The four Viltrumites flew in silence until they reached a warehouse near the docks. It looked abandoned, with rust spreading across the metal siding and dusty windows that hadn't been cleaned in years. But Mark didn't hesitate. He shot down through the roof like a missile, sending a shower of metal and dust across the floor. The others landed beside him a moment later, their shoes crunching on broken debris.
Inside, the air was cold and thick with the scent of machine oil. Half-assembled robots cluttered the room. At its center was a cylindrical tank filled with clear fluid, and suspended inside was the real body of Robot, Rudy Conners.
The other Viltrumites weren't expecting this and looked disgusted.
Rudy's real body floated in the tank. He was small, malformed, and fragile. His limbs were thin and uneven, and his skull bulged disproportionately. He had mechanical arms and legs extended from the tank, working busily at a nearby terminal. He noticed the intrusiontried to continue working on his project in vain, but the moment his eyes locked on Mark, everything stopped. Panic and rage spread across his face.
Thragg's eyes moved past Rudy, widening as he caught sight of a second tank off to the side. Smaller, but inside floated a nearly fully grown version of himself.
His voice was sharp and filled with rage. "What is this!? Why is there another me!?"
Mark stepped forward, his tone calm but direct. "It was the reason he stole your blood. He cloned you. Most likely, to use your body as his own. But, what I want to know is why clone Thragg?"
Rudy stiffened as Mark started walking towards him, stunned that his sanctuary and plan had been discovered. He had expected to be safe here; he thought they would believe he died with his destroyed drone, and he could continue on with his plan. Now exposed, the truth settled in like a vice tightening around his chest.
"You want to know why?" Rudy said, voice bitter. "Because of you."
Mark arched a brow.
"Amanda and I were the same," Rudy continued, a manic tremble in his voice. "Both trapped in bodies that didn't reflect our true selves. I wanted to be the one to help her, to fix her, to get her love. But you helped her before I could, and she chose you."
Mark's face reflected disappointment. He recalled Amanda mentioning how she was never especially close to Robot, when he asked her. Unlike Canon, Amanda was closer to the women on the team than Robot, especially when she regained her adult body. Mark thought Robot would relax without Rex's body and give up on Amanda, but it seems he went crazy instead.
"For someone so smart," Mark said, "you don't get people. But, I guess you never had the opportunity to interact with people."
Rudy kept talking, as if he didn't hear him. "She loved your strength. I tried getting your blood, but I couldn't, so I'd get something close. Another Viltrumite. I was going to make myself into someone better than you. Stronger. Smarter. And then… she'd see me."
Silence fell.
Then one of Cecil's portals opened behind them.
Amanda stepped through. "I would never leave Mark," she said softly.
Rudy's eye widened, and he curled up on himself. "Amanda… no. Don't look at me like this. This isn't how I wanted you to see me."
She approached slowly, stopping beside Mark. Her eyes didn't leave the tank.
"I'm sorry, Rudy," she said. "Even if you built a perfect body, it wouldn't change how I feel. I love Mark. Not because he's strong, but because of who he is."
She glanced at Mark, her voice softening. "He helped me without ulterior motives. He never treated me like a child or a monster. He talked to me like I was normal when I wasn't."
Mark offered her a small smile, but she didn't notice. Her gaze was locked on Rudy.
"I get that you're hurt," she said, "but this… this isn't love. It's obsession on the idea of me being like you."
Rudy's expression twisted, his psyche cracking. "No!" he hissed. "No one else can have you."
From the shadows above, a dozen robots dropped down. A high-pitched frequency filled the warehouse. The Viltrumite guards and Thragg all groaned and fell to their knees, clutching their heads.
Mark didn't move. He was practically immune to the Viltrumite weakness.
Amanda's body shifted. Her muscles swelled, her skin turned green. She roared, lunging forward and smashing the nearest robot into a wall. Metal crumpled like paper in her hands as she moved through them like a wrecking ball.
Mark turned his attention to the clone tank. With a controlled beam of heat vision, he sliced through the structure, spilling its contents. He then increased the heat immensely, bypassing it's Viltrumite durability and reducing the clone to vapor.
