Mark shot through the sky like a missile, his eyes locked on the towering plume of smoke ahead. The air vibrated with the force of successive explosions as a skyscraper, once a monument of human ingenuity, was reduced to molten slag. Glass, steel, and concrete crumbled in fiery cascades, swallowing the terrified screams of those trapped inside. His fists clenched as he pushed himself faster. He had to stop this.
At the heart of the destruction, a massive mechanized Flaxan Warrior loomed like a mechanical titan. Its arm-mounted cannons unleashed a relentless salvo of explosive ordinance, the projectiles hurtling toward the smaller figures of the Guardians of the Globe below. One missile zeroed in on Immortal, who barely had time to register it before instinctively bracing for the inevitable impact.
But it never came.
A thunderous thud echoed through the battlefield, followed by the tortured screech of warping metal. Immortal blinked, his body tensing in confusion.
"WENG!"
The sound rang in his ears as he looked up. Mark stood before him, clad in his reinforced black-and-yellow armored suit, both hands planted firmly against the Flaxan mech's massive fist. The alien metal groaned as Mark's fingers dug into it, his muscles bulging with raw, unrelenting strength.
"Invincible?" Immortal blurted, momentarily stunned.
Mark turned to him with a smirk, his eyes glinting with a cocky confidence that made Immortal bristle. "This guy giving you trouble?"
Immortal's face flushed red, his pride stinging more than any battle wound. "I didn't need your help, Invincible!" he snapped, jabbing a finger at Mark before taking off, heading toward another skirmish.
Mark let out a short chuckle before turning his focus back to the struggling mech. Inside, the Flaxan pilot snarled in frustration, its raspy voice a grating mix of rage and desperation. The mech's servos whined as it fought to break free of Mark's crushing grip, but it was futile.
"AHHHK—!"
The alien's scream cut off as Mark's grip tightened around the machine's wrist. With a sharp inhale, he yanked.
"WENG… CRASH!"
The metallic arm tore free with a sickening rip, sparks flying as hydraulic fluid sprayed like blood. The severed limb, still twitching with residual energy, spun through the air before crashing into a cluster of Flaxan soldiers below. Their bodies crumpled beneath the impact, crushed like insects beneath a boot.
The pilot inside the mech screeched in sheer panic, frantically trying to retreat. But Mark wasn't done. He shifted his grip, his fingers piercing into the alien alloy like it was wet clay.
"You guys never learn," he muttered before heaving the entire mech into the air, then slammed it down with the force of a meteor, cracking the earth beneath it.
Dust and debris billowed outward as the mech's chassis caved in, sparks bursting from its broken frame. Silence followed, punctuated only by the distant sounds of battle.
Mark exhaled and cracked his knuckles.
"Next?"
After saying this Mark charged into the fray to continue the onslaught, his suit tearing through the Flaxan mech suits like a knife through butter.
William stood firm on the moon's cratered surface, golden energy surging around him like a storm of fire. His breath came steady, yet his body was already showing signs of wear, deep bruises forming where Viltrumite fists had landed, and his muscles tensed from enduring their relentless assault. Three against one, but his blood burned hotter than ever.
Then, they struck.
"BOOM!"
Nolan's spin kick came first, a blur of motion that William barely managed to block with crossed arms. The sheer force sent him flying through the void, his bones rattled from the impact.
Before he could correct his course, Lucan was waiting.
"THOOM!"
A devastating punch slammed into his back, and William felt something pop in his ribs. He let out a sharp grunt, his vision flashing red as pain lanced through his body.
His trajectory twisted, right into Thula's grasp.
Her silver braid shot out, wrapping tightly around his neck like a noose as a thin trail of dark crimson blood seeped into the void, floating in tiny droplets. She yanked him with terrifying speed, spinning through the emptiness before hurling him downward.
"BOOOOOOM!"
The impact shook the lunar surface. The ground shattered, a massive crater forming beneath William's limp form. His vision blurred, a ringing in his ears dulling the world around him.
Damn it...
Above, the three Viltrumites regrouped.
"I'm not sure we can keep up with our fists," Thula admitted, flexing her bloodstained braid. "Did you bring the weapons?"
Lucan nodded and withdrew three compact weapons, expanding them to their full size.
