"Let's take this to the sky."
Eden didn't waste a single word. He shot past Conquest like lightning and soared straight up, climbing until he was ten thousand meters above the ground.
"Not bad speed."
Conquest's eyes lit up as Eden became a black dot against the clouds. She grinned and shot after him, leaving a sonic boom in her wake.
The gust nearly knocked Cecil Stedman off his feet. He staggered, cursing, until a couple of agents rushed to steady him before the storm winds swept him away.
Scowling at Conquest's retreating back, Cecil spat: "Goddamn superhumans. Not a shred of common decency."
High above the earth.
Eden and Conquest hovered, facing each other across the empty sky.
"Listen up, kid."
"Thragg sent me to test you. That's your honor—your nightmare, too."
"Good news? I'm one of the most experienced Viltrumite warriors alive. I've served longer than your mother, Nolanne."
"So if I recognize your strength, no other Viltrumite will ever question it again."
"Bad news? I've never once held back in my life."
"So if you fail my test, I'll kill you. Without hesitation. Even Nolanne's son won't be spared."
Conquest crossed her arms, glaring coldly at the figure in the black battlesuit.
"Heh."
Eden only chuckled softly.
Typical. Even in this world, Conquest couldn't throw a punch without running that damn mouth first. Eden almost pitied her. Did no one ever talk to Conquest in any universe? Were they so hated among the Viltrumites that the only conversations they ever got were pre-battle monologues with their enemies?
"You dare laugh at me?"
"I'll show you what true cruelty looks like."
With that, Conquest blurred forward like lightning, swinging her alloy arm in a brutal arc toward Eden's jaw.
"Full of openings, kid."
Conquest smirked, certain this punch would smash Eden into the dirt.
Boom!
Except it didn't.
Her fist froze in midair, caught in Eden's palm as easily as if he'd been swatting a fly.
"What?!"
Conquest's eyes widened.
"Not bad, kid," she growled. "But trying to match strength with a veteran warrior? That's your biggest mistake."
She wrenched, twisting, straining to rip her fist free. But Eden's grip was like a planetary press, unyielding, inescapable. No matter how she pulled, her arm didn't move an inch.
"You're strong, I'll give you that," she spat through clenched teeth. Sweat beaded on her forehead, her face paling. "But brute force alone won't win you a fight. You're too naïve if you think it's that simple."
Only in the pit of her chest did she admit the truth—she was helpless.
"This is insane," Conquest raged silently. "This is eighteen?! It's like I'm fighting Regent Thragg himself!"
Snap!
Before she could blink, Eden twisted—and her prosthetic arm tore free at the shoulder.
"Wha—?!"
Conquest stared, stunned. Her arm was just... gone.
Wham!
Eden swung the severed alloy limb like a club and smashed it down across her skull.
"Goddamn eighteen."
The last thought in Conquest's mind before darkness took her was that Nolanne's intel had been dead wrong. This kid wasn't eighteen. She swore to the long-dead Viltrumite king that Eden had to be atleast five hundred years old.
"Nolanne," she thought bitterly, "you've been hiding too much."
A whistle of air, a deafening crash—
Conquest's unconscious body plummeted, carving a crater into the snowy mountains behind the GDA headquarters.
The next morning.
"Damn it... I lost?!"
Conquest's skull throbbed like it had been split open. She cursed, blinking back into the world.
"Well, look who finally woke up."
The voice was smooth, mocking.
"The great Conquest. Viltrum's famous veteran. Beaten by an eighteen-year-old kid and taken prisoner. Can you imagine how long our people will laugh about this one?"
Conquest's vision cleared, and she saw Nolanne sitting casually across from her. Civilian clothes, legs crossed, a steaming cup of coffee in hand. She sipped delicately, then sneered.
"Nolanne. What the hell are you playing at?"
"A prisoner doesn't get to question me."
