Deep Space – Thraxan Bio-Ship
Time Elapsed: 3 Weeks Since Arriving Back On Earth
The stars blurred past the organic canopy of the ship. I sat in the pilot's seat, wearing a sleeveless Thraxan tunic that was far more comfortable than my shredded battle suit.
I looked down at the co-pilot's chair. Sleeping in a makeshift carrier was my new purple-skinned brother.
I had spent three weeks on Thraxa helping them rebuild. With my strength and their accelerated workforce, we reconstructed the capital in days. My body had healed fast—faster than before. The smart atoms were adapting, remembering the trauma Kregg inflicted and building back denser.
I thought about Andressa. She was middle-aged now. By the time I reached Earth, she would be elderly. By next week, she would probably be dust.
I didn't have to wait for her to ask me to take Oliver. I told her I would.
Flashback…
"He can't stay here," I had said, standing by the airlock. "The Empire may return. And even if they don't, you won't be here to raise him."
She hadn't cried. She just kissed him on his forehead and handed him to me. "He has his father's eyes. Make sure he has his brother's heart."
I nodded and departed with him.
Flashback End.
I tapped the console on my wrist. Pulling up the combat data from the fight with Lucan, Thula, and Vidor, that my HUD recorded.
[ENCRYPTING SAVED RECORDING FOR TRANSMISSION: ANGTROM_LEVY / MAULER_TWINS.]
I needed them to analyze the Viltrumite fighting styles and input them as part of my training regimen. I needed counter-strategies to easily take them down. Kregg gave me "one hundred years," but I knew that it was a lie. They wouldn't wait a century. They'd send enforcers—Anissa or Conquest—within months to test my loyalty.
And I needed to be ready when shit popped off.
Earth – The Grayson Household
The bio-ship's cloaking was impressive. I slipped into the atmosphere and landed the small craft in the clearing of the woods behind the house, just like Nolan used to do.
It was late in the afternoon when I walked up the driveway, Oliver in a carrier covered by a thick blanket. The house looked exactly the same.
I unlocked the front door and went inside.
"Mark?"
Debbie walked out of the kitchen. She was in her real estate attire, about to pour a glass of wine. When she saw me—still wearing the alien tunic, looking weary—her relief was palpable.
"You're back," she breathed, rushing to hug me. "You were gone for a month. I got your message that you were going to help some planet. I was so worried."
"Yea, it took longer than I expected," I said, hugging her with one arm. "Sorry."
She pulled back, looking at the carrier in my other hand. "What is that?"
This might be the hard part.
"Uh, how about we sit down. There's something I have to tell you."
We sat at the kitchen table and I began to tell her everything. Thraxa, the trap, the fight with the Viltrumites, and Nolan.
I didn't really sugarcoat it. I told her how he got a new wife and tried starting over with a new life.
Debbie, for her part, didn't scream. And she didn't throw things. She just stared at the table, her face pale. It was a quiet, suffocating devastation mixed with anger.
"He... he replaced us," she whispered, her voice cracking. "In a few months? After twenty years?"
"He lives a long time, Ma," I said gently. "To him... maybe it didn't feel like that. And he was feeling very conflicted about it, but he's gone now. The Empire took him."
"Good," she said, though her eyes were filled with tears. Then she looked at the carrier, the blanket already pulled back. "And the baby?"
Oliver looked up, his purple skin stark against the white fabric. He cooed, reaching for her.
"His name is Oliver," I said.
Debbie stared at the child. I saw the conflict in her eyes—the anger at Nolan, the heartbreak of betrayal, but also the undeniable instinct of a mother who saw a helpless child.
"He has Nolan's eyes," she whispered.
"He needs us," I said firmly. "I couldn't just abandon him and let someone take advantage of him."
Debbie took a shaky breath. She reached out and let Oliver grab her finger.
"Okay," she said softly. "Okay. We'll figure it out."
DING-DONG.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Now, who could that be? I wondered, already knowing.
