The Pacific Ocean
Anissa hung in the air like a blade suspended on a string—sharp, precise, and dangerous.
I had seen the files. I knew the stats. But seeing her in person was different.
The show and comic don't do her enough justice.
The white Viltrumite uniform hugged a physique that was pure predatory perfection. She was undeniably beautiful, in a terrifying, 'I-could-crack-the-planet-in-half' kind of way.
I kept my face neutral, my hands loose at my sides, but every nerve ending in my body was screaming.
"Efficient," she said, her voice smooth but carrying the weight of a judge passing a sentence. She uncrossed her arms, drifting a few feet closer. "You identified the weak point instantly. You executed the strike with minimal wasted energy."
"Job's done," I said flatly. "That's all that matters."
"Is it?" She raised an eyebrow, a flicker of disappointment crossing her face. "You hesitated. A 0.04-second delay between target acquisition and kinetic commitment. In a real battle, against a real opponent, that kind of hesitation would turn you into a corpse."
"It was a squid, not a warrior" I countered. "Not everything has to be a test."
"Everything is a test, Mark Grayson," she said, her tone sharpening. "And so far, your performance on this mudball of a planet has been... lacking."
She gestured at the cruise ship below us, where passengers were scrambling on the deck, cheering at the 'hero' floating above them.
"You play dress-up," she scoffed. "You save insects from other insects. Where is the infrastructure? Where are the subjugation centers? Why haven't the world leaders been replaced or eliminated?"
"And here, I thought I had time," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Kregg said—"
"General Kregg isn't here," she cut me off, her eyes narrowing. "I am. And what I see is a world that is messy, chaotic, and unprepared."
"You're looking at things from a surface level," I said, putting a bit of edge in my voice. "I am bringing order to Earth. I just do it differently."
I floated up, bringing myself to her eye level.
"I lead this planet's heavy hitters. I own the logistics network that moves their resources. They rely on me for protection, for transport, for survival," I said, ticking off the points. "My old man tried to conquer by force and got sent packing. I'm conquering through dependence. By the time the Empire arrives, they won't fight. They'll hand me the keys because they can't function without me."
Anissa paused. She looked at me, processing the logic. For a second, I thought she might buy it.
Then she scoffed, a harsh, dismissive sound.
"Excuses," she spat. "You rely on their economy, you don't control it. You're no different than these insects. A well-paid pet, but a pet nonetheless. If you cannot do what is required... perhaps we need to assign an agent who can."
The threat hung in the air.
Does she mean Conquest? Or another random high ranking Viltrumite that would wipe the planet clean without hesitating? I pondered.
I dropped the civil act.
I moved into her personal space. Close enough to see the flecks in her blue eyes.
"This is my planet," I said, voice dropping low. "These are my people. My resources. If the Empire wants them, they gotta go through me. And if you think you can just replace me..."
I leaned in, my lips inches from her ear.
If there's one thing I know for certain, it's gotta be that she can be easily set off and she thrives on conflict, I thought. And I gotta see, first hand, just how wide this gap between us is.
"Then make it happen," I said, letting a dangerous smirk touch my lips. "I know you want to hit me. I can tell. And honestly? I've been wanting to hit you for the past five minutes. So how about we skip the lecture and get to it already."
Anissa pulled back, her eyes widening. Then, slowly, a smile spread across her face. It wasn't a nice smile. It was the smile of a wolf finding a deer that wanted to fight back.
"Very well," she purred. "It seems you need to be educated on Viltrumite ways!"
The air around us seemed to vibrate. Then, without a twitch of telegraphing, she moved.
My eyes saw the blur of her movement. And my body reacted purely on the instincts drilled into me by my training regimen from the Flaxan dimension.
She threw a straight right, with enough power to take my head off.
WHAM.
I caught her fist. The impact created a shockwave that disintegrated the clouds for a mile radius, but I didn't move an inch. I held her fist there, my grip tightening.
Anissa's eyes went wide. For the first time, the smirk vanished. She pulled, trying to free her hand, but I held firm.
"You're fast," I said, pulling her into my space. "But I'm strong."
CRACK.
I delivered a headbutt straight to the bridge of her nose.
The sound was sickening—like a sledgehammer hitting wet concrete.
Anissa was blasted backward, tumbling uncontrollably through the air before correcting herself with a burst of flight. She hovered a hundred yards away, clutching her face. When she pulled her hand away, her nose was crooked, and blood was streaming down her chin, staining her pristine uniform.
She wasn't laughing anymore. She looked... alarmed.
