[Nolan's POV]
Space was the only place left where I could still think clearly.
I floated in the cold vacuum above Earth's atmosphere, clad once again in my pristine white and gray Viltrumite uniform. Below me, the blue and green marble spun lazily in the dark. It had only been a short few weeks in Earth's time since I had fled to a Viltrumite outpost, after… hurting Debbie.
But true peace was a luxury the Viltrum Empire did not afford its soldiers.
'What's the hang-up? Is the Sorcerer still down there?' Thula's telepathic voice cut into my thoughts.
I turned slowly with a clenched jaw. Floating a few yards away were three of the Empire's most lethal executioners.
Thula, holding her razor-sharp braid. Vidor still bored, taking Earth's defence lightly. And Conquest, the scarred, the madman who lived only for the slaughter.
General Kregg had sent them with me, to round up this anomalous 'sorcerer' and finally prepare the planet for its inevitable takeover.
I closed my eyes as the name Kaisen echoed in my skull, immediately bringing forth a bulbous rage. The 'curse' that had infected my mind flared to life, pulling at my very blood with the urge to dive down there and rip the boy apart was a very physical agony in my chest.
'Yes. John Kaisen is still down there,' I replied telepathically, keeping my face an impassive mask. 'But I must warn you...'
I stopped that thought as all four of us shifted our gaze downward.
Shooting up from the stratosphere at breakneck speed was a familiar flash of orange. As the figure broke the exosphere, we finally saw him fully.
Allen of Unopan. The Coalition of Planets' evaluation officer.
'He's not only still alive after I carved his head out, but also fully healed in such short time? Someone must've interfered.'
Allen's single eye widened in surprised terror as he registered not one, but a squad of four elite Viltrumites floating in orbit. He immediately tried to arrest his momentum, scrambling to turn back and flee into the safety of the planet down below.
He didn't make it.
'The Unopan is mine,' Conquest roared psychically.
The old man moved with a speed that still surprised me, even after centuries of fighting alongside him. He grabbed Allen by the top of his head to hold him in place, cocking back his prosthetic gauntlet, and with a wet CRUNCH, drove it clean through the alien's torso.
Instead of an immediate kill, Conquest leaned in close. His single good eye stared straight through Allen as he forced his thoughts violently into Allen's mind, a psychotic hiss meant only for the dying alien.
Conquest ripped his arm out, letting the bleeding, broken Unopan fall limply back down toward Earth's gravitational pull like a discarded piece of trash.
Conquest turned to the rest of the squad, licking the red blood from his metal knuckles. "The sorcerer is also mine to hunt!"
Thula scoffed, her braid uncoiling slightly. 'You already claimed the Unopan, Conquest. Don't be greedy.'
Vidor didn't even bother opening his eyes. 'Let the old man have his fun. The rest of the insects are ours to handle.'
'Since there is no need to maintain the façade for the Coalition. Might as well enjoy ourselves.' Thula spoke offhandedly.
I just closed my eyes, dismissing their nonchalance. "Remember," I projected, my mental voice carrying the uncompromising weight of an Elite Vanguard. "No one touches my son nor my mate. I will deal with them myself."
Conquest merely rolled his one good eye, having no interest in the sentimentals or the logistics of planetary integration. He turned and dove straight down toward the planet's surface, eager to hunt.
Thula and Vidor exchanged a nod before streaking down into the atmosphere, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
I looked back at the blue marble.
"It is finally time to face them, huh?" I whispered into the void.
The house was suffocatingly quiet.
I stood in the center of my living room, still wearing my Viltrumite uniform. I had called out for Mark and Debbie upon entering, only to be met with the hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of the hallway clock. They must have been out running errands.
I paced the length of the carpet, my hands rubbing the back of my neck, rehearsing the words like they were going to be my last.
"I killed the Guardians of the Globe," I muttered to the empty room. "Wait, before you say anything, just listen."
I stopped, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Please. I'm not a monster. I didn't want to do it... but it had to be done. It was my responsibility."
I stopped as I looked at the framed family photo on the mantle.
It was a simple picture of Mark, smiling brightly, with Debbie's arms wrapped around us both. Yet it was more precious than the many worlds I'd conquered for the Empire.
"Other people won't understand that, but I know you can. What I'm about to tell you will change everything." My voice thickened as I spoke to the picture of my son, betraying the stoic Viltrumite discipline I was desperately trying to maintain. "Just remember, you're my son, and I love you and your mother more than..."
I let out a heavy, shuddering sigh.
"What am I doing?"
BEEP. BEEP.
Suddenly, the sleek device on my wrist beeped with a harsh, demanding tone. My posture instantly straightened as the vulnerable father vanished, replaced by the hardened soldier of the Empire.
I threw away the picture and tapped the console to answer.
A holographic display flickered to life, projecting the stern visage of General Kregg.
"Nolan," Kregg greeted, his voice cold and analytical as always. "Has the boy agreed to come under the Viltrumite Empire?"
"General, I need more time. This is a delicate matter—"
"Delicate matter?" Kregg interrupted, his single eye narrowing. "For what? Showing a coddled halfling his proper place in the grand plan? Don't forget, it was you, the Great Nolan, who came grovelling mid-mission, begging for aid to be rid of this so-called 'curse.'"
"And I have told you, General! The curse is a real threat, as were the other possible threats I eliminated for the sake of the Empire." I said in a raised voice to defend my stance, "Did you think I would be callous enough to place this on the same level of danger as Ragnars and Space Racers without reason?"
