"a house is not a home without a pet" Unknown.
ROCKY MOUNTAINS
The rain continued to fall, mixing with blood, washing it down the mountainside in pale pink streams. Mark and Nolan floated across from each other, the destroyed landscape surrounding them—a testament to the violence that had already occurred.
The GDA drone hovered nearby, its camera capturing everything. In the command room, Cecil, Debbie, and dozens of analysts watched. At Guardians headquarters, the entire team stood before their screens, silent.
Nolan took a breath, his damaged eyes now mostly healed. "This isn't how I wanted to do this, but I don't have a choice. It's time for you to know where I really come from."
Mark said nothing, just watched his father with an unreadable expression.
"I am from Viltrum, but it's not the planet I've told you about." Nolan's voice was steady, measured. "We have created a perfect civilization, but it took all of our strength, determination, and courage to get there."
He floated closer, and Mark didn't move away.
"In order for our people to reach their full potential, we had to remove the weak from our society. It was a long and difficult process and when it was over, our population was cut in half, but what emerged from the ashes was unstoppable."
"By the time I was born," Nolan continued, "Viltrum was already the greatest empire in our galaxy. We decided to make it the only empire in our galaxy. Once I was old enough, I joined the war effort. It was hard, but I believe in our cause."
His eyes met Mark's, looking for understanding, for acceptance.
"Some species resisted, of course, but no one could withstand us for long. Soon, our empire encompassed thousands of planets. But as our territory grew, our forces were stretched thin and our expansion stopped. We needed a better, more efficient way to conquer worlds."
At the GDA, Debbie's hand covered her mouth. "No," she whispered.
Thunder rolled across the mountains.
"Our most trusted officers were each given a planet to weaken by themselves. I was one of those lucky few." Nolan's voice carried pride. "I couldn't tell your mother why I was here... But that time's come to an end."
He spread his arms, gesturing to the planet below them.
"And now we need to get Earth ready to join the Viltrum Empire."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
"Mark, this is good news," Nolan said, his voice almost pleading. "We can finally do what we were meant to do. Be who we were meant to be."
"You lied to us," Mark said quietly.
"You couldn't know the truth," Nolan replied. "Not until you had your powers. Not until I was sure."
"Sure of what?"
"Sure you were a Viltrumite."
Mark's eyes hardened. "So if I wasn't, I'd just be one more human to conquer?"
Nolan didn't answer immediately. That hesitation was answer enough.
"You love Mom," Mark said. "I know you do."
Nolan sighed. "Do you have any idea how long we live? The older we get, the slower we age. Viltrumite DNA is so pure you're nearly full-blooded. You'll live for thousands of years."
He floated closer, his voice becoming more urgent.
"Do you understand what that means? Everyone you know and love will be gone before you even look thirty, you have already experienced something like that already when you went into that dimension. It's not something I want for you. This isn't your world. It's theirs."
Nolan gestured to the Earth below.
"But we can help them. We can stop wars. Eliminate hunger. Give them medical technology centuries ahead of what they have now. We've already been doing it. If it wasn't for you and me, this planet would be in flames. All we have to do is welcome Earth into our empire."
Mark's expression didn't change.
"I do love your mother," Nolan said, his voice softening. "But she's more like a... a pet to me."
Silence.
Mark just stared at his father.
The silence stretched. Five seconds. Ten. Twenty.
Nolan became visibly nervous. "Mark? Did you hear what I—"
"A pet," Mark said, his voice flat.
At the GDA, Debbie collapsed. Cecil caught her, lowering her gently into a chair. She was sobbing, her entire body shaking. "No, no, no..."
"Mark, you have to understand—" Nolan started.
"I understand perfectly," Mark interrupted, his voice cold trying to tap into his father's emotions. "You came here to prepare Earth. You killed the Guardians because they would have stopped you. You've been lying to us—to Mom, to me—for twenty years. And you think of Mom as a pet."
"That's not—the context is—"
"And me?" Mark's eyes blazed. "If I hadn't gotten powers, would I be a pet too? Or would you have just killed me along with the rest of humanity?"
Although when he first came into this world, he was just another guy in his favorite character body but living as this man's child under Nolan and Debbie, the emotions, the hurt and the pain was all real.
For all intent, this man was his father and he just insulted his mum for a bunch of conquering species.
"Mark—"
"Answer the question!"
