As William watched Mark streak through the void toward Earth, the glow of re-entry beginning to shimmer around him, his gaze subtly shifted. His sharp eyes locked onto a distant rock formation where a faint glint caught his attention. Most wouldn't have noticed it, but William wasn't most people. A slight frown formed on his face as he recognized the reflection of light bouncing off a telescope lens.
Far beyond, perched on the rocky outcrop, Allen the Alien peered through his high-powered telescope, his single cyclopean eye scanning the planet below. He had been watching carefully, taking notes, making calculations, but what he saw next made his blood run cold.
William disappeared.
Not in a slow, gradual blur like a normal fast-moving being. No, one second he was there, floating effortlessly in the vacuum of space, and the next, he was gone.
Allen stiffened, panic creeping into his movements as he spun in place, his eye darting in every direction.
Where did he go?
"Tap, tap."
A chill that shouldn't have been possible in space ran down Allen's spine as he felt a light but deliberate tapping on his shoulder. He turned his head slowly, dread pooling in his gut.
William stood there, arms crossed, his presence overwhelming despite his relaxed posture. His green aura from before had dimmed, but the sheer weight of his existence pressed down on Allen like invisible chains. The strange man's dark eyes bore into him, unblinking, assessing, waiting.
"Can I help you?" William's voice was calm, yet it echoed, not in the vacuum of space, but in Allen's very mind, reverberating through his thoughts as if the words had weight beyond sound.
Allen froze. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. His mind raced. This guy is fast. No, not just fast, he's something else entirely.
Forcing himself to remain composed, Allen raised a three-fingered hand in a gesture of greeting, palm open, fingers slightly curled inward. The universal sign of peaceful contact. A silent offering of trust.
William regarded the gesture for a brief moment before clasping the offered hand. The grip was firm yet controlled. In that instant, a voice, not William's own, resonated within his skull.
"My name is Allen. I'm an evaluation officer for the Coalition of Planets. I've been tasked with letting the defenders of this planet know a Viltrumite is among them!"
A slow smirk tugged at the corner of William's lips as he listened to the nervous yet unwavering declaration.
When he spoke, his words carried an unshakable confidence. "My name is William. I'm nobody important."
With a small flick of his wrist, a soft green light extended from his palm, swirling like liquid energy before solidifying into two chairs formed from seemingly nothing. He gestured toward them, the silent invitation clear.
Allen hesitated for only a moment before nodding and cautiously sitting down.
He had come to warn Earth's defenders of the Viltrumite threat.
Now, he wasn't sure who the real threat was.
Hours passed as Allen stood, stretching his arms with a satisfied expression on his face. His earlier wariness had faded somewhat, replaced with a sense of reassurance.
"Well," he said with a small grin, "I'll let the Coalition leaders know that Earth has defenders. Thank you for protecting this planet from the Viltrumite threat!"
Allen dipped his upper body into a deep bow, an uncommon gesture for his kind but one he felt was necessary. The man before him, William, was no ordinary defender. His strength was something Allen could barely comprehend, and he had faced Viltrumites before.
Without wasting another second, Allen shot off into the vast void of space, his form becoming a streak of orange light before disappearing entirely.
As he drifted through the cosmos, finally at a safe enough distance, Allen exhaled sharply.
"That guy scares the shit out of me!"
His singular eye widened slightly as he replayed the moments he'd spent in William's presence. The sheer pressure of his existence, the way he moved, the way he fought—it all felt unnatural. He recalled Mark struggling against William during training and knew that if it had been him in Mark's place, he wouldn't have lasted even a second.
Back on the moon, William remained still, his gaze locked on the direction Allen had disappeared to. A part of him could sense that the encounter had left an impression on the Coalition officer. Whether that was a good or bad thing, only time would tell.
Then—
"BOOM!"
A sudden, devastating force struck William from behind, sending him hurtling toward the lunar surface like a meteorite. The impact cratered the ground beneath him, sending tremors rippling outward across the barren landscape. A plume of dust and shattered rock rose into the airless void as the moon itself seemed to groan under the force.
