Smoke hung thick in the air, curling in tendrils between fractured stone and glowing embers. The acrid scent of melted metal and ozone coated every breath.
On the ground amidst the chaos, Robot lay motionless, his glowing eyes flicking through live data feeds. His HUD flickered, thousands of data points streaming past.
Then he saw it.
A Flaxan soldier stumbled, armor sagging around a body that seemed suddenly older. Skin sagged and turned gray. The once formidable warrior aged thirty years in the span of a few seconds before collapsing to the ground, gasping for air that no longer gave him strength.
Robot zoomed in. On its wrist was shattered circuitry. A sparking band wristband half-destroyed.
He ran the footage back, slowed it down, and ran heat-signature analysis, then locked in on the culprit.
"The wristbands," Robot muttered in monotone.
He began to broadcast to the team.
"They're using temporal shielding. The wristbands are anchoring them outside our time stream. Destroy them and target the bands. It's the only thing keeping them stable here in our dimension."
Down below, Mark was still pinned. The cement-like foam cracked around his limbs as he pushed harder, arms trembling. With a roar, he burst free, the hardened substance shattering into dust around him.
Without missing a beat, he shot toward Eve.
She was still on the ground, hands clawing at the metal mask clamped to her face. Her eyes were wild with panic, her movements growing weaker by the second. Mark landed beside her, dropped to a knee, and dug his fingers into the seams.
He strained, muscles bulging.
With a wrench, the metal split with a screech and the mask tore free.
Eve gasped, lungs convulsing as air filled them again. Her eyes rolled, then focused. She took another breath. Then another.
"Thanks," she rasped.
Mark nodded, helping her sit up.
Behind them, more Flaxans poured through the widening portal. Dozens. Maybe hundreds.
Rex sprinted across the rubble, ducking under a plasma bolt. He saw the wristbands now, all of them, glowing faintly, humming with some strange off-world signal.
"What? ALL of them?!" he shouted. "We have to break all of them?!"
"Yes," Robot said calmly. "Focus fire."
"Fine! Let's play goddamn wrist-slap!"
Without hesitation, the team launched into a new rhythm. Eve snapped together pink hardlight blades and began surgically slicing at arms and wrists.
Rex hurled new types of bombs that exploded in shockwaves calibrated to crush circuitry.
Dupli-Kate's remaining clones moved in formation, grappling soldiers and yanking at the bands.
Mark punched straight through Flaxan's chest, then ripped the wristband off the corpse for good measure.
Above it all, Robot hovered on thrusters, his scanners locking onto a downed Flaxan body. He reached down, plucked the smoldering wristband from its corpse, and immediately jacked it into a port on his left forearm.
"Keep them off me while I analyze this."
"Yeah, easy for you to say!" Rex yelled, ducking a blast.
Data lit up across Robot's screen. Frequencies. Pulses. Fluctuating fields.
"49,000 kilohertz," he said flatly. "They're broadcasting on a fixed loop, creating localized time dilation. I can disrupt it."
He rerouted power from his arm-core processor and began syncing his internal wave emitter. "Calibrating pulse... now."
A low, deep tone rumbled out of his chassis and it rippled across the battlefield. Silent at first. Then deadly.
The Flaxans staggered as their wristbands sparked, then popped.
Every one of them.
Aging hit them like a wave. Skin wrinkled. Muscles shriveled. Some cried out as their weapons dropped from frail hands. Others simply turned and ran, panicked, decaying, and fleeing through the portal as fast as their atrophied legs would allow.
One Flaxan, half-crippled, turned and shouted something in its own harsh tongue. Spit flew from its cracked lips.
"Right back at you, buddy!" Rex yelled, flipping the soldier off and sticking his tongue out. "Next time bring some hot women!"
He turned to Naruto, clapping him on the back. "Way to go psycho back there, Maelstrom. And don't get me wrong, that was amazing, but also the scariest thing I've ever seen."
Naruto didn't answer. His eyes stayed on the portal as the last of the Flaxans vanished. His chest rose and fell, slow and steady.
Rex kept talking, trying to fill the silence.
"I'm just glad you and your cousin are on our side. Seriously. You, Maelstrom, man, you're like a flying extinction event."
Eve approached, still catching her breath.
"Invincible, you also did great," she said, laying a hand on Mark's arm.
"Yeah," Rex added, smirking. "Just not as great as Maelstrom."
Eve turned, fist raised.
"Don't listen to Rex," she said. "You both did great. We all did."
Rex quickly raised his hands. "Y-yeah. That's what I meant. Teamwork. Totally what I meant."