Nolan's jaw clenched. "I don't know. Maybe. But you do have powers. You are Viltrumite. That's what matters."
"No," Mark said. "What matters is that you plan to prepare the earth for a race of aliens I have never met. And I'm going to stop you."
"You can't stop Viltrum," Nolan said, his voice hardening. "You can't stop me. What can one half-breed boy do against that?"
"I can try," Mark said simply.
He took a fighting stance.
Nolan stared at his son, hope fading from his eyes. "Mark. Please. Don't make me do this."
"You don't have to do anything," Mark said. "Just leave. Leave Earth. Never come back. That's all you have to do."
"I can't," Nolan said. "My mission—"
"Your mission is wrong!" Mark shouted. "These people aren't insects to be conquered! They're alive! They matter! Mom matters! And if you can't see that, then you're not the man I thought you were."
Nolan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were cold. Resolved.
"So be it."
He charged.
Mark met him halfway.
They collided in mid-air with a sound like a bomb going off. The shockwave rippled outward, visible in the rain.
Nolan threw the first punch—a straight right aimed at Mark's face. Mark slipped it, the fist passing inches from his cheek, and countered with a hook to Nolan's ribs.
CRACK.
The impact echoed across the mountains. Nolan grunted and immediately grabbed Mark's arm, using the momentum to throw him into the mountainside.
Mark crashed through solid rock, creating a crater twenty feet deep. He pushed himself out, shaking off debris, and saw Nolan coming at him again.
Mark flew up at the last second. Nolan's fist hit where Mark had been, pulverizing stone into dust. Mark came down with both fists hammered together, catching Nolan on the back of the head.
The blow drove Nolan into the ground, creating a new crater. But Nolan recovered instantly, sweeping his leg out and catching Mark's ankle. He pulled, slamming Mark into the ground beside him.
They rolled, grappling, each trying to gain the dominant position. Nolan's centuries of experience showed—he knew exactly where to apply pressure, how to use leverage. Mark matched him with raw determination and strength.
Mark managed to get on top and drove his elbow into Nolan's face. Once. Twice. Three times.
Blood sprayed from Nolan's nose.
Nolan grabbed Mark's head with both hands and pulled him down while driving his own head up. The headbutt stunned Mark long enough for Nolan to throw him off.
They both stood, circling each other in the crater like gladiators in an arena.
"You're good," Nolan admitted, wiping blood from his nose. "Better than I expected."
"I had a good teacher," Mark replied, his voice cold. "Until he turned out to be a genocidal monster."
Nolan's eyes hardened. "I'm trying to save this planet."
"By conquering it?"
"Yes!"
Nolan charged again. This time Mark was ready. He met the charge head-on, their fists colliding in mid-air.
BOOM.
The shockwave from their punch created a visible sphere of compressed air that exploded outward, leveling trees for a hundred yards in every direction.
They traded blows in rapid succession. Nolan's right hook. Mark's left cross. Nolan's uppercut. Mark's spinning back fist. Each impact created thunder. Each movement was almost too fast to follow.
Nolan feinted high and went low, driving his fist into Mark's kidney. Mark gasped but countered immediately with a knee to Nolan's stomach. Both hits landed perfectly.
They separated, both breathing a bit heavy, both bleeding from multiple wounds.
"You can't win this," Nolan said. "I've been fighting for centuries. You've been a Viltrumite for what, a year?"
"Technically thirteen years," Mark replied.
He flew at Nolan, building speed. Nolan flew to meet him. They collided a hundred feet in the air, the impact creating a sonic boom that shattered windows in a town twenty miles away.
They grappled, spinning through the air, neither able to get a clean shot. Nolan drove his knee into Mark's ribs repeatedly. Mark responded by grabbing Nolan's head and driving it into his own knee.
CRACK.
Nolan's nose broke again. But he didn't stop. He grabbed Mark around the waist and flew straight down at maximum speed.
They hit the ground like a meteor. The impact created a crater fifty feet deep and two hundred feet across. Mark was at the bottom, Nolan on top of him, raining down punches.
Left. Right. Left. Right. Each punch was precisely placed—hitting nerve clusters, pressure points.
Mark's vision blurred. Blood filled his mouth. But he managed to catch one of Nolan's punches—his hand closing around his father's fist.
He squeezed.
Nolan's eyes widened in pain as Mark's grip crushed his hand. Bones cracked. Mark used the moment to drive his forehead into Nolan's face.