"I believe your caution, Nolan," Kregg replied evenly. "But claiming this 'curse' of Earthlings brings impossibilities like a dragon capable of matching your strength, or an infinitely cloning human, still requires living proof. And that's why a squad of our most elite was sent. To break this Kaisen you speak of, and bring him to Viltrum to be studied. Or killed, if he proves too troublesome."
"Yes, General. I appreciate..."
"Appreciate?" Kregg snapped, his lip curling in disgust. "Mind your tongue, Nolan. Or has breeding with the same hairless monkeys sullied it?"
"General! You..."
"What?" Kregg challenged, stepping closer to the holographic projector. "Don't tell me you have fallen into another 'curse' of compassion for your human mate?"
"No... no," I lied, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I fell back on my deepest conditioning, saying the words I knew would satisfy the General. "She was... she is just an asset. But still, a special specimen that was successful in breeding..."
CLANG!
I whipped my head around only to find Mark and Debbie standing in the entryway to the kitchen.
A fresh, thick cast was wrapped tightly around Debbie's forearm, and her good hand hovered near her mouth. The canvas grocery she had been carrying was spilt across the hardwood floor, apples and canned goods rolling silently across the room.
Their mouths hung open, and their eyes were wide with horror and disbelief.
"Debbie... Mark..." I stammered, the hologram flickering on my wrist. "How long have you..."
"Nolan, what are you waiting for? Get them—"
I crushed the wrist device in my palm, violently cutting off Kregg's transmission. The metal crumpled like wet paper, cutting into my own skin.
I took a step forward, my eyes filled with naked panic. "It's not what it looks like. There..."
I looked at Debbie's broken arm in the cast. It was a physical proof of my destructive nature from when I had unintentionally hurt her a week ago.
My arms fell limply to my sides as I looked down at the floor, unable to meet her eyes.
"Nolan..." Debbie whispered, her voice trembling so violently it barely carried across the room. "You're back? What was that? Who were you talking to?"
I swallowed hard. "It was my General. He has ordered me to get you to Viltrum to be… studied… and Mark's for indoctrination."
Mark moved in a blur. He crossed the hall in a fraction of a second, grabbing me by the collar of my uniform and slamming me against the drywall.
"Dad!" Mark yelled, his face inches from mine. "Someone's controlling you! Someone... It must be John! Dad, tell me how to stop him!"
Looking down at my son's desperate, pleading eyes, the only word that came out was his name.
"Mark..."
"John! Let my dad go! Let him... let him go." Mark begged, tears welling in his eyes.
"Stop. It's me, Mark. It's just me." I reached up, gently wrapping my hands over Mark's trembling wrists, slowly pulling them away from my collar.
"This isn't how I wanted to do this," I said softly, my voice echoing with centuries of weary resignation. "But I don't have a choice. John Kaisen's interruption just fast-forwarded the plan, that's all. It's time for you to know where I really come from."
I stepped away from Mark, walking past him as he remained staring at the drywall. The truth was finally spilling out like pus from a lanced wound.
"I am from Viltrum. But it's not the planet I've told you about. We created a perfect civilization, yes, but it took all of our strength, determination, and courage to get there. In order for our people to reach their full potential, we had to remove the weak from our society."
Debbie let out a choked gasp, covering her mouth with her good hand.
"When it was over, our population was cut in half," I continued, my voice adopting the practised cadence of a soldier. "But what emerged from the ashes was unstoppable. By the time I was born, 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 believed in our cause. 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."
I walked toward the large window overlooking our quiet, suburban street.
"We needed a better, more efficient way to conquer worlds. Our most trusted officers were each given a planet to weaken by themselves. I was one of those lucky few."
I turned back to look at Debbie, only for my eyes to suddenly redden, the moisture betraying me. I looked at the cast on her arm, still unable to hold her gaze.
"I couldn't tell your mother why I was here. But that time's come to an end. And now, we need to get Earth ready to join the Viltrum Empire. Mark, this is good news. We can finally do what we were meant to do. Be who we were meant to be."
"You lying," Mark said, but his voice cracked on the words.
"You couldn't know the truth... not until you had your powers. Not until I was sure."
"Sure of what?" He yelled back.
"Sure you were a Viltrumite."
"So if I wasn't... I'd just be one more human to conquer?" Mark asked, stepping backward. "No. This doesn't make any sense. You love me. You love Mom."
Mark looked over at Debbie. She had slumped against the wall, her good hand covering her mouth as she wept silently.
"I know you do," Mark insisted.
"Do you have any idea how long we live?" I pleaded, taking a step toward my son. "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. Do you understand what that means? Everyone you know and love will be gone before you even look thirty. It's not something I want for you."
I gestured to the world outside the window. "This isn't your world. It's theirs. 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."
"And Mom? You never loved her?" He asked, pointing towards a silently sobbing Debbie.
I took a deep breath, the words heavy on my tongue. "I do love your mother, but she's more like a... a pet to me."
The moment I said it, I was horrified at the words that left my mouth. I quickly whipped my head to check on Debbie, only to see her finally break.
"Uh-huh-huh-huuuh..."
She made a sound I'd never heard from her before. A broken, keening noise that came from somewhere deep in her chest. Her knees gave out completely, and she collapsed onto the floor in a heap, curling into herself. Her entire body shook with sobs that seemed to tear out of her.
"A pet?" Mark whispered.
[A/N]: Time to take a break from the main fight and see what's happening around the globe!!
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