Naruto didn't move. His stare was vacant, distant.
Psycho, huh...
The word circled in his head like a vulture. He could still see the faces. The cities in ruin. The stars above Centauria glowing while the land burned below. Viltrumites flying through the air, and screams that never faded.
He blinked.
"Ugh, my freakin' back," Rex groaned, stretching. "Can I get a massage? Anybody? Just a little rub? Not even a shoulder?"
Mark's phone rang.
He pulled it out, checked the screen, and suddenly his whole face changed.
"I gotta go, guys," he said. He lifted into the air without another word.
"W-wait, what?" Rex yelled. "I thought we were gonna celebrate! Pizza? Netflix? Debriefing with snacks?!"
Naruto looked at the others for a moment, then silently took off after Mark.
_____
Cut to a quiet hospital corridor. White walls. Dim lights. The sound of someone crying two rooms down.
Mark and Naruto, both in civilian clothes, approached the front desk.
"I got a call?" Mark asked.
The nurse looked up, her face pale. "One moment."
A familiar doctor stepped out from the nearby hallway. His expression told the truth before his mouth did.
"Maya… She passed away," he said softly.
Mark stiffened. "But you said she was doing better..."
"She was," the doctor replied gently. "But with patients of her age, things can change fast. I'm truly sorry."
Mark didn't speak.
Naruto stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder. He didn't know how to say the right thing. He never did.
But he tried.
"Everything will be okay, Mark."
Later, above Mark's house, the sky was blue again.
The two of them hovered in the open air, feet level with the clouds.
Mark lunged quicky. Naruto swayed aside and dodged the attack casually.
"Mark, are you even trying? I told you don't hold back."
Mark tried again. Then again. Missing each time.
"Now you're just throwing punches. Relax. Breathe. Read your opponent, and adapt accordingly."
Mark grit his teeth and launched forward again, this time faster.
Naruto caught the punch mid-air. The impact sent out a ripple, fluttering his hoodie and blowing his hair back.
Mark grinned. "Thanks for the tip."
"You're learning," Naruto said. "But part of fighting is being able to take a punch too."
Naruto's knuckles tightened, his body tensed quickly
"Boys!" a voice shouted from below.
They looked down.
Debbie.
Beside her stood Nolan and Cecil.
Naruto's entire demeanor shifted. He followed Mark down in silence.
The living room was calm, almost too calm. The maroon couch creaked as Nolan sat with an arm around Debbie. Mark leaned on the armrest. Naruto stood near Cecil, who tapped a button on his wristwatch.
A hologram sprang to life on the TV. A fast-moving figure, far off, near Mars.
"We picked him up an hour ago," Cecil said. "Fifteen minutes until he's breathing our air."
"I'll handle it," Nolan said, already standing.
Debbie shot up. "You're barely home as it is. You want to fly off again? No. You're not his employee."
Naruto watched, impressed. Even Viltrumites can get told off by their wives.
"There's no one else," Cecil said.
Mark stepped forward. "Then I'll go."
Naruto winced. Of course he would offer himself.
"Okay," Nolan said, surprised.
Debbie looked at Mark like he'd gone insane. "Are you out of your mind?!"
"He can't be that tough," Nolan said. "Mark's got it."
Mark looked uneasy. "Can you define 'not that tough'?"
"Just knock him out and toss him back to space," Nolan replied with a smile.
"How do I breathe in space?" Mark asked.
Nolan shrugged. "That's the neat thing. You don't."
"Twelve minutes," Cecil reminded.
Naruto straightened. "I'll go with him. Make sure he comes back in one piece."
Debbie exhaled, visibly relieved. "Thank you, Naruto. That means a lot."
High above the Earth, Invincible and Maelstrom broke through the cloud layer.
Mark slowed, glancing down at the planet below. His breath hitched.
Naruto stopped beside him. "Don't worry. Just relax yourself.. You're stronger than you think."
Then something hit Mark from behind.
Hard.
A voice echoed through their minds.
"Hey, you're early!"
Naruto spun in the air, eyes narrowing.
And there he was. The intruder.
They tumbled through space, spinning end over end, a blur of fists and momentum. Mark's punch had been clean, full of conviction. The training with Naruto was already paying off. Allen drifted backward, surprised but still grinning, his massive orange frame twisting midair as he righted himself.
He slammed into a nearby communications satellite, shattering it in half as debris spiraled outward.
Allen blinked once, clearly impressed. "Huh," he said, brushing dust off his shoulder. "You're stronger than you look."