Thula received a blade, a cruel weapon that gleamed in the void as she reattached it to the end of her whip-like hair.
Lucan equipped a mace, its spiked head ominous and heavy, meant to crush bones and pulverize flesh.
But Nolan's choice was the deadliest. He donned a pair of gauntlets, forged from an unknown metal and Rognarr bones, their serrated edges designed to carve through even the toughest flesh.
Before they could react, the dust below exploded outward.
"WHOOSH!"
A new golden aura erupted from the crater, but it was different this time, denser, rawer, arcs of blue lightning crackling through it. His muscles flexed, veins pulsing with energy.
Super Saiyan 2.
Then, he moved.
"BOOM!"
Lucan barely had time to react before a devastating backhand struck his face, his head snapping back at an unnatural angle. His body crashed into the ground below, forming a new crater within the one William had made.
Nolan lunged.
A flurry of punches came at William, each one fast and deadly. He dodged, weaving between the strikes, but Nolan's gauntlets whistled through the air dangerously close to his skin.
"He's stronger than the others!" Nolan growled, his fists a blur. "Makes sense, he can survive near a black hole without getting pulled in!"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Each impact sent shockwaves across the battlefield. William's arms stung from absorbing the blows, his knuckles already bruised and bleeding from the force of his counters.
Then, a flash of silver.
"SHHNK!"
Pain exploded in his arm.
William hissed, his body twisting as Thula's whip-blade slashed deep into his flesh. Blood sprayed from the wound, floating in weightless orbs before being vaporized by the heat of his energy.
"Tch!"
He vanished, reappearing behind Thula mid-swing.
"CRACK!"
His chop slammed into her side, and a sickening snap echoed as her ribs shattered. Her body spiraled uncontrollably through space, clutching her side in silent agony.
But before William could turn—
"CRUNCH!"
A full-powered punch to the face.
His skull rattled, his head whipping back violently. His vision momentarily blacked out. Pain flooded his senses as he felt his cheekbone crack.
Then, he was falling.
Shit—!
His body plummeted toward Earth, spinning uncontrollably. He tried to right himself, but his nerves were still recovering from the hit.
A new pain flared through his side.
He looked down, Lucan's mace had found its mark.
"BOOM!"
The weapon slammed into his ribs, the force nearly caving in his side. A thin spray of blood erupted from his mouth, his vision doubling from the sheer agony.
And they weren't done.
The three Viltrumites dove after him, streaking through space like hunting hawks.
Lucan, grinning through his own pain, his mace swinging again for another crushing blow.
Thula, blood dripping from her mouth, but still dangerous, her whip-blade poised for a lethal slash.
And Nolan, his gauntlets glinting, prepared to tear William apart.
A red notification flashed in his peripheral vision.
[Ding - System Quest]
Objective:Survive the Viltrumite Advance Force
Details:You have been identified as a target for elimination. An advance force has been sent to neutralize you. They will hold you off until the main Viltrumite army arrives.
Time Remaining Until Main Force Arrival: 4 Hours
William wiped the blood from his mouth, his teeth, stained crimson.
Four hours.
His vision focused, and his aura flared again, burning hotter than before.
He wouldn't just survive this.
He would win.
The battle for Earth had escalated into sheer chaos. Fires raged across the city, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky as ruined buildings groaned under their own weight. The streets, once bustling with life, were now littered with debris and the bodies of both human defenders and Flaxan invaders. Explosions and cries of pain echoed through the ruined landscape, a grim testament to the ferocity of the battle.
Mark Grayson, better known as Invincible, found himself locked in a brutal clash with the Flaxan general, a towering, armored figure whose state-of-the-art prototype exosuit seemed tailor-made to match Mark's Viltrumite strength. The sheer audacity of such technology was enough to momentarily unsettle the young hero, but he had no time to dwell on it as the general lunged forward, delivering a devastating punch that Mark barely managed to deflect.
"SSSUUUCHHH AAAA SHHHAAAMMEEE, YOUUUURRR WOOOORRRLLLDD WIILLLL BEEE OUUURSS!"
The general's guttural speech was translated into a cold, electronic voice by the device embedded in his armor, sending a shiver down Mark's spine. His eyes widened in shock, communication from the Flaxans had never been this direct before. But there was no time to process his surprise. His hesitation lasted only a second before his fingers curled into trembling fists, knuckles turning white as his resolve hardened.
