Thraxa – The Capital City:
The bio-ship touched down on the landing pad with a wet thud. The airlock hissed open, and the dry, arid heat of Thraxa hit me instantly.
I stepped out, my boots crunching on the purple stone.
The city was nice in a frantic, insectoid way. A delegation of Thraxans was waiting for me. They bowed low, their mandibles clicking in unison.
"Prince Mark," the oldest Thraxan clicked, looking at me with awe. "We are honored. The Monarch awaits you in the Spire."
The Prince of all Vitumites, does have a nice ring to it.
"Lead the way," I said, my voice amplified by the suit.
The Royal Spire – Throne Room:
The doors creaked open.
Nolan sat on a throne carved from obsidian. He wore Thraxan royal robes, but underneath, I could see the white and red of his Omni-Man uniform. He looked tired.
When he saw me, he stood up. He took a step forward, his eyes scanning me. He was expecting the kid in the yellow spandex he beat into a pulp in Chicago.
Instead, he saw a man. 6'2", 230 pounds of dense muscle, encased in a Prussian Blue tactical suit.
"Mark?" he asked, his voice hesitant.
"Hey, Pops," I said, standing a distance from him.
"You came," Nolan said, descending the steps. "I... I wasn't sure if you would."
"I was curious," I said flatly. "Plus, the mantis you sent traveled nearly his whole life to get me."
Nolan stopped a few feet away. He looked me up and down, his eyes lingering on the width of my shoulders and the high-tech weave of my suit.
"You look different," he noted. "Bigger. Stronger. And that suit... it's not Art's typical work."
"I've had a busy few months," I said. "A lot changes when your father beats you to near-death and abandons you and your mother."
Nolan sighed. The mask of the Emperor slipped, revealing the guilt underneath.
"Mark, I—"
"Save it," I cut him off. "I didn't come here for an apology. I came to see if you were still a threat to Earth. But seeing that you're here..." I looked around the throne room. "Playing King with a species that lives for what? Nine months? It seems like things might not be as troubling as I thought."
"I needed... perspective," Nolan said quietly. "And I needed to start over."
He gestured to the side chamber. A female Thraxan walked in, carrying a bundle.
"Mark," Nolan said, his voice softening. "This is Andressa. My wife."
I looked at her. She was young by Thraxan standards, which meant she was probably a couple of weeks old.
"And this," Nolan said, taking the bundle. He pulled back the cloth to reveal a purple-skinned baby. "This is your brother."
I looked at the kid. He had Nolan's eyes but the purple skin of the locals.
Andressa would be dead of old age before the weather changed. And the kid, the soon to be named Oliver, would become a complication that I'd have to inherit.
"He's cheerful," I said, my voice polite but distant. "Will he grow the same as the locals?"
"No, but he will grow quickly," Nolan said. "He'll grow fast due to his Thraxan genetics, but his Viltrumite genetics will overtake those and slow his aging."
I nodded in interest.
"So what's the reason for calling me here?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.
"I need your help with the incoming Vitrumites. They know I left my post and are tracking me," he said. "I need your help in fighting them off."
What would he have done with Oliver if the Viltumites didn't track his location or come after them? I thought, narrowing my eyes. Would he have just started a whole new life? Hmm, It's possible.
"I see then we better prepare—"
[HUD ALERT: MULTIPLE HIGH-VELOCITY SIGNATURES DETECTED. VILTRUMITE ORIGIN.]
My lenses flared red.
"We're out of time," I snapped, my demeanor shifting instantly. "They're here."
Nolan looked confused. "Who?"
"The Viltrumites," I said. "Three signatures and they are approaching fast."
Nolan shoved the baby into Andressa's arms. "Go with him! Mark, take them to the underground network!"
I grabbed Andressa and the kid and flew fast.
BOOM.
We broke the sound barrier, disappearing into the canyon network just as the sky tore open.
The Canyon Caves:
I set Andressa down near the cave entrance.