"You..." she wiped the blood away, her eyes narrowing. "You actually hurt me."
"I told you," I said, cracking my knuckles. "This isn't a game."
"No," she snarled, her Viltrumite pride flaring to life. "It's an execution."
She shot forward like a cruise missile, abandoning technique for pure, unadulterated rage. She wanted to prove she better than me.
I met her halfway.
We clashed in mid-air, our forearms colliding with a deafening CRACK. The resulting shockwave parted the clouds above and violently pushed the ocean water down below us in a massive crater.
Anissa didn't back off. She threw a vicious uppercut that caught me flush on the jaw. My head snapped back, the impact rattling my teeth, but my denser musculature absorbed the brunt of it. I spat out a glob of blood, locked my eyes onto hers, and swung back.
I drove a heavy left hook right into her ribs. I felt something crack under my knuckles.
Anissa gasped, her eyes widening in genuine shock as the air was forced from her lungs. I didn't give her time to recover. I followed up with a brutal knee to her stomach, doubling her over, and slammed my fists down on her back, sending her plummeting toward the water.
She caught herself before hitting the waves, rocketing back up at me with a furious battle cry. We became a blur of traded blows. It was a gritty, heavy-hitting slugfest. She hit like a meteor, landing strikes that would have pulverized me months ago, but I was eating them and giving them back twice as hard. For every punch she landed on my face, I drove a fist like a piledriver into her torso.
We broke apart, skidding backward through the air.
I wiped a trail of blood from my lip, breathing heavily but feeling a surge of adrenaline.
I can take her on, I realized, smile tugging at my face. She can't fuck with me physically.
Anissa hovered a hundred yards away, her chest heaving. Her uniform was torn, her nose was completely crooked, and she was clutching her bruised ribs. The rage in her eyes was suddenly extinguished, replaced by a cold, calculating tactical assessment.
She realized she was losing the brawl. Her raw strength wasn't enough to break me. So, she adapted.
BOOM.
This time, she didn't just fly fast. She vanished from my sight.
I swung around me, trying to anticipate where she would be at, but hit empty air.
SPLAT.
A fist slammed into my kidney. Before I could turn, then a boot connected with my spine.
She was moving faster than my eyes could track. She had realized she couldn't win a contest of raw strength, so she quickly adapted her strategy to dismantle me.
This is ridiculous, I thought. I can't keep up with her speed. I'm essentially a sitting duck.
I found an opportunity when I managed to catch her leg as she went for a kick. I swung her down towards the ocean and tried to follow up, but she twisted mid-air, and used the momentum to reverse the situation and flip me over her shoulder.
What the fuck? That was so quick.
I crashed into the beach of a nearby island, the sand turning to glass under the heat of the impact.
I scrambled to get up, rage fueling my movements.
I can take her! All I need is to get a firm hold on her! I affirmed to myself.
But she didn't give me the chance. She wisely kept her distance, while attacking me in short bursts. I couldn't touch her without receiving multiple devastating hits in return.
At one point, I tried to bait her with a feint, but she saw right through it. I ended up overextending and she caught me with an elbow to the back of my shoulder, causing it to separate temporarily.
She capitalized on the opportunity immediately.
Spinning me around, and crashing feet first onto my chest. We landed on the land below, the force of the impact cracked the bedrock beneath us. She promptly pinned her knees to my biceps and joints, neutralizing my leverage. Her hand clamped over my throat, thumb pressing into a nerve cluster that made my entire body go numb.
"Enough!" she breathed, her face flushed, her chest heaving.
I struggled, testing the hold, but her leverage was perfect. I couldn't move.
"I'm better than you," she hissed, leaning down until her nose touched mine. "I'm faster than you. And you better know that I'm smarter than you."
I stared up at her. I was bruised, bleeding, and pinned. My chest felt like it had been used as an anvil. But I didn't look away.
"You call that a punch?" I spat, blood coating my teeth. "I'm just getting started."
Anissa's pupils dilated from my words. The thrill of the fight was rolling off her in waves. She looked at me with dangerous predatory eyes.
"If we go any further, It'll set me off," she said, her voice trembling with adrenaline, "If this continues, I don't know what I might do!"
My eyes widened as they locked with hers.
"Then stop!" I exclaimed "You can beat me till I'm black and blue and I'll still never quit! Your actions will be pointless."
She stared in my eyes for a long moment, breathing hard and heavy.
Slowly, the manic energy faded and she released me from my pinned position. She stood up, smoothing out her white uniform as if she hadn't just been in a brawl.