Rudy screamed and activated weaponry from his tank. Mechanical limbs unfolded into blasters, aiming directly at Mark.
"NOOOOO! You won't take her from me!"
Before they could fire, Mark turned and shot a precise beam of heat vision straight through Rudy's chest. The tank cracked and hissed. Blood and fluid mixed, swirling into a fog.
The noise ended.
The robots fell with no one controlling them.
Amanda stumbled, her transformation fading in her surprise at Mark's action. "Mark…"
He said nothing. He stepped forward and tore open the tank's glass. Rudy's deformed body sagged into his arms. His breathing was weak.
"I just… wanted to be normal," Rudy choked, blood spilling from his mouth.
Mark looked down. "I know."
He gently closed Rudy's eyes as the body went still.
Amanda moved closer, shrinking back to her human form. Her hands trembled. Her eyes lingered on the ruined body in Mark's arms. She didn't speak, but her expression said enough.
Disgust. Horror. Confusion.
She looked around. Thragg and the guards were still recovering, ears bleeding, groaning in pain. She knew what Rudy did was wrong, but her heart still twisted. If they hadn't found him when they did, things could have gotten far worse. Maybe even irreversible. But seeing Rudy like that... killed so decisively left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She took a shaky step forward and touched Mark's arm. "Why?... Why did you kill him? You could have just sent him to prison?"
Mark turned to her, seeing her horrified expression. He instead responded with a question. "Do you know the kind of hero I want to be?"
Amanda frowned. "What does that- ?"
"The kind with no regrets." Mark interrupted
He took her hands gently. "Earth is where I grew up, so I'll protect it with everything I have as a superhero… but I'm not going to be the kind of hero who gives up everything else just to wear the title."
He paused. Thoughts drifted to another time, another name. Marshon. A sick kid who never got to run or laugh or live. That boy died in a hospital bed. But now he had this superhero life with powers he couldn't believe he'd ever experience before. But he was not going to become like the ones who gave up everything in pursuit of being a hero. Not Spider-Man. Not Batman. Not canon Invincible before he realized 'Being a hero is bullshit.'
"I also don't want to be one of those heroes who regret not putting down a villain that can threaten my family, and it ends up coming back to bite him in the future," he said. "I'll show mercy to criminals… but not to someone who's this far gone. Someone who tried to harm my family, and is already hurting my people. I can't afford to regret it if he causes more problems in the future."
Amanda stood there, absorbing his words. She understood his logic, especially when she looked around and saw the other Viltrumites injured from the high-frequency sound. But it didn't sit right.
She slowly pulled her hands away. "I… I need time alone."
Mark gave a quiet nod. "I understand."
She walked into the wreckage, leaving him behind.
As soon as she disappeared from sight, Mark's gaze hardened. He turned toward a recently arrived Cecil.
The older man adjusted his tie nervously as a red glow showed in Mark's eyes.
"I thought Amanda might make you go easy on Robot's punishment," Cecil sheepishly said, trying to sound calm. "But, I realize I shouldn't have interfered. I'm sorry."
Mark didn't reply. He turned away, annoyed, and walked toward Rudy's main console. His hand met the keyboard, and he started using his technopathy. Data poured into his mind. Rudy's scientific ideas and designs, his cloning technology, even his Robot drone schematics, were all laid bare before Mark.
When it was done, Mark's eyes lit red again.
He torched the lab, destroyed all the equipment, and vaporized Rudy's lifeless body.
Cecil, seeing this, quietly teleported away, deciding to cut his losses.
Mark turned to the recovering Viltrumites. "Head back to the ship," he said..
He looked at Thragg. "You and I will talk later in my office."
Thragg nodded and flew off with the guards.
Mark lingered in the air above the ruins, staring at what was left.
He let out a sigh.
'I didn't want Amanda, or the others, to see this ruthless side of me. Not yet at least. Though Anissa probably wouldn't care, seeing as she wasn't raised on Earth and has no moral qualms against killing. But now Amanda will probably tell Eve and Amber. It doesn't really matter, though. I'm not one of those heroes with a no-kill rule.
If you're a threat to me, my family, or my people… you don't get to walk away.'