"Stay deep," I ordered. "Don't come out until I say so."
She nodded, terrified.
I turned back toward the entrance, ready to launch.
BOOM.
A massive figure slammed into the ground in front of me, kicking up a cloud of dust that choked the air.
It was Lucan.
Damn, he got here fast.
He was huge, as wide as a small house, with a mustache that screamed stereotypical villain, but the malice in his eyes was real.
"So," Lucan grunted, cracking his knuckles. The sound was like gunshots. "Nolan has a pup. And a mongrel at that."
Mongrel?! Whoa!
He looked at me, sneering. "A failure from a backwater planet, how pitiful."
"We'll see who the failure is when you're choking on your teeth," I responded, dropping into a low combat stance.
Lucan roared and charged. He moved with terrifying speed for his size, closing the distance instantly.
He threw a haymaker that could have leveled a skyscraper. I ducked under it, the wind of the punch rattling my sensors.
One clean hit would rattle my brain. Can't let him connect.
I drove my fist into his floating ribs.
CRACK.
Lucan gasped, stumbling back. He looked shocked.
"You..."
"Looks like I'm not as big of a failure as you thought," I said.
I didn't let him recover. I moved at Mach 10 in short bursts, peppering him with strikes. A knee to the chin that snapped his head back. An elbow to the temple that burst a blood vessel in his eye.
He roared in frustration and managed to grab my leg mid-kick. He slammed me into the canyon wall.
CRUNCH.
The stone shattered, burying me in debris. My HUD flickered red.
[ARMOR INTEGRITY: 92%]
Tough bastard.
He tried to crush my leg, his grip like a hydraulic press. But, I didn't panic. I made good use of my piercing strike training, and tore into his abdomen.
"Gahhhh!" he screamed in pain as his innards started to spill out.
I didn't stop there, these guys were too tough to be left unattended. I grabbed his head and threw my knee directly into his nose.
SPLAT.
Violet blood sprayed across his face. Lucan roared in pain and let go, clutching his shattered nose.
"Stay down," I growled, flying up fifty feet and driving back down, delivering a double-handed sledgehammer blow to the top of his skull.
THOOM.
His head hit the dirt, creating a crater. His eyes rolled back. Unconscious.
Yea, these bastards need to be gone from this world. I thought, getting the feeling back into my leg, then launching myself into the sky.
I found Nolan fighting two of them—an orange haired brute (Vidor) and a woman with a long blade attached to her hair (Thula). Nolan was bleeding from a deep cut on his chest, breathing hard as he parried a strike that would have decapitated him.
"Need a hand, old man?" I shouted.
I slammed into Thula from the side at Mach 5.
BOOM.
The impact sent her spiraling, dragging her away from Nolan. She corrected herself in mid-air, her hair-blade whipping around like a scorpion's tail. It moved faster than sound, slicing through the air with a high-pitched shriek.
"Mark!" Nolan yelled, deflecting a heavy blow from Vidor. "Watch her hair!"
I ducked, feeling the wind of the blade slice millimeters above my cowl.
"You have spirit, boy," Thula hissed, smiling viscously. "But you lack technique."
"I have plenty of technique," I said. "I'll demonstrate it thoroughly for you."
She threw her blade with incredible speed, aiming it for my throat. I couldn't dodge it cleanly from the position I was at, so I waited. I timed the incoming attack perfectly and caught the blade.
My gloves—reinforced with the tungsten-alloy weave—sparked violently as they ground against her weapon. The friction heat was intense, but I held on. Thula's eyes went wide.
"Impossi-"
I yanked her toward me, destabilizing her flight path, and drove my forehead into the bridge of her nose.
CRACK.
She reeled back, dazed, violet blood leaking from her nostrils.
Okay that might have been a bad idea, I thought as I clutched my head briefly.
I recovered quickly and followed up my attack with a kick to her stomach that folded her in half.
"Pops! Switch!" I yelled.
