Almost Invincible (Invincible SI)

[Emma Cruzader]

1: It's About Time... or not.

The first thing he felt was as if all the air in his lungs was abruptly emptied.

His stomach burned in pain and his body went flying uncontrollably, the ground sank and large amounts of earth were forcefully displaced.

The situation was confusing and chaotic, what the hell was happening?!

That question came to his mind as he caught his breath and his vision stopped spinning. He shook the dirt off his body and looked around in confusion, he was sunk at least 3 meters into what looked like a freshly formed hole, a crater?

He carefully climbed out of the crater, glancing around the surrounding area.

It was a secluded place with green grass and trees in the distance, a forest? in some unknown location.

He didn't know where he was.

More importantly, he didn't know what had hit him, although that changed quickly.

"Mark?"

The voice caught his attention, he looked up and saw J. Jonah Jameson flying down from the sky?!

Wait, no, he squinted and looked more carefully.

That Austrian mustache.

Those muscles.

That red and white suit with that cape waving in the wind.

Why was Omniman flying towards him?!

More importantly, why did he call him Mark!?

It was only now that he noticed that there was something strange about his body.

He felt different, very different, it wasn't easy to describe but if he had to put it into words then he would say he felt...

Invincible.

Oh, fuck no.

Did I hit him too hard? Nolan looked at his son, who had a lost and confused look.

He attributed it to the strong impact he had just received. At first, he planned to give him a light blow, but as he thought about it, he changed his mind. Mark... was weak, even by Viltrumite standards he would barely qualify in the lowest range.

It was easy to realize this during his attempt to hit him; he was clumsy and lacked the battle instinct that any Viltrumite had.

His son wouldn't survive in the empire if he stayed like this, he had to become stronger. It was a mistake to have ignored his combat ability until he gained his powers.

And if he wanted Mark to become stronger, there was only one way.

"Listen, Mark, if you want to be like me, to do the same as me, you must be stronger, be prepared for anything, understand?"

He might be confused, but he would learn; after all, he was his son.

Mark took a deep breath and looked at him, his eyes had something different, the panic, doubts, and fear that he had seen when hitting him had disappeared.

He swallowed and nodded slowly.

"Yes... I understand, I need to be stronger" There was something strange when he spoke, but Nolan couldn't pay attention as Mark suddenly jumped towards him at great speed.

Of course, for Nolan, such a demonstration of speed was not significant at all.

He casually raised his arm and blocked his son's blow, the air rippled, and a shockwave spread out, sending gusts of wind that shook the surrounding trees.

"Good, you're getting it" Nolan smiled. It seemed like his son was starting to understand.

.

Hitting the man in front of him felt like hitting an indestructible steel wall; his fist trembled for a second, and that feeling of invincibility that his new body had brought him immediately vanished.

He didn't know how or why, but he was here and now, and the man calling him son was the greatest threat to his life at the moment.

He didn't have much time to process what was happening, but while he was confused, he remembered one clear fact.

He should be dead; he remembered the sensation, as the blood escaped from his body and his life with it.

He had died.

But now he was alive, alive and with a body that made him feel amazing, there were no doubts in his mind, somehow unknown to him, he was alive again and didn't feel like flirting with death again.

Adrenaline began to rush through his veins the moment he realized his situation, he almost cursed aloud several times.

"Distracting yourself will only hurt you!" although he heard the words, he couldn't do anything to dodge the blow that hit his face and sent him flying into the sky.

The taste of blood flooded his mouth; he shook his head forcefully clearing any useless thoughts.

It wasn't time to think.

His body spun in the air out of control, and he had to stop it.

He quickly tried to remember that scene in the program, something about purposefully wetting his pants?

Alright, maybe he should do it his way.

He tried to look for something different, something that would help him stay upright in the air.

It wasn't difficult; it was like having an extra limb that you suddenly start using.

His momentum suddenly stopped, and his body began to float in the air by itself; he would have screamed and laughed in amazement if his "father" wasn't flying towards him with his fist raised.

Now, the reason he had started a fight against the strongest man in the world?

When he realized he had "reborn" to be a "self insert" or any other crappy label given to his situation, he knew he was in trouble.

There was no random omnipotent being with infinite charity giving him gifts, wishes, or any of those things that usually come with the standard package in situations like this.

He was alone.

Alone in a universe he barely understood, damn it, he had only seen the first season of the series and the first 4 episodes of the second season! fuck you Amazon! If he ever had the chance to return to his world, he would have a long talk with the people who decided to release only half a season before pausing it indefinitely.

So he only had a basic knowledge of this universe, his new body, and his memories.

That didn't bring him much comfort; he didn't delude himself into thinking he was a great actor. Mark's memories weren't coming, and if they didn't, then no heart-to-heart talk would prevent Omniman from turning him into pulp.

There was no father-son connection to save his ass.

For a brief second, he considered joining his father, going through all that empire crap and growing a mustache even though he disliked it.

But it only took delving into his deepest memories to discard that idea.

He may have only seen the first and half of the second season, but thanks to stupid TikTok and its unwitting spoilers, he remembered something important.

He didn't remember it exactly, but he knew that at some point in the future, something designed to kill Viltrumites would end most of them.

So yes, choosing the Viltrumite side was obviously the losing option, besides, they were the bad guys, and as has been shown over time, the bad guys always lose.

There were many more factors to consider, but the essence was clear.

So, there was only one option left, one that would allow him to survive and ultimately win.

And the biggest obstacle and threat that would decide whether he could do it or not was right in front of him, about to beat him up.

But that was okay; this was just "training." He only needed to know how big the difference was, how strong he needed to become to kill his "father."

Nolan hit hard and tough, his face received another blow that almost broke his nose.

"Mark" gritted his teeth and returned the blow as best he could, his fist connecting with his father's stomach and doing absolutely nothing; the man didn't even look uncomfortable, he just had that stupid smile on his face.

So, he hit him again.

"How was your day?" The woman's voice caught Mark's attention, and he had to suppress a groan as he turned in her direction.

So, that was his "mother," huh...

It was certainly very different seeing her in reality compared to seeing her on a screen.

"It was productive" Nolan replied to his wife, his good mood evident.

"Yes, it was very enlightening" Mark chimed in, helping with the narrative. He had already wiped the blood off his face, and although he was somewhat sore, most of the bruises had disappeared before they arrived home.

"I'll go to my room; I have to finish my homework" he quickly excused himself, needing time to think.

His parents watched him leave.

"He seems tired," Debbie quickly noticed her son's state and glanced at Nolan with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't worry about him; he's a tough kid. He was quite enthusiastic about the training; that's all" Nolan reassured her easily, looking towards where Mark had gone.

"I thought it would be complicated, but I think things are going in the right direction. Maybe him getting his powers is a good thing"

He debated with himself, why not just lie down on the bed and relax? His body was already starting to feel better; Viltrumites healed quite quickly.

Still, he decided he needed a more secluded place to think. Carefully, he opened his window, and his body easily lifted into the sky.

Flying was amazing; now that he could appreciate it without worrying about being hit, he could fully enjoy it.

"Woaaa!" He did a somersault in the air, ascending beyond the clouds and looking down.

Everything seemed so small.

This world would soon be chaotic; it was really stressful, thinking about everything that was about to happen and everything that could happen that he didn't know about.

Being caught up in this situation left him stunned in more than one sense; it was almost unreal.

Of course, that feeling of unreality disappeared as soon as the first blow fell upon him; that pain, there was nothing more real than that.

"I've already died once; I'm not going to do it again" He loved being alive; life was amazing, there were so many things to do and so much to enjoy.

Dying without achieving anything and with dreams and goals left unfinished was painful.

No, he wouldn't experience the same thing again.

"Stronger, tougher, faster... faster?" He stopped.

He blinked and thought again about his words, trying to remember everything he knew about Invincible.

"This series, it comes from a comic, right?" If this world was originally a comic world...

"Then maybe..." It was probably crazy, he would probably just make a fool of himself, but if he didn't try, if he didn't try all his options, then he didn't deserve to be alive.

"All right, let's do it" He looked around; he was very high in the sky, and probably no one would see him, but he was still cautious. His hand rose to his mouth and covered the lower half of his face just in case.

He might not have seen the Invincible comics, but he had read many other comics.

He didn't have a perfect memory of it all, but one thing stuck with him thanks to his older brother. It was a childhood game they played together, something they just did for fun, inspired by their father's old comics.

His brother was taller and older than him; he had a significant physical advantage, and for that reason, he had given him a little way to help him.

"If you can't catch me, you just have to be faster, and if you want to be faster, you just have to say the formula."

Of all the things he could have remembered, maybe this could be the key to his survival. He began to whisper, in a voice so low that it was even difficult to hear for himself; the words flowed easily from his lips.

"3x2(9YZ)4A=?"

For a moment, nothing happened; then everything stopped.

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Note:

This was born in questionable questing, there will be scenes that I have to censor / cut since SufficientVelocity does not allow them, nothing that affects the plot itself, when that happens I will clearly indicate it with a

Spoiler: Cut scene

Spoiler: Cut scene

if you do not want to read those scenes then you can read this worry-free version, if you want the uncensored version you can find it in questionable questing, fanfiction, scribblehub and webnovel, same thread name, same author name.

Original note:

This is still in its infancy, I also want to take the opportunity to develop my writing NSFW skills, so expect some of that, like 40% of smut it, and 60% of plot?

Click to shrink...

 

[Emma Cruzader]

2: Speed

When you're too excited, you tend to be impulsive; when you're impulsive, you tend to act without considering the consequences.

In a situation where panic and doubts prevail, making mistakes is more likely than not making them.

At first, Mark Grayson was excited. When the world seemed to stop, he thought he had succeeded in accessing one of the greatest multiversal forces that exist. He felt like he could truly call himself "invincible."

But in the midst of that excitement, he realized he couldn't move.

Every inch of his body seemed to be frozen in space; even blinking became impossible.

"What the hell?" Had he made a mistake?

He heard footsteps but couldn't see where they were coming from or even attempt to see what was making that sound.

Then he felt electricity coursing through his body for a brief moment, and his state of freezing seemed to suddenly disappear.

He took a deep breath and held onto his knees, blinking in confusion as he looked up. Then he saw the origin of the footsteps.

Approaching him was a man wearing a red suit adorned with a silver lightning bolt.

His red hair seemed to wave in a non-existent wind.

Flashes of blue energy serpentine around his body. The man looked at him with a warm smile, and Mark couldn't help but stutter.

"Flash?!"

The man smiled broadly and replied.

"Close, but not quite"

His voice was strange, like several voices overlapping, speaking at the same time.

Mark looked at him more closely. He resembled Flash, almost a real copy of Wally West.

But he wasn't. Mark could sense something different about his presence, something beyond human.

"Speed Force" This time it wasn't a question.

It was now that he remembered, something he should have taken into account from the beginning. The Speed Force is a sensitive cosmic power, it has consciousness, and therefore, it is capable of choosing who carries it and who does not.

"Bingo!" "Wally" raised his thumb in a sign of success. His eyes seemed to scan his body as he continued speaking.

"How interesting" He looked up and gazed around the world as if seeing beyond Earth, as if seeing something different.

"You know, I'm not sure if you're stupid or a genius, probably the former" Mark didn't pay attention to the insult; he was more concerned with the living embodiment of an omnipotent force that had decided to appear before him.

"Your knowledge, although correct in some aspects, is lacking in many others. If you had attempted this in a universe other than this one, reciting the formula of speed force would have been completely useless. You simply don't have the mathematical knowledge to comprehend such force; it would have been like throwing words into the air"

That... seemed to be true? Mark then began to think more deeply. Almost forgotten memories came to his mind, and he remembered the comic where he had first read about the Speed Force. In his excitement to gain power, he had ignored several key points.

"But you're here" But even if he had done it wrong somehow, he had succeeded, or at least partially succeeded.

"But I'm here" the entity known as Speed Force repeated, nodding in agreement. It began to walk around him as if examining him inch by inch, which put Mark on edge.

"It's been a while since I visited this multiverse. Although connected to me, I've never really paid much attention to it, so when I felt a connection, however insignificant it may be, it caught my interest. Congratulations, you're lucky. If there had been a suitable bearer of the Speed Force here, I wouldn't have even paid attention to you"

Indeed, just reciting the mathematical formula was useless; you needed to know the formula and how to solve it, a level of mathematical knowledge that no one on millions of worlds would be able to comprehend, and those who did were amazing in themselves.

But the formula, well employed or not, still served as a gateway to the Speed Force. Just uttering it was like ringing the doorbell, but whether the owner of the door decided to respond to you or not was something completely different. Still, the mere act of doing so was something that the Speed Force would notice.

"I found the door but I don't have the key" Mark couldn't explain it any other way than this.

"Wally" nodded, stopped in front of him, and stared at him intently.

"But even without the key, you managed to make me open the door... so tell me 'Mark' do you want my power?"

The way he said his name made it clear to him; the Speed Force knew perfectly well who he truly was. But even if it did, Mark didn't care. He supposed it was to be expected; he didn't believe he could hide anything from a primordial cosmic force.

"Yes, I need your power" he replied without hesitation. Regardless of how it might perceive him, his chances of survival on his own were low. His knowledge was limited, he had no way to plan beyond a certain point in the future, and the likelihood of being taken by surprise would only increase as more things changed.

If he wanted to go further, if he wanted to be invincible, he needed to be more than just Mark, more than just a Viltrumite.

"Hmm" "Wally" seemed thoughtful for a moment. His gaze seemed to look beyond Mark, as if glimpsing something different.

"Your future is blurry; your nature causes my connection with time to blur partially. You don't have many special qualities besides this. I can't say if this is a good or a bad idea; you could end up destroying the entire local multiverse or simply die due to a stupid mistake... That's amusing" he smiled, and as if he had made a capricious decision, he pointed at Mark with his finger, and a stream of blue electricity shot out in the form of a lightning bolt.

The bolt hit his chest, and snakes of electricity began to run through his body.

"Don't get too excited; I don't really have high hopes. But I feel like this could bring about some changes. You're not yet a suitable user, and considering you worthy would be incorrect. Your connection with me can barely be considered superficial, and it's entirely up to you to change that"

Wally began to leave, his back moving farther away, although he seemed to be moving slowly.

"Whatever you do, make sure not to mess it up too quickly" he waved his hand in farewell, and then he disappeared.

The world returned to normal, and Mark breathed quickly. He felt a connection to something, something superior. It was weak and faint, barely able to access a tiny fraction of that infinite energy, but it was there, coursing through his veins like lightning.

He looked to where the Speed Force had gone, and he couldn't stop a drop of sweat from falling from his forehead. At this moment, he knew that his chances of failure were immense. The Speed Force could have decided that his call was an offense and easily erased him from existence, or it could have completely ignored him and left him to his fate.

But whether by luck or something else, the Speed Force had deemed him interesting enough to let him access it.

He closed his eyes, feeling that electric current inside him, trying to interact with it, to use it. But it was like trying to grasp something intangible. He thought deeply before covering his mouth again and speaking.

"3x2(9YZ)4A=?"

This time the world didn't stop, but something changed. He could see sparks of blue lightning surrounding his body, and that energy within him stirred. This time when he called, a part of it responded and reached him.

Describing it was difficult; the closest comparison would be as if someone injected a stimulant into his bloodstream. Every cell in his body seemed to vibrate with energy, and he almost began to fly towards the horizon.

But he managed to calm down before that. He barely knew how to fly; doing it while using the Speed Force? He was afraid of ending up on Mars by mistake.

While he pondered how to test his new power, he felt that electric current decrease, and then a feeling of exhaustion hit him for a brief moment.

His stomach growled with hunger, and the Speed Force stopped being active, returning him to his normal state.

"That's..." how long was it? 20? 30 seconds?

It seemed it wouldn't be as easy as he thought.

Going back to school... honestly, he wasn't sure about it.

But for now, he had a role to play. He still needed to get used to this world. He had been researching all night while eating. This world was strange; it was Earth, yet it wasn't. Unknown cities, states, and countries seemed to have been added all over the map.

Even the streets of the cities he knew were different. It seemed that the damage caused by fights between heroes and villains required cities to be rebuilt every so often, changing their layouts.

Perhaps the only thing similar in this world to his own were the humans. They still acted like humans and looked like humans... well, maybe a bit better.

Certainly, everyone seemed more attractive than in his old world. At least the heroines all seemed to be beautiful women, of which he wasn't complaining.

And the idiots were still idiots.

"What's up, your girlfriend isn't here to protect you?"

What was this guy's name? Seeing him approach with that stupid grin on his face wasn't pleasant. When he stretched out his hands ready to grab him, he decided he had wasted enough time. His fist crashed into his face; blood easily flowed from his broken nose due to the impact.

He hadn't even put an ounce of force into that punch. He looked at his fist and realized how much self-control he lacked.

"Whoa!" William? Willkem? The guy who had been talking to him since he arrived at school seemed alarmed, and everyone around him was surprised. In his defense, he only wanted to hit him a little, not break his nose.

"Mark, you..."

"Do you have a tissue?" He raised his fist, showing the blood dripping from it. It was really annoying.

William looked at him bewildered before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to him.

"Thanks."

Needless to say, he was called to the principal's office.

At least they didn't call his parents.

From atop the buildings, Mark looked down at the city beneath his feet. Upstate, New York, huh?

He had been to New York, but Upstate? That was something new.

The reason he had come to this place was to gain some experience. Fighting his father had been good, but those battles boiled down to him trying to hit Nolan and Nolan kick his ass. He couldn't hold back or measure his strength against his father.

His father... calling him that felt very strange. He hadn't had one in his previous life. The guy had decided to go for cigarettes one afternoon, and after that, he never came back.

But calling him Nolan wouldn't be appropriate. If he accidentally called him that out loud, it could raise suspicions. So, he had been referring to him as his father in his mind for as long as he could, so it would sound natural when he said it out loud.

The sound of gunfire snapped him back to reality. It seemed it was time.

He maneuvered through the buildings until he spotted the guy he was looking for. He didn't remember his name, but he knew enough to remember that he could take one or two hits.

That was enough.

His body accelerated, crashing into the pirate version of the thing, with enough force to dent the steel. Mark easily stopped his momentum, letting the other guy roll on the ground for several meters before coming to a halt.

"Who are you!?" he sounded pretty angry.

"Call me Invincible" he decided to start using the name at once. Honestly, he couldn't think of anything better, and he didn't want to dwell on it too much.

"Hah! Invincible? How arrogant. how about the kid in pajamas?"

He wasn't in pajamas! Well, maybe a little. He still didn't have a superhero suit, so he made do with what he had in his closet.

"Well, this kid in pajamas is going to kick your butt, buddy, so don't laugh too soon"

That seemed to annoy and he began to run towards him.

He didn't know if it was some side effect of the Speed Force or just something Viltrumites could already do, but his movement seemed really slow to his eyes.

How was the original Mark hit by this?

"Be a good punching bag and don't pass out" although he said that aloud, his opponent couldn't react to his words.

His fist crashed into his face, sending him to the ground and cracking his rock-like skin.

"W-what?" he seemed dazed.

Mark looked at his fist and furrowed his eyebrows; he tried to hold back, but again, it seemed he had used more force than he intended.

"Come on, don't just stand there, man, or I'll really give you a beating" he tried to motivate his adversary a little more.

"Argh, shut up!" It seemed to have worked; the punches rained down quickly, but Mark easily dodged them all.

Su own elbow crashed into the rock guy's stomach, knocking all the air out of his lungs and sending him flying towards one of the walls of the alley.

This wouldn't do. At this rate, he'd end up accomplishing nothing.

"I need to find another way" he sighed, accelerating forward. Before his opponent could orient himself, he struck him with much more force, shattering the rock covering his face instantly, and causing him to lose consciousness.

Well, wasn't that a waste of time? Or at least it would be if he hadn't had more than one intention in doing this.

"That was excellent," as he felt his father's presence descend from the sky, Mark couldn't help but clench his fists.