Nolanne's hand shot out, clamping tight around Conquest's throat. She rammed the coffee cup into Conquest's mouth, liquid and ceramic both, and snarled: "Listen. The Viltrumite order is about to change. A new king will rise. You will kneel."
"You've lost your mind!"
Conquest swallowed the cup whole, surprised at the taste. Better than the nutrient paste she usually choked down, at least. But food was the last thing on her mind.
"You'll never beat Thragg," she spat. "He could rip your head off with one hand."
"You're right. I can't beat Thragg."
Nolanne didn't flinch.
Conquest exhaled, almost relieved.
"But my son can."
The words hit harder than any punch.
"Impossible! I admit he's strong, but Thragg? No way."
"Is that so?"
Nolanne smiled knowingly. She pulled a snow-white coat from a box beside her. The pelt shimmered in the light.
"With your eyes, you should recognize the source of this fur, shouldn't you?" Nolanne draped it over her shoulders, smug. "My son didn't need it. He gave it to me."
Conquest froze. "No... You're telling me—that's from Battle Beast?!"
"You and your son... you actually hunted Battle Beast together?!"
"Wrong."
Nolanne carefully folded the coat back into the box, her expression softening for a moment.
"My son killed him. Alone."
Conquest's blood ran cold. "Impossible! You're calling that eighteen?!"
"Technically," Nolanne said evenly, "he only just turned eighteen. Two days ago."
"Goddamn."
Conquest's mouth went dry. She could barely imagine what that boy would become in five hundred years.
"Conquest," Nolanne said, her voice dropping to steel, "have you decided yet? My patience is limited."
Her chin tilted high, eyes sharp as blades. "What should you be calling me now?"
Conquest didn't hesitate. She knew exactly where Viltrum stood now.
Bowing her head, she dropped to one knee before Nolanne.
"Hail, Queen of Viltrum."
"Mother."
"Did you come to an agreement?"
The basement door creaked open. Eden stepped inside, dressed in his black battlesuit. He didn't spare Conquest a glance, his eyes fixed solely on Nolanne. "Kill her, or let her live?"
"Let her live," Nolanne said with a flick of her hand. "Everything's still going according to plan."
"Alright."
Conquest shuddered. Eden's calm, detached gaze treated her like nothing more than a maggot crawling along the roadside.
"Will she betray us?" Eden asked.
"Don't worry," Nolanne replied. "Viltrumites live to follow strength. To her, whether it's you or Thragg, you're both far beyond her reach. Until the two of you settle things, she won't dare defy us."
She spoke like she'd known Conquest—and the Viltrumite nature—all her life.
"I'll do as you ordered," Conquest said, lowering her head. "I'll gather the Viltrumites scattered across the universe and lead them to Earth."
"Go, then. We'll be waiting on Earth," Nolanne said, patting her shoulder.
"Your Highness," Conquest bowed, glancing at Eden as she passed. "I'll carry out the mission."
Truthfully, her respect for Nolanne had little to do with Nolanne herself—only with the terrifying son she'd given birth to.
"Go," Eden said flatly, nodding.
Conquest exhaled in relief. She'd survived this trial. Keeping her steps small and careful, she walked toward the basement door. Facing Eden was suffocating.
"Wait."
Eden's voice rang out behind her.
Conquest froze, turning back. "Yes, Your Highness?"
"Take this."
Eden held out the alloy arm he'd ripped from her the day before.
"Thank you for your mercy," Conquest said quickly, bowing again as she accepted the prosthetic. Only then did she leave.
"Mother, can you really trust her?" Eden asked once Conquest was gone.
"She doesn't have a choice," Nolanne answered coldly. "The Viltrum Empire has no use for losers. If she doesn't side with us, she dies."
"Got it." Eden nodded and left.
That night.
The Kent Residence.
"Start simulation."
Eden couldn't sleep. He had no intention of wasting the hours, so he dove back in.
Fighting—yeah, that was what he loved most.