I dove toward Vidor, who was grappling with my dad. Vidor saw me coming and tried to backhand me, but I ducked under his arm and locked him in a chokehold from behind.
"Now!" I shouted.
Nolan capitalized instantly. He drove a punch into Vidor's exposed stomach, sinking his fist deep into the gut. Vidor gagged, spitting blood. I tightened the choke, feeling his windpipe strain. But Thula recovered and punched me in the head, forcing me to let go.
I regrouped with Nolan, and Vidor did the same with Thula.
"We need to focus on the more damaged one first," I said to Nolan
"Agreed," he responded.
Thula was slowing down, her movements sluggish from the concussion I gave her. Vidor was wheezing.
We were about to reengage them, but a blur of motion shot up from the canyons below. And slammed into Nolan from below, driving into Nolan's spine with a sickening...SNAP!
"ARGH!" Nolan screamed, his back arching unnaturally. He went limp instantly.
Holy shit, what the fuck?!
I turned to see the sight of Lucan, angry and drenched in blood, raining blows on Nolan's paralyzed form. I flew at him immediately hitting him with everything I had.
My fists were a blur. I broke his ribs and shattered his jaw. He was dipping into unconsciousness as he began to fall from the sky like a stone. I went for one more shot, but was intercepted by Thula and Vidor who had somewhat recovered and took the opportunity to finish me off.
Vidor rained blows on me as Thula used her blade to cut into me. There relentless attack was getting too overwhelming, forcing me into a defensive shell.
[HUD: WARNING. SUIT BREACH IMMINENT. ARMOR INTEGRITY: 35%]
Following that message, I baited a strike from Vidor and quickly caught him with an elbow to the throat. It caused him to drop to the floor, gasping for air.
Then, I backhanded Thula, who overextended on a blade strike. I created just enough distance to grab her hair and use it to launch her in the direction of Vidor with a hard THUD!
I panted hard, taking in oxygen like it was a life preserver. I was about to go check on Nolan's condition when suddenly...
BOOM.
A massive force crashed into my chest from above. I didn't even see it coming. I was slammed toward the ground, crashing into the city square. The impact shattered the pavement, creating a crater thirty feet deep.
I laid there, my ears ringing.
[HUD: CRITICAL DAMAGE. SYSTEMS FAILING. MULTIPLE FRACTURES DETECTED.]
I tried to stand, but a boot pressed down on my chest. It felt like the weight of a planet.
When I looked up, General Kregg stood over me. He looked pristine. Untouched. His mechanical eye whirred as he focused on me.
Behind him, a massive Viltrumite warship cast a shadow over the entire city.
"Enough," Kregg said. His voice was calm, bored even.
I gritted my teeth, pushing against his leg. My arms shook. "Get... off..."
"Stay down, hybrid," Kregg commanded. He applied a fraction more pressure, and I felt my ribs creak dangerously. "You fought well. Better than expected for a mongrel. But you are exhausted. And you are out of your depth."
Two soldiers dragged Nolan's broken body and dropped him next to me.
"He lives, for now," Kregg said, looking at my father with disgust. "He will be taken back with us to be executed for his betrayal to the Empire."
"Teh, how bout you go fuck yourself—"
A punch connected to my jaw. Kregg swiped the blood away from his fist and leaned down, his face inches from mine.
Kregg poked my chest. "You have proven yourself... capable. You are to be the temporarily designated Viltrumite agent of Earth. You have one hundred years to put things in order."
I glared at him, my vision blurring as the adrenaline faded and the exhaustion took hold.
"Or what?" I wheezed, spitting blood onto his boot.
"You will be detained and executed upon our arrival," Kregg said simply. "And then we will kill everyone you have ever met. Starting with the female and the child in the caves."
Damn, so he knows about that too. I thought, glare never leaving my face.
He straightened up, turning his back on me. "Think well of it. We'll be ready to see the fruits of your labor in due time."
Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision. The last thing I saw was the warship ascending, taking my father away.
Yea, those mutherfuckers gotta go, I thought as everything went black.