"Perhaps you spoke a little too much, but it's fine. Against such insignificant opponents, there's no need for you to be too serious" he seemed pleased, so much so that he seemed to have forgotten to hide the disdain in his tone.

He looked at him, and his smile faltered slightly upon seeing his attire.

"You may be progressing quickly, but you still need the right gear for this, son"

At least he didn't criticize his appearance aloud...

"Follow me"

He didn't hesitate much; soon, both of them were flying out.

'Mission: Get a super suit. Check'

Art was a pleasant man to talk to.

"So, do you already have something in mind?" his father and the older man looked at him with raised eyebrows.

Mark smiled confidently. Of course, it's not like he had something in mind; he was simply going to steal what the original Mark had already done.

"I've been thinking about this since I was a kid. I know what I want. Do you have a piece of paper and a pencil?"

In response to his question, Art pointed to his work desk, where there was everything needed to design any type of super suit.

Mark wasted no time. While he may not have had many skills to boast about in his previous life, if he was allowed to brag, then he'd have to say he was pretty decent at drawing.

He used the natural speed of a Viltrumite to speed up the process, and as he sketched, he thought about an image he had seen of the original Mark.

At first, he thought about simply using the suit he had seen in the series, but the yellow color was never his favorite. Then, he remembered one of the spoilers he had accidentally stumbled upon while browsing the internet.

Black and blue, huh? Yeah, that could work.

He finished the drawing and passed it to Art, who raised an eyebrow in amazement at the well-done design.

"Yes, this is what I want."

"Why the 'i'?" As expected from the man who designed it in the first place, he noticed the symbol that many fans overlooked on the suit.

"It's a somewhat iconic symbol. After all, kids need something to draw on their notebooks, don't they?"

Art smiled and chuckled aloud.

"It seems you have a pretty smart kid, Nolan. I'll be glad to work on this suit"

"What are you doing?" his mother's voice made Mark lose concentration, and the egg in his hand exploded, staining his arm.

"Shit!"

"Language!" Mark fell silent by instinct. Raised only by his mother in his previous life, he still held that basic respect within him. Maybe Debbie wasn't his real mother, but she was the mother of the original Mark, and acting as if she wasn't would be stupid.

The woman deserved at least that much; He had already taken her son from her accidentally.

He raised his hand, showing his mother the broken egg, and said, "I'm training. I can't control my strength as well as I'd like, so I thought I'd try to do it this way"

Debbie looked around, dozens of broken eggs scattered throughout the backyard.

"You know you're going to clean this up, right?"

Mark looked at the ground and only now realized the mess he had been making.

"Right away"

Debbie watched him clean for a few moments before leaving, and Mark sighed in relief when he saw her go. Honestly, he didn't want to have a heart-to-heart talk with her. He had enough concerns on his own; he couldn't worry about Debbie at the moment.

He needed to start planning. With the Speed Force in his hands, even if he couldn't use it to its full capacity for now, he had many more possibilities ahead of him.

He could do much more, and that was also worrying. Significant changes meant that his knowledge would become increasingly useless.

Making too many waves would be dangerous at least until he was ready, but he didn't remember every fragment of the program exactly. Following everything to the letter would become more difficult every day.

"One step at a time," he would deal with each event as they came to him. Making elaborate plans would only lead to failure. Maybe if he had complete knowledge of the series and the comics, he could have done anything, but he didn't, so he would have to improvise on the fly.

For now, he only had two goals: to become stronger and to learn to control that strength.

He needed to train like a Viltrumite while also improving his connection with the Speed Force.

Simple goals, but they helped him have something to work towards.

"I hope you're ready, world, because I won't be easily defeated"

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[Emma Cruzader]

3: Invincible

"Look, Dad!"

The boy ran over, smiling happily, holding a childlike drawing in his hands.

The man stopped writing and turned to look at his son, taking the paper in his hands and chuckling.

"And who's this?" On the paper, there was a rough figure dressed in red and white with a waving cape.

"Duh, it's you!"

Ding!!!

Mark opened his eyes in confusion, his hand shot out, shattering the alarm clock next to his bed into pieces.

He looked at the mess he had made, frowning.

"What was that?" That scene felt vivid, as if it were part of his memories.

But it couldn't be, his father, his real father, had disappeared when he was young, leaving a wife and two children to fend for themselves.

Remembering the dream as best as he could, he realized something else, that drawing...

"Are you ready?" The voice caught his attention, and when he looked up, he saw Nolan dressed in his Omni-Man suit leaning against the doorway of his room.

His familiar figure made something click in Mark's mind.

'Ah, so they're finally arriving...' He didn't know if this was a good thing or not.

But thinking about it now wouldn't do any good, it's not like he could do anything to stop it. If the memories of the original Mark are still there, somewhere in his brain, there's no getting rid of them.

Not unless he was willing to fuck with his own head and that was a big no.

He got out of bed and stretched his arms, looking at his father and smiling.

"I'm always ready"
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.
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"Ugh!"

Mark rolled across the ground for dozens of meters before crashing into a huge rock. The rock cracked and shattered but helped to slow his uncontrollable movement.

He got up from the debris, displacing tons of fallen rocks. The weight was insignificant for his body, and crashing into the rock hadn't hurt.

What hurt was the blow Nolan had delivered.

He touched his face, feeling the blood dripping. It seemed like he had a broken nose.

Nolan descended from the sky and looked at his battered state with some concern, but almost as quickly as the concern came, it was crushed with determination. Mark needed this; his son was improving rapidly, and indulging him would only limit him.

But... A break wouldn't hurt.

"Come on, Mark, let's grab something to eat" Mark was about to refuse the offer, but his stomach reminded him that even as a Viltrumite, he still needed sustenance, especially after hours of being battered from side to side.

Soon they arrived under the shade of some trees, and his father unpacked the lunch their mother had made for them.

"You're quite agile. You've improved a lot with your flying"

At his father's words, Mark nodded. Ever since he got the Speed Force, even if he didn't actively use it, he felt like something changed in his perception.

The way he perceived things was different now.

More precisely in the movements. This allowed him to maneuver better when moving at high speeds, although when he slowed down, this perception seemed to diminish.

He supposed it was to be expected; staying still or moving slowly was the opposite of what the Speed Force represented.

His understanding of the cosmic power was still in its infancy, but now he seemed to understand some things that he hadn't before. Even with a weak connection, Mark was beginning to grasp the mysteries of speed.

To respond to his father, Mark nodded and said, "The training has served me well. After every beating you give me, I feel stronger" This wasn't entirely a lie.

While the Speed Force was giving him some unexpected benefits, it was undeniable that fighting against Omni-Man was also helping.

Since he arrived in this world, almost a week had passed, and every day he had received a beating.

He hadn't gone to school during this time; somehow, he had convinced his mother that he needed to learn to control his powers or he would be a threat to his classmates. His father naturally supported him, and together they managed to get her to agree to call in a week of sick leave, claiming that Mark was ill.

But soon he would have to go back. He was fortunate that even being beaten every day, no marks or scars were visible on his body.

A normal human would have persistent pains for days from a well-placed blow, but he, as a Viltrumite, seemed to be able to take any kind of punishment and be perfectly fine with a proper night's rest.

If he remembered correctly, the original Mark had recovered from having his stomach slashed open by that strange cat/lion man.

And he had done it in days.

He didn't know how strong a Viltrumite's healing ability was, but it certainly seemed quite strong.

"It's natural. Listen, Mark, we Viltrumites have an adaptation capacity beyond any other species in the universe. Viltrumite DNA is so robust that it can self-repair from almost any damage. Naturally, this means that our strength grows when facing high-stress situations. Many species can do this to a lesser extent, like humans, for example. But what sets us apart from them is that their bodies have limits. Their self-healing capacity is slow and inefficient on its own, and over time, small injuries accumulate in their bodies, unlike us; they never fully heal"

As his father explained, Mark paid attention. as now he was a viltrumite, understanding his anatomy and biological functioning was important if he wanted to become stronger.

"Human beings can adapt to extreme situations over time, but this remains dangerous for them. In the end, whether they can survive or not depends on their physical and mental state. Illness and old age, all these things are barriers that limit them, just like all other species in the universe"

When speaking of all the other races in the universe, Mark could see the disdain in his father's eyes.

"But we Viltrumites have none of those disadvantages. We're always at our best. Aging only makes us stronger, and diseases are nonexistent for us. Our bodies can quickly adapt to any environment, feed on any kind of food, and breathe any kind of gas as long as it has a minimum percentage of oxygen." The more he spoke, the more excited and proud he seemed.

"Injuries that would be fatal for any other species are mere annoyances for us. As long as your heart and brain aren't completely destroyed, you won't die, so you don't have to worry about being hurt, because every time you are, you'll come back stronger"

His hand touched Mark's shoulder, and with a smile, he said, "You truly are invincible now, son"

His words carried a lot of confidence, and Mark had to force a smile he didn't feel.

A Viltrumite sounded quite incredible... until another Viltrumite entered the equation.

Still, everything his father said gave him a lot to think about. He had no reason to lie to him, and someone who had lived for thousands of years must know their own species' capabilities quite well.

If everything was true, then his body had much more potential than he initially believed.

Healing quickly from any injury without suffering consequences... Maybe not super regeneration, but it was pretty close.

"As long as the brain and heart aren't completely destroyed, huh..."

Glancing at his father out of the corner of his eye, Mark decided to remember this as something important. He would need it in the future.
.
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"How does it feel?" at the question, Mark made a few more movements before nodding with satisfaction.

"Like a second skin" He clenched his fists, looking at the mirror in front of him, unable to help but nod in satisfaction. Somehow, wearing a tight suit felt even more incredible than he had thought.

The blue and black colors suited him well. The suit didn't differ much from his memories, except for one thing: the goggles covering his face were slightly different. It was just a design change; whereas before they seemed to have insect-like eyes, now they simply looked like modified motocross goggles. They weren't exactly the same, but it was enough.


(quick drawing made especially for this story, Inspired by a real comic book cover)

"Thanks, Art. Your work is amazing" He looked at the man with a smile; he was certainly good at what he did.

"Your design helped a lot. I just had to do the manual work. Come on, go ahead and try it out. I know you're itching to get out there" Art pointed to the exit, and Mark didn't argue. He quickly flew out, leaving a small gust of wind behind.

.

A sonic boom was followed by another and another. Mark increased his speed as he maneuvered through the air in the skies of New York City.

Flying had become much easier and more natural; he could easily change direction, accelerate, turn, and stop at any moment.

He reached the top of a building and waited. If he had calculated correctly, the moment Art finished his suit should also be the moment when that guy with the laser arm showed up.

Of course, it might be that giving Art a pre-made design made him finish earlier, so he might be waiting for nothing.

But when he saw the red beam of light shooting towards the building where he stood, he knew he had been lucky—or perhaps it was just the universe conspiring against him.

"All right, Art, I hope your suits really are 'indestructible.'"

Accelerating at maximum speed, he arrived in front of the energy beam. He watched it approach him and clenched his fist, then struck it.

Fist and laser beam met head-on, the shockwave spreading quickly, and the energy beam exploded in the air.

Mark shook his hand; there was a slight tingle, but nothing that was really a problem.

The suit wasn't destroyed, which was good. He looked at the second energy beam and quickly intercepted it in the same way as the first.

Then he flew at great speed towards the perpetrator, who was looking in his direction after noticing his energy beams had been interrupted.

He aimed his laser arm at him, but his recharge time was really slow, at least for Mark.

He arrived in front of him instantly, and his fist met the barrel of his weapon; the energy beam hadn't had time to fire before it was hit back to where it came from, the explosion engulfing them both. Mark stretched his arm, grabbing the enemy by the neck before he was sent flying.

The smoke filled the street, but Mark only needed to wave his hand to clear the place.

He looked at the guy he was holding; his entire laser arm had exploded up to his shoulder, and he seemed to have second and third-degree burns.

That would probably leave a scar.

"Ugh" a groan escaped, and Mark was honestly surprised; he didn't expect the guy to still be conscious.

He looked at the police officers staring at him in astonishment and smiled, waving his hand and dropping the villain at their feet.

"He's all yours, guys"

The police wasted no time; with so many heroes around, it was common for them to be helped from time to time, although seeing a new face was always surprising.

Even more so when he seemed to be quite strong.

"You're new. What's your name?" One of the police officers approached him and extended his hand.

Mark smiled and shook his hand.

"Just call me Invincible"

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"What's the emergency?" Immortal entered the base of the Guardians of the Globe with some haste. A call for emergency always meant big trouble for Earth, meaning big problems they had to resolve.

"Aren't you the one who should tell us? You're the last one to arrive. We thought you summoned us" Red Rush said, with obvious doubt in his tone, while Darkwing frowned, looking around cautiously.

Before anyone could react, Red Rush crashed into Aquarus. Their heads collided with such force that their skulls exploded, blood and gray matter raining down, leaving the entire team of heroes gaping in shock.

Immortal's eyes widened, on the verge of shouting orders, but before he could do so, Green Ghost and War Woman met their end. The former's head flew off, and the latter's neck snapped abruptly, the sound of their bones crunching echoing in Immortal's ears.

It was swift, swifter than any of them could predict, even Red Rush was caught off guard.

Martian Man and Dark Wing couldn't even say anything before their bodies fell, and Immortal took several steps back, panic beginning to flood him.

"Show yourself! Let me see who you are!" he shouted, looking around unwilling to be caught off guard like the others. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it.

And fury engulfed him.

"You! I never liked you!" Then his head was severed.

Silence reigned in the place for a moment, then Omni-Man walked over to Immortal's corpse, the mockery clear on his face.

"The feeling's mutual" he taunted.
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[Emma Cruzader]

4: Changes and More Changes

School, a place he never got along with. Mark stared at the building he had to enter with a furrowed brow. Honestly, he was glad the original Mark was about to graduate; he didn't think he could endure more than a month of attending classes.

As he walked towards the entrance, a familiar guy seemed to be waiting for him: William. This time, he remembered his name. Memories of the original Mark were coming to him, though in a strange way. They were like dreams; he saw flashes of them from time to time while he slept.

It honestly felt a bit weird and creepy. He just hoped that one of those future memories to recover wasn't one where the original Mark was having fun alone.

Maybe he was Mark now, but there were things he didn't need to see.

William approached him with his hand up, and Mark returned the greeting, clapping their palms together.

"Hey, man, you missed out on a lot while you were gone" William began ranting about all the usual teenage gossip, and Mark only half paid attention.

If he was going to waste time going to school, he might as well use it to train with the speed force.

His main goal was to access it without needing to say the formula. His connection was so weak that he needed a crutch like that, and he absolutely hated it.

It made no sense to try to train anything else derived from the speed force if he couldn't even use it at will. So, while he walked to his locker and listened to William, he was also trying to access the speed force naturally.

It was difficult; the thing barely reacted when he prodded it, metaphorically, with his mind.

Trying to grasp it and harness it was proving to be a challenge; something was missing. Maybe he needed to look at it from another angle, try something different?

"And with that, it's more than three students who have disappeared. People are really starting to panic, you know" his attention returned to reality upon hearing William.

Students missing? Confusion and doubt filled his mind. He didn't remember anything like this in the series.

But then again, this wasn't a series; it was the real world, and maybe a bunch of things were happening at the same time, things that wouldn't be mentioned on screen if they had nothing to do with the plot. Still, something told him this wasn't so simple.

A bad feeling filled his stomach.

"That sounds bad. Does anyone have a clue what might be happening?" William shook his head in response to his question.

"No, bro, it's quite confusing. I heard the principal plans to suspend classes again if this continues" they soon reached their lockers. Mark looked at the combination lock and couldn't help a drop of sweat from falling from his forehead.

He hadn't thought about he didn't know how to open the original Mark's locker. When he punched that guy a week ago, he had been sent home without having to worry about it, but now...

He narrowed his eyes and focused his vision.

The Viltrumites were really more interesting than the television program let on.

Perhaps because it wasn't the focus, but their superhuman abilities were something that, in his opinion, should have been explored more.

For example, their vision. While they didn't have telescopic vision capable of perceiving cells or atoms like Superman could, it was still something to consider.

By focusing his sight, he could easily see the microscopic wear generated by time on the metal of the combination lock. This way, figuring out the combination was easy, and with a few simple movements, his locker opened without a problem.

"Bingo~"

While celebrating his small achievement, a sudden voice caught his attention.

"Hey, I heard you gave Tod a beating"

When he turned his gaze, he couldn't help but feel somewhat confused. A blonde girl with short hair down to her shoulders was smiling pleasantly at him.

Okay, this felt somewhat familiar, but at the same time, there was something truly wrong about it.

The bad feeling he had felt before multiplied by a thousand, and cautiously, he opened his mouth, hoping to be absolutely wrong.

"Hey, Amber..."

She raised an eyebrow at the strange way he greeted her, but her smile didn't falter.

"And here I thought you had already forgotten about me. With so many days absent, I thought you had been expelled"

And his bad feeling came true. For a moment, he considered closing his locker, turning around, and going home.

When he thought things were starting to go well, the universe decided to make it clear that being invincible meant being the one who gets beat up.

In one way or another, he swallowed but his mouth felt dry. He stopped his childish impulse to just escape from things and decided to go with the flow for now.

He needed to know what else had changed. And an easy way to do that was right in front of him. Besides the obvious visual difference, what else was there about this "Amber"?

"They almost did it, but I managed to convince the principal that it was all a big misunderstanding. It helped that I've never caused major problems before"

Amber smiled and said, "And that's why everyone was surprised when you sent Tod to the infirmary. You never gave the impression of being like that. Tell me, Mark, what else are you hiding?" She leaned forward, her blue eyes looking at him intensely as if she were really trying to see through him.

"Believe me, you have no idea."

Before Amber could say anything else, the bell rang, indicating they should hurry. She seemed somewhat annoyed by this, but her good humor quickly returned. She took out a piece of paper and a pen from her bag, quickly wrote something down, and put it in Mark's hand before starting to leave.

"Well, Mister Mysterious, if you ever want to tell me your dark secrets, then call me"

Watching her leave, Mark looked at the paper, debating whether he should just throw it away or keep it.

He looked at Amber's back, then at her butt, and then at her legs, and decided that keeping it wouldn't hurt anyone.

After all, he needed to release some stress.

From the side, William watched the whole situation without believing that Mark had actually gotten a girl's number.

.

Back at home, Mark was sitting in the backyard, "meditating." It wasn't really meditation; it was more accurate to call it one of his attempts to understand the Speed Force.

While he was sitting, his eyes were focused on everything happening in front of him. Every movement, no matter how small and slow, didn't escape his sight.

The Viltrumites had enhanced perception, and their own version of "bullet time" which was obvious since without something like that, they could never fly at the speeds they did.

It felt very similar to the sensation he felt when he first experienced the Speed Force, although not as focused. There were subtle differences, but it was similar enough for him to use it as a means to understand that state and try to return to it.

Although it was somewhat boring, Mark would say that watching an ant move hundreds of times slower than its original speed wasn't exactly the best entertainment.

Still, he felt it was working. Somehow, seeing everything in his vision move slowly made him feel the strange sensation of speed. It was contradictory, but he couldn't explain it better.

It was the feeling that he was faster than everything else in front of him. In some way, that stimulated the lightning sleeping within his body a bit.

As if it wanted to come out and force everything else to be equally fast.

As if being slow were an insult. It was strange because, literally abstractly, he was feeling the feelings of the Speed Force, or at least those of the small speck of Speed Force within him.

And that was something else he had come to discover. His Speed Force and the Speed Force that had interacted with him was not exactly the same. He didn't know if it was his own discovery or something the Speed Force itself had provided him.

But essentially, the Speed Force was an omnipresent force, but being omnipresent, it couldn't have individuality. If you are everything, then you are nothing.

That's why the Speed Force chose bearers to manifest itself, planting a seed in them that generated individuality, connected to the Speed Force, of course, but at the same time connected to its bearer, as something symbiotic.