This time, though, he didn't just load up Battle Beast or Nolan. He added the entire Viltrumite army.
Viltrum.
"Come on! Let's fight to the death!"
Eden's figure flashed across the skies like lightning. His fists smashed through Viltrumites with ease—none lasted more than two rounds against him. Even Thragg wound up broken and bloody.
"Interesting. You too, huh?"
He spotted Omni-Man among the crowd. His eyes narrowed in brief hesitation—then his fist punched straight through Nolan's chest before he could think twice.
Eight hours.
That's all it took for Eden, at his current level, to wipe out the entire Viltrumite race.
"End simulation."
He exhaled, dissatisfied. Nothing here could push him anymore. Maybe it was time to test himself against enemies from other universes.
The air around him shimmered. The barren planet blinked out of existence.
..
"Damn it…"
"Who killed my father?!"
"Who slaughtered the Viltrumites?!"
Not long after Eden's simulation ended, another figure dropped onto the planet—Mark Grayson in a Viltrumite battlesuit. He stared around in shock.
A portal opened before him.
"Well, well. Another victim. Looks like our alliance just found a new brother."
A deep voice rang out. Through the portal stepped a Mark clad in a regal red-and-gray battlesuit, a cape flowing behind him, exuding imperial dominance.
"Who the hell are you?!" the Viltrumite Mark demanded. "Why are you wearing my face?"
The sight left him stunned.
"Doesn't matter." Viltrumite Mark's eyes glinted. "One of us has to die. The world doesn't need two Mark Graysons."
With a sonic boom, Viltrumite Mark hurled himself forward, fist cocked.
"Calm down, kid."
Emperor Mark caught the punch effortlessly with one hand.
"That's impossible!"
A slight squeeze—and Viltrumite Mark's fist shattered in a spray of blood.
"Ahhh! The pain!" he screamed, dropping to one knee, staring at the ruin of his hand in disbelief.
"Nothing's impossible, boy." Emperor Mark's tone was cold. "We may be the same person, but I'm older. I've fought more battles. I've lived through more wars."
He turned his back and walked calmly into the golden portal. As his figure began to fade, his voice drifted out: "If you really want answers—who killed your father, who wiped out your people—then follow me. Everything you want to know is behind this door."
"Damn it!"
Viltrumite Mark cursed. That bastard was acting like the Riddler now. But he couldn't let the portal vanish. With a burst of speed, he dove in after him.
And what he saw on the other side—
"This… this can't be real."
Marks.
Marks everywhere.
"Mark!"
"Mark!!"
The cries echoed across the strange world.
"Everywhere I look… it's me. All me. How many damn Marks exist in this universe?!"
His eyes darted wildly, taking it all in—dozens, hundreds of versions of himself. Some wore yellow suits. Others blue, red, even pink. But every single one of them was unmistakably Mark Grayson.
"You followed, just as I knew you would."
Emperor Mark appeared at his side, unsurprised.
"Now tell me what the hell is going on!" Viltrumite Mark demanded.
"Fine. I'll explain. Come with me."
Emperor Mark gestured toward a flamboyant, pink-suited Mark nearby. "Summon the brothers."
"On it~," the campy Mark sang, vanishing in a flash.
A moment later his voice boomed from a broadcast tower: "Brothers, gather at the plaza! The Emperor calls! The time has come for revenge!"
The effect was instant. The multiverse's Marks roared in unison, streaking through the skies to assemble.
Viltrumite Mark followed, unsettled but desperate for answers.
On the plaza, Emperor Mark raised his voice.
"Brothers. Like me, like all of you—we lost our fathers young. We never found the killer who robbed us. But I did. I found the one responsible. He's one of us, a Mark from a special universe."
"Now tell me—how should we deal with him?"
The crowd erupted, fury shaking the ground.
"Go to his universe!"
"Kill his father!"
"Make him suffer like we did!"
The legion of Marks howled for blood
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