The universe has been in danger for decades upon decades ever since the rise of a race called the "Fusions". The Plumbers themselves don't even know where they originated from, and have been actively trying to stop them, but to no avail. The course was obvious.. It was heading towards the Milky Way, right beyond the Andromeda where the dying planet Dlentev was currently being held under siege by the super-planet Fusion.

"Kenju... Stop crying, you're gonna make papa mad," rang a small girl's voice in the halls of what seemed to be a dark palace. A black haired girl with jade green eyes seemed to be consoling what looked to be her younger sibling. She couldn't be older than fourteen, and the spiky-haired boy was around a year or two under her if someone estimated that. "It's okay... You did a good job. Getting mad like that made it easy for the army to go in and kill off all of the citizens. So what if one got away? I told you I'd protect you... That's what big sisters are for,"

Through all the sniffles, a coherent "Mhm..." rang from the shorter boy, and the girl gave him a gentle little peck on the forehead before whispering, "Big sister Hestia loves you, okay? I won't let anyone hurt my precious baby brother, I promise..."

Kenju seemed to relax at that, before being lifted up onto the taller girl's back and carried through the halls. His outfit was torn, and there were scratches across his form, as if he'd gotten into a massive battle. Two blades, obviously too big for his body, were sheathed and strapped to his back, both glowing a deep green and pulsing with raw, untamed energy.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the comfort of his elder sister's touch and allowing her to carry him off.

Hestia paused for a moment, then glanced back. "And the girl... The princess. She wasn't any good for you anyway. She died not to sacrifice herself for you, but to get away from you. That manipulative bitch would've led you to ruin, and hurt you for attacking her world. I'm sorry you had to go through that, darling baby brother... Don't always fall for pretty smiles and nice personalities, they'll lead you astray... When the time comes for you to have your own princess, I'll pick her out for you, 'kay?~"

Kenju didn't respond, instead that only seemed to make more tears fall. However, he offered a slow nod and clung to the girl.

"Good..." Hestia whispered. "Now let's go see what papa has to say, I heard he's planning our next adventure,"

The two traversed the halls, going through winding corridors, up and down various steps and stairs, and even roaming through a courtyard before stumbling upon two massive doors leading to what was presumably their father's room. Hestia opened the door, revealing the massive interior where a massive arachnid-like being seemed to be waiting in the far back end near a set of thrones.

"Hey, Papa!" the girl called. "We're back from Dlentev, but there's a bit of bad news..."

Kenju's eyes widened, fearfully so. "W-wait..."

The arachnid-like being opened two, glowing, ruby eyes, peering down at the small children and slamming a claw into the ground, quaking the area they all stood in. "Bad news...? Judging by what I can see, this planet's joining was a failure. What am I supposed to do with a destroyed world?"

"Mn.. Sorry, papa-" Hestia replied. She offered Kenju a small smile, then set him down, before stepping forward. "I blew it up on accident."

Kenju's eyes widened. She was taking the blame for his mistake?

"I couldn't stand to see my little brother beaten up like that, so I destroyed everything. I took his swords and struck their place's core so I could kill everyone. You can punish me accordingly, papa, just make sure Kenju's safe please,"

The arachnid being slunk down, his form changing to one more appropriate for moving closer to the girl. This time he was more humanoid, keeping his cruel glowing eyes but now seemingly wearing dark brown and black armor with a pattern of green running through his body like circuitry. "To think that the daughter of Lord Fuse could make such a mistake... It's unfortunate. Very well then, as punishment, you'll face confinement. I'll release you when you're prepared, however long it takes..."

Hestia bowed her head. "Yes, Papa..."

Kenju shook his head. "Wait-"

He was silenced by his sister roughly kneeing him in the abdomen, causing the already weakened male to crumple to the ground unconscious.

"Our next stop is Havalu, then we'll have a clear shot for the Milky Way. Seeing as the boywasn't much help here, I'll send my new enforcers down there. Doom Striders can evolve under stress to create 'Don Dooms', the superior caliber of their kind, which cause mayhem and are even capable of speech like some of our legion. I'll allow you to oversee the conquest on your own before your confinement, Hestia. Do not fail me,"Fuse bellowed, which earned him a short bow from the girl as she lifted her unconscious sibling back onto her back."As for your brother, he will go to the next planet without you. His own independence is important if he's to be my successor..."