And that's why the Black Flash existed. Once a part of the Speed Force gained individuality, getting rid of it was probably not pleasant. He didn't know how or why, but the Speed Force needed the Black Flash to personally harvest their lives and return the energy in them to its original source.

If he had to guess, the Speed Force connected to a bearer was so related to them that even in death, their souls could escape any heaven or hell that existed simply by running. That is, they didn't die completely, and considering the capabilities he remembered in those with the Speed Force, they could very well avoid their own death by running back in time. In this way, the Speed Force would never bring back the "borrowed" energy, and that's where the Black Flash came in.

Of course, there were many doubts with this thought. If the Speed Force is everywhere, why does it need to recover something that is already within it? Is it because of this "individuality" generated by the Speed Force within the bearers that resist returning to being "nothing"?

And if so, what happens with the manifestation of the Speed Force that had appeared before him? If he remembered correctly, Wally West had managed to escape the Black Flash by running beyond time. Somehow, this had made him important enough for the Speed Force to decide that the individuality he had created would be its main sapience?

Of course, this was just a basic explanation and some theories. Mark still didn't know many things about the Speed Force and how it works, and if he was honest with himself, he didn't think he would ever comprehend every aspect of a primordial cosmic force even if he were given ten lives.

"I think I told you when you were eleven years old that Viltrumites don't have heat vision. Even if you stare at those ants all year, you won't make them start burning" Nolan's voice interrupted Mark's contemplations. He turned to see his father, who was wearing his Omni-Man suit and looking at him from the back door leading to the backyard.

"I was just thinking about something. I heard from Will that some guys disappeared at school, and I was wondering if I should try to solve it" he stood up and walked over to his father, giving an explanation he thought was fairly decent.

Nolan frowned slightly.

"Listen, Mark, I know you're still adjusting to your new responsibilities, but you must understand that people like us are made for more... important things. Although the disappearance of some teenagers is worrying, the reality is that's police work. We stop tsunamis, we halt earthquakes, we save the world! We can't waste our time on such... mundane things"

Nolan put his hand on his son's shoulder and continued.

"Maybe it's time I showed you what you're made for. Come with me; it's time you helped your father patrol."

Mark had a lot to say about Nolan's words, but this wasn't the time or place. Instead, he just nodded and went to put on his suit. In fact, he had wanted to talk more with his father for various reasons.

While a week of training together was productive, there wasn't really much conversation between them beyond the advice he gave to improve.

Maybe he could use this to ask some really important questions he needed answers to.

Soon, both took off into the sky.

.

Among the clouds, as they flew over the city, Mark conversed with his father.

"How different is Viltrum from Earth?" At his question, Nolan blinked, surprised but in good humor, his son's interest in Viltrum was a good thing, a very good thing.

"Very different. Earth is... backward, even primitive. Much of its technology is honestly obsolete. Viltrum is quite the opposite; we possess the galaxy's best technological advancements and the brightest minds. Every day, new and incredible discoveries that help improve life on thousands of worlds are born on Viltrum"

"As a society, Viltrum and Earth are also different. Humans lack unity; they're selfish and only look out for the interests of a few. A Viltrumite serves the empire with all they have; everyone works together for their improvement. All are part of something greater, and for that, we can be proud"

Pride was evident, as was the clear disdain for Earth. As a human in his first life and half-human in this new one, Mark couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Sure, Earth might be trash, but it was his trash. Perhaps it was stupid; it was the feeling he had as a human.

"Come on, Dad, Viltrum can't be so perfect. Can you honestly tell me there's nothing wrong with it?" Maybe he pushed his luck a bit there. The way he remembered it and how it sounded right now, his father fit perfectly into the mold of an ultra-nationalist fascist soldier. If he angered him by mistake, things could get out of control

His father seemed to furrow his brow a bit at his question, but quickly his expression relaxed, and he seemed somewhat pensive, as well as... shy? That sent shivers down Mark's spine, making him move away from him a bit without him noticing.

"Well, if I had to give a point to Earth over Viltrum... it would be in relationships, if you know what I mean." The look he gave made Mark understand, though it made him uncomfortable.

"What's different? From what you've told me, Viltrumite biology and human biology aren't so different from each other." Despite the discomfort, curiosity was greater.

"That's true, but the way a Viltrumite views sex and the way a human views it are very different." Nolan tried to find the most suitable way to explain it before continuing.

"For a Viltrumite, sex only has one purpose: procreation. Due to our biology and how powerful our DNA is, there really isn't any effective contraceptive method."

Mark raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously? Not even condoms?"

Nolan laughed.

"Do you seriously think there's a material that could survive two Viltrumites interacting with each other in the bed?

Mark thought about it, yeah, it didn't seem like a condom would be feasible.

Not at least when two Viltrumites entered the equation.

"Anyway, as I was saying, due to this, Viltrumites view sex as merely reproductive. Once you have it, it's because you've decided to have a child, and that's where the second problem comes in"

Nolan debated with himself about his next words.

"Viltrumites... We live much longer than humans, much longer. Therefore, for us, having children isn't really a priority. Our bodies are always in the best condition to do so, so a Viltrumite doesn't seek to have offspring easily"

For that reason, Mark was Nolan's first child, even though he had lived for over a thousand years.

And that probably wouldn't have happened if humans weren't so similar to Viltrumites. In the end, any other species was unworthy of mixing with the pure blood of Viltrum, and humans barely qualified.

And for that reason, it was important for Mark to understand that Earth would be better with Viltrum in it.

Nolan waited for the question he thought Mark would ask: how long his species really lived. This could be tough for his son, but if he accepted it, maybe it would make it easier for Mark once he told him his plan.

But Mark was thinking of something else.

'so my ultimate enemies are a bunch of prudish space nazis... Great'

He didn't know if this was a good thing or not.

"So, the glorious Viltrum is filled with virgins and saints?"

His son's words left Nolan stunned; he didn't know what to respond for a moment before starting to laugh.

"Well, I can't say that's untrue. I certainly discovered a whole new world once I came to Earth and met your mother" Nolan raised his eyebrows in a way that suggested something, and Mark would have been offended if Debbie really were his mother.

"Eww!" Still, he had to play along, making Nolan laugh even more.

At this rate, he could win an Oscar.

Before they could continue talking, there was a strange beep coming from a communicator his father carried with him. Suddenly, Omniman's demeanor became serious as he read the incoming message.

"I have to go, Mark. It seems they need me elsewhere. Remember what I told you, focus on the truly important things, remember"

Nolan suddenly blurred, leaving a secondary image, making Mark open his eyes in astonishment. He looked to where his father had gone and realized he couldn't even see his figure in the distance.

How... how fast was he really?

Even with his connection to the Speedforce, he couldn't catch the moment when he started to accelerate. Mark's expression turned serious; he knew Omniman was holding back during their training, but... he didn't expect it to be to this extent.

Before he could dwell on it further, something else caught his attention: an explosion followed by several more began to rock the city beneath his feet.

With no time to lose, he descended rapidly to the ground, looking on in confusion as an army of thousands of robots began to invade the city suddenly.

His body crashed into a dozen of them, mechanical parts flying everywhere, and suddenly hundreds of laser guns aimed at him.

"All right, Skynet, I'll give you the chance to obediently return to the hard drive from whence you came. If you refuse, don't blame me for tossing you in the trash can" He didn't know who to address, so he looked at all the robots around him.

"who the hell are you?" The voice made him look into the distance where two huge blue figures mounted what looked like a high-tech ship.

Mark blinked as he recognized them as the Mauler twins. Since when did these guys have an army of robots under their command?

"People call me invincible, and if you're as smart as you claim to be, then you'll shut down your terminators and leave the city in peace"

The Mauler twins looked at him as if he were stupid and began laughing uncontrollably.

"Arrogant brat! You have no idea who you're dealing with! With the two of us and our steel army, no name hero can stop us this time!"

So it would be the hard way then. Mark clenched his fists; the Mauler twins were tough from what he remembered from the show. They would be perfect to test how strong he had become.

Silence reigned for a fraction of a second, then hundreds of laser beams rained down on him from all directions.

Unlike bullets, laser projectiles were much faster, pure energy that disintegrated everything in their path. Mark struggled to maneuver through them.

Their quantity, speed, and strength might have vaporized any other person, but Mark had been hit harder. Even as dozens of impacts struck his body, it didn't make him flinch at all.

His hand shot out like a blade, his palm cutting through any robot in its path as he easily made his way toward his target.

"Oh shit!" one of the Mauler twins said, but before he could prepare himself, Mark's fist struck him in the face.

Blood splattered as his nose broke, and his body was sent flying, crashing and crushing dozens of his soldiers.

Mark hurried to the next Mauler, but this one had already prepared himself. He aimed a large weapon that had been in his arms directly at Mark's face.

A beam of crimson light the size of a car shot out at full force. Mark crossed his arms in front of him and felt the extreme heat burning parts of his suit and even irritating the skin on his arms.

His body was sent back dozens of meters, crashing into an abandoned bus. The vehicle then exploded, engulfing Mark in a cloud of smoke.

The Mauler who fired looked at the scene with a smile, which quickly disappeared when Mark shot out of the smoke at full speed.

Controlling his army, hundreds of robots launched themselves in Mark's path to block him.

Mark clenched his fist, ready to carve his way through the endless wave of machines, but before he could do so, a pink energy field extended like a wall of dozens of meters, blocking the robots.

He looked up at the sky and couldn't help but look for a second time.

the program was shit, or did this universe really have some strange rules about people's attractiveness?

Whatever the answer was he wasn't complaining, he appreciated the view

Atom Eve gracefully descended from the sky and looked at the Mauler twin still standing with clear anger.

"I thought you two had learned your lesson. You should have stayed in prison"

From the left, riding his flying motorcycle-like vehicle, Robot arrived at full speed. He leaped into the air, and his vehicle crashed into a dozen robots, causing them to explode.

Mark didn't even have to look to know that Dupli-Kate and Rex Splode had also arrived.

'This isn't supposed to happen' Mark thought, but then again, nothing that was supposed to happen was happening.

The more different things continued to happen, the more his half-baked plans self-destructed.

"Seriously?! The Teen Team? Where are the Guardians of the Globe?!" The Mauler who had been punched by Mark returned to his twin's side, his face bruised and a look of disgust in his eyes.

"Dealing with more important matters than a couple of idiots" Rex shouted.

In response, a dozen laser beams were fired at him, which, fortunately for him, were blocked by a pink energy field.

"I've found the frequency they're using to command their army. I need a few minutes before I can shut them all down" Robot said, and his team members nodded in understanding.

Mark approached them, shaking the dust off his body.

"If you need someone to cover you, I can help" he said, offering the warmest smile he could muster.

Robot looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"I accept your offer"

The Mauler twins, of course, wouldn't just stand by while they discussed how to defeat them. Both of them withdrew further into their army, beginning to plan an escape route.

The one with the broken nose looked at Invincible with clear resentment and snatched the giant weapon from his brother.

"Hey!" He didn't care about his annoyance.

"You command the robots; I'll take care of these idiots" Without giving him time to object, he jumped into the fray about to begin.

The remaining twin frowned at his brother's back and sighed.

"As expected of a clone, only an idiot rushes to get beaten up"

Mark introduced himself to the team as Invincible, and they also told him their names, although he already knew them.

Soon they were ready, and the robots began to charge at them.

The laser beams were easily blocked by Atom Eve and her shields, Rex and Dupli-Kate took care of any robots that got too close, and Mark launched himself directly at the Mauler twin running towards them.

His body easily cut through the army of robots, and he saw the Mauler charging that giant weapon, ready to shoot at him, but this time Mark wasn't caught off guard.

When the car-sized beam of light fired, Mark easily dodged underneath it, his blurred figure arriving in front of the Mauler, ready to strike again.

The Mauler smirked, his fist already prepared halfway, anticipating Mark's trajectory.

Mark saw this, and his own fist shot out. Then both blows met each other, and the air exploded. There seemed to be a moment of pause where neither prevailed over the other, then the Mauler's arm twisted in a way that it was clear his bones broke and flesh exploded into pieces.

"Arghh!" The Mauler screamed, seeing his now useless arm.

Mark stepped forward, his knee hitting his stomach, knocking all the air out of his lungs. Then his hand grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground, making the whole place shake slightly.

"Didn't I tell you before? I'm invincible" Mark taunted him, watching the Mauler writhe on the ground. He couldn't help but mock him. Having so much power, being so strong, was amazing. His amusement lasted only a moment before his body was bathed in laser beams.

He had to dodge and step back a bit, looking at the still huge army in front of him, clicked his tongue. He had gotten distracted, intoxicated by his success. He should remind himself more often that his father was still punching him around like a punching bag.

'You're only cocky when you're not losing' he thought. He needed to get his feet back on the ground. If he got too arrogant, he'd end up dead from some stupidity.

He soon returned to the fray, helping the Teen Team. Though they were numerous, the robots weren't a big problem in themselves, so they soon found a comfortable rhythm.

Then, Robot raised his arm, and invisible waves spread everywhere. One by one, the robots seemed to short-circuit and began to fall motionless.

"It's done"

Mark scanned the battlefield, looking for the remaining twin but not seeing him.

"I think the other one escaped" he said to Robot.

"Don't worry, I managed to interfere with his control device, and now I can track him" Robot replied.

Mark nodded. A genius was a genius, he supposed.

The other team members approached, and Rex slapped Mark's shoulder with a smile on his face.

"That was amazing, buddy! You made that Mauler eat dirt, literally"

"Good job" Atom Eve added.

Mark nodded. "You guys did great too. I couldn't have finished this so easily on my own" It was a lie. If he had decided to use the Speed Force, even if it was just for 30 seconds, it was more than enough to make his way through the army, knock out the Mauler twins, and take the control device from their hands.

While secretly practicing, he had simply measured how much his speed increased when he used his connection to the Speed Force. In simple numbers, it was three, almost four times faster.

Which might not seem like much, but it has to be considered he could easily move dozens of times the speed of sound without using the Speed Force.

and that increase would grow as his connection and experience with the Speed Force strengthened.

"We can discuss thanks later; we need to help with cleanup and rescue. Many civilians were affected by this" Robot said, and everyone agreed.

Mark decided to help a bit by lifting debris and moving small piles of robots to a place where they wouldn't be too much of a hindrance.

With everything said and done, it was time to go home. His suit was a mess, and he needed to take a shower.

"Thanks again for the help in this operation, Invincible. I'd like a way to stay in touch with you for future collaborations" Mark shook hands with Robot and nodded, giving him his cell phone number.

A different one than he usually used. After all, it would be unprofessional to simply use his civilian number, wouldn't it?

"If you ever need help, don't hesitate to call me" Mark bid farewell to everyone and headed home; he still had things to do.

With care not to be seen, Mark landed in his backyard, stretched his arms, and looked at the sun about to set on the horizon. It seemed like it had been a busy day.

He entered the kitchen of the house and saw his parents at the dining table, looking somewhat serious.

He frowned and asked directly "Why the long faces?"

His father looked at him, his eyes containing different emotions difficult to explain, then sighed and said something Mark didn't expect to hear.

"The Guardians of the Globe are dead" Mark froze, blinked in confusion, and looked at Nolan.

The Guardians were dead? His shock wasn't because the news was unexpected.

No, his astonishment was because if that was true and the Guardians were dead, it meant his father must have killed them. But if that was the case, then why was he sitting in front of him without a scratch at all?

Mark's demeanor was taken as a natural shock by his parents. Nolan sighed and continued speaking.

"Their funeral is in a few days. Until then, only a few know about this. I know I don't have to tell you, but don't say anything until then, okay?"

Mark nodded somewhat distractedly.

"Sure, I... I'll go take a shower." He left without saying more, Nolan watching his retreating back with a furrowed brow.

Mark felt the water washing over his body, looked at his reflection in the puddle under his feet, and couldn't help but want to curse.

Over and over again! Things changed without him being able to do anything to stop it. What happened?! What was the turning point? What changed?

He shook his head; it didn't matter anymore. Any plan, any prediction, any future knowledge he thought he had, it didn't matter.

No, from now on, he had to adapt, take what he thought he knew with a grain of salt, and not rush.

He felt his shoulders heavier and felt a headache threatening to come on. He really needed to relax. Since he arrived in this world, he had been doing nothing but training, thinking of plans, thinking of the future, thinking of surviving.

What was the point of a life like that?

He had to start thinking about living.

.
.
.

 

[Emma Cruzader]

5: Plan B

"It seems like a great place" Mark walked around the Team Teen headquarters, wearing his spare suit. He was glad that Art had made more than one.

It was the morning after the whole fiasco with the Mauler twins. Robot had called Mark to invite him to his lair. Mark supposed he wanted to invite him to join the team or something similar. Robot should already know that the Guardians were dead. Soon, he would have to form a new group, and with his memories as a reference, Robot would be the one to take charge.

"Thanks, I built it myself" Robot walked alongside him towards where the other members of the group were spending their time.

Mark looked at them. It was still surprising to notice the big differences between looking at something in reality and seeing it in 2D.

Rex noticed his arrival and stood up from his seat with a smile.

"Look who's here! I didn't think we'd see you so soon"

Mark greeted him. The guy didn't seem so unpleasant, but considering he hadn't done anything to annoy him yet, that could change.

Atom Eve and Dupli-Kate also greeted him, and soon everyone was gathered. Robot had mentioned that he had something important to tell them.

"What's up, Robot? You don't usually call us so early unless there's an emergency" Eve asked, and the other members nodded in agreement.

"A few weeks ago, I told you that the team would disband due to my imminent joining of the Guardians. That's off" that seemed to surprise the team.

Rex seemed quite outraged as he started speaking.

"Wait, what?! Those idiots rejected you? They can't do that!"

Robot quickly raised his hand to calm him and continued speaking.

"The GDA has informed me that the Guardians are missing. Nothing is confirmed yet, but it seems something happened to them. That's why they've asked me to keep Teen Team on guard. For now, we'll take care of any threats that arise until there's more information about the whereabouts of the Guardians"

That seemed to quiet Rex.

"Well, damn, more work"

Ignoring his complaints, Robot turned to Mark.

"That's why I've called you here. With the Guardians indisposed, we need all the help we can get. Invincible, do you think we can count on you?"

Mark smiled, an expected request with an answer he had already thought of.

"You already have my number. If you need my help, no matter what it is, just tell me, and I'll be there in a blink"

In truth, being a hero wasn't his priority. He didn't think he was a bad guy, but he also didn't think he was a saint. Mark was clear about this. However, he also knew that in this world, he needed to choose a side. There was Earth and there was Viltrum. He had already decided to bet on Earth, so making allies was his best option.

He wasn't sure yet how difficult the fight would be in the future. He didn't know how strong the planets coalition was, but considering that Allen had been his greatest success and that success had failed miserably, well, Mark didn't have high hopes for them.

So, the key should be Earth. He had been surfing the internet, and the number of heroes and villains was insane. He didn't know if any of them would be enough to face a Viltrumite, but he didn't have other great options.

It was either that or become stupidly strong enough to face an entire galactic empire on his own...

Whether it was the latter or the former, Earth was still his home. Even if in the end, he won on his own, what good would it be if Earth were destroyed?

"So, we'll count on you" Robot stretched out his hand, and Mark took it. Robot was also a part of his plan. Mark wasn't a genius, but he didn't need to be if he already had one by his side.

Before they could say anything else, an alarm started blaring loudly. Everyone became alert, and Robot quickly deployed a holographic screen.

"The city is under attack."

Mark looked at the images. The open portal from which an army of green aliens emerged was familiar.

So, it's time'

Without hesitation, they all set off.

.

Hundreds of laser beams rained down everywhere. Mark was the fastest to arrive at the scene and without hesitation, he dove towards a crowd of Flaxan soldiers.

His landing created a shockwave that cleared dozens of meters around him, causing the invading army to turn and focus their attention on him.