I opened the door and Cecil Stedman was standing there looking as unimpressed as ever.
And the devil himself arrives.
"Welcome back, kid," Cecil grunted, eyeing my Thraxan wear. "Nice dress."
"It breathes well," I said, blocking the doorway. "What's going on?"
"A debrief," Cecil said. "You vanish for a month. My satellites lose you. Then you pop up with an alien energy signature in your backyard. We had a hell of a time while you were gone, Mark. A crazed energy drainer nearly leveled the world while you were gone. And Black Samson got his powers back just in time to save our ass."
"Really now," I said, monotonously. "Good for Samson."
Cecil tried to look past me into the house. "And the signature?"
"A little package I couldn't leave behind," I said, letting him in.
We walked into the kitchen. Debbie was still sitting at the table, Oliver in her arms. When she saw Cecil, her eyes narrowed slightly, her expression hardening into cautious wariness. She held the baby just a fraction closer.
Cecil stopped dead. His good eye locked onto the purple skin of the child.
"Mark," Cecil said, his voice dropping low. "Please tell me you didn't bring an unauthorized extraterrestrial lifeform into a residential neighborhood."
"His name is Oliver," I said, leaning against the counter and crossing my arms. "He's my brother."
"Brother," Cecil repeated, skepticism dripping from the word. He walked closer, keeping a respectful distance from Debbie but eyes glued to the kid. "We don't know the biology of that thing, Mark. It could be radioactive, carrying a plague, or a ticking time bomb. We need to take it in."
"Take him in?" I raised an eyebrow.
"The GDA has isolation wards. Medical staff," Cecil pressed. "We can run a full workup, ensuring that he's safe to be around humans. We can look after him there until we know what we're dealing with."
"That won't be necessary," I cut him off. "We've got things covered."
Cecil turned to me, his jaw setting. "If that kid sneezes and levels a city block, then what?"
"That won't happen. He'll be trained before anything like that even remotely happens," I said assuredly. "Besides, I know his physiology better than your scientists ever could. He'll be fine here."
Cecil looked at Debbie, then back at me. He realized he wasn't winning this one and pivoted to a new angle.
"When your mom works and you're busy saving the world, who watches the kid?" he asked. "I have top clearance, nanny services, and can pay for tutors on the GDA's dime."
"I can do all of that too and more. I got good investors" I said. "We got it covered here."
"Investors? Through your little clubhouse?" he asked, raising a brow. "How?"
"I don't think I need to explain to you how much people value their assets, Cecil," I said smoothly. "And what's a higher-value commodity than safety?"
I reached into my tunic and tossed him an alien key fob.
"Here, there's a ship in the woods," I said. "Alien bio-tech. Self-repairing hull, very fast drive. It's yours. Ease your mind with it."
Cecil caught the fob. He looked surprised. "You're just giving it to me?"
"There's nothing I can really do with it," I said. "We done here?"
Cecil pocketed the key. "Not quite, I have a mission request for you. Tomorrow morning. 0800 hours. Briefing at the Pentagon."
"What is it?"
"Martians," Cecil said grimly. "And parasites. Don't be late."
ZAP.
A brilliant white light engulfed him. A split second later, he was gone.
Finally, thought he'd never leave, I thought, looking at the empty spot where he stood. The ship will keep his scientists busy for some time.
After things settled down, I retreated to my room. The exhaustion was finally starting to claw at the edges of my mind, but I had one last base to cover.
I pulled a small, flat device from my tunic—a secure communicator I'd given to Titan before I left. It used the same frequency hopping encryption as the jammers.
I tapped it. A holographic projection of Titan flickered into existence above my desk. He was sitting in what looked like a newly renovated office, reviewing logistics on a tablet.
"Titan," I greeted, sitting on the edge of my bed.
Titan looked up, his stone-like face breaking into a small grin. "Invincible. You're back. You look like you've been through a blender."
"Rough trip," I said, rubbing my temples. "What's the status?"