CRACK.
Nolan fell backward. Mark pushed himself up, spitting blood, and kicked Nolan in the chest with both feet. The impact sent Nolan flying out of the crater.
Mark flew after him, not giving him time to recover. He caught Nolan in mid-air and started pummeling him—stomach, chest, face, face, face.
Nolan managed to block the fifth punch and responded with an elbow that caught Mark's temple. Stars exploded across Mark's vision. Nolan followed up with a spinning back fist that sent Mark tumbling through the air.
Mark recovered and charged again. They met in another devastating collision, trading blows while flying at supersonic speeds across the mountain range.
GDA HEADQUARTERS - COMMAND ROOM
"They're evenly matched," an analyst observed, stunned.
"How is that possible?" Debbie asked through her tears, Cecil's hand on her shoulder keeping her steady. "Mark's only had his powers for two years." She said, her emotions making her forget the time he spent in another dimension.
Cecil watched the screens intently, his other hand already moving to his comm. "Scramble two F-22s from Peterson Air Force Base. Authorization Cecil-Alpha-One. Have them engage Omni-Man on my mark."
"Sir, they won't be able to—"
"I know," Cecil interrupted, still watching the fight. "But they might buy Mark a few seconds. Every second counts."
He looked down at Debbie, his expression softening slightly. "Your son is holding his own against a warrior with centuries of combat experience. That's... remarkable."
On screen, Mark landed a devastating combination that sent Nolan reeling.
"Sir, they're heading east. If they keep this trajectory, they'll reach populated areas within minutes."
Cecil's jaw clenched. "Prepare everything. If they hit a city, we need to be ready for massive civilian casualties."
"Jets are airborne, sir. ETA four minutes."
GUARDIANS HEADQUARTERS
The entire team watched in stunned silence as Mark and Nolan's battle played out on screen.
"They're equals," Rudy said, analyzing the fight with his enhanced intellect. "Mark's matching him blow for blow."
"But for how long?" Eve asked, her voice tight with worry. "Even if Mark's as strong, Omni-Man has a lot of experience."
"Mark's got youth on his side," Blue Rush said in his thick Russian accent. "Is like bull versus matador, except bull is also learning matador's tricks."
"Except the matador has centuries of practice," Bulletproof added.
"We should help him," Eve insisted. "He's our teammate."
"We'd die in seconds," Rex said bluntly. "Did you see what Omni-Man did to the Immortal? We'd be mosquitoes to him."
"So we just do nothing?" Eve's voice rose. "Just watch while Mark fights alone?"
"Cecil ordered us to stand down," Rudy said. "We need to trust that he knows what he's doing."
"Fuck Cecil's orders," Monster Girl said. "Mark needs us."
"If we go out there, we die," Black Samson said quietly. "And our deaths won't help Mark. They'll just distract him. Maybe get him killed."
"He's right," Powerplex said reluctantly. "This is out of our league."
"So what do we do?" Throwbolt asked, electricity crackling nervously around her fingers.
"We wait," Black Samson said. "We watch. And when the opportunity comes—if it comes—we act. Until then, all we can do is hope Mark lives up to his name."
Shrinking Rae stood eye level with the screen. "Come on, Mark. You can do this."
On screen, Mark and Nolan exchanged devastating blows, still perfectly matched.
THE BATTLE
They fought through the clouds, their movements creating swirling vortices in the moisture-laden air. Each punch generated sonic booms. Each impact left trails of condensation in their wake.
Nolan grabbed Mark and headbutted him. Mark's nose broke, blood spraying in a fine mist. But Mark didn't stop fighting. He drove his knee into Nolan's stomach, then grabbed his father's head and drove it into his own knee.
CRACK.
Nolan's jaw fractured. But he barely reacted. He grabbed Mark's leg and spun, using Mark as a weapon to batter the air itself.
Then he released him.
Mark tumbled through the sky before catching himself. He looked up to see Nolan diving at him, fist extended.
Mark flew straight up to meet him. Their fists collided.
BOOM.
The shockwave was visible—a perfect sphere of compressed air that expanded outward, creating its own miniature storm system.
They separated, both bloody, both breathing hard even in the thin air.
"Why are you doing this?" Nolan shouted across the distance. "Why throw your life away for them?"
"Because it's the right thing to do!" Mark shouted back.