I dragged myself to my feet, wiping the sand and blood from my suit. I ran a quick diagnostic.
Ribs fractured, but slowly healing. Internal bruising, that was healing too. Shoulder socket, tender but functional.
She dismantled me, and enjoyed every single moment of it.
"You have potential, Mark Grayson," she said, her voice composed again, though her eyes still held a dangerous glint. "Do not squander it by playing hero for these lower life forms. We expect this world to be ready for processing when we return. If it isn't... then we'll finish what your father started."
"We? You and I both know all of you can't be together on one single planet for too long," I said, testing the waters. "It'll draw out attention you don't really want at the moment"
Genuine surprise flickered across her face. Then her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And how do you happen to know about that?!"
"Please, it was obvious. All I had to do was think about it," I lied smoothly. "I mean why else would world conquerors move in specific groups and let a 'half breed' that they think is lower than them, be a Viltrumite agent?"
a smile tugging at her lips. "You catch on quickly, that's good."
She flexed her hand.
"That's the third time you surprised me today, Mark Grayson," she said, eyes never leaving me. "But your defiance is pointless. We will return and this planet will fall under Viltrumite rule."
"You can try, but I'll send you all packing," I promised.
She scoffed, looking at me like it was a foolish ambition.
"I mean it," I affirmed. "The next time I see you, I won't just crush you. I'll make you regret this day."
Anissa stopped. She eyed me up and down, a hungry, predatory look that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"Trust me, Mark Grayson, I won't regret anything," she said, her voice dropping low. "Because the next time we meet, we'll be doing more than just fighting."
Huh?! The fuck is she— Oh sweet merciful Neptune! I thought as sweat dripped down my face.
"Be seeing you," she said, launching into the upper atmosphere.
BOOM.
She vanished in a sonic cone before I could even blink.
"Crazy sexy bitch," I sighed as I stood on the beach, watching the empty sky.
The silence returned, broken only by the sound of the churning ocean and the approaching hum of a GDA dropship.
ZAP.
Cecil teleported onto the sand a few yards away, flanked by two soldiers. He looked at the devastation on the beach—the glassed sand, the cracked bedrock, the crater where my head had been pinned—then at me.
"We tracked the energy signature," Cecil said, his face grim behind his sunglasses. "That was her, wasn't it? The Viltrumite."
I didn't answer immediately. My hands were shaking. Not from fear, but from rage.
That was a thorough ass whooping.
"Mark?" Cecil stepped closer, the soldiers shifting slightly. "What's the play? Did you engage?"
Like you weren't already watching what happened, I thought, the vein in my head bulging.
I didn't speak, I just nodded sharply.
"We need a debrief," Cecil pressed, stepping into my path. "If she's the vanguard, we need to know her capabilities. We need to know—"
I levitated off the ground, cutting him off his train of thought.
"Where are you going?!" he asked, surprised by my sudden action
"I'm going to train, don't bother me!" sand swirled around my boots.
"Mark, wait! You can't just—"
I blasted off, the sonic boom shifting the sand, and leaving Cecil and his soldiers in the dust.
I hovered in the silence of near-space, looking down at the blue curve of the world. My ribs ached. My jaw throbbed.
That 35% chance the Maulers gave me was pretty optimistic. If she had been ordered to kill me, then I probably wouldn't be here.
I looked at my hands.
One week isn't enough, I thought, staring into the depths of deep space.
The original plan was a week. About fifteen years in the Flaxan dimension. I thought that would be plenty.
But, I need to be the one that they're hoping to have a chance to survive against.
Two weeks in the Flaxan dimension... that was nearly thirty years.
That should be a good amount, I thought. I can get my upgrades, Angstrom and the Maulers will have data on Viltrumites from different dimensions, and I could enhance myself quickly.
I launched forward into the Earth's atmosphere, but I didn't go home immediately.
Thirty years of hell, I thought as the wind brushed against me. And I'll make every second count.
I quickly initiated certain protocols.
First, I sent an encrypted message through the Invincible Inc. server to Titan.
Me: Have to go off-grid for 14 days. Standard containment procedures apply. Stack the contracts. I want a full docket when I get back. Keep the cash flow moving.
Next, I contacted Eve and William.
Me: Going off-grid for two weeks. Don't worry about me. I'll call when I'm back.
And finally, Debbie.
I flew back to the house. She was in the kitchen, Oliver was eating some mashed potatoes and gravy as she read.
"Hey Ma," I said, landing on the patio.
She looked up, seeing the bruising on my face that hadn't fully healed yet. Her eyes went wide. "Mark? What happened?"