"You know, the city just had one invasion; it doesn't need another" Mark spoke, though he was somewhat distracted. There was something strange, a sensation he couldn't describe. The speedforce within him stirred as if it had found something familiar.

Mark narrowed his eyes and looked at the portal. Was space twisting? No, it wasn't just space; time was warping.

He didn't know how, but he could feel it, like time between Earth and Flaxan was splitting, two different dimensions with different spacetimes connected through a portal.

It was as if they were in conflict, and Earth was winning. Maybe the Flaxans didn't feel it yet, but Mark could. The biological clock in their bodies was accelerating; every passing second, they began to age faster.

Seeing it on a program and literally feeling how it worked were two different things.

Mark watched them raise their weapons and prepare to shoot at him. Honestly, he was tempted to just stand there and wait for them to die of old age, but that wouldn't be much of a performance.

So, he launched himself at them, easily dodging energy blasts and crashing into the alien tanks. His body passed through the extremely dense material they were made of, causing the vehicle to explode.

The Flaxans screamed, their unintelligible language echoing across the battlefield as Mark hurried to deal with them.

A group aimed at him, but before they could attack, a pink energy field crushed them from the sky.

The Teen Team had arrived.

Mark looked at them and smiled.

"I thought I'd have to handle this on my own!"

"Don't even think about it, kicking butt is our job!" Rex charged towards the enemies while Dupli-Kate began flooding a section of the battlefield with her copies.

Robot navigated through the air alongside his vehicle. Mark wondered how many of those he had. Just yesterday, he had crashed one into the Mauler army.

Atom Eve flew beside Mark, scanning the battlefield.

"Here, take this"

Mark caught the object she tossed him. It looked like a Bluetooth earpiece.

"It's a communicator; we couldn't give you one earlier"

Mark nodded and put it on, able to hear Robot giving orders to Rex and Dupli-Kate through it.

"Invincible, I need you to take care of the tanks on the right flank. Eve, cover the civilian evacuation"

Eve didn't speak further and quickly followed the orders. Mark watched her go for a second before diving towards the alien tanks.

He focused on being a good flying brick and smashed any target he was given.

In truth, this was good for him. He let Robot guide him while his mind focused on something more important.

He was trying to understand the accelerated time flow of the Flaxan dimension.

He grabbed a Flaxan by the head as he flew by and used his body as a projectile, crashing him into a group of six others. Everywhere he flew, any resistance or obstacle was destroyed.

Unnoticed by anyone, the blue lightning flashed in his eyes as he approached the portal.

Soon, the Flaxan army was forced to retreat further and further. In a short time, more than half had been defeated, and they began to withdraw. It was at that moment that the fluctuations in spacetime began to take effect.

The Flaxans began to visibly age, their weapons dropped to the ground, and they soon started running back to the portal.

Mark considered whether he should go through the portal now.

He had long thought about going to the Flaxan dimension. It was a great opportunity to train in a place like a hyperbolic time chamber.

The problem was coming back. Theoretically, he could use the speedforce to travel between dimensions, but if he did it that way, he didn't know how many years he would spend in Flaxan. They might call him stupid, but he didn't think his sanity would withstand living in constant warfare with a bunch of ungraceful green aliens.

And if he killed them all and failed to master the speedforce enough to be able to return, then he would be trapped there for who knows how long. Nothing guaranteed that he could use the same trick as Omni-Man to force them to open a portal, and if he did, that meant some would survive in one way or another.

He didn't know if he wanted to become an enemy of a highly technological race that could prepare hundreds or thousands of years ahead of him to kill him.

Despite all this, he had been willing to try. There was just one problem; his plan had been made with the assumption that Omni-Man would remain in a coma after killing the Guardians.

Mark glanced out of the corner of his eye towards the distant sky.

Others might not notice, but he had become very good at detecting it. There, watching the battle, was his father.

What if he left now and got trapped in Flaxan longer than planned? Would his father ravage the Earth in his absence? When he returned, would he find a Viltrumite army occupying the planet?

He needed to modify his plan.

'I can't go by myself; I have to take him with me.'

To ensure that his father wouldn't do anything to Earth while he was away, he needed to drag him to Flaxan with him.

And if possible, only he would return from Flaxan.

.

"They look like wrinkled raisins" Rex pulled the flaccid arm of a Flaxan soldier who had died of old age. Eve slapped his hand, causing him to release the corpse. She looked at him with clear disgust, and Rex just clicked his tongue.

"It seems like time passes differently between their dimension and ours" Robot was analyzing the remains. The Flaxans had returned to their dimension quickly, without time to retrieve their dead or their technology.

"So, we just had to wait for them to die of old age?" Kate said, her clones were cleaning up their own remains. Mark saw this from the side and couldn't help but be a little disturbed.

He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to clean your own corpse.

Soon, G.D.A agents began arriving, ready to clean the battlefield more thoroughly.

Thanks to Mark and the Teen Team, the damage to the city could be contained in a small area, so it wouldn't take long to clean up and rebuild.

Mark approached Robot as if he were "concerned"

"I don't think this was all," he said loud enough for the entire Team Teen to hear.

"What do you mean?" Eve asked.

"If time passes differently in their dimension, that means they can prepare for a second attempt. I think they'll be back"

Robot nodded at his words.

"I believe so too. We must prepare for their return."

Rex rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Come on, we just have to beat them up until they wrinkle up and run away again. How hard can it be?"

.
three hours later

.
.

"Shit! Damn it!"

Rex moved back and forth, barely dodging the energy projectiles. Surrounding him from all directions, an army three times larger than the previous one had arrived through three different portals.

Robot had to crash his flying bike again, and Dupli-Kate had barricaded herself on the left side, barely keeping pace. The ground was covered in the red of her blood.

Eve tried to prevent the army from spreading beyond the area they had prepared for the attack. G.D.A soldiers fired from the barricades that separated the rest of the city from the Flaxan incursion point.

Mark was the one doing the most work, and it was obvious to anyone watching.

At the beginning of the second attack, dozens of tanks had fired simultaneously at him, trying to contain him, which hadn't worked at all. Then they tried to encase him in a gray, sticky substance.

That hadn't worked either.

Eve watched from her position as Invincible tore through the battlefield. She was glad to have him on their side at times like these. She knew her own team's capabilities very well; she knew that without Invincible there, they would have been overwhelmed long ago.

Eve raised her hand, her fist surrounded by pink energy, and struck one of those spheres that had been pursuing her since the battle began. She didn't exactly know what they were trying to do, and she didn't want to find out.

Dozens more of those spheres were launched at her. She managed to destroy most of them, but in a moment of distraction, one managed to pass through her guard and soon found her face covered. For a moment, panic flooded her, but when she noticed nothing was happening, she couldn't help but blink.

This thing was just preventing her from breathing, but it wasn't doing anything else. With some doubt, she put her hand on her face; the pink light shone, and the metallic object found its atomic structure bent and changed forcibly. It soon slipped through Eve's hands, turning into air, and she couldn't help but be perplexed.

"Seriously? This is what they prepared against me?"

She didn't know whether to feel insulted or relieved.

.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Robot deployed all his weaponry against the enemy. If this continued, they would run out of ammunition soon. He had set a timer, and the time when the Flaxans were supposed to start aging had already passed.

Somehow, they had countered the effect of spacetime on them. Robot struck an enemy soldier, dodged shots from two more, and took cover behind the ruins of one of the tanks Invincible had destroyed.

Perhaps the only good news in all of this was that Invincible was with them, drawing most of the enemy's attention, which was dangerous but seemed quite capable of holding his ground. They just had to keep going until Robot found a way to neutralize any technology the Flaxans were using to adapt to Earth's time.

Which would be sooner rather than later.

.

Mark punched the ground, the shockwave sent bursts of air and made the earth around him tremble. Dozens of Flaxan soldiers were sent flying, and another dozen fell to the ground.

Mark took a deep breath. This fight was proving to be more fun than he had expected. He didn't know if it was his Viltrumite side or if he had always been like this without knowing it. He had never killed anything before, and when he killed the first Flaxan, he thought he would feel something more.

He thought it would affect him more.

Perhaps because they weren't humans, perhaps for some other reason, somehow killing them felt like squashing a fly. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not, but in the midst of constant attacks and with adrenaline flooding his system, he didn't have time to think about it.

The time to reflect was not now. He glanced out of the corner of his eye; his father was still and watching. He didn't know what he was waiting for, maybe he wanted to see how far he could go on his own?

Wait until he was in trouble to intervene?

Mark clenched his fists; it seemed like this would take some time.

.

Nolan watched from the sky, observing his son cutting through the enemy army with pride. He had wanted to intervene from the beginning, to show those invaders the mistake they were making, like many others before them, to demonstrate their place.

But his son had jumped ahead. When he saw him fighting, he decided to wait. This could be a test; Mark was growing stronger, making great strides, but he lacked experience. These green insects would be perfect for him. Nolan would let him play with them, and if necessary, intervene.

"Come on, son, show them the true power of a Viltrumite"

.

Eve deployed another energy shield, which was broken in moments. Sweat dripped from her forehead, and she could taste blood in her mouth; she was running out of energy.

A shot grazed her side, and she felt the burning of the laser scorching her skin. She screamed in pain and began to fall.

"I got you!" Invincible quickly caught her in the air, navigated through the hail of shots, and arrived next to Robot, who was behind a barricade of rubble.

"We can't keep this up; more and more keep coming" Eve created a patch over her wound; using her powers excessively was starting to tire her.

"I have the solution." Suddenly, Robot stood up and jumped several meters into the air. A strange frequency emanated from his body. Suddenly, the bracelet that all the Flaxans wore crackled, and then suddenly, the effect of time affected them.

Their skin wrinkled and turned gray, their bodies seemed to lose strength, and they began to fall to the ground.

Rex and Kate took the opportunity to regroup with the team. They all looked battered and wounded, and the G.D.A. team wasn't in much better shape. Despite being in the rear, they had lost dozens of members and had many wounded among them.

Yet once again, the invasion was repelled, and the city suffered no more damage than it had received the first time. This time there were no civilian casualties.

"God, everything hurts. I need a damn massage." Rex stretched; his suit was torn, and numerous bruises could be seen on his skin.

They all looked at him with clear annoyance, to which he blinked in confusion.

"Oh, come on, I know what I said, but this isn't my fault!"

Eve sighed; fatigue hit her, and the wounds on her body made a grimace appear on her face.

Probably the only one who didn't seem injured was Kate, but her eyes showed quite the opposite. One only had to look at the battlefield, and they would surely find a part of her; she had died more than a thousand times at this point.

Mark approached Robot.

"they need to rest, get treatment. I don't know how much time we have before they come back."

Robot agreed and looked at him. Although Invincible didn't show any visible wounds, he was still covered in blood, and his suit was torn in several places.

"What about you?" Eve asked the question before Robot.

Invincible smiled. The protective goggles on the right side of his face were broken, so the team could see the upper half of his face clearly. He seemed to be looking at them confidently.

"I didn't tell you? I'm invincible; I can endure it a while longer, at least enough for you to come and help me later" The team wasn't happy with this, but the reality was that they were all tired except for Mark, and that meant they would only be a burden if they didn't regain their strength.

Suddenly, a blue light broke through beside them, and from it emerged a man with white hair combed back and a nasty scar on his face.

"The boy is right; the Teen Team must withdraw for now. I have ordered the army to evacuate the city completely; soon this whole place will be filled with highly equipped soldiers. If those bastards return, we'll be able to hold the defense line"

Cecil Stedman ordered, turning to look at Mark and extending his hand.

"Invincible, I'm Cecil Stedman, a government agent. I've worked with your father."

Mark shook his hand cautiously. He didn't know what to think of the man, and honestly, he hadn't been very interested in getting to know him.

"I don't think he mentioned you before."

Cecil smiled.

"I'm glad to hear it. Do you know where he is? I've been trying to contact him since all this started, but he hasn't been answering my calls"

Of course, he wouldn't. Mark almost looked in the direction where his father was, but he didn't. His face was partially visible now, and if he looked at Cecil, he would surely suspect.

"I know as much as you do. I said goodbye to him this morning before meeting with the Teen Team, and then all this happened, so I haven't been able to talk to him. It would be really good to have his help now"

Cecil nodded, somewhat disappointed.

From the sidelines, the Teen Team listened without understanding the conversation. Cecil turned to them and ordered his men to treat them; soon they were taken to the outpost that the G.D.A had set up to treat their wounded.

"Well, until he shows up, you're our best defense. Can I trust you to hold the front line?"

Mark smiled and raised his arm in a flexing gesture.

"I still have plenty of fight in me"

.

The battlefield was modified once again, with the help of the G.D.A and its agents moving debris, preparing trenches, and securing barricades.

Mark watched this with some amazement; nothing like this had happened in the show. There hadn't been a military presence to face the Flaxans. But again, this wasn't a show; in real life, no country would wait for a group of kids in tights to defeat an invading army by themselves.

Maybe if the Guardians of the Globe were around, but with them out of the picture, things seemed more serious, at least for humans.

Mark wondered if more heroes would come besides him and the Teen Team, but then again, other threats might be attacking the world without his knowledge.

Moreover, the frequency of the attacks also seemed different. In the show, there seemed to be some time between each invasion attempt, but now it felt like everything was happening very quickly.

Three hours. He wondered how many more hours it would take this time before they returned.

He walked over to where the Teen Team was.

Eve seemed to be doing better; it seemed that the G.D.A's medical technology was quite superior to the standard. Kate was sleeping; she seemed to need to rest her mind.

Rex was chatting with some of the G.D.A agents about how he had been kicking the green aliens' asses or something.

Robot was nowhere to be seen; he guessed he should be working somewhere on something to help with the next battle.

"Hey, everything okay out there?" Eve sat on her cot and asked him. Mark approached her and nodded.

"All clear for now. Seems like they'll take a little longer this time"

Eve grimaced. "If we keep this up, we'll lose sooner or later" she seemed discouraged.

Mark put his hand on her shoulder in support.

"Don't worry. If I see things getting worse, I'll go with plan B."

Eve looked at him with doubt.

"Plan B?"

Mark nodded and looked her in the eyes seriously.

"I'll protect this world no matter what, so trust me, I have a plan"

Eve looked at him for a few seconds before sighing and smiling.

"If you say so, I can only hope it's a good plan."

Mark was about to say something else when his stomach began to growl; he had forgotten to eat breakfast.

Eve laughed and reached out a hand; the pink light glowed, and suddenly a double burger appeared.

"Here, you need to regain energy"

"Awesome" Mark didn't miss the chance.

.

"It's been 6 hours since the invasion began in the center of New York. The army continues to evacuate civilians, and all streets around have been closed off. The young hero team known as the Teen Team has been repelling the invasion alongside a new young hero called Invincible. So far, the situation seems to be under control, but we still don't know how long this situation will last. The biggest and most pressing question we all have right now is, where are the Guardians of the Globe? Where is Omni-Man?"

Amber watched the news in her room. She didn't live near the city center, so the evacuation hadn't reached her yet, but her parents were already packing their bags.

She had been doing the same until the news broadcast started.

One image caught her attention, causing her to stop and look. At first, she couldn't believe it, but the more she looked, the more convinced she became.

After all, she had been secretly admiring his face for a long time before giving him her number.

In one of the images taken during the second battle, a clearer shot of his face could be seen as he passed through one of the alien vehicles.

He was the one contributing the most to the fight, and he was the one they talked about the most in the broadcasts: the new hero who had recently made his debut.

Invincible.

But Amber knew him by another name.

"Mark?"

.

Hours later.

Mark had managed to shower, Art had managed to make some repairs to his suit, and he had obtained another pair of goggles. He still looked somewhat dirty, but given the circumstances, it was the best he could manage.

The Teen Team had mostly recovered thanks to the G.D.A, and Robot had returned from wherever he had been. With him, he had brought another flying motorcycle and what seemed to be two more robots.

He wondered how he controlled them.

Soon, everyone gathered on the battlefield.

"Well, the team is back. Now, does anyone have a plan? Because if the Guardians of the Globe don't show up soon, we're going to get our asses kicked" Rex complained, looking somewhat annoyed as he glanced at Mark.

"I've been studying how they open their portals. I estimate that in a day or two, I should be able to create a machine to reinforce the spacetime around the city and prevent them from opening breaches from their dimension to ours" Robot explained.

"Uh, can you do that?" Rex now looked somewhat perplexed but quickly shook his head. "Or no, buddy! I don't think I can keep fighting like this for a day or two"

Kate nodded, still seeming somewhat affected after all her deaths, and said with a hint of fear, "If I keep fighting like this, let alone a day, even a few more hours could mess me up completely"

Mark cleared his throat. He was about to explain his plan a bit, but before he could do so, the alarms began to sound all around the perimeter.

Suddenly, everyone was moving. The G.D.A agents and the army took their positions hastily, Cecil began barking orders over the comms, and the Teen Team ran to their positions.

Mark sighed. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his father still observing from afar. Well, if he wasn't going to come, then he'd have to force him.

Then, in a blink of an eye, more than five portals the size of five-story buildings began to open.

From them, dozens of flying ships emerged at full speed, easily breaking the sound barrier and creating dozens of sonic booms as they passed.

Mark opened his eyes slightly, not remembering this. His body soared into the sky quickly as he began to fly towards the enemy ships.

His fist approached one of them, but unexpectedly, they changed their trajectory, dodging his blow, and one of them fired a dark red energy beam towards him.

The impact sent his body crashing to the ground, creating a crater several meters wide.

"Ugh" Mark felt the blood in his mouth; that had hurt.

He opened his eyes when he saw a dozen of those energy beams rushing towards him at full speed.

He quickly got up to dodge, but the beams, as if guided by something, changed direction in the air.

"They sure advance fast" Mark scolded himself. He should have stopped this earlier. He thought it would be like the program, but he was wrong; the Flaxans seemed more capable than he expected.

He navigated through the air swiftly, trying to see how flexible these energy beams were. At the same time, he observed the battle on the ground; things were also going wrong there. Eve was the one holding most of the pressure, but that would soon change if those energy cannons aiming at her managed to hit her.

With an idea in mind, he accelerated more, arriving just as the cannons were preparing to fire. With agility, he diverted his body enough so that the energy beams following him would hit the cannons, creating an explosion that engulfed nearby Flaxans.

Despite this, the energy beams pierced through the smoke and continued to chase him.

"It seems it won't be so easy" he looked at the ships where the beams were coming from; it seemed they needed to keep firing continuously to maintain the pursuit.

If that was the case, the only way to break free from these beams was to destroy those ships.

He closed his eyes for half a second, took a deep breath, and tried to feel it, tried to feel that surge of energy.

Maybe it was because he had spent the last few hours studying the phenomenon caused in spacetime by the Flaxans, maybe something else, but for a second, Mark could feel how that spark of energy within him responded to his call.

A second was all he needed.

Suddenly, in an extremely blurry motion, his figure disappeared from view.

The next moment, the dozen ships that had been chasing him exploded; the sky was filled with clouds of black smoke, and if one had exceptional vision, they would have glimpsed the blue color of lightning.

The Flaxans screamed, not understanding what had happened. Mark fell from the sky and began to pierce through the enemy tanks. Although the Speed Force spark had returned to its slumber, Mark's body was still imbued with kinetic energy, so he took the opportunity to continue pounding the Flaxan army.

Suddenly, something blocked his vision, and Mark was hit dozens of meters until he crashed to the ground.

He shook his head and looked at the culprit; there it was, something he had expected but at the same time, different.

Staring at him with fury were two Flaxans wearing what looked like huge robotic combat armors.

Suddenly, their faces were covered by equally huge helmets, giving them the appearance of metallic giants.

Mark wiped the blood from his nose, stood up, and looked around.

Eve seemed quite comfortable helping the army, Rex and Kate made a good team assaulting the Flaxans from the sides, and Robot seemed like a killing machine. Somehow, he had twice as many weapons with him, in addition to his two copies, who also carried much more weaponry.