"There is no right or wrong!" Nolan replied. "Only strong and weak! And the strong rule!"
"Then let's see who's stronger!" Mark charged.
They met halfway.
They grappled at thirty thousand feet, spinning through the thin air, trading blows that would have killed any normal being instantly.
Nolan got his arm around Mark's throat in a chokehold. Mark drove his elbow backward into Nolan's ribs repeatedly until he felt something crack. The grip loosened enough for Mark to break free.
He spun and drove his fist into Nolan's face. The impact sent Nolan tumbling backward through the air.
But Nolan recovered quickly, using his momentum to build speed. He came at Mark from below, driving upward with a devastating uppercut that caught Mark under the chin.
Mark saw stars. His vision went white. He felt himself falling.
Then training took over. Muscle memory. Instinct. He caught himself, shook his head to clear it, and saw Nolan coming at him again.
They collided in another furious exchange of blows. Nolan's experience showed—every punch was perfectly placed, every block precisely timed. But Mark's raw power and speed kept pace. He might not know all the tricks, but he was strong enough and fast enough to make up for it.
Nolan feinted with a right hook, then came in with a left jab aimed at Mark's throat. Mark barely blocked it and countered with a spinning elbow that caught Nolan's temple.
They separated again, both bloodied.
Then the jets arrived.
Two F-22 Raptors screamed through the sky, their pilots having received orders to distract Omni-Man, to buy Invincible precious seconds.
They locked onto Nolan and fired.
Missiles streaked through the air, leaving white contrails. Nolan saw them coming and smiled coldly.
"Look at what they need to mimic a fraction of our power," he said to Mark.
The missiles hit.
Explosions engulfed Nolan. Smoke and fire filled the sky. For a moment, nothing was visible.
When it cleared, Nolan hovered there, completely unharmed. Not even his tattered suit showed new damage.
"Do you see?" Nolan asked Mark. "Do you see how pathetic they are?"
He turned toward the jets, murder in his eyes.
"No!" Mark shouted.
He bull-rushed Nolan, driving him away from the jets. They tumbled through the air, still fighting even as they fell. Mark got on top and rained down punches—left, right, left, right.
They crashed into a mountain, going straight through it and emerging on the other side in a cloud of debris and pulverized stone.
"Cecil, call them off!" Mark shouted at the drone following them. "I've got this!"
But Nolan had already broken free. He flew up above the debris cloud, spotted the jets, and grabbed two massive boulders from the destroyed mountain.
With perfect aim—centuries of combat experience guiding his throws—he hurled them at the jets.
The rocks traveled at supersonic speeds. Two jets were hit before they could evade. The impacts tore through the aircraft like paper.
Both pilots ejected at the last second, parachutes deploying as their planes exploded in fireballs.
Mark saw them falling and moved to intercept Nolan, who was flying toward the helpless pilots.
"No!" Mark caught his father's fist inches before it could reach the first pilot. "I won't let you!"
He drove his knee into Nolan's stomach with such force that Nolan's eyes bulged, blood spraying from his mouth. Then Mark's elbow came down on Nolan's spine—the impact creating an audible crack.
Nolan grunted in pain but grabbed Mark's arm and threw him using perfect technique.
Mark tumbled but recovered instantly, putting himself between Nolan and the falling pilots.
"Move aside, Mark."
"No."
"MOVE!"
"Make me."
Nolan's eyes blazed with fury. He charged at Mark with everything he had.
Mark met the charge with equal force. The collision created a shockwave that rippled across the sky.
They grappled, both trying to overpower the other, while the pilots fell past them toward safety below.
Finally, Mark managed to position himself and drove his fist into Nolan's jaw with every ounce of strength he possessed.
CRACK.
Nolan was sent flying—not just backward, but flying. He tumbled through the air, crashing through an entire mountain range, each impact creating explosions of rock and dust, before finally stopping miles away.
Mark hovered in place, breathing hard, blood running down his face from a dozen wounds.
He's getting back up. I know he's getting back up.
And he was right. Through the dust cloud, Mark could see Nolan pulling himself from the rubble.
"Good," Nolan said, his voice carrying across the distance. "Good. Now I'll show you what a real Viltrumite education looks like. No more holding back, Mark. Let me teach you how we really fight."
Mark's jaw set. "Try me."
They charged at each other again, both at maximum speed, covering miles in seconds.