"Of course, papa. I won't fail you again," Hestia replied, before turning on heel and heading off. "I'll pack my things for my confinement. Let me know when we reach the planet... I'm gonna put him in his room while he's unconscious,"

"Very well... I'll send a lesser fusion to retrieve and to debrief you. Begone,"

The girl carried Kenju to his room, tucking him into bed before offering him a soft and affectionate kiss on his forehead. "Everything's gonna be fine, sweet little Kenju... You'll put on a great performance for papa, I believe in you. It's too bad I won't be able to see it, but just remember this: your big sis loves you, okay?~"

She turned, offering him one last glance before closing his door and heading off down the hall to her own room, the echoing of her door closing reverberating off of the walls of the hallways before everything grew dead silent.

3 YEARS LATER

The palace halls were eerily quiet until the sound of footsteps broke that silence, followed by a much taller and more mature Kenju emerging from his sleeping quarters. There was a scowl on his face, and his expression seemed steeled by his years of constant battle and conflict. The invasion of Earth began about a year and a half ago, yet he remained restless, anticipating some sort of action other than constant training. He wouldn't repeat his failure on Dlentev, that was for sure. He had to bring glory to his father, and mistakes meant weakness.

The massive doors to his father's throne were wide open, and he took full advantage of this, stepping inside and eyeing Lord Fuse who seemed to be in humanoid form, gazing through a massive observation glass at the planet below.

"Beautiful, isn't it, boy?"Fuse spoke, motioning for the teenager to come closer.

Kenju hesitated, fixing his glare onto the male before reluctantly moving closer, standing next to him and peering through the glass as well. He hated being called "boy". It made him feel as if his father didn't take him seriously, and he felt as though Fuse knew this and did it solely to fuel his hatred. "Yes, Father. It reminds me of the world sister and I grew up on with Mother..."

"This planet holds the key to our world's ultimate goal, and what we gain from here will be highly beneficial to said goal. We've had to go as far as to replicate Earth's people, and to create our own versions of them..." Fuse explained. "Some do not possess 'lairs' as the humans call it, but seize land for themselves. The stronger ones, at least. Alas, the war is not progressing in the slightest- We're at a stalemate..."

"What's my role in this then, Father?"

"You're the piece that will turn the tides of this war entirely. This is your chance of redemption for cowardice. Your sister intentionally sabotaged a mission over you years ago... You knew this, as did she. I never taught either of you to lie, which is why you're both horribleat it. You blame yourself for her confinement, as you should... It's your fault for being too cowardly to take responsibility for your actions."

"What the hell do you mean by that?! I was young, and she hit me-"

"You're speaking back to me. Watch yourself, boy..."

"...Right, Father. My apologies..."

"I knew all along, and despite how important this world is to our plans, I'm willing to give you another chance because you are my son. If you fail, I will kill you, simple as that... You can be replaced, you are expendable- The only thing you can carry on are my genes. My name means nothing if I disown you,"

"You could never replace me, Father. I'd rather you take me a bit more seriously than this-" Kenju retorted, offering Fuse a glare. He turned to his father, sizing him up almost before immediately slinking down as the lord glared back, exerting his own power in the form of pressure that nearly made Kenju faint on the spot. The teen resisted through sheer willpower alone, but couldn't hold a torch to his parent's might and crumpled to his knees almost immediately.

"To the training fields with you, boy..."Fuse demanded, completely disregarding what Kenju had said."I'd like to test something now that you're older. You're sixteen cycles old now, I'd like to see how your powers have grown since Dlentev."

Without waiting for a response, Fuse waved his hand, flinging his child back towards the doors with an unseen force and slamming the doors shut once the teen was a few feet behind them. Of course, Kenju obeyed his father and headed to the training fields, awaiting whatever test was in store for him.

What awaited him was a field surrounded by cliffs of dark rocks. It seemed like his training area was a deep, rectangular shaped canyon with cracks of green liquid oozing through the pores of this world seeping through.

Lifeblood. That's what his father called this liquid.

