[Sol System— Luna]
On the dark side of the Moon, the one place within its surface that never sees the light of the sun, was now getting some illumination thanks to the Viltrumite Mothership beaming light onto its surface.
Under the shining light of the Viltrumite Mothership, both Thragg and Conquest stood on the moon's surface facing each other.
[Sire, please explain, I don't understand the reason for this]
Conquest questioned, as his face showed a small glimpse of apprehension. Due to the fact that Viltrumites can survive the vacuum of space as such they tend to travel it without using spaceships, thanks to this, they developed a need to develop a device that would allow them to communicate within the vacuum.
This need resulted in the creation of the neuro-link communication implant that allowed them to essentially communicate through thought. Of course, this only worked if there was another implant to be the receiver.
[Conquest, within the empire, you are the most accomplished. Yes, your methods were too brutish and a little over the top, but there's no denying that you've conquered the most planets in the name of the Empire]
The old man couldn't help but widen his one eye in a bit of surprise. That was the first time he heard someone acknowledging his accomplishments, and Conquest had no response to such praise. This was the first time he was acknowledged for his achievements, and he found himself unable to say anything.
However, Thragg continued, not bothering to wait for him to respond.
[In our current state as an Empire, there's not much I can give you to reward you, that's why I made you my guard to show you that your work is appreciated however I don't believe that is enough for you]
—I enjoy this—
—I want you to resist—
Those are the most vivid memories Thragg has of Conquest from the animated series, and if this Conquest is anything similar. A good hard battle should be something he enjoys, too.
[Since I could not think of a proper reward, I figured you'd enjoy the chance to battle me to your heart's content unless I was wrong to assume that of you?]
Thragg said as much, of course he didn't think that was all Conquest would want, at least according to Conquest himself, he's capable of so much more but for the time being Thragg figured this would be enough.
Having heard the Emperor of the Viltrumite Empire be so considerate and offer him genuine praise, there was something in Conquest's mind that wanted to spit at that and accuse the Emperor of being weak.
In fact, had it been any other Viltrumite giving him such praise, he would have called them weak, emotional, yet hearing Thragg say those words brought a foreign feeling to the old man's heart.
A feeling that is almost comparable to when he's in the heat of battle, it was joy, yet it wasn't enough. He wanted more
Conquest suppressed a small smile, The elderly Viltrumite could not help but feel a small twinge of excitement deep in his heart.
[No, you are correct, Sire. Thank you. But if I may speak freely….]
He bowed his head in gratitude, I couldn't say it out loud but the Emperor was different, the intimidating air he had before was gone, replaced by something he couldn't recognize, but there was no doubt that the man who stood several meters away from him was indeed the Emperor of the Viltrumite Empire.
[You may]
Thragg allowed, if he were to be honest, he'd rather people not be so tense when speaking to him.
[This is a bit strange for me]
The old man said, scratching the back of his balding head.
[Strange? In what way?]
[Well, usually I'm not the weaker party in a confrontation like this]
Conquest confessed, typically he's the one who is the stronger party and thus is usually the person worrying that the fight will be satisfying and more often than not, they're not as satisfying as he would like.
However, fighting the Emperor means he's at a disadvantage and thus meaning he can fully bring out everything he's got without worrying that his opponent will break too quickly. He couldn't help but feel the excitement in his chest, and a grin slowly revealed itself on his face
[Is that a problem?]
[No sir, quite the opposite. It is an honor to face you in combat]
Conquest bowed his head once more before looking up and asking a question
[I take it I'm allowed to use lethal force?]
[Of course, come at me with intent to kill, although whether you can kill me is a different matter]
Conquest grinned wider, letting his crooked teeth show. Those words from the Emperor were music to his ears. The old man couldn't help but feel a sense of appreciation towards his Emperor. This was the first time anyone had ever cared about what he wanted
With that command from Thragg, no more words were necessary between the two men. Conquest settled into a fight-ready stance, and so did Thragg.
The still atmosphere of the vacuum of space brought a silence that was deafening.
Conquest observed the Emperor, his eyes analyzing the stance Thragg had taken.
When it came to fighting, your stance showed what kind of fighter you were, an open stance that showed a lot of openings told that you were either a counter offensive fighter who goads in your opponents before delivering a counter attack or you were an offensive fighter who put emphasis on aggressive attacks and not much on defense.
A closed stance where you turtle guarding your face and vitals exposed that you were a defensive fighter, you only attack after you have defended against your opponent's attack. Of course, there were exceptions to this.
In a fight where he is the weaker party, Conquest decided to rely on reading the opponent's stance first instead of just rushing in.
However, Thragg's stance did not fall within the categories already listed. He did not guard his vitals, and he left them open, yet the stance did not look like a counter-offensive stance. His stance was strange and unusual to the old Viltrumite.
The Emperor took a stance where he crouched down just slightly by bending his knees forward, lowering his waist, and bending his torso forward. His arms were out before him, his palms opened instead of fists, and his left leg was pushed back.
To Conquest, the stance looked like Thragg was planning to catch an oncoming boulder rather than fight.
'Alright then, let's test the waters'
He thought before he pushed off against the surface of the moon and launched himself towards the Emperor with such speed and force that he rivaled an asteroid entering a planet's atmosphere.
Reaching the Emperor in a split second
Conquest used the momentum and his own power to throw a punch, aimed directly at Thragg's chest.
The punch collided with the Emperor, and a shock wave rippled through the moon and caused the ground they stood on to shake and crack.
However, Conquest's attack had been blocked, Thragg had grabbed the punch with his hand, and he remained unmoved.
Thragg then retaliated by using an elbow and striking the face, with enough power to force the elderly Viltrumite to stagger back.
Conquest felt a flash of pain on his nose that forced him to clench his jaw to not let out a yelp of pain however was not given time to attack as Thragg followed up with a punch to the gut forcing a groan of pain from the old man before kicking Conquest back to his original position.
Conquest tumbled onto the dusty surface of the moon before he quickly rolled onto his feet. Despite failing to land a single attack, there was a small smile on his face.
He removed some dust from his body and once again stared at his Emperor, his one good eye analyzing the stance Thragg had taken.
This was going to be a challenge, and the elderly Viltrumite couldn't help but feel more and more excited.
Thragg, on the other hand, rotated his shoulders, loosening up his joints. For him, this was more of an exercise, a workout to make sure he's as strong as he assumes he is.
He may have the memories of the original Thragg but he was a completely different person now, as such the way he thinks and the way he fights is bound to be different, especially considering he wasn't the type to get into fights in his last life.
It was not just that, but he wanted to gain Conquest's unwavering loyalty. Right now the old man was the one most likely not to like the direction the empire was taking.
....
A/N: Honestly, right now, I'm kinda wondering how I'm going to write Anissa as a love interest.
From what I know from the comics, she's the type to like strong men, and hates weaklings so Thragg would be her ideal type, but I don't know if I should write her like a kuudere, someone who's very cold and professional outside but very emotional inside
In the comics, she was very emotional and didn't seem like she would be the type to hide her emotions under a mask of calmness. In any case, we'll see. Although I think Kuudere Anissa works and would contrast well with a normal human woman like Debbie
Also, I just realized that if the writers of the animated show are planning on changing stuff and making it different from the Comics, they might change the whole ordeal with Anissa and Mark and they could make Anissa into a love interest for Omniman, I don't think on the show it would make sense for Nolan and Debbie to be together. Plus, Paul is kind of chill tbh.