It seemed he was the only one capable of fighting on the front lines.

"Alright, let's do this" he looked at his enemies and smiled. He had never imagined himself fighting against an alien army from another dimension, let alone fighting against two of them dressed in power armors likely designed to kill him.

Just the thought that this was only the beginning, and that the future would surely be crazier, almost made him laugh out loud.

He clenched his fists, stomped the ground causing it to collapse, and his body created a shockwave as he shot off faster than a ballistic missile.

His adversaries didn't lag behind; at the same time, they launched towards him. Each step they took made the ground tremble and the concrete crack.

Then they collided; the point of their encounter generated a shockwave that swept across the battlefield. The Flaxan army was crushed, and Atom Eve managed to create several energy fields to protect the Earth soldiers and the Teen Team.

"Invincible!" she shouted but had to retreat; the impact generated was so strong that several buildings threatened to collapse, and all the windows and glass within a radius of ten kilometers shattered.

.

Mark dodged a blow and quickly countered with a kick that shook the entire place. Despite that, his opponent didn't retreat; their huge metal hands held onto his leg, and from his right, the other Flaxan rushed in. Their metal fist struck his face, shattering his glasses once again and causing his vision to blur for a second.

He gritted his teeth, spun his body in the air, and his fist crashed into the metallic face of the Flaxan holding him. The metal slightly gave way, and his leg found itself free. He quickly evaded another blow and struck with a knee to the Flaxan who had hit him.

The metal giant was sent flying, and then what seemed like dozens of thrusters ignited on its back and feet, lifting it into the air.

"So, they can fly too. Great" Mark swallowed blood-mixed saliva.

Things were getting better by the moment.

.

Things were getting worse by the moment.

Eve watched the battlefield with concern; most of the Flaxan soldiers had been swept aside, but more were beginning to arrive. Amidst it all, Invincible faced the greatest threat yet.

Each blow was thunderous, every impact seemed to shake the entire city, and Eve found herself increasingly worried.

Every time the Flaxans returned, they seemed more dangerous. This time they had gone further, and it seemed that Earth's time no longer affected them.

Their weapons were better, their tactics more advanced, and now, it seemed, they had their own super soldiers.

She didn't know how they would hold out, how they would win.

Another thunderous impact shook her body, and she looked with concern at Invincible.

She had to help him.

.

Mark felt the air forcibly expelled from his lungs; he couldn't prevent saliva and blood from gushing from his mouth. His body sailed through the air uncontrollably; he quickly forced himself to stop and looked up only to see his vision meeting two giant fists about to strike him.

But before that happened, a pink energy field projected in front of him, blocking the blow for half a second. That was all Mark needed.

He clenched his fist with all his might, leaned forward, and then launched himself at full speed.

His fist met the head of one of the two giants, and abruptly, the head was torn from the body and sent flying into the sky.

The enormous body fell backward, and mark stood over him, his body somewhat wobbly.

He glanced at the remaining metallic giant, who took a step back with evident panic.

He turned to his left and saw Atom Eve approaching. At the same time, he glanced at the battlefield with a thoughtful look; this had gone too far; it was time to end it.

He wiped the blood from his face and smiled.

"Hey, I told you I'd protect this world no matter what, and I never break my promises" At Eve's confused look, Mark lunged forward, grabbed the remaining metal giant around the waist, and his body flew at full speed directly towards the nearest portal.

Eve's eyes widened, and a scream of panic escaped her mouth.

In the distant sky, Omni-Man was also surprised; without thinking, his figure became blurry, and he launched directly towards the battlefield.

Almost simultaneously, both of them crossed through the portal to the Flaxan world.

Then abruptly, all the portals began to close.

"Invincible!" Eve reached out her hand, but it was too late; he was gone.

.

Mark crashed forcefully into what he assumed was the Flaxan command center. Without hesitation, he began dragging the giant in his hands, not caring about the damage he might cause around him.

Thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of Flaxan troops began to attack him. There were over a hundred Flaxans with power armor launching towards him, and Mark was about to recite the Speed Force formula, but before he could do so, a streak of red and white easily pierced through the battlefield.

Omni-Man charged against the army of power-armored troops. His body tore through their armored bodies as if they were made of wet cardboard, his fist smashing anything in his path, and in less than a second, he was in front of Mark.

Mark forced himself not to smile when he saw him arrive.

"Are you okay, Mark?" His father seemed concerned, but not about the hundreds of thousands of troops surrounding them; that wasn't what bothered him.

Instead, he worried about his son's well-being. Mark swallowed hard; from the corner of his eye, he saw the portals closing and knew that his plan had succeeded.

He smiled confidently and replied.

"Better than ever."

.

Note:

Things never go according to plan, so of course, we should always have a plan B.

 

[Emma Cruzader]

6: Pride

Explosions, blasts, and booms, thunderous impacts followed by screams.

Everything distorted in the cacophony of sounds that was the battlefield.

Thousands of soldiers surrounded a single spot, their hands trembling, sweat dripping from his forehead.

Mark accelerated, everything in his path turned to debris, his body pierced through the strongest alloys with ease, his fists broke bodies as if they weren't even there.

Wherever his shadow was seen, only rubble remained.

"Woaa!" he shouted as his fist met what could only be described as a 5-meter tall metal giant.

The giant's chest caved in, the sonic blast sent uncontrollable gusts of air that sent hundreds of Flaxan soldiers flying.

The enormous metal body crashed to the ground, creating a crater several meters deep. Mark shook his somewhat numb hand and looked around. Thousands of eyes filled with anger, fear, desperation, and hatred stared at him from all directions.

Some of the excitement he had been feeling faded away. He spat saliva and blood onto the ground, wiped the corner of his mouth, and took a deep breath. How much time had passed?

He looked at the sky, it wasn't blue, it was a dark reddish color that made it difficult to keep track of the days. He touched his chin; the stubble told him that at least a few weeks must have passed.

He clenched his fists; his strength had grown too. He couldn't calculate how much, being in a constant state of battle made it difficult to take the time for it.

As he stood there, a rain of thousands of red energy projectiles began to travel towards him from all directions.

Mark watched them coming but did nothing to dodge. In less than a second, the whole place was engulfed in a red light, the ground exploded, the air shifted, and a huge cloud of dust rose.

The Flaxans watched from their position with fear and hope, hope of having defeated one of the two Demon Gods that had been plaguing their world.

That hope shattered when the dust cloud was forcefully cleared, Mark emerged from it unscathed, without a scratch beyond his suit, which had long gone.

With slow steps, he approached the one he identified as the commander of these soldiers. The Flaxan tried to step back, run and flee, hide behind his men.

But that was impossible, before he could blink, Mark's figure blurred and arrived in front of him, leaving behind only a residual image.

The Flaxan commander's eyes widened with fear. Mark leaned close to his ear and whispered.

"Boo~"

It was as if all the green color drained from his face, he became so pale that Mark would have thought his natural color was white.

His body trembled for a moment, then his eyes dulled as if he were a statue and fell lifelessly to the ground.

He had died of fear.

The nearby Flaxan soldiers paled, they recoiled unable to believe what they had witnessed. Mark's eyes met theirs; he didn't have to say anything, in a second, they were all running. They dropped their weapons, turned their vehicles around, and fled without looking back.

As Mark watched them leave, he simply sighed, stretched his body, and searched among the corpses left behind until he found one wearing pants roughly his size.

Robbing the dead of their clothes wasn't something he would ever boast about.

"You let them go" Nolan descended from the sky, his suit still impeccable, no sign of battle on his body, perhaps the only difference in him was the beard that was beginning to grow on his face.

Mark put on the pants and looked at him. At first, he thought his father would ravage the planet once they arrived, but he didn't.

Instead, he took care of key points, destroyed the most important bases and the most problematic armed forces, then simply left him to fight alone.

Without explanation, without saying anything, he just flew away and left him at the mercy of hundreds of thousands of bloodthirsty Flaxan soldiers.

Needless to say, in the first few days, he had to run several times.

"Enjoyed your vacation? How are the alien beaches? Are there beautiful green women in space bikinis?"

The obvious sarcasm in Mark's voice was evident to Nolan.

Omniman sighed, knowing his son would be somewhat upset with him for leaving him alone during this time.

But it was necessary, he needed to see him, he needed to know that Mark had what it takes.

"Why did you let them go, Mark?"

Mark clenched his fists, looked at his father, more precisely at his eyes, those eyes that tried to judge him, as if he were about to scold him for doing something wrong.

"This fight is over, Dad, they can't hurt me anymore"

Nolan furrowed his brows.

Mark continued speaking.

"Those weren't soldiers anymore, I killed all their soldiers days ago, those were just civilians wearing uniforms that barely fit them and carrying weapons they can barely hold in a fight they can't win, this fight is over"

He emphasized the last word.

Mark wasn't a genocidal maniac, he never planned to destroy all the Flaxans. While fighting was something he had come to enjoy, that was only when his opponent faced him without fear.

But destroying their cities? Killing their women and children? Killing civilians?

There was a line Mark wasn't willing to cross; he wasn't a hero, but he wasn't a monster either, and he wasn't going to change that just because his life was different now.

If he changed who he was, if he destroyed his values and morals, would he still be him? Would this still be a life worth fighting for?

Nolan sighed and shook his head.

"Listen, Mark, this fight isn't over, their government is still standing, their cities are still producing weaponry, their scientists are still trying to find a way to kill you. They won't stop until they understand, Mark, until they learn their place"

His words made Mark furrow his brows.

"Their place? And exactly how would I show them that?"

Nolan didn't notice the harsh tone in his son's voice; instead, he smiled.

It was time to show Mark how things were done in Viltrum.

"Look at me"

.

Nell Zaxal sat on his throne, his body trembling as the entire palace shook, dust and debris falling everywhere. His advisors and the Flaxan nobles had long fled, his soldiers had long perished.

What was once the grand capital of the Flaxan empire had long turned into ruins.

He embraced his pregnant wife, lamenting that their children would never see the glorious Flaxan empire; instead, all that would remain for them would be ruins.

Suddenly, a crash made King Nell Zaxal look forward; the entire front of the royal hall collapsed, smoke rose, and then a figure flew out of the rubble, rolling and crashing to the ground in front of the royal couple.

As he stood up with his back facing them, Nell recognized him; fear, anger, panic, and a myriad of other emotions ran through him instantly.

It was one of the two demon gods that had come to their world.

Their end had come; he and his wife would die, their unborn children would not even see the light of day.

Countless laments flooded his mind, but at the same time, he noticed something strange; the demon god wasn't looking at them, in fact, it seemed like all his attention was elsewhere.

He was looking at the sky; it was then that Nell Zaxal looked up and saw him, the other one, the one who had attacked first, the one who had destroyed Flaxan's most important military bases and decimated the best warriors of his army in less than an hour.

And he was angry, very angry, but that anger wasn't directed at them. Nell lowered his gaze again and observed more closely the one who had crashed into the royal hall.

He was injured, blood trickled down his face, and anger was also present on his face. Mutually, both demon gods looked at each other with clear rage.

Nell's eyes widened; an unexpected revelation came to his mind.

They... were fighting each other?

"It's not too late yet, Mark"

His tongue was strange, but the Flaxan empire had long mastered the language they spoke, although the king couldn't speak it completely, he could still understand it.

The so-called Mark wiped the blood from his face and laughed, his laughter contained indifference and some reluctance.

"You're wrong, I should be telling you that, you don't need to do this, dad, these people, this world, don't deserve that"

The one flying seemed even angrier.

"You're taking their side?! Of these insects?! Seriously, you'll fight against me for them? They attacked Earth, Mark! They killed people! What does it matter if they die? What does it matter if I burn their world until there's nothing left?!"

Mark shook his head.

"The ones who did that are already dead; what you want to do isn't for revenge, it's not for Earth, you just want to kill them because they're in your way, because they're a nuisance"

Mark clenched his fists.

"And I won't let you do it"

Nell Zaxal watched the events in front of him in amazement; never in his two hundred years would he have expected such a thing, he never imagined that luck would smile at him one last time.

This was it; this was his chance.

Even if he died here, if they could seize this opportunity, if he could create a future for Flaxan, for his children...

Thinking of the last unfinished project hidden deep in the royal palace, Nell Zaxal made a decision. He looked at his wife; they didn't exchange words; it wasn't necessary. She could see her husband's will in his eyes; she could see his intentions clearly, and she could understand them.

She cried, tears streamed down her face, she covered her mouth, and silently left the royal hall.

After seeing his wife leave, Nell watched the demon gods about to fight; he only had one chance, he had to make the most of it.

He pressed a button hidden in the armrest of his throne; silently, an advanced mechanism activated, the throne began to descend into a hidden chamber. From the beginning until now, those who had destroyed his empire and ravaged his world hadn't paid him any attention.

From the beginning of everything, they didn't even look at him; that was okay, Nell would show them why that was a mistake; he would show them the price of their arrogance.

Before his figure disappeared, he could glimpse as both faced each other, their voices still clear in his ears.

"Then try to stop me" The older one's voice contained fury and rage, but also mockery.

"Fine..."

Then both flew at great speed towards each other, and Nell Zaxal lost sight of them.

There was a crash, a shockwave that swept through the entire royal hall and sent tremors throughout the city; the fight had begun.

.

(thirty minutes before)

Mark followed Nolan through the sky; he didn't exactly know what he wanted to do, but he knew it wasn't anything good.

When he brought him to this world, he hoped for more time; somehow, he hoped things would turn out better, that he could train more, become stronger.

And he had become stronger, but not in the way he expected. Fighting against the Flaxan army had helped him a lot, but it had also left him with no time for anything else.

Day and night, he was besieged by Flaxan soldiers. It wasn't until their weapons stopped hurting him that he could catch a break, and it was at that moment that Nolan decided to return.

If his father decided it was time to determine this, that Flaxan no longer interested him, that he wanted to return to Earth, Mark didn't know how he could stop him; he still didn't feel strong enough.

"Look closely, Mark. This is what happens to those who try to conquer Earth, this is what awaits them for their insolence"

Before Mark could react, Omniman accelerated—no, acceleration was an understatement; it was as if space folded, the air shattered, and the atmosphere burned.

In an instant, his figure went from being next to him to becoming a blurry image he couldn't keep up with.

The air in Flaxan exploded, the sky burned. Like a red line of imminent death, Omniman burst at full speed towards a large Flaxan city. Mark could only watch as that line passed through the city in an instant, almost seeming to divide it in two.

Then everything exploded; the buildings, the carts, every part of the city was engulfed in a plasma explosion that destroyed everything in its path. Every inch of the city was disintegrated by the extreme heat; the shockwave produced came after, sweeping beyond the city limits, cracking the earth and leaving visible fissures even from space.

A black cloud of smoke rose thousands of meters into the air, reaching the atmosphere and darkening the sky.

It was like watching the end of the world.

Mark stood still, looking at the vast crater hundreds of kilometers wide; what was once a great and prosperous city had been reduced to dust and ashes.

Omniman flew back and stood in front of Mark, smiling from ear to ear.

"What do you think? Want me to show you how to do it?"

Mark tried to say something, but the words seemed unwilling to come out of his mouth. He bit the inside of his cheek until blood flooded his mouth, but still, his mind seemed to be at war with his body.

He closed his eyes; images and memories that weren't his passed through his mind, imprinting on his brain.

Images of his father, images of his family, images of Earth, of Omniman, how he saved people, how he protected humans, how he was the hero, the hero he wished to be.

Then he opened his eyes and saw death and destruction he had caused in Flaxan.

The contradiction between the two was astonishing and left him perplexed.

He looked at his father and couldn't help but let his true feelings come to light.

"You... you're a monster"

Nolan's smile vanished; his eyes looked at him seriously.

"No, I'm your father"

He approached him and tried to put his hand on his shoulder, but Mark backed away.

He didn't know why, but Mark felt worse about this than he expected; was it because of the memories of the original Mark? Were these his feelings?

"You, how, how could you do this?" He didn't know why he asked, he shouldn't even be asking, but after the words came out, he knew.

He wasn't asking for himself; it wasn't him who wanted to know. This, this was the original Mark seeking answers.

More precisely, the remnant of the original Mark within him, the one who saw Omniman as his father, the one who remembered and cherished moments with his family.

The one who believed Omniman was a hero.

"This is what must be done, Mark. This world, its people, are a threat to Earth; our duty is to protect it. We cannot allow anything or anyone to threaten it"

Mark laughed; he laughed at how absurd it sounded. Protect the Earth? If he truly wanted to protect Earth, then why was he still here?

No, it wasn't because he cared about Earth; it was only because he didn't want anyone else besides Viltrum to have it.

"Listen, son, I know you've grown up sheltered, blind to the true threats in the world, but you must understand that things aren't as simple as hitting the bad guys and going home afterward. Sometimes we must do whatever it takes to ensure the greater good, to keep Earth safe. And if we have to get our hands dirty for that... well, that's what we're here for"

Mark wanted to simply nod, to agree, and let him think he had won.

That he had convinced him, to do what he said, but he couldn't do it.

This wasn't Earth; these weren't his people. What did it matter if they died? But if he let him kill them, if he let him destroy Flaxan... it felt like losing.

Like allowing himself to bend, to kneel before someone stronger just out of fear, as if he were giving up something more important than his life.

Then he realized, if he bowed his head now, if he looked away, if he yielded.

Then he would give up his Pride.

He clenched his fists; Nolan seemed to notice a change. When Mark raised his head, he could see something in him that he hadn't seen before. Was that... defiance?

"No..."

It was almost a whisper; Nolan furrowed his brows.

"What?"

"I said No!" Mark said aloud and firmly.

"I won't let you destroy them"

Nolan looked into his son's eyes; their gazes met for what seemed like hours.

Then he laughed, he laughed heartily.

"Very well, it seems you're still too stubborn. That's my mistake; I didn't educate you as I should have, I let you live too long without worries. I must correct that"

Nolan's gaze became dangerous.

"Let me show you how Viltrumites handle things"

Mark barely had time to blink before Nolan's fist met his face; blood splattered, and the shockwave generated a noise that could be heard hundreds of kilometers away.

Mark was sent flying uncontrollably towards Flaxan's main city.

Nolan watched him go; his stern gaze wavered; he looked at the blood on his fist with doubt.

What was he doing?

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes; something inside him fought, fought to know what to do.

He sighed, and his stern gaze returned.

Mark needed to learn; he needed to teach him properly.

He needed to see that his path was the right one, that he only did what was best for both of them.

He looked at Flaxan's red planet; this was a good place to teach him. Others might not feel it, but someone who had lived as long as him did.

Time here was different for them; Nolan, who had learned to count the passage of time using nothing but his mind, knew how many days had passed since their arrival.

Even so, his body seemed to age much more slowly

than it should. He could feel it; it was something that Viltrumites came to understand as they aged, how their bodies slowly stopped aging.

And now his body had stopped aging much more than it should have.

Taking that into account and what he had observed from the invasion on Earth, Nolan deduced that, just as the Flaxans aged faster in their dimension, it was the opposite for those who came from Earth.

One second on Earth could be hours or days for Flaxan people, and hours and days on Flaxan were barely seconds for people from Earth.

In this dimension, a normal human could live for hundreds or even thousands of years.

That was good; he had all the time he needed to teach Mark, to make him understand which was the right path. He also decided it was time for Mark to learn his true mission on Earth; it was time to prepare him to join the empire.

Here in Flaxan, Nolan was sure, one way or another, his son would understand.

He would make him understand...

.

Note:

Things continue to progress, I want to thank everyone for the support this has had. I would like to write more, but my schedule is tight. I don't know when, and I don't have a schedule for the release of chapters, I simply write, edit, translate into English, and then publish.

With that being said, I want to make a disclaimer: English is not my first language, so I apologize for any errors there might be, hahaha.

Well, see you when there's another chapter, which will be... whenever it needs to be.