Silence followed. Then movement.
From within the crater, a faint, sickly green glow began to pulse, casting eerie shadows along the jagged edges of the lunar pit.
William stood.
His figure was barely obscured by the swirling dust as he brushed the lunar debris off his shoulder with casual indifference. His expression remained unreadable, but the steady green aura coiling around his form pulsed like a living entity, twisting and flickering like tongues of emerald fire. The unnatural light illuminated the battlefield, casting an eerie glow against the cold surface of the moon.
As the dust settled, his eyes lifted toward the sky, locking onto three figures hovering above him.
Nolan.
Dressed in his blood-red and white Omni-Man uniform, his mustache unruffled, his face set in a stoic mask, yet beneath the stillness, there was tension. A wariness he couldn't quite suppress.
Flanking him were two other Viltrumites.
One was a woman, tall and imposing, her long dark hair braided into thick cords, the end of which was affixed to a razor-sharp blade. A cruel sneer twisted her lips, contempt clear in her violet eyes. The Viltrumite insignia was displayed on her uniform, though her colors were more muted than Nolan's.
Beside her hovered a bald, dark-skinned man, his eyes sharp and calculating. His uniform was similar, but his presence carried a quiet authority, the kind that came from years of battle experience.
The woman scoffed, crossing her arms. "Nolan, this is the one you had trouble with?" she sneered, her voice dripping with disdain. "Pathetic."
Nolan, however, did not react to her mockery. His gaze remained locked onto William, his expression unwavering.
"Don't let your guard down," he said flatly. "This one stopped my attack. And you, of all people, know how hard I can hit."
The woman's smirk faltered for just a fraction of a second before it returned, though there was an unmistakable glint of unease in her eyes.
William, still standing within the crater, slowly exhaled.
His green aura expanded, crackling with barely contained energy. The very space around him seemed to warp, the glow of his power reflecting off the barren landscape, making it look like the moon itself was bathed in an eerie viridescent light.
He cracked his neck.
This was going to be interesting.
The female Viltrumite ignored Nolan's warning, her arrogance propelling her forward in a blur of motion. With expert precision, she twisted her body mid-air, delivering a devastating spinning kick aimed directly at William's head.
CRACK!
The impact rang out like a gunshot across the moon's barren expanse, but William barely flinched. His forearm absorbed the blow, stopping her strike cold. The force of the impact sent vibrations rippling through the airless void, scattering loose lunar dust around them.
Her violet eyes widened in shock, but she had no time to react as William redirected her momentum, deflecting her leg to the side before launching a brutal counterattack.
THOOM!
His uppercut rocketed into her abdomen, sinking into her stomach like a battering ram.
"HAAAK!"
Her body folded in on itself, a spray of saliva ejecting from her lips as the air was completely driven from her lungs. Her vision blurred, and for the first time in a long while, she felt something she wasn't used to, pain.
But before William could land another hit, the dark-skinned Viltrumite seized the opportunity.
Lucan.
He struck from behind, his arms wrapping around William's shoulders and neck in a crushing full nelson. His muscles strained, veins bulging as he locked William in place with all the strength his Viltrumite blood could muster.
"Now, Thula!" Lucan grunted, tightening his grip.
Snarling, Thula recovered quickly, her pride forcing her through the pain. Her fists became a blur, launching a merciless barrage of punches into William's exposed ribs.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each blow could have cratered mountains, split cities in half, or crushed an entire spaceship like tinfoil, yet William endured them all. His body, though now showing signs of bruising, remained standing firm.
As she struck faster and harder, a creeping sense of dread began to worm its way into her mind.
Her hands ached.
She grit her teeth, throwing one final, full-force punch, only for her knuckles to split open upon impact, revealing raw bone beneath the torn flesh.
"Haaah… haah…" Thula panted, sweat dripping from her brow despite the freezing vacuum of space. Her breathing was ragged, her fists trembling from exhaustion.
And yet—William was still standing.
She turned to Nolan with an exasperated scoff. "See? He's not that difficult. I don't see why you had such a probl—"
A deep, unnatural hum filled the air.