With a burst of speed, the two combatants launched toward each other, their bodies blurring from sheer acceleration. They weaved, dodged, and countered with relentless ferocity, striking with force capable of leveling entire buildings. When neither could avoid a blow, their fists collided with the impact of a meteor strike, sending shockwaves outward that cracked pavement and shattered windows for miles. Each clash of their fists sent ripples through the air, a battle between sheer power and calculated brutality.
Then—
BOOM!
A thunderous sonic boom split the sky as multiple powerful forces breached Earth's atmosphere. Like comets wreathed in fire, four figures descended at incredible speeds, tearing through the city skyline before landing with an earth-shaking crash.
William Parker stood his ground, blocking a relentless barrage of powerful blows. His stance was unwavering, his movements fluid yet firm. His golden aura flickered violently with every strike he parried and countered, his body responding with the ease of a warrior who had faced countless battles. The Viltrumites, his attackers, moved with an eerie synchronization, centuries of battle experience reflected in their every motion.
Mark and the Flaxan general instinctively broke apart, using each other's weight as leverage to propel themselves away from the impact zone. Just in time, too, William's feet slammed into the war-torn street below, the force of his landing sending deep fractures rippling outward through the already devastated pavement.
Dust and rubble swirled in the air, momentarily obscuring the battlefield.
As the dust settled, the three Viltrumites stood in front of William, their powerful frames exuding a deadly confidence. They ignored the Flaxan general entirely, he was beneath their notice, a mere distraction. Their true target was William.
Behind them, the portal continued to disgorge an endless tide of mechanized Flaxan soldiers, their numbers threatening to overwhelm the Guardians of the Globe, who fought valiantly against the flood of metallic warriors. The battle was tilting dangerously in the invaders' favor. If William didn't act now, Earth would fall.
Exhaling slowly, William narrowed his eyes. It was time to put an end to this.
Golden energy erupted from his form, his aura intensifying, but then something unexpected happened. The golden hue deepened, shifting ever so slightly, tinged with a vibrant green. The change was subtle at first, but then it became unmistakable as the air around him crackled with newfound intensity.
He raised a single hand, his fingers poised with calculated precision.
In an instant, a massive, translucent green cube materialized around the Viltrumites, thick and impenetrable. Its sheer brilliance cast eerie reflections against the war-torn buildings, its construct shimmering with absolute authority. The walls of the cube pressed inward, closing rapidly around them.
The Guardians flinched as the barrier approached, but to their astonishment, the walls bent away just enough to let them slip through unharmed. The moment the last Guardian escaped, the cube sealed itself completely, leaving only the Viltrumites and the endless tide of Flaxans trapped within its walls.
A second wave of energy surged outward, forcing the invading forces back into the portal they had emerged from. The Flaxans shrieked in alarm, their machines faltering as the invisible force pushed them inexorably backward, back to where they had come from. The battlefield trembled as more and more of their army was repelled, their invasion grinding to a halt.
Then, with unwavering determination, William stepped forward and followed them through.
The transition was instantaneous. One moment, he was on Earth. The next, he stood on an alien world, bathed in an eerie crimson glow. The air was thick with an unnatural stillness, and the very ground beneath him cracked and withered as if the planet itself were dying. The sky was stained blood-red, an unsettling omen of decay and destruction.
As soon as they crossed over, the green construct dissipated, freeing the Viltrumites and the remaining Flaxans. They barely had time to react before William turned, his gaze burning with determination. He raised his hand once more, sealing the portal shut with an impenetrable emerald barrier.
The only way back to Earth was now cut off.
A tense silence fell over the battlefield. The Flaxan soldiers hesitated, unsure of their next move. The Viltrumites, however, remained undeterred. They stood tall, their expressions unreadable, but their intent was clear.
William exhaled, his breath steady. Then—
WHOOSH!
His aura exploded outward, a shockwave of energy radiating from his core. The force sent the weaker Flaxan troops flying, their bodies tossed into the distance like ragdolls caught in a hurricane.
"Now that the rabble has been dealt with, shall we continue?" William asked as his eyes became blazing sun's, his aura crackling with deadly lightning and the air around him warping due to the sheer density of his power.