If you want to support me a little, don't forget that you can donate to me on Ko-Fi (ko-Fi / Emmapress). I appreciate any support that allows me to work less like a corporate slave and more like writing things I enjoy

If you don't have or can't donate, then don't worry. Simply comment and support the story. That motivates me to keep improving and writing.

 

[Emma Cruzader]

7: Loss and Gain

The entire capital city of Flaxan was engulfed in a storm of destruction.

The few remaining Flaxan civilians fled for shelter; many had to hide underground, and many failed to find refuge in time.

Buildings collapsed, structures that had stood for thousands of years were destroyed in a matter of seconds.

Mark burst through a hundred-story building, his body passing through each floor until he reached the ground, then the entire structure collapsed upon him.

In the sky, Omni-Man watched impassively, observing the dust cloud that engulfed the area.

His eyes watched attentively, then from the corner of his eye, he saw a blurry figure emerging from the smoke at high speed.

Nolan managed to raise his hand before Mark's fist struck his face; the muscles of his arm trembled, and his eyes opened slightly as he felt the almost forgotten sensation of pain.

It had been a while since something had hurt him.

With no time to dwell on it, he had to twist his body to dodge a kick; his hands blocked dozens of blows, and his own fist crashed into his son's face.

He saw blood spatter, but Mark did not flinch; even after being hit, his own attacks did not stop.

Nolan found his chin being hit, his teeth clenched, and he felt the pull on his neck as his head was forced upward.

There was no blood yet, but this blow had made something clear to him: his son was stronger than before.

He couldn't help but smile.

Pride, disappointment, sadness, and anger, different feelings mixed within him.

He was happy and proud because his son was strong, because he was a warrior, because he had proven his worth in battle.

He was disappointed that his son couldn't see beyond human morality, that he refused to do what was necessary.

He was sad because he was fighting against him, battling his father for a bunch of worthless insects.

He was angry because he chose them over him, because he fought for them.

Another blow struck his face, the air cracked, and Nolan had to snap out of his thoughts.

He took a few steps back in the air, still showing no signs of being hurt, raised his hand without knowing why, causing Mark to halt in the air, looking at him with doubt.

Nolan, Nolan should be hitting him; he should be showing him the Viltrumite way, proving to him the error in his action, why he was right and Mark was not.

Mark was a Viltrumite, he had seen it, when he swept through the soldiers of Flaxan, when he destroyed their armies, when he scared a man to death with just his presence.

Deep down, his son was a true Viltrumite; he just had to make him realize it.

"Are they really worth it, Mark?" he pointed to the city beneath their feet.

"Are you really willing to do all this for them?"

Mark wiped the blood from his nose and looked at him seriously.

"No"

The response surprised Nolan, leaving him perplexed. He looked at his son with doubts, and Mark continued speaking.

"I don't know them, I don't speak their language, nor do I know their customs. Until a few minutes ago, they were all trying to kill me. I'm the one who killed their children, their parents, their siblings. As long as there's someone who remembers what happened, they'll always hate me"

His words confused Nolan. If he knew that, if he was aware of it, then why was he fighting against him?

Mark looked at the city with some doubts. The reality was that he rationally knew Flaxan was nothing but trouble. Logically, he knew and could deduce that as long as there was someone who remembered what he did to them, they would always be at war with him.

The most optimal option was simply to kill them all.

"So why? Why do you fight for them?"

Wasn't that a difficult question? Not because he couldn't answer it, but because the answer was one that only made sense to him.

It had a lot to do with who he was, who he was now, and with Mark, the original Mark.

He wasn't a hero, nor did he consider himself a good person. His morals could change depending on his circumstances, but he would never get rid of them. He could kill his enemies, fight those who sought to kill him, but he would never massacre those who couldn't defend themselves, never trample those who were already on the ground.

Perhaps it was hypocritical of him in many ways.

"I don't know..."

It was stupid, illogical, a course of action that could get him killed.

But it was what he wanted to do. This was his life, and he chose how he wanted to live it, what he was willing to do with it, and the lines he was willing to cross.

He was not a monster, and he never would be.

In the end, he was just a human, and humans were never logical.

Mark wanted to live, wanted to keep living, but he also wanted a life he could be proud of.

If by continuing to live he threw away all his values, crossed all lines, and violated all morals, was he still himself? If he became the monster that the universe seemed to want to turn him into, if he only chose the easy options...

Mark couldn't imagine himself, or rather, didn't want to imagine himself taking that path. Not because it was inconceivable or because he believed he had superior morals.

but because he feared what kind of monster he could become if he did, how easy it would be.

And the difficult decisions were never easy.

.

Nolan, not for the first time in his life, found himself unable to understand his son.

He looked at him, his eyes still defiantly meeting his gaze. Somehow, Nolan could understand that his son wouldn't change his mind, no matter how hard he hit him or how he tried to reason with him.

That look was one he was familiar with, the look of someone willing to do anything to pursue their ideals, no matter what they were. It was a look he himself had once had long ago.

Nolan wondered when that look had stopped appearing on his own face.

Not for the first time, doubts flooded his mind about what he had to do, about his mission, about Earth, about humanity.

Doubt gave way to anger. Why did he doubt? The empire was everything, it was above all and everyone. The empire was the most important thing; he would live and die for the empire!

"Do you think you're doing the right thing because you forgive their insignificant and miserable lives? Do you think you're better for protecting them?!"

Mark laughed.

"Didn't you teach me that? To protect those who can't protect themselves? To fight for the weak? To be like you?" The mocking tone in his voice only fueled Nolan's rage even more.

His figure became blurry, his fist launched towards Mark at full speed. Mark barely had time to block, yet his entire arm still trembled from the impact.

"Do you really believe that?! Fine, then prove it!" Nolan delivered another blow; the shockwave cleared the black clouds in the sky, gusts of wind sent debris flying, and the earth shook.

"Try to stop me, come on!"

Mark dodged a blow and countered with his own; his fist buried into his father's side, but it barely seemed to affect him. In his rage, Nolan's hand stretched out and grabbed him by the neck, quickly dragging him through the sky and slamming him into the ruins of the Flaxan capital.

Almost breathless, he looked at his father standing over him, his hand gripping his neck tightly.

"What are you waiting for?!"

He delivered another blow that struck Mark's face; the entire place trembled, and the ground cracked, deepening the crater they were in.

Mark felt his teeth loosening, blood streaming from his face, and his vision blurring.

Despite this, adrenaline coursed through his veins, his strength seeming greater than before. With a swift movement, he twisted the hand gripping his neck and loosened its grasp.

He raised his head, and his forehead collided with his father's face, sending his body several meters away. The shockwave caused dust to rise everywhere.

Mark stood up, looking at Nolan, who held his face with his hand. It was barely noticeable, but a trickle of blood ran from his nose.

This was the first time he had hurt his father. Nolan seemed to be in shock, staring at the blood on his hand. That gave Mark a moment to gather his thoughts.

Mark had considered many ways he could get Nolan on his side.

But he didn't understand his father enough to believe that his words would easily sway him.

So he only had three options: try to talk to him and somehow miraculously convince him to be on his side, fight him, defeat him, and persuade him to join him, or kill him and do it on his own.

At this moment, the second option seemed the most unlikely, the third option wasn't better, and the first option wasn't reliable.

He was at a crossroads, a dilemma that seemed impossible to solve.

Fortunately, he still had an ace up his sleeve.

If he could use the Speed Force at the right moment, he could deliver a devastating blow. He didn't know if it would be enough to kill him, but temporarily incapacitating him should be possible.

But... he didn't know if he wanted to kill him. Maybe it was the part of the original Mark speaking, but if it was possible, Mark didn't want to kill his father.

It was a tough decision, but he had been postponing the use of the Speed Force for that reason.

From the moment the Flaxan portal opened on Earth to when he entered it and spent all those days fighting against the Flaxan army, Mark had been working on his connection with the Speed Force.

The way time passed faster in this dimension seemed to stimulate the energy seed within him in some way. Esoteric ideas about how acceleration and time related to it passed through his mind every day.

Much of it was incomprehensible, but what he could understand gave him new ideas on how to use the spark of Speed Force inside him. He felt like his understanding of it was greater, and that led to his connection increasing.

He didn't know if it would be enough.

So for now, he would have to go with the first option. Improbable as it was, if he could get his father on his side, he would have a valuable ally for the future.

But first, he had to convince him not to destroy the Flaxans and then not to conquer Earth. Super easy, right?

Mark wanted the Flaxans alive for more reasons than just staying true to himself. It wasn't just about crossing certain lines or not. Selfish as he was at the moment, he could also think about the future in the same way.

His father was just his biggest current obstacle. He still remembered who the real enemy was to defeat. The Flaxans might be problematic, the different passage of time in their dimension was also a great advantage they had, which could come back to bite him if he wasn't careful.

But if he could get them on his side, make them share their technology with him, make their dimension his own, one where he could train whenever he wanted, one he could escape to if necessary.

A base, a second home, a world to hide in... where he could prepare.

Of course, he didn't think it would be as easy as he imagined. Things didn't seem to go as he wanted, and this probably wouldn't be any different. But if he didn't try, he felt like he was just letting go of an opportunity.

Now he just had to find a way to make this work.

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Nolan looked at the blood on his hand, the burning pain had momentarily dissipated his anger.

What was he doing?

He looked at Mark, at his son, he saw his body covered in blood, the wounds on his skin, his bruised face.

He looked at his hands, his knuckles covered in blood, his son's blood.

Why were they fighting? Was it because Mark was soft, because he showed mercy? Because he had decided to go against him?

Or simply because he didn't act as he expected him to? No, it wasn't just that.

He remembered his words, he remembered everything that had happened so far. He wasn't angry with Mark; he was angry with himself. He was furious because Mark sounded like that stupid voice in the back of his mind, that part of him that wanted to do things differently.

That part of him that didn't want Earth to be conquered by Viltrum.

The worst part was his response. There was no logic, no sensible reasoning. Like Mark, he didn't know why. Why did he want to protect them? Why did the threat to Earth irritate him?

Humans were weak, insignificant, stupid, and unworthy.

And yet, Nolan couldn't crush that part of him that wanted to protect them.

If he were on Earth, he would have razed their cities, killed thousands or even millions, just to reaffirm his path. Just to deny any chance of changing his mind.

But he wasn't on Earth, and the only one he could direct his anger towards was his son.

"What's wrong, aren't you going to keep fighting?" Mark spoke, confused about his father's strange behavior.

"This fight... makes no sense" Nolan said, a sigh escaping him. As a Viltrumite, he had never backed down in a fight, never fled or surrendered.

But looking at Mark, at his son... he didn't know if he could keep doing this.

.

Mark would say that everything was going according to plan, if there had been a plan. In reality, nothing was going as he expected. He thought there would be more fighting, that he would have to break several bones in his body, that somehow this would end with one of them dead.

Instead, it ended with Omni-Man not wanting to fight anymore. He didn't know if this was a ploy, if he expected him to drop his guard. The reality was that whether it was the original Mark or the one who had taken over his body, neither of them knew Nolan. What he had seen on the show wasn't enough for him to understand his thoughts, and the Nolan who had raised the original Mark would never have massacred an entire city with a smile on his face.

As they contemplated what to do or say, footsteps approached from the ruins. A figure obscured by dust and smoke gradually became visible.

Nolan and Mark looked at him. He was a Flaxan, covered in dust and blood, and dressed differently from the common soldiers or civilians. Although he didn't look much different from others of his kind, it wasn't difficult to deduce that he was more than just a civilian or a soldier.

In his hands was a sphere pulsating with dark energy, which caught Mark's attention. He opened his eyes wide, feeling the overwhelming energy. Even if his connection with the Speed Force was only superficial, it had given him some special senses.

His ability to sense the flow of time was one of them, and he had also begun to feel the potential energy. And that sphere was setting off warning bells everywhere. He couldn't accurately measure how much energy was in it or what kind of energy it was, but it was clearly dangerous.

Why hadn't he sensed it before?

"$%$"

The Flaxan spoke, but it was an incomprehensible language for both of them. His voice contained anger and hatred, and Mark could even see signs of madness in his eyes.

He waved his hands, giving a speech that would surely be incredible to hear if not for the fact that only he could understand himself. He ended with heavy breathing and gasping for breath.

Then he whispered softly.

"Vengeance..."

It was a poorly pronounced word, the tone in several syllables was wrong, but even so, Mark understood it. His eyes widened, blue lightning sparks began to shine within him, his body ready to move.

Instinctively, he summoned all the strength and speed he could muster.

The world seemed to slow down, but it was still too late. The Flaxan hadn't done anything; he hadn't pressed any buttons or activated any devices. It was as if the sphere in his hands had been programmed to initiate a long time ago, and he had simply been venting until the moment arrived.

Even if Mark or Nolan had rushed to snatch it away, nothing would have changed. The trigger had already been pulled.

In a fraction of a second, a wave of dark energy exploded. The body of the former Flaxan King disintegrated instantly, his entire atomic structure was bent and folded, deforming, changing the space around him in impossible ways until he became less than dust.

Time and space shattered as a strange energy began to flood the entire place.

Father and son soared into the sky, breaking the sound barrier hundreds of times as they hurried to escape.

But the explosion of dark energy was extremely fast, much faster than they expected.

In less than a second, the entire capital city of Flaxan was engulfed, then a blinding light seemed to illuminate the whole world.

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.

.

Mark's vision was blurry, his lungs burned, and he couldn't help but cough. His throat felt like he had swallowed a piece of red-hot iron.

His body trembled, spasms preventing him from standing up, yet he tried to force himself to do so.

He attempted to open his eyes, but it felt like someone was spraying pepper spray into them. The pain made him hold his face tightly.

"Mark!"

His father's voice reached his ears, but it sounded distorted.

He writhed on the ground for a few moments. His skin burned, his body ached, yet he managed to calm himself. The pain kept him awake; he wanted to faint, but he knew he shouldn't.

Breathing felt like inserting needles into his lungs, so he took short, slow breaths. He only needed a little air; he could stay without breathing for a long time even if the oxygen in his lungs was toxic.

He opened his eyes, endured the burning, his vision was blurry. He had to blink several times to clear it. Everything around him was like seeing a crude mix of colors, terrains, landscapes. It was as if someone had thrown various biomes into a blender and ground them into a poorly mixed paste.

"W-What the hell?"

A hand grabbed his arm; panicked, he tried to pull away, but the grip was firm. He looked and saw his father. His previously immaculate suit was torn, wounds, cuts, and bruises covered his body, and perhaps the most astonishing thing was seeing half of his face burned.

His father helped him stand up. Despite his condition, he didn't seem uncomfortable; he certainly seemed to handle the pain much better than Mark.

"Are you okay, Mark?"

His voice was raspier than usual. Mark nodded, still dizzy, looking around bewildered. It wasn't just his eyes that saw impossible things; the sixth sense that the Speed Force had begun to breed in him also sensed things that shouldn't be possible.

It was as if space and time had been folded, shattered, mixed, and then chewed up, and the result was spat out in front of him.

"What happened?" His voice also sounded hoarse.

Nolan looked around, thinking for a moment before responding.

"I've seen something like this before, a long time ago, but it was on a much smaller scale. It was a weapon created to try to kill the Viltrumites by a civilization that... was against us. I'm not a scientist, but from what I heard from others who were, it used technology capable of twisting space-time"

Nolan touched what could only be called a mixture of different types of rocks, metal, crystal, something purple, and something resembling gum.

"They couldn't hurt us, so they tried to break our bodies using space"

It wasn't just space itself; Mark could feel different space-times intertwined everywhere. This not only sought to destroy their bodies using space but also different dimensions.

Flaxan had used his knowledge to travel between dimensions to create a weapon capable of killing them, by breaking space they sought to overcome their durability and if that was not enough they sought to mix their bodies between different dimensions, twisting and deforming them.

If they couldn't kill them, then they would incapacitate them.

In that case, how were they okay? Of course, they were injured, that was clear. Yet, if what he felt and thought was correct, every atom in their bodies should have been affected, changed, twisted.

He tried to think about it; vague memories came to mind, like the first part of the explosion hitting them, like his father standing between him and what could only be described as fiery flames coming from nowhere, How he had held him after he was burned so that he wouldn't be swallowed by the explosion.

How he had kept running...

He opened his eyes.

Speed Force. It was the Speed Force that saved them.

He didn't know how, but he remembered that the Speed Force could protect its users from external forces. That was why even if they hit something at maximum speed, the bodies of speedsters didn't turn into meat paste. It was how they could travel between dimensions without the spatial forces destroying their bodies and how they could surpass the speed at which matter was restricted and violate the laws of physics.

At the most critical moment, he had kept flying using the Speed Force and had dragged Nolan with him. But it wasn't perfect; due to his weak connection, while the worst part hadn't reached them, they were still affected by the aftermath once the Speed Force returned to him and went out.

Mark could feel his body screaming in pain, as if something had tried to twist it in ways it shouldn't.

Even now, space around them was bent and unstable. Moving was difficult and confusing; his vision could also see these irregularities, making his brain dizzy processing the vision of space in this impossible state.

"We have to get out of here" Mark didn't want to stay in this place. He was getting dizzy, and he didn't want to faint now.

Nolan nodded. Father and son leaned on each other, attempting to fly, but it was difficult and strange. Gravity had also been affected in various ways.

At one moment, they felt as light as feathers, and the next second, they almost fell face-first to the ground when the weight of their bodies seemed to suddenly increase thousands of times.

It took them some time, but they managed to distance themselves from the affected terrain. Fortunately, whatever happened seemed to have a limited range in a certain sense. The familiar sight of Flaxan's natural landscape was welcomed by both of them.

However, their lungs and eyes still burned; it was uncomfortable, and if they breathed too much, coughing fits would come.

Soon, they reached a small town that hadn't been destroyed and hadn't been affected by Mark and Nolan's arrival. Despite that, corpses filled every inch of the place.

Mark lifted one of the bodies; their green skin had turned purple, foul-smelling dark blood oozed from their orifices, and their eyes looked like shriveled, dry raisins.

In no time, cracks appeared on the skin, and the purple body began to fall apart.

Mark stepped back several paces at the horrific sight, while Nolan simply watched thoughtfully without blinking.

Mark didn't need to think much to figure out what was happening.

Whatever that weapon did, it had brought pieces of other dimensions to Flaxan, along with their atmospheres, microscopic life that already existed in them, and mixed them all together.

Flaxan was now a concoction of pathogens, germs, viruses, and microorganisms from different dimensions.

For a moment, panic flooded him; he clenched his fists, feeling his body. Was he going to die like this? In such a pathetic way? Not in a fight, not because his enemy was smarter or stronger, but simply because of an infection? A virus? A disease?

No, perhaps this wasn't so bad. He wasn't dead yet. Breathing was unpleasant and painful, the air touching his eyes was uncomfortable, but he was still alive.

Not only that, despite everything, he didn't feel like he was dying or getting sick. Of course, he was tired, sore, and injured, but he didn't feel like he was getting worse. Maybe it was too early to say, but the hope that this was nothing more than an inconvenience for a Viltrumite filled his mind with positivity.

If this were really lethal for them, then he couldn't think of a way to save themselves. But if their bodies could overcome it, then he could keep living.

Nolan broke into what seemed like a four-story building's doors. Both of them entered and began treating their injuries. Although they didn't understand the Flaxan language, there were still things similar enough for them to visually guide themselves.

Cloth was still cloth, metal was still metal, and so on.

Mark managed to find something similar to glasses; he had to modify them to fit, but at least now his eyes didn't burn all the time.

Nolan was adept at searching for supplies; he seemed able to easily identify what they needed given his previous experience with alien environments. In a few hours, they managed to create a small base full of supplies, and both lay back on what could be called a Flaxan sofa while chewing on what could only be identified as a sour-tasting paste.

Mark stared at the ceiling without moving, then glanced at his father sideways. They hadn't talked much since everything went to hell.

"You can say it. I told you so" his voice was less hoarse.

Nolan blinked, turning to look at him.