Thula's heart pounded in her chest as a sudden shift in energy made the very space around her feel heavy.
William's green aura pulsed, twisting violently, before it ignited into gold.
His hair shot upward, taking on a radiant golden hue, while his eyes burned with a piercing teal glow. The sheer pressure of his presence tripled in an instant, sending seismic tremors across the lunar surface.
Thula's body screamed at her to run.
But before her mind could even process the gut-wrenching fear that gripped her, a massive, golden-flame-wrapped hand suddenly seized her by the face.
Her muffled scream was cut off as William drove her downward, her body smashing into the moon's surface with the force of a meteor. The ground split open, lunar rock fracturing and scattering into space like shrapnel.
Then, he took off.
Still gripping her skull, William blasted across the moon at breakneck speed, dragging Thula's body along the surface.
A massive canyon began to form.
For miles, her form was torn through the ground like a comet, leaving behind a scar that spanned the entire width of the moon. The sheer heat from the friction charred the rocks black, and her armor shattered like glass under the relentless force.
And just when the agony reached its peak—
BOOM!
William burst through the other side of the moon, emerging in open space like a god breaking through reality itself.
Without hesitation, he hurled Thula's battered form at Lucan like a human missile.
Eyes widening in shock, Lucan barely had enough time to react, his arms instinctively reaching out as Thula crashed into him, sending both of them spiraling backward.
When Lucan finally stabilized, he looked down at Thula's battered, swollen face. She was barely conscious, her expression a mixture of disbelief and rage.
His eyes then flicked back to William.
Floating above the moon, a golden titan of power, his aura roaring around him like a storm of divine wrath.
And worst of all, he was smiling.
A wicked, almost amused grin.
This was far from over.
A soft hum of conversation filled the living room as Mark leaned back on the couch, enjoying the rare moment of peace. His mom sat across from him, sipping tea, while Amber scrolled through her phone, her legs lazily draped over his lap. The warmth of the afternoon sun filtered through the windows, casting long shadows across the walls.
Then—
The TV screen flickered.
A sharp, urgent tone interrupted the program as the image cut to a breaking news broadcast.
"We interrupt this program to bring you a developing crisis! A massive portal has appeared over downtown, and invading forces have begun their assault! The Flaxans, known for their previous attacks—have returned, but this time... something is different!"
The broadcast shifted to live aerial footage, capturing the chaos unfolding in the heart of the city. Flaxan war machines trampled over cars like tin cans, their thick armor plating shrugging off police gunfire as if it were a light breeze. Superheroes from the local scene fought valiantly, but for every Flaxan they took down, another surged forward with even deadlier firepower.
"The invaders appear resistant to our timeline's effects," the reporter stammered, "and their advanced weaponry has put our defenders on the backfoot almost immediately!"
Mark shot up from the couch, his body tensing.
"Not again."
His mind flashed back to the last invasion, how he'd barely managed to turn the tide before they aged out of sync with Earth. But this time, it was different. They weren't retreating. They had adapted.
Amber groaned, throwing her hands up. "Are you serious, Mark? We were literally having a moment!"
Mark barely acknowledged her, already moving. His heart pounded as he grabbed the new armor William had given him, feeling the weight of it as he fastened the reinforced clasps. It wasn't just for show, every dense, heavy plate reminded him of William's intense training. Every ounce of added resistance was a challenge meant to push him further.
As soon as the armor was fully equipped, a faint glow of power radiated off him.
Amber's frustrated expression melted away, her eyes widening slightly as she took him in.
"Whoa..." she whispered, her earlier annoyance forgotten.
Mark turned to his mother, giving her a reassuring smile. "Mom, I'll be back shortly. Don't worry about a thing."
Debbie, standing at the kitchen counter, tightened her grip on her coffee mug. She knew better than to argue, but concern flickered across her face. "Just, be careful, Mark."
He nodded.
Then, with a rush of air, he pushed open the front door and shot into the sky, the force of his takeoff rattling the windows.
Downtown was already burning.