"Business is booming, partner," Titan rumbled. "While you were gone, we locked down contracts with three major tech firms for site security. The cargo escort runs are smooth. And no heat from the GDA—those nodes you left are working like a charm."
"That's good," I said. "Keep the money flowing into R&D. We're going to need it."
"Way ahead of you," Titan said. "Though I have a backlog of requests for 'Invincible' specifically. High-paying clients. They want the big gun for some heavy lifting."
"Queue them up for late next week," I said. "I have to play nice with the GDA tomorrow. Some save the world thing."
Titan nodded, tapping his tablet. "Copy that. I'll keep the schedule clear until then. Get some sleep. You sound like hell."
"No rest for the wicked, Titan," I said as I turned the device off.
The hologram faded and I fell back onto my bed, staring at the ceiling.
That's one crisis averted, I thought. Now, all I got to do id take care of this sequid problem permanently.
The Pentagon – Briefing Room
I walked in, wearing my old yellow-and-blue suit Art had patched up with my new HUD goggles. The Prussian Blue suit was getting repaired.
The room was full.
The Immortal sat at the head of the table, arms crossed. He glared at me. He hated Nolan, and by extension, he didn't trust me.
But I don't give a fuck what his weak ass doesn't like.
Robot (Rudy) and Monster Girl (Amanda) sat together, reviewing data.
Black Samson was there, looking bulkier than before, his suit crackling with electricity.
Bulletproof—a new guy in an orange and yellow suit—leaned against the wall, looking bored.
Shapesmith was fidgeting nervously in his chair.
Dupli-Kate, Rex Splode, and Shrinking Rae were conversing with the others or waiting for the meeting to start.
And Atom Eve. She gave me a small, worried wave.
"Glad you could join us, Invincible," Immortal grunted. "Nice of you to take a break from your... private enterprise."
"You know that old saying. Time is money," I said, taking a seat. "I see you got the band back together."
Cecil walked in, slamming a file on the table. A hologram of a massive red ship appeared.
"A Martian warship has entered Earth's atmosphere," Cecil said. "It's not responding to hails. And it's full of squid-like parasitic aliens called Sequids."
"Sequids? Are they dangerous?" Bulletproof asked.
"Not at all," Rudy interjected. "Unless they have a host. Then they are a hive mind capable of overwhelming planetary populations."
All eyes turned to Shapesmith. He shrank into his seat. "I... uh... might have left the airlock open when I escaped."
"So, we've established that the Sequids can function through a hive minded system," Cecil refocused the conversation, "but we don't know how to break the link. Invincible, you were there. How did you handle them?"
All eyes turned to me.
"I didn't have to," I said. "They couldn't penetrate my skin. So, they tried to find other hosts. Seeing that, I quickly evacuated the astronauts. I thought I got them all out."
I glanced at Shapesmith.
"Apparently, in the chaos, a switch was made. One of the astronauts, who has been identified as Rus Livingston, was left behind."
Even though I already knew who he was and made the decision to leave him, I thought.
"They have a Prime Host," I explained. "The hive mind flows through him. If we knock him out or sever the connection, the drones go dormant."
"I can fabricate a disruption pulse," Robot said, his fingers beginning to work rapidly on a small, spherical device. "It should jam the psionic frequency the Sequids use to communicate. But I need to be close to the host."
"We'll get you close," I said.
"Alright then it's settled. The team will consist of Immortal, Invincible, Robot, Monster Girl, Samson, Bulletproof, Eve, and Shapesmith," Cecil ordered. "Kate, Rex, and Rae stay here on reserve."
"Let me get this straight, while these losers are up there fighting evil squids, we'll be down here relaxing?" Rex grinned enthusiastically.
"You'll be the second round of reinforcements," Cecil stated. "This is a containment breach. If a single Sequid touches the surface, we lose the planet."
"What are we waiting for then?" I asked, standing from my seat. "Let's go squash some bugs."