"If I had let you kill them all, this wouldn't have happened"

In truth, Mark had not thought that there was a Flaxan so crazy and stupid as to condemn the entire planet using a weapon like that, he did not know if his intention had been to simply screw them all and leave with an explosion or if he had not thought about the consequences that such a weapon would have.

Of course, Mark had no way of knowing that the Flaxan king had used an experimental and unfinished weapon. It was even possible that the king himself didn't know the extent and damage it could cause; he had acted out of blind revenge, unaware that it would be the worst mistake of his life.

Whatever the reason, the fact was that Flaxan was screwed now. If the population of the city they were in now was any indication, sooner or later, the entire planet would be infected by the disease and microorganisms cocktail that the dimensional weapon had brought.

If they still had a government, an army, and high-ranking officials, maybe they could devise a way to save themselves.

But they didn't. Mark and Nolan had destroyed their army, their government, and any hope for them.

Mark wondered if it would have been more merciful to simply kill them all like his father had done.

Nolan didn't know what to say, even though Mark now seemed to regret his choice, he didn't feel like this was a victory for him, he didn't feel like he had proven anything.

"This... this isn't your fault, Mark" he placed his hand on his son's shoulder, wishing he had better words, to say what he needed to hear, but he didn't have them.

Mark sighed, feeling the weight of his failure and his choices. He had lost; he didn't know what, but he felt like he had lost.

A childish and arrogant part of himself thought that everything would go as he wanted, that things would always turn out in his favor, that his choices would always be the best, that he would win, that he would survive, that no matter how things changed, he could overcome it.

Now he wasn't so sure.

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"What do you think it means? It looks like an -i- but more like an -j-" Mark asked as his fingers felt the engraving on the metal. Nolan looked on while holding what could only be called a notebook made of a type of green paper.

He looked at the hundreds of characters they had been investigating for the past few months using the knowledge he had thanks to his education in Viltrum. Alien languages were always complicated, but they all had certain patterns that you could start to deconstruct.

"Its shape reminds me of this other one, but as if it had been cut. Maybe it's a phrase together?"

During this time, Nolan had been teaching Mark the same method he had learned hundreds of years ago, and together they had slowly been learning about the Flaxan language.

If they wanted to go home, they needed the technology that the Flaxans had used to travel between dimensions.

Normally, Nolan would have forced the remaining scientists on the planet to open a portal by force before killing them in some way.

It was a pity that there were no longer any scientists left; they had combed the planet from side to side several times, and all they found were corpses.

Fortunately, there were still many structures present, and in them, much technology. They had found what looked like libraries and had rescued the remains of the space station that Nolan had destroyed at the beginning of everything.

With this as a base, now they just had to find the technology to open a portal back home.

Of course, first they had to start understanding the meaning of their written language.

This would take some time.

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Mark's eyes darted back and forth at inhuman speed, his hands deftly navigating through the database projected in front of him on a holographic screen, reading the information on it in a matter of seconds.

In no time, dozens of gigabytes of information flooded his head.

They wouldn't stay there permanently, at least not all of it.

Using the speedforce to accelerate the learning process was useful but also temporary.

In the comics, Flash had learned everything about architecture and construction in seconds and had built an entire building afterward, but that knowledge was temporary.

He didn't know exactly why, but that's how it worked. Perhaps it was because Flash was only human; as a Viltrumite, he seemed to have a greater retention capacity but still forgot certain things once a certain amount of time passed. Of course, if he took the time to learn it in the traditional way, he was still quite capable of keeping it in his brain for as long as he wanted.

So he had been using a mix of both to accelerate that process. It wasn't as fast as learning everything instantly, but it was enough for his current situation.

He had managed to learn to read Flaxan perfectly in a day, after all.

Of course, they had to decipher the language first, but once done, it was just a matter of structuring it, memorizing its patterns, and understanding the meaning of its symbols.

In no time, Mark had gone from barely understanding it to being able to read and understand it easily.

That had surprised his father, but he only attributed it to Mark's talent for languages.

Of course, Mark hadn't shown his full capacity to his father. As far as he was concerned, it had taken him two weeks to adapt to reading the language easily.

Thanks to his previous experience, his father had also been able to understand the language, although not to the same extent as Mark.

So both had embarked on their quest for the information they wanted.

Of course, Omniman was only looking for ways to return to Earth. Mark, on the other hand, had been plundering all the technological data from Flaxan.

This dimension and the planet may have been lost, but the technology and knowledge were still here.

And Mark wouldn't leave without them.

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"You have to use the momentum generated by yourself like this"

In a wasteland, Nolan and Mark were suspended in the air, the son watching as his father demonstrated what he called the Viltrumite way of fighting.

How to move his body while flying, how to strike, how to use his momentum.

This training had been going on for several weeks; there wasn't much entertainment in Flaxan after all.

So far, their search had led them to a dead end, and Mark had suggested that they would have to use Flaxan's knowledge to create their own portal machine.

It was complicated, but in this place, they had all the time they needed.

Their wounds had healed; there were no scars to show on either of them. Breathing was still uncomfortable, and they had to wear goggles all the time, but they showed no signs of sickness or discomfort. Whatever was in the air only bothered them but didn't kill them.

Which was a relief. Still, Mark didn't want to risk bringing any of this back to Earth, so he had suggested to his father to find ways to decontaminate themselves. He agreed, but neither of them had any idea how to do it effectively.

Which led to having to plunder the Flaxans' databases again.

Mark felt like he would come out of all this with a degree in several fields... if there was anyone here besides his father to validate that knowledge.

Well, maybe he'll try to get some degrees once he returns to Earth.

He raised his arm, blocking a punch, and swiftly counterattacked, landing a blow to Nolan's side. His father grunted, something that had started happening more frequently.

Every day, Mark was becoming stronger.

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In what was once a Flaxan military base.

Inside a tightly sealed metal building.

Mark and Nolan looked up to contemplate their creation. After an incalculable amount of time, they had managed to build what Mark called Star-Gate 1.0.

Using the Flaxans' knowledge base on dimensional travel, Mark was able to construct this bridge between dimensions his way. It was more primitive than how the Flaxans traveled; after all they didn't need a structure like this. Still, it was functional and should be able to open a path back to Earth.

A few days ago, he had managed to decrypt the Flaxan military databases. That had been a huge headache—cracking codes and hacking in an alien language was the most frustrating thing Mark had ever done. Still, he retrieved the information he needed; they now had the coordinates to return to Earth.

Mark sighed. His sanity had been hanging by a thread all this time. He didn't know how many days, months, or years had passed. His appearance hadn't changed much beyond growing a few more centimeters and gaining some muscle thanks to the training.

The passing of days had been agonizing; his only goal was to return to Earth, to go home. On the other hand, his father seemed to simply take it as a vacation, an uncomfortable one but unaffected nonetheless. Time seemed inconsequential to him. Still, he appeared much more reflective than before. Neither of them had wanted to resume their fight or their argument.

Mark seemed too focused on finding a way back, and Nolan didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. No matter how much time passed, he never felt adequate.

"We must proceed with decontamination. We have to make sure we don't bring anything with us"

Despite the building they were in having been rebuilt to isolate it from the outside, Mark didn't feel safe. He still wanted to thoroughly clean every part of them before returning.

"Then let's go"

Needless to say, the next part was anything but comfortable. Mark had to learn how to use all the necessary Flaxan tools for decontamination and even create his own. Fortunately, Flaxan had advanced knowledge and technology in that regard. They had conquered other dimensions before finding Earth, so they were prepared to deal with hostile biomes, at least when they were aware of their existence.

Being washed from head to toe, from the outside to the inside, wasn't pleasant. It was a tedious, uncomfortable, and time-consuming process, but once it was completed, they were both ready.

The room where the Star-Gate was located was also disinfected several times. Maybe it was excessive, but Mark wouldn't let another world die this way, much less if it was Earth.

Mark approached the command center and began to activate the Star-Gate. The blue light began to bloom, spatial particles gathered in the machine's center, and slowly, an opening in space-time opened up, swirling like a vortex and shining in a dark blue light.

It was time to go home.

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Debbie carefully chopped the vegetables, poured oil into the pan, and started browning the meat.

The sun was beginning to set, the night slowly approaching. The woman glanced out the window, her face seeming impassive, but deep in her eyes, genuine concern began to show.

Several hours had passed since her son disappeared, entering through one of those portals that had appeared in the middle of New York.

As the wife of a hero, she had grown accustomed to such things; it had happened several times with her husband. But with her son facing this, it felt different.

Perhaps the only comfort she had was that the news images had shown Nolan's figure entering the same portal as Mark.

She didn't know why her husband had taken so long to help with the invasion, but he had arrived at the right moment. She just hoped they were both okay.

As she continued cooking, she heard the sound of air displacing and the familiar noise of the back patio door opening.

Her heart skipped a beat; she wanted to look, but she resisted the temptation to turn around.

"I need to shave"

Her husband's familiar voice reached her ears, and it felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

"I need to eat"

Her son's voice was the final reassurance that made Debbie unable to help but smile in relief, a tear almost escaping her eye.

She turned, ready to run and embrace them, but her action halted midway when she saw them.

"Why are you naked?"

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Note:

Things are moving forward; I had to rewrite this chapter three times because I didn't feel like I was explaining things adequately. Actions have consequences, and often those consequences are completely beyond our calculations or imagination.

I've been reading the comics, watching the series, and delving into the wiki. I still have to polish many things and improve on others, but I believe I know where to take this story. By the way, these last chapters have been full of non-stop events. I promised that this would be more than just a plot, as it comes from my desire to practice my NSFW writing. So, I hope to get to that soon. Get ready for the disaster because if you think I'm bad at writing normally, then you haven't seen me write NSFW... because I've never done it! Haha.

Anyway, as a final note, I want to thank Danny N from Ko-fi. Thank you very much for your support! It's thanks to you that this chapter is coming out earlier than expected. I took my lunch break to write this, hoping you'll continue to enjoy it.

If anyone else wants to support me, don't hesitate to do so on my Ko-fi / emmapress.

Next update: Still Defiant.

 

[Emma Cruzader]

8: New Friend

"Oh Nolan!~"

Mark grabbed his head with both hands, staring at the ceiling of his room with irritation before deciding it was enough. He put on his shirt and without hesitation, opened the window and flew out.

The destination? Anywhere else where he didn't have to hear his parents having sex.

He soared through the clouds, breaking the sound barrier, and flew as far away as he could. Then he stopped and looked at the landscape beneath his feet. How long? How long had it been since he saw a human city? Since he was on Earth?

Measuring time in Flaxan wasn't easy. He had no way of knowing the difference at first, and when he gained enough knowledge to do so, he decided not to find out.

He felt it was best for his sanity. Living in Flaxan wasn't living; every breath was torture, every bite of food disgusting.

He had always told himself he had great willpower, but he had never truly tested it until Flaxan.

Of course, it wasn't all bad. He gained a lot of knowledge, experience, and strength.

In his last training bout with Nolan before returning to Earth, he had forced his father to step back several times. He wouldn't say he was as strong as him, but he wasn't far off.

He clenched his fist, feeling the air explode as it was forcibly compressed. He felt like he could destroy anything in his path; he truly felt invincible. Of course, this was an illusion, and he knew it.

He stopped when he reached Art's costume shop. He needed a new suit.

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"How does it feel now?" Mark shifted, stretched a bit, and nodded.

"It feels perfect now" His body had changed slightly, increasing his height a bit and his muscle mass as well. Art had to adjust the measurements of his suit.

The man was really good at his job. He had told Mark that he had started creating a third suit since he saw the news of the Flaxan invasion. From the beginning, he had guessed that Mark would need another replacement.

"I apologize for bothering you so soon, Art. I really should start taking better care of my attire"

The older man laughed and said, "Come on, kid, I make suits for superheroes. They mess them up all the time, and if I complained about it, I'd be out of clients"

"Maybe so, but it still must be annoying. I'll make sure to compensate you someday"

Internally, he apologized to Art. He would probably give him many more headaches in the future.

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"Invincible?"

Mark entered through the entrance of the Teen Team base. Unable to return home and with nothing better to do, he decided to report his return to the team.

"Hey"

Mark greeted Robot, who seemed to be the only one present in the base at such late hours. He wondered if Robot had been working on something or if his arrival had triggered some alert, hence the reception.

Robot approached. Being just a droid, it was somewhat complicated for Mark to know what it was thinking.

"I hope I'm not bothering, but I thought it would be good to inform that I'm okay"

He scratched the back of his head. Spending so much time without human interactions beyond Nolan had taken a bit of a toll on his social skills. He hoped not to ruin the image he had created with so much effort.

"It's not a bother, in fact, it's good to know about your return. Eve will be happy about it; she's been very worried"

Eve... it seemed like he had made a bit of drama by going to Flaxan, didn't he? He didn't exactly remember what he was thinking when he did all that, but he supposed that his past self had a plan... he hoped.

"I wonder how you managed to come back"

At Robot's question, Mark smiled with a bit more confidence. He had had plenty of time to come up with a valid story, one that would save him from too many questions.

"Well, I had quite an experience, but I don't want to repeat myself too much, so it would be better if I tell it when the whole team is present."

Robot remained silent for a moment before nodding.

"I understand. I'll inform them"

They talked a bit more before Mark decided to leave.

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The morning arrived, and Mark had to return home. Fortunately, there were no more annoying noises to deal with, so he could feast on food by raiding the fridge.

He had never appreciated Earth's food as much as he did now. Maybe he should take the time to go on a world tour? Trying the best foods from each country would be great.

While he was eating, a blue light illuminated beside him, and when he turned to see, he saw Cecil suddenly appearing.

He raised his hand and quickly swallowed before speaking. "Hey!"

Cecil looked at him, raising an eyebrow before shaking his head. "I need to talk to your father, boy"

Mark wondered how Cecil knew they had returned. Did his house already have hidden cameras, or was it Robot who informed him? Either way, he didn't care too much for now.

"Yeah, that might be a problem. He's been a bit busy all night; I don't know if he wants to see you right now, but I'll go wake him up"

As Mark was getting ready to go upstairs, Cecil seemed to think of something and stopped him.

"On second thought, maybe you can handle this"

Cecil looked Mark up and down. If his suspicions were correct, then Mark might be their only hope. He didn't want to put all his trust in one basket, but the current situation didn't leave him with many options.

Mark hadn't been a hero for long, but he had shown capability in many ways, and unlike his father, he seemed much more willing to work as a team.

Most of all, Mark had been a simple human until a few weeks ago. His connection to Earth, to humanity, was undeniable. If Nolan was truly responsible for what happened to the Guardians, maybe the only one who could stop him was his son.

And to know that, he first had to put him to the test.

Mark raised an eyebrow and looked at Cecil. "What's the problem?"

Cecil raised his hand and projected an image onto a nearby wall.

"Our satellites picked this up passing by Mars an hour ago. It's fast, so it won't take long to arrive, ten minutes at most"

Upon seeing the blurry image, Mark's eyes widened slightly. Perhaps it would be foolish to admit it, but he had forgotten about Allen a bit. However, now that he saw this image, memories of him started flooding back.

"So, you want me to prevent it from reaching Earth? Well, I think a little morning exercise will be good for me" Mark flexed his arm a bit, trying to convey confidence.

Cecil grunted, "Don't underestimate him. He's been coming to Earth for years; your father usually deals with him, so he's strong. If you feel you're in trouble, I'll have reinforcements waiting on the ground"

Mark nodded, looking at the image thoughtfully. Now, how should he deal with this?

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Mark flew through the air wearing his hero suit, breaking the sound barrier several times in a row. He went beyond the clouds and then beyond the atmosphere.

He turned back and saw the spherical shape of the Earth, staying still in the void of space, contemplating its form for a few moments.

One never truly appreciated their home until they were separated from it. Whether it was Earth in his other life or Earth in this life, Mark had always taken them for granted, as something immovable that was always present.

Witnessing the extermination and collapse of the Flaxan world had changed that perception.

Earth was fragile like a balloon; it only took being punctured in the wrong place to make everything explode.

He clenched his fists. Perhaps Flaxan didn't matter much to him, but Earth was different. He could let Flaxan die and not shed a tear for it; he didn't know if he could do the same for Earth.

No, he couldn't. This was his world, his, and he wasn't a hero. He had been telling himself that since he arrived in this universe, in this body. But when it came to Earth, he could never look away or ignore the problems that occurred on it.

So, he had to find ways not only to stay alive but also to protect this world.

His instincts, formed by countless fights, screamed at him. Without hesitation, he twisted his body and dodged an orange fist that struck where his head had been a moment earlier.

"Hey! Did you trim your mustache?!"

The voice in his head was a completely new sensation; it was like having an earpiece inserted into his brain. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was strange.

Mark looked at his opponent and possible ally.

Although he had already seen Flaxans, seeing an alien was always interesting. One with a single eye and orange skin certainly made an impression.

"Well, since you arrived early, I'll give you a free pass. Come on, hit me!"

Allen pointed confidently to his chin, sporting a smile. Mark smiled, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from his spot.

Allen's single pupil shrunk to its limit, and his eye widened completely. Before he could do or say anything, a fist struck him in the face with such force that for a moment, he thought he was seeing stars and not the ones in space.

Allen's body sailed unimpeded until it crashed into the moon with great force, creating a crater dozens of meters wide as if a meteorite had struck it.

"Ugh" Allen struggled to get up; his hand rubbed his face, and when he opened his eye, he saw drops of blood coming from his mouth.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Mark arrived and flew not far from him.

"Of course! That was just a lucky shot, don't get too excited" Allen grumbled and stood up, ready to continue fighting.

Mark didn't stop him, not because he didn't want to talk to him, but because he needed to know how strong Allen was.

From what he had seen in the program, the guy took a beating that nearly killed him, and then he was finished off by his boss? Or at least, that's how it seemed.

That was the reason Mark didn't trust the Coalition of Planets. He knew there was a traitor among their ranks, and the series had pointed toward Allen's boss as the main suspect. If the boss himself was the traitor, then the Coalition was useless to Mark.

But Allen, Allen could be useful.

Allen rushed toward Mark, his body sailing through space with surprising speed.

If it had been the Mark of a few weeks ago, his charge would have caught him off guard.

The Mark of now saw it coming almost in slow motion, effortlessly dodging his onslaught. His elbow shot out, striking Allen in the back and sending him back to the ground.

"Is that still luck?" Mark spoke, clearly injecting some mockery into his words, which worked quite well as Allen shot back towards him with obvious annoyance.

Mark saw his punches coming and dodged each one, his fist clenched as he drove it directly into Allen's stomach, making him groan in pain.

The Unopan gritted his teeth and punched again; his fist connected with Mark's face, creating a shockwave that cleared the dust around them.

His single eye widened when he realized his punch hadn't moved his opponent an inch.

"Uh, did you get stronger?" Allen stepped back, realizing he was probably in trouble.

Mark caressed his cheek; he had barely felt it. That was... disappointing, but expected. Still, there was potential.

"Tell me, is this all your strength? Can you go further, or is training useless for you?" Alien biology was always tricky to deal with.

If Allen could get stronger, it would be best.

Allen blinked in confusion, rubbing his chin thoughtfully before responding.

"Well, I train a few times a week, which works a bit but not too much. There aren't many things that can make me exert myself" he wanted to sound a bit proud at the end, but remembering that the guy in front of him was beating him up, he couldn't help but lose his smile.

Mark stretched out his hand in greeting. "Well, maybe I can help you with that. I'm Mark, but people in this world know me as Invincible"

Allen took his hand with hesitation. "Well, I can't say that name is wrong; you're tougher than anything I've ever hit before"

As they talked, Allen suddenly felt a tingling sensation in his body. He saw some sparks of blue color flashing from where their two hands grasped, and suddenly felt the wounds and pains in his body disappearing at great speed.

"Woa! What the heck?" He touched his chin; the pain there vanished as did the wound from where the blood had come out.

Mark smiled with satisfaction, apologizing a bit to Allen inwardly; he had used him as a guinea pig without him knowing.

