement of these aliens.
"Wonder if I'll ever get Swampfire or Wildvine eventually..." Lyon muttered to himself, a small snort of amusement escaping his nostrils. "Hrm, probably not. I'll most likely find a different alien to replace 'em. Dunno where, but probably." He chuckled.
Like how Whirlpool was basically a better version of Water Hazard. Especially with the former's ripoff water bending shtick and ability to control water. Granted, Lyon thought Water Hazard was the cooler-looking one between the two, but he can't complain when he knows that each alien has their own use.
Nevertheless, with his good mood now returning to him, Lyon finally got off of the couch, most of his fatigue washing away as he readied himself for the rest of the day. In his hands, he held a warm mug of coffee - flavored with two sugars and one cream, his favorite. Sipping at the mug, Lyon gave a contented sigh as he felt the caffeine hit him.
"Damn, that's some good stuff. I guess spending a little more was worth it." Lyon noted, a smile tugging at his lips. Drumming his fingers upon his coffee table, he began to swipe at a holographic screen before him, pinching it with his off hand. "Hm, satellites in orbit are lookin' good, no troubles at all. Not seein' anythin' out of the ordinary." He muttered to himself. "Let's just hope it lasts..." Lyon quietly uttered.
A strange sense of assurance washed over Lyon. Shaking his head, he knew that he had used Upgrade to ensure that the satellite network wouldn't fail. Which meant the likelihood of the network failing would be next to none unless they were physically destroyed. Nevertheless, he was certain that his handiwork was more than enough to tide both Cecil and Angstrom over.
Speaking of Cecil, though... it was roughly the time when he would recruit D.A. Sinclair and Darkwing's sidekick. Which meant that Invincible - no, Mark, handled them. And though Cecil probably wouldn'tve admitted it, Lyon just knew Cecil did. And though he did... agree with Cecil's choice to rehabilitate them, even he couldn't help but feel recruiting them might be a bit of a stretch. At the very least though, he might've actually stopped Powerplex from popping up, which was something.
Well, if things didn't still go that way. Because the fight with Omni-Man still left quite a lot of damages in the city. Lyon made a mental note to check on Scott's family, just to make sure they were alright.
Still, as of right now, the Guardians of the Globe were currently down a team member; with Black Samson taking some serious damage from Battle Beast during that debacle. Which possibly meant trying to find someone to act as a temporary member for the team. Up until he would eventually be reawakened to help fight against Omnipotus.
Lyon had... a few ideas, to say the least. He'd probably need Cecil's and Immortal's approval for then, though.
Regardless, he had a few calls to make.118