"Really? You went down before I even started trying?" Jonnie Stone couldn't help but complain as he looked at the lifeless body of the Parallax. He wasn't just voicing his own feelings; he was speaking for all the Avengers.
Since the Avengers first assembled, they had faced all kinds of enemies—some strong, others weak. Some foes were so powerful that the Avengers were sidelined, barely even allowed to participate in the fight, much like the Green Lantern Corps now.
Even the weaker enemies they encountered had a certain minimum strength, and each extraordinary event and battle was never resolved quickly. With each encounter, the Avengers faced stronger foes, and every battle became a lengthy, exhausting war.
But this time, the fight with Parallax was over in a flash, even when factoring in Susan Stone and the other two's mental battle against Parallax. The Avengers, barely warmed up, found themselves staring at the lifeless body, feeling unfulfilled.
The Avengers secretly hoped Parallax would revive. No one dared to touch the supposedly destroyed body until Steve spoke up. "Though this battle is over, we can't let our guard down. Tony, do you want to study Parallax's body?"
"No, we have enough on our hands to research. His power isn't strong enough to be worth the time," Tony Stark replied without hesitation, rejecting the idea of researching the corpse.
"Alright, then Johnny and Mary, please destroy the body," Steve nodded, directing the group. "Just because we can handle this level of power doesn't mean others can. If Parallax's cells were to contaminate others and create a monster like Hector, it could spell disaster for other civilizations. We can't let our mistakes harm them."
"Understood," the Avengers agreed. If the battle hadn't ended so quickly, they wouldn't have felt this unfulfilled. But since Parallax was truly dead, they set about their cleanup tasks.
"Zzzt!" Once again, a burst of light and energy filled the void of space as the Avengers obliterated Parallax's body, erasing it entirely from the cosmos.
Not far away, Robert observed with interest, casting a glance toward Oa. "So that's why he wasn't concerned about this body—he's got a new one. But this one's still a carrier for fear energy. Won't he miss it, abandoning it so casually? Come on, let's check out his new form."
Meanwhile, on Oa, within the core of the fear energy, Parallax's consciousness was merging with Sinestro's. Rather than the winner-takes-all battle Sinestro had imagined, his consciousness was being gradually absorbed into Parallax's, becoming one with it.
Parallax, originally the corrupted form of a Guardian infected by fear energy, had evolved into a complex, collective consciousness after devouring countless beings and their terror. Now, Sinestro's strong-willed mind was helpless against this vast sea of chaotic consciousness. Bit by bit, he faded, becoming just another fragment in this vast ocean.
"Damn it!" Parallax's collective consciousness roared in anger when it sensed that his original body had been completely destroyed. Although he had performed a strategic retreat, hoping to escape from the powerful Avengers, he hadn't expected them to eliminate his already-dead body so thoroughly.
"What's going on inside? This pure energy form is blocking my sight," Kara said with frustration as she, Robert, and Martian Girl reached the fear energy on Oa, unable to see what was happening within.
"No matter. That energy source has become his new body. Technically, you might not be able to handle him alone now, but with the Avengers' help, you'd stand a chance," Robert smiled and shrugged, showing no intention of destroying the fear energy. After all, the Avengers hadn't fully gotten their fill of battle, so he was happy to give them another shot.
"I can't handle him? Hmph! Energy isn't the only factor in combat!" Kara retorted, a bit unwilling to admit defeat.
"Alright, alright. Nobody knows fighting better than you," Robert said with a resigned nod, turning his gaze to the fear energy. "Anyway, he's barely come to control this power. But we'll need to move the battlefield away from this planet. Oa's reputation is overblown if it's even weaker than Kree's Hala."
As Robert spoke, the fear energy began to shift, forming into a massive humanoid shape. The new form resembled Parallax's previous appearance but looked more human-like.
"Huh?" The newly-formed Parallax appeared confused, surprised to find that others were present nearby.
"Hold up. Let's talk elsewhere." Robert smiled at the bewildered Parallax, placing a hand on him and teleporting them both into open space.
Meanwhile, the Avengers had just finished destroying Parallax's old body. Tony Stark was scanning the surrounding space to ensure nothing was left, when Jarvis suddenly sounded an alert. "Parallax isn't dead! He's reappeared, right next to the Saiyan!"
The warning quickly spread among the Avengers, making them nervous—until they heard Parallax was beside Robert, at which point everyone relaxed.
"A simple Parallax that we could handle? Then Robert certainly has it under control."
"Why does he look different?" Hal was the first to notice, seeing Parallax's form now smaller and more humanoid, unlike his previous massive, ominous appearance. "Did he burn too much energy and can't keep his huge form?"
"Careful," Robert said to the Avengers. "This guy isn't weaker—he's actually stronger. But this next fight is Kara's. If she can't handle him, then you all can jump in."
With that, Robert vanished just as Parallax prepared to roar in fury. Missing his target, Parallax was enraged, feeling utterly mocked.
"Your opponent is me!" Before he could locate Robert, Kara's voice rang out. She shot forward like a beam of light and delivered a punch to Parallax, sending him flying backward.
Though it could be considered a surprise attack, Kara's punch was forceful enough that even Parallax's fear energy couldn't stop his backward momentum.
In the low-density environment of space, he couldn't rely on colliding with celestial objects to stop himself. Forced to expend even more fear energy to decelerate, Parallax was struggling to regain control when Kara struck again, following him with relentless, consecutive blows.
Kara's fighting style, inspired by Robert's moves, resembled his infamous endless aerial combo, though here in space, it was more of an endless cosmic combo. In this gravity-free environment, Parallax found himself utterly defenseless against Kara's chain attacks.
To further emphasize her point, Kara altered her direction, punching Parallax in a loop and bringing him back around, as if to prove that she could indeed defeat him single-handedly.
"Wait… is this Parallax actually stronger than before?" Hal muttered in confusion, watching Parallax get pummeled.
"According to the energy readings, this Parallax is much stronger than the last one," Tony Stark explained, "but he's using most of his energy just to try to control his new body. He hasn't had a chance to go toe-to-toe with Supergirl. And Supergirl's on a level above ours…"
Parallax's failure to utilize his full power wasn't simply due to Kara's overwhelming strength. His chaotic consciousness, a result of his imperfect merger with the fear energy, was in constant turmoil, leaving him unable to perform his usual mental attacks.
As the physical damage piled up and Parallax couldn't escape Kara's relentless assault, he had no choice but to begin unifying his fractured consciousness. Now, his only path to survival was to fully consolidate his power and defeat Kara.
"Zzzt!"
Finally, as Parallax's mind fused into a singular focus, his strength returned with greater control. His massive surge of fear energy blocked Kara's advance, while a barrage of mental attacks sent her into a momentary daze.
Fortunately, Kara's resilience was exceptional, and she quickly recovered, countering the fear energy with her freezing breath.
Seeing Kara's ability to withstand his attacks, Parallax actually grew excited. He sensed that while her physical strength was unmatched, her energy output was comparatively limited.
"I can't rush this," Parallax mused. "She may not have the strongest energy output, but her body is tough. My best bet is to eliminate the others first. And I still don't know how powerful that teleporting Saiyan truly is, so I'd better tread carefully."
Low energy output was indeed a Kryptonian weakness. Even though they could harness incredible abilities after absorbing solar energy, their thermal vision and freezing breath posed little threat to similarly powerful foes.
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