Before Mark could reply, Allen grabbed the broken satellite and hurled it like a discus. Mark raised his arms, the metal crashing into him and breaking apart, barely slowing him down.
"Why can I hear you in my head?" Mark asked, confused and slightly unnerved.
Allen smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Well, where else do you keep your brain?" he said matter-of-factly before rocketing forward.
The two collided in a flurry of punches. Allen threw haymakers, wild but strong. Mark ducked and weaved, his reflexes sharper than before, Naruto's drills echoing in his head.
"Take the hit. Learn from it. Then hit back harder."
He countered with a sharp right hook. It connected, knocking Allen back a few feet. The alien grinned wider, touching his face.
"Is that what you call protecting your planet?" Allen said, voice echoing telepathically. "If so then I am sad for your people!"
He darted forward, gut-punching Mark so hard his breath caught in his lungs. Before Mark could recover, Allen followed up with a brutal haymaker that sent him spiraling through the void and down into Earth's upper atmosphere.
From above, Naruto hovered in silence, arms crossed, watching Mark trail smoke as he plummeted.
He sighed.
'And it was going so well before he got cocky.'
Allen turned and noticed Naruto. His tone shifted to curious.
"I assume you're also one of Urath's protectors?" he asked.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Urath?"
Meanwhile, Mark leveled out his descent, flipping midair, then rocketed back upward with renewed speed. His eyes were locked on Allen now.
"I don't know who you are, but I'm not letting you wreck my planet!!"
He tackled Allen again, this time pushing him toward the red surface of Mars. Allen looked confused mid-flight.
"Are you sure you're the same guy I fought three years ago?"
Mark gritted his teeth. "What?!"
The two slammed into the Martian surface with a BOOM, mushroom clouds of red dust blooming out from the crater. Naruto remained at a distance, watching with a neutral expression. This was Mark's fight. If he was going to be a real protector, he had to take his own hits and stand back up.
Allen climbed out of the crater, brushing dust off his chest. He didn't even look bruised.
"Ha! Maybe you'll do after all," he said, actually sounding impressed.
"What are you talking about?" Mark wheezed, still catching his breath.
Allen launched again, tackling him and slamming him down into the Martian rocks before raining down a flurry of punches.
"OW! OW! OKAY WAIT A MINUTE!" Mark shouted between hits.
Allen paused, one fist raised.
"Uh… are you using your timeout?"
"Wait, what? I get a timeout? Why do I get a timeout?"
Allen stood up and shrugged. "Hey, don't ask me. I didn't invent the rules."
Mark groaned, floating to his feet. "What rules?! I don't even know who you are!"
Allen's eye widened. "Oh! You don't?"
Naruto finally flew closer, hovering between them.
Allen scratched his head. "Okay, where do I start. I'm an Evaluation Officer for the Coalition of Planets. I drop by little dirtballs like yours to make sure they've got someone strong enough to defend them from, you know, planet-conquering monsters and space tyrants."
Mark narrowed his eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Allen tapped the side of his belt and pulled out a small device shaped like a PSP. On the screen was a spinning hologram of a planet labeled "URATH" in bold alien text, and beneath it, "REQUEST FOR EVALUATION."
Allen nodded at the screen. "Request from Urath for evaluation. Pretty standard."
Mark blinked. "URATH?! This is EARTH!"
Allen froze. He looked up at the blue planet. Then back at the device. "Earth…"
"Yes!" Mark shouted.
Allen tilted his head. "Not Urath?"
"No," Naruto answered flatly.
Allen looked at both of them, then back to the device. "Is that with an E or a U?"
Naruto facepalmed.
"E!"
Allen's one eye widened. "Oh no. Oh man. I am so fired. I've been flying around on fumes, man. I knew that space station guy gave me the wrong coordinates…"
He sighed, then offered his hand. "Well, uh, thanks for clearing that up. I'm Allen, by the way."
Naruto took his hand. "Maelstrom."
Mark followed. "Invincible."
Allen laughed. "Oh yeah? A bit optimistic, huh?"
Mark rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know."
Allen smirked. "I just fought you and I gotta say… you're very Vincible."
Mark groaned. "Great, thanks, haven't heard that one before.."
Allen gave a thumbs-up. "Well, as long as I don't get fired, I'll see you around. Sorry about, y'know.." He shadowboxed in the air. "The whole beatdown thing."
He started drifting off toward space.
Mark turned to Naruto. "Are all aliens this weird?"
Naruto didn't hesitate. "How would I know..? To me you Earth people are weird.."
__
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