When he was in Flaxan, he had plenty of time to study how the flow of time changed, how it worked. He wasn't an expert or fully understood everything about it, but he had achieved something important.

Using the Speed Force, he could control to some extent the flow of time.

He couldn't stop it or slow it down, but he could accelerate it. Of course, this wasn't easy; it required a lot of concentration and energy. He could feel his stomach beginning to growl, even if he had eaten a ton of food before going out into space.

One of the disadvantages of the Speed Force was the insane amount of calories it consumed. The more complex its use, the more it demanded. Time control, no matter how limited and focused it was, remained a high-consumption skill.

Not very useful if you wanted to conserve energy but still useful in other scenarios.

Mark had only tested it on himself and on inanimate objects. Allen was the first living being other than himself with whom he had tried it.

And it worked. Of course, accelerating the natural healing of the body didn't come without costs. The Speed Force was speeding up the flow of time in the object Mark touched, meaning it was robbing it of natural lifespan and energy.

Unless it was extremely necessary, Mark couldn't use this casually on humans.

Perhaps it would be safer to learn to reverse the flow, but Mark still didn't know how to do that.

"How do you feel? Any discomfort?" At Mark's question, the Unopan patted his torso before responding.

"I feel great, but I'm starving!"

Allen held his stomach; there was the other disadvantage; the body still needed nutrients to heal itself.

"Well, I know a place that serves excellent food. What do you say? Want some?"

Allen nodded eagerly. "Lead the way!"

Soon, both took off towards Earth.

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"So, you're saying you got the wrong planet?"

Cecil couldn't help the headache that was starting to form. Over ten years, ten years worrying about this guy, and he turned out to be just a mistake?!

From the side, the owner of the buffet they were in could only cry at the sight of the dozens of empty plates adorning the nearby tables.

"I'm so sorry!" Allen apologized, already starting to imagine all the problems he would have upon returning.

"Well, look on the bright side, now Earth has another ally, right?" Mark said, looking at Allen.

The Unopan nodded as he continued happily eating.

"The food here is amazing! I'll definitely come back more often, maybe bring some friends" he added.

The buffet owner let out another groan in the distance.

Cecil rubbed his forehead before sighing. "Okay, as long as this isn't something that threatens Earth, I don't mind" Ready to leave, he was stopped by Mark.

"Uh, yeah, I don't know if you know, but this suit doesn't have pockets so... um, can you pay?"

Cecil blinked, seeing the dozens of empty plates flooding the nearby tables and the owner crying in a corner. Then he looked back at Invincible.

"No"

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Note:

Short chapter, I have to finish several assignments, so there may not be an update for several days, maybe even until May if things get tough.

I apologize for that, but bills don't pay themselves, guys, haha. Being an adult sucks.

Still, I didn't want to dive into work without first leaving something for all those who beg me for an update.

Things keep moving forward. Mark has several ideas in mind, but to make them a reality, he needs the support of others.

Unlike Flaxan, on Earth, he can't just take all the resources he wants to work on his own, so he'll have to put in a little effort.

 

[Alzeimechorous]

Interesting, i definitely want to read more.
Keep up the awesomeness and stay safe.

 

[Klick-Clak]

Give me moar! MOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!

 

[Emma Cruzader]

9: Choice

In the end, Cecil paid, actually paying more than he should, causing the buffet owner to almost kneel before him.

It was then that Cecil decided to leave quickly, leaving Mark with Allen.

"So now you have to go report, huh, I hope everything goes well"

Mark didn't know if he should warn him, should he say something? He decided to postpone it for now; he knew Allen would come again to warn him about the Viltrumite, that is, his father; that could be a good time to talk seriously and offer cooperation.

He didn't know how much time he had until that moment; he hoped it was enough. He really wanted to relax a bit; he had been under constant tension and training when he was in Flaxan.

"Yeah, it'll be a disaster, more than a decade going to the wrong place. I really hope they don't fire me for this"

Allen sighed, how was he going to explain this to the council?

"Well, if they fire you, you can come to Earth. We never turn down help; I'm sure Cecil will love covering your expenses"

Mark would have suggested hiring him himself, but on Earth, he was still an unemployed teenager... employed? Oh, he remembered Mark was supposed to have a job.

Well, at this point, they probably already fired him for missing so much...

"I'll keep that in mind, Well, it's time for me to go; I can't keep delaying this. I hope we meet again" Allen said goodbye and flew off. Mark watched him leave the planet before starting his journey to the Teen Team's hideout. It was almost time for his meeting with them.

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"So Mark took care of that guy, huh? It must have been easy"

Nolan took a sip of his coffee as he casually read the newspaper.

"As easy as simply talking to him, something I suppose you don't do often" Cecil said, frowning at him.

"What are you trying to say?"

Nolan lost some of his good humor and looked at Cecil seriously. Debbie quickly intervened to calm the waters.

"Come on, the important thing is that this won't be a problem anymore. Mark was able to handle it the best way possible, and now Earth has one less threat"

Cecil nodded. "Mark has proven to be quite capable so far. It's good that it's like that. With the Guardians gone, we need all the help we can get. And speaking of help, I'd like to know where you were when those green aliens invaded New York"

Nolan furrowed his brows at the accusatory tone.

"I was saving people as I always do. The world is too big, Cecil, you should know that by now. With the Guardians out of the picture, I have a lot more work than before"

Both men looked at each other, clearly the trust built over the years was starting to waver.

In the end, Cecil relented. It wasn't the time to be too confrontational, not yet.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just too stressed out. Without the Guardians on Earth, things have become much harder"

Nolan smiled. "Don't worry, with me and Mark here, everything will be fine"

Cecil didn't respond to that; he turned ready to leave but stopped to say something else.

"The official announcement will be soon. The public funeral will be two days after. I hope I can count on you"

Nolan's smile faded, and he remained silent for a moment before responding, "Of course"

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"So that's when we managed to open a portal back and returned" Mark finished enthusiastically.

The Teen Team fell silent for a moment before Rex spoke up loudly.

"That was freaking awesome, buddy! Man, I wish I'd gone with you now" he began, regretting not jumping into a portal when he had the chance.

The story that Mark had crafted with his father seemed more like an action novel than an actual event, but when you're a superhero, anything you do goes beyond reality. No one would accuse you of lying as long as the story was coherent and consistent.

"That was dangerous. If Invincible hadn't convinced the other Flaxan slaves to rebel, he could have been trapped there forever" Eve scolded Rex. She wasn't exactly pleased with the whole affair.

When they met again, she looked relieved at first, but then she became angry. She scolded him for his reckless act, and Mark had to assure her that everything was fine to calm her down.

"The important thing now is that Flaxan won't be a threat anymore" Robot said, regardless of whether Invincible's actions were dangerous or not. He was back and had solved the invader problem. That was all that mattered.

"I'll inform the army and Cecil so they can withdraw their troops, and the city can return to normalcy"

Oh, of course, Mark had forgotten that they had to evacuate. It was truly a big deal what happened, but now everything could go back to its place, for the most part. The construction companies would have a field day with all the damage caused, even though the fight didn't last too long.

"Invincible, Cecil has told me that the Guardians' funeral will be in a few days. After that, the formation of a new group will begin. I would like to know if you want to participate in the tests to join"

At Robot's offer, Mark simply nodded.

"Sure, I'll be there when the time comes"

He wasn't sure if he really wanted to join a team, but getting to know other heroes and their abilities was never a bad idea.

At least he could get an idea of the firepower Earth had.

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The trip home was quiet; he landed in his backyard and went inside, ready to take a bath and relax a bit.

"Hey Mark" his mother's voice made him pause. He watched as she came out of the kitchen and greeted him.

Mark returned the greeting; it was still strange to talk to her, especially now when memories of the original Mark haunted him from time to time.

"The principal called; classes resume tomorrow, so make sure not to stay up too late" Debbie said.

Mark blinked, taken by surprise.

"So soon? I thought they would be suspended for longer, I mean, there was an alien invasion and all that"

Debbie raised an eyebrow, obviously with some doubt in her expression.

"Mark, there's an alien invasion at least once a month; classes won't stop because of that"

It was then that Mark remembered that this was not his old world; normal and abnormal were not the same.

"Uh, sure, you're right, I'll go to bed early,"

He started climbing the stairs to go to his room, but his mother stopped him once more.

"Wait, Mark"

"What's up?" he turned to look at her, noticing a worried expression on her face.

"It's about your father; he's been acting a bit strange. I know you just came back from another dimension and all, but there's something about him... different. Did something happen that I should know about?"

Normally, Debbie wouldn't ask her son something like that, but Mark wasn't the same child as before. Since he awakened his powers, he had shown to be more mature and responsible, and since he had gone with Nolan, maybe he could have an idea of what was going on with his father.

Mark thought about it for a moment before waving his hand and playing it down.

"I think it's just stress; the whole thing with the Guardians must be weighing on him. He'll probably go back to normal once everything calms down"

Debbie looked at him for a moment before nodding. "You're probably right; it must be that" she returned to the kitchen, and Mark watched her go before sighing and continuing up the stairs.

Inside, he apologized to her, but telling her the truth wouldn't serve any purpose; she couldn't help, and he didn't want to involve her. Whatever choice Nolan made was something he had to deal with.

Mark wasn't stupid; spending so much time with the man had helped him understand him a bit. He could see the doubts in his eyes, how he questioned himself and his actions.

If Nolan decided to give up on his plan to conquer Earth, it would be for the best.

If he didn't? Well, right now Mark was sure of one thing.

He now had the strength to kill him.

Flaxan had given him a valuable lesson, and he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

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Classes, school, Mark was starting to regret not using the Flaxan invasion as an excuse to demolish the place.

"So they said, why don't we move to Texas? Texas!? I mean, I have nothing against the place, but..." William had been chattering away as he supposed was usual for him. Mark didn't really know how to politely tell him to shut up.

How do you tell someone, hey, we should stop talking?

As he walked to his locker, he couldn't help but pull out his phone and search through his notes for the combination. He had tried to memorize it before, but with all the time in Flaxan, he had forgotten it again. Fortunately, he had written down some things, and among them, the combination to his locker was one of the most basic.

"So what do you think?" at the question, Mark looked back at William, blinking, thinking about how he should respond since he had been ignoring most of what he said.

Then he saw a familiar redhead in the distance and decided on an escape plan.

"I think I have something important to do; see you later, Will"

Without hesitation, he began to walk away, leaving William behind with clear annoyance on his face.

"My name isn't Will!" he hated being called that.

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Mark didn't have much to say about Eve; on the show, she was a character he liked, but in his current situation, she was more important for several reasons.

Her powers were simply too useful in many ways, so he needed to have her on his side in one way or another. He supposed that's what his past self thought with his trick of the Plan B or something like that.

"Hey, Eve, good to see you around"

Eve closed her locker and turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow; her confusion was evident, and Mark approached a bit to whisper to her.

"It's me, Invincible" she opened her eyes in recognition; he guessed his mask was more useful than he gave it credit for.

"Hey! I didn't expect us to go to the same school, we even share the same biology class" she smiled, clearly happy about the encounter.

"Do you want to have lunch together?" he invited; he preferred talking to a cute girl over having to listen to Will's incessant chatter, no offense to the guy.

"Come on, I heard they're serving burgers today"

That just made it even better.

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"This sucks" Mark looked at the hamburger, which only had a thin piece of meat, no lettuce or pickles, and a strangely shaped bun.

"I guess they ran out of budget" Eve looked at Mark, making a strange face at her hamburger, and she couldn't help but laugh.

She reached out; the pink light shone for a moment, and then the hamburger quickly transformed into something a thousand times better at first glance.

Without hesitation, he took a bite; it tasted excellent.

"From now on, you're my favorite member of the Teen Team, but don't tell others"

He gave her a thumbs-up; Eve smiled and transformed her own hamburger into something better.

Both of them were on the school rooftop; it wasn't difficult for them to get there after passing through the cafeteria.

As they ate, Eve's phone suddenly rang; she quickly answered.

"What's up, Robot?"

Mark became interested upon hearing the name; had something important happened?

"Really? I'll be there right away! I'll bring Invincible with me" Eve hung up, turned the rest of her hamburger into air, and prepared to leave.

Mark had already finished his and simply finished chewing before getting up too.

"What's going on?" at his question, Eve took him by the arm and began to drag him along while explaining.

"Remember the missing students? Someone had been turning them into human bombs; Robot helped me, and now we know who's responsible"

Mark blinked in confusion but started hurrying as well; he had completely forgotten about that issue.

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Nolan gazed at the Arctic landscape before him, lost in thought. He had reached deep into Norway and sat atop a mountain peak to reflect.

There were many things to ponder; Flaxan had given him time, time he hadn't believed he'd have.

Despite that, it didn't make his choice any easier.

He felt like he was between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, there was his people, The empire, for which he had fought all his life. On the other side was his family, his son, his home, the Earth.

His wife.

If this were an impossible struggle, Nolan wouldn't be pondering too much. If the empire were still what it once was, what it still appeared to be, then there would be no debate.

No matter how strong Nolan or Mark were, winning against an empire with billions of Viltrumite troops was impossible.

But the empire no longer had billions of troops, and that's why Nolan hesitated.

Because maybe, just maybe, there was a chance, not to defeat the empire, but perhaps to convince them, to make them allow him to treat Earth differently.

Mark was strong now. If it were just Nolan, it would be difficult, but if he and Mark could prove their worth, then things might change.

And if the empire didn't accept their demands?

Nolan looked at his hand, the same hand with which he had exterminated entire species, destroyed ancient civilizations, faced gods and demons.

He clenched his fist, thought about his time on Earth, about Mark and the humans.

He made a decision. It was difficult, extremely difficult. But now he knew what he had to do.

"I need to talk to Mark"

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Mark was beginning to think he wouldn't have any peaceful days. He flew through the air at maximum speed and without hesitation, grabbed the suicide bomber in his hands and threw him into space.

The sky lit up with the glow of an explosion before being shrouded in black clouds.

"Well, at least that's one less problem"

Eve didn't take long to arrive at his side; she looked at the clouds of black smoke and sighed.

"I didn't expect Professor Hiles to end like this"

Mark looked at her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, don't mourn him. He was just a resentful psychopath lashing out at innocent people. This is just the fruit of his actions"

Eve looked at the trail of smoke one last time before nodding.

"Yeah, you're right... Come on, let's go back and make sure he didn't leave another surprise for us"

They both returned to Professor Hiles' house; the guy really had his evil lair in his basement. Mark and Samantha inspected the place, but everything seemed to be in order, if you didn't count the unconscious student with a bomb strapped to his chest.

Mark inspected the device; it was pretty bad. Professor Hiles had really decided to kill this guy. The bomb was deeply embedded in his body, and although Mark wasn't a doctor, he still understood enough about technology to see that it was impossible to return him to normalcy. Still, it was necessary to remove the bomb, even if it seemed inactive for now.

He looked at Eve. "Uh, this might be a strange question, but can you do more than just food?"

Eve raised an eyebrow. "What do you need?"

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When Robot and the rest of the Teen Team arrived, the police had already cordoned off the area, and paramedics were taking the unconscious student away. Robot approached the teenager to inspect the device that had replaced his torso, noticing that the bomb in him had been skillfully removed.

He looked at the paramedic who was attending to the young man and asked "Can I know who removed the explosive?" The paramedic looked at him and pointed towards Mark, who was chatting with Eve and Rex in what seemed like a small argument.

"Oh, so you guys go to the same school?! That's a surprise!. Let me guess, you're in the same class too, right?!" His accusatory tone was amusing but Mark did nothing to clear up the misunderstanding, if the guy couldn't trust his girlfriend it was his problem.

"Yeah, we actually study biology together" he said with a smile, which Rex didn't seem to take well as he seemed to misunderstand his words even more.

He approached Mark briskly, looking him straight in the face.

"Listen, friend, you—" he was cut off by Eve, who pushed him back.

"Enough Rex this is not the time for stupid discussions"

Mark watched them argue from the sidelines with no intention of intervening. It was then that he noticed Robot coming in his direction and decided it was best for Eve to handle her problems with Rex herself.

"Hey, Robot, how's everything going?" he greeted the android as he approached him.

"I heard it was you who removed the explosive device from the victim's body. It was well done; I didn't expect you to have that ability" Robot said, straightforward as always. But this was good; Mark had been thinking about how to get some resources to make some of his ideas a reality, and Robot could be useful in this regard.

"I had a lot of time to learn. Flaxan stole a lot of knowledge from other dimensions and kidnapped many scientists from other worlds. I simply took advantage of my time there to acquire a few skills from them. Maybe I could share some of that with you, and you could teach me more about Earth's technology" he said amiably.

Robot was silent for a moment before responding.

"I would be delighted"

They shook hands.

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In the end, Mark and Eve had to return to school; they still had classes.

He said goodbye to her since, apart from biology, they didn't have any other classes together. He watched her leave and began to make his way to his own class.

He had agreed to meet with Robot in a few days to discuss technology. This was an important step in advancing some of his long-term plans. Currently, he wasn't in a hurry. His training in Flaxan had proven very useful, and with his current strength plus the Speed Force, he had no doubts he could face Omni-Man without the risk of dying.

It seemed like yesterday when he was still afraid of his father and his strength, but now that was behind him. That feeling of imminent danger was still there but to a much lesser extent and directed elsewhere.

Now, he had to prepare to face the Viltrum Empire and any other danger that might threaten Earth. But that seemed a bit distant right now. He couldn't remember exact dates, so he couldn't estimate anything. Still, he felt he had a decent amount of time to work with.

For now, he just had to make sure Earth was safe and relax a little.

"Hey, Mark" speaking of relaxing.

A short-haired blonde appeared out of nowhere to greet him. Mark looked at her; he would say he was surprised to see her, but he had heard her breathing while she hid in the hallway corner while he said goodbye to Eve.

He didn't think he'd have a stalker, but he didn't complain.

"Hey, Amber" he greeted casually. The blonde girl looked at him and then where Eve had gone.

"I didn't think you were dating Eve. Is that why you haven't called me?" she asked casually and cheerfully, but Mark could see the nervousness in her.

"Nah, she's just a friend. I've just been a little busy, but I recently realized I have some free time" he approached her.

"What do you say? Want to grab something to eat after school?" If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Since a pretty girl came looking for him, he wasn't going to waste it.

After all, the only reason he had been training so hard and worrying so much about his life was because he loved living, every aspect of it, and that included going out with girls.

Pretty girls.

"Is that an invitation for a date?" Amber asked, looking more excited than Mark expected.

He laughed and replied "Only if there's a kiss at the end"

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Important Note:

This chapter comes in advance thanks to Anonymous (yes, that's literally their name on Ko-fi) who decided to donate $50 usd out of nowhere, without asking for anything in return. On the other hand, I also have to thank, because they are in no way less important, the two people who decided to subscribe monthly on Ko-fi (I didn't even know I had that option activated on Ko-fi). Danny N and Awpanda 1, thank you very much for your support!

One of them decided that my writings were worth enough to subscribe for $20 usd monthly... not to mention all the other people who have been giving one-time donations.

I am pleasantly surprised by all the support. For those who decided to subscribe monthly, this chapter should have reached you before being published. From now on, I will do my best to have chapters in advance for you. For May, I hope to have two chapters weekly in advance for Ko-fi donors (if all goes well).

That being said, I also hope to have a weekly update schedule and leave behind the inconsistent updates. (I don't know how long it will take me to achieve this without affecting my work, but I hope to do it).

Moreover, if this continues going well, I might have enough time to create original illustrations of the characters, which will also be available in advance on Ko-fi. The advantage of being your own illustrator!

Additionally, I hope to bring more benefits to show my gratitude for your support. I'm still new to this, so I appreciate your patience and support on this journey.

Final note: all advance chapters will be sent at least twelve hours or one day before being published.

If you are interested in supporting me a little you can do so on my Ko-fi /Emmapress.