"Villains be movin'. You know how they get," I said quickly, stepping inside. "But listen, I have to go away for a bit. Just a few weeks. I need to train elsewhere to get ready."
"Ready for what?" she asked, alarmed. She stood up, wiping her hands on a towel.
"For incoming threats," I said honestly. I walked over and patted the top of Oliver's head. He giggled, and called to me. "I'll be back before you know it."
She hugged me, tight.
"Okay, be careful," she whispered into my chest.
"Oh, I will," I said assuredly.
Invincible Inc. - Warehouse 4, Sub-Level
I walked into the very deep and well vaulted underground containment unit.
A massive portal generator sat silent in the center of the room, dormant.
I checked the heavy duffel bag over my shoulder, then tapped the specialized beacon on my wrist. It sent a special ping, capable of piercing the dimensional barrier instantly.
For a moment, nothing happened. Just the hum of the cooling fans and the beat of my own heart.
Then, the air in front of me screamed.
KZRT.
A vertical tear in reality ripped open. Green and violet energy swirled violently, widening into a stable gateway.
I stepped through.
The transition was instant. The cool air of the warehouse was replaced by the recycled, pressurized atmosphere of the Citadel.
I stood in the main atrium of the base. The walls were lined with advanced monitors, server banks, and weapon racks.
Angstrom stood at the main console, typing commands into a holographic interface that Flaxan scientists were following.
The Mauler Twins were in the adjacent bio-lab, tinkering away on a project.
"Right on schedule," Angstrom said, turning to face me. "We have the simulation room prepped for the one-week timeline. Fifteen years relative. The Maulers have calibrated the—"
"Change of plans," I interrupted, dropping the heavy bag onto the polished metal floor with a thud. "One week isn't enough. I'll be here for two."
Angstrom froze. The Mauler Twins stopped their work and turned to look at me, their eyes narrowing in confusion.
"Two weeks?" Angstrom repeated slowly, stepping down from the console to check his datapad. "That's nearly thirty years in here. Did something happen?"
"Yeah, Anissa gave me a beating I'll never forget," I responded, rolling my shoulders. The ache in my ribs was a persistent reminder of just how far I had to go. "She treated me like a play thing. If that's the vanguard, I won't even be classified as a threat to the main force. It's time to upgrade from 'adequate' to 'overwhelming'."
Angstrom stared at me, assessing the bruised set of my jaw and the cold look in my eyes. He nodded slowly.
"Thirty years is a lifetime," one of the Maulers chimed in, wiping his hands on a grease-stained rag as he stepped out of the bio-lab. "Your Viltrumite physiology will keep you from withering, but you won't come out the same. You'll mature. Your muscle density will hit peak levels. You might actually start looking like your father."
"Better than looking like a corpse," I countered. "Is the serum ready?"
"Synthesized and stabilized," the second Mauler said, gesturing toward a glowing vat. "It'll force your smart atoms to densify at an accelerated rate. It's going to feel like your blood is turning into lead and your bones are being crushed in a hydraulic press for the first few years. You sure about this?"
"I didn't come here for a spa day," I said, my voice leaving no room for argument. "I need the simulations running 24/7. I want Anissa, I want Conquest, and I want every variant of myself you've pulled from the archives. If I'm not fighting, I'm infusing. If I'm not infusing, I'm studying."
Angstrom walked over to the main console, his fingers flying across the holographic interface. The heavy blast doors at the far end of the atrium began to hiss open, revealing the massive combat arena.
"We'll have to adjust the chronometers of the portal for the two-week Earth-time window," Angstrom said. "The gate stays shut until the clock hits zero. Once you're in, there's no tapping out."
I looked around the lab—my forge, my sanctuary, and my prison for the next three decades. I thought about the conversation with Anissa. The hungry look in Anissa's eyes, the lack of empathy she carried, the sadistic glee she expressed while putting me down, and the complete helplessness I felt as the battle went on.
And it made me angry beyond belief to not have a solution for that situation.
"Good," I said, cracking my neck. I looked at the Maulers and then at Angstrom. "Whenever you guys are ready. Let's get to work."
I stepped into the combat arena, the doors sealing behind me with a heavy, final thud.
.
.
.
Author's Note: There's 17. Some people might not like the results, but I don't think she'd lose to him even after he gained all that strength. Even though he has the strength to fight and overpower her, Mark would have still been at a disadvantage skill & experience wise, and Anissa is legit one of the strongest beings in that universe. She's also the strongest female Viltrumite (which was confirmed by the creators). Tell me what you think though, where would you place her strength wise?