It was what fueled the fusions, made them stronger, kept them alive. Despite Kenju's own lineage, it also provided those same benefits to him and his sister as well. They were still fusions, just mixed with another race unlike the counterparts of a world's champions that Fuse created when gathering their belongings that carried something called their "essence". Kenju personally didn't know what any of that meant, but it seemed to work whenever his father was conquering a planet.

The young male moved to the center of the canyon, eyeing each of the ooze-filled cracks in the ground and thinking to himself for a bit as geysers of the lifeblood erupted in random spurts all over the arena.

"Your test,"Fuse's voice boomed from around Kenju. Upon looking up, he saw his father glaring down at him from the skies, floating in his humanoid form with his arms crossed and his gaze fierce."Will be against some formidable enemies from the planet Earth. This one in particular is something they call a 'Rowdyruff Boy'. They're around your age, and carry a considerable amount of strength. They, along with the Powerpuff Girls, and Max Tennyson's Plumbers, attempted a direct assault on this world when the invasion first began. I personally sent them crawling back to their world. However, I'd like to see how you compare since I'll be sending you to theirs..."

"...Father, if I may speak my mind. They sound fucking stupid," Kenju stated, deadpanning in his father's direction and shaking his head slowly. "Bring them on, I'll do what I can to make you proud,"

Without time to react, a green hand erupted from the ground, grabbing towards Kenju's throat. His green eyes focused on it, and widened as the hand grew closer. However, his reaction speed aided him as he leaned back and out of the way while the figure became clearer. It was a masculine humanoid, devoid of facial features and clad in a green sweater with a black stripe. His piercing, glowing, red gaze was hatefully focused on Kenju as his own gravity-defying spiked hair offered a slight bounce as he finished his ascension.

"What's this one's name?" Kenju asked, raising his arms and planting his feet firmly into the ground. He balled his fists, shifted his right leg back and pushed most of his body weight onto it while keeping his focus on the figure before him. "He's fast... Not as fast as I am, but fast enough to be annoying,"

"Butch,"

Fusion Butch zoomed towards Kenju in a burst of speed causing a stream of green energy to flow out from behind his form. Kenju anticipated his path, lifting his front leg and swiftly kicking forward once the Fusion got within melee range. This caused Fusion Butch to double over from the force as the wind was knocked out of him, and before he had time to recover, Kenju offered a violent and swift series of kicks focused over his abdomen and face. He planted his front foot down drove his back leg's knee into the Fusion's chest, sending him flying back into the walls of the training grounds, cracking them and causing a plume of dust to erupt from the force at which he made the fusion hit the wall.

"Are these copies accurate representations of how strong they are? If so, I'm disappointed..."

"Accurate? No, this one is a prototype. As I said, this is a test. You'll be tasked in retrieving some things for me for the sake of this invasion. You'll lead the ground assault, and gather a few items so that I may extract 'essence' from them in order to create more counterparts. You'll be debriefed in your pod tomorrow. For now, you may return to your chambers and rest,"

Kenju seemed a bit underwhelmed by this, but offered a bow of his head regardless before heading off. He made a single stop before going to his room, however. There was a lower area to the palace, expanding into a wide chasm where two heavily guarded doors stood at the end. He moved forward, unfazed by the glares of the red-eyed creatures all around him. They knew their places, and he knew his above them. He was their prince, they would do him no harm unless the wished to suffer his wrath.

The young male approached the doors, then placed a palm to one before closing his eyes and lowering his head.

"Sister," he began. "...I'll be gone tomorrow, so don't get lonely. You won't have to come looking for me or anything either, I'll be back before you know it, and we'll have another planet conquered for Father. Once I prove to him that I can be independent, you'll be able to come out of there,"

There was no response. Maybe she was asleep?

He didn't know, he just knew that this whole thing made him feel uneasy and weird inside. He wasn't good with emotions other than his own calmness, his wrath, and an emotion he despised called "sadness". He felt this when he thought of his mother, and whenever he remembered the planet Dlentev as well. Just thinking about that world made his head hurt.

He remembered something... No, it was someone. He remembered their smile, their warmth, yet he couldn't tie it to a name. That frustrated him entirely, but rage was good. It helped make his attacks devastating, which was important.

Kenju remained there for a moment, then turned his back to the door and headed to his quarters... He needed to rest and prepare for his mission. Afterall, tomorrow was a special day for him.

His chance of redemption had arrived, and he had no intentions to fail.