Debbie Grayson sat in the dim living room, the red wine glass in her hand reflecting the flickering Fire of the fireplace.
Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the detailed inspection report sent by old Arthur on the tablet—the DNA residue and combat traces left on the battle suit fibers.
Everything pointed to a fact she was most unwilling to believe.
Click!
The sound of the door lock turning made her body tremble.
Nolan Grayson, her husband, pushed the door open, his cape still carrying the chill of the night wind. His gaze slightly froze when he saw the tablet in his wife's hand. He seemed to have glimpsed a photo of his missing, damaged battle suit.
But soon Omni-Man regained his composure.
"Not asleep yet so late?" His voice was softer than usual, trying to pretend as if nothing had happened.
Debbie looked up, the pain and anger in her eyes making Nolan's footsteps halt.
"Why?" Her voice was hoarse, her fingers tightly gripping the tablet, "The Global Guardians, they were your friends!"
A trace of panic flashed in Nolan's eyes, his heart sinking, but it was quickly replaced by calmness: "I don't know what You are talking about."
"Stop pretending!" Debbie suddenly stood up, the red wine glass shattering at her feet. The crimson liquid spread across the floor, looking exactly like the bloodstains from that day.
"The battle suit inspection results are right here! They're full of their DNA!"
Her voice trembled, and there was a last trace of hope in her eyes: "Did someone control You? Threaten us? Tell me, please tell me this wasn't You willingly."
Nolan was silent for a moment, the gentle mask on his face gradually peeling away.
It was as if the last trace of hesitation was forced to be cut off by reality. When he spoke again, his voice was as cold as ice: "Listen to my arrangements. You, Mark, and Russell, our family will be fine."
"No matter who gets hurt, I guarantee our family will be safe."
These words were like a knife piercing into Debbie's heart. She staggered back, hearing a more terrifying implication in her husband's words.
"What are You going to do, Nolan, not just the Guardians. What else are You planning?"
Nolan didn't answer, just calmly walked to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of whiskey.
The sound of ice cubes clinking in the glass was particularly harsh in the dead silent room.
"Nolan!" Debbie grabbed the photo frame from the table—it was a family photo of their couple and their two children, Mark and Russell. "Look at this! Look at your son, look at your nephew, what kind of monster have You become?!"
"Become a monster?"
The photo frame shattered at Nolan's feet, glass shards grazing his boots, leaving a White mark.
He looked down, his chest and heart trembled painfully for a moment, but when he looked up again, his eyes were still full of determination and indifference.
"I have never changed. This is who I originally was, it's just that I'm tired of pretending now." He said in a deep voice, "Some things, I must do, and I have to do!"
The Firelight from the fireplace cast flickering shadows on his face. At that moment, Debbie finally saw clearly—the man standing in front of her was no longer the husband she had loved.
"Nolan, You…"
Debbie was about to say something angry and disappointed.
"There is never anything You have to do, uncle."
A voice drifted in, and Russell walked down the stairs from the second floor.
"Sometimes You think You have no choice, but the actual situation is not as bad as You think."
"Russell?"
Seeing his nephew suddenly appear, completely unsurprised by all of this, Nolan's brows instantly furrowed.
"You know about this too?"
"That's right."
The Mutant Universe needed some time to build Genosha. Russell came back to take a look, and unexpectedly happened to stumble upon his aunt and husband's confrontation. Calculating the time needed for the battle suit inspection, it was indeed time for this now.
"What do You know, You are just a child!"
Nolan coldly crossed his arms, unceremoniously reprimanding Russell's words just now.
But this posture, which is psychologically defensive and resistant, did not escape Russell's eyes.
"The World sometimes doesn't give an adult so many choices. I once said that Viltrumites are a peace-loving race. I lied to You.
Viltrumites are born to learn to fight, preparing for the Empire's invasion of the galaxy."
Ignoring his wife Debbie's shocked and astonished gaze, he continued.
Unlike the simple Mark, his kind but resilient wife and his mature and excellent nephew could all bear all of this.
In that case, it was better to confess all the cruel realities that had been buried in his heart for a long time.
"Although I have some prestige among the Viltrumites soldiers, I am still just a soldier. It is a soldier's duty to obey orders.
I was sent to prepare for the conquest of Earth. Now the time has come—even if I don't make a move, the Empire will send someone to replace me…"
"Nolan, is that why You attacked the Global Guardians?"
Debbie's eyes widened, her voice slightly trembling. Although her husband tried his best to hide it, as someone who lived with him day and night.
How could she not be familiar with her husband's tone of voice?
There was a hint of feigned cold determination in her husband Nolan's words, as if he was forced to do so.
"We can find a way together, Nolan.
You are definitely not a devil soldier whose natural mission is to kill."
Debbie cried, wanting to take her husband's hand.
"Find a way? You simply don't understand the iron-blooded, strict, and powerful nature of the Empire." Shaking off his wife's hand, Nolan turned away, not wanting to see his painful wife anymore, and before leaving, he coldly threw a warning to his nephew.
"Russell, don't attempt to oppose the Empire. Even if the outside World is full of crying and despair, stay at home for your life and stop trying to play some ridiculous Superheroes.
This is my advice to You.
The chaos is only temporary. Earth will usher in a new life under the Empire's rule!"
Bang!
Breaking through the roof, Omni-Man Nolan flew away, not looking back.
"Russell, save your uncle. I feel his pain. Don't let him make a mistake he will regret for the rest of his life…" Aunt Debbie turned back and cried on her nephew's shoulder.
Russell patted his aunt's back, gazing deeply in the direction Omni-Man had flown away, and just said softly.
"I will, aunt."
"What's wrong with Dad? I just called him, why didn't he answer me?"
Mark landed in front of the lawn, looking at the sky where his father Omni-Man had flown away and disappeared, scratching his head with a confused look. He turned back and saw the large hole in the roof of the house, and his mother crying heartbrokenly.
"This is… Mother, why are You crying."
"What's going on?" He widened his eyes, having never seen his mother cry so sadly and helplessly. He was flustered and didn't know how to comfort her, turning anxiously to Russell.
.....
[300PS = 1 Bonus chapter]
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