"He's gone?" Cecil asked.
The GDA' satellites had captured the wounded viltrumite soar through the final layers of earth's atmosphere and into deeper space. The internet was awash with clips circulating of the fight between Omega and Omni-Man.
The clips were usually filmed on smartphones. The vidoes showed the two figures clashing in the skies. The distance was too far away to see either party clearly, but the sounds of the punches landing resembled some kind of signal for armageddon. The whole world was discussing the battle between the titans.
Alex's feet touched down on the earth. He looked to the scarred older man, "He's gone."
Something about the interaction felt tiring, pointless. He'd been experiencing that feeling more and more frequently. Taylor's face popped up in his mind. The thought of her caused the feeling of pointlessness to lift slightly.
"Viltrum will send an agent to investgate Omni-Man's dissapearance." Alex stated.
Cecil nodded. The drones had captured audio and video footage of the fight. He had heard the conversation between Omega and Omni-Man.
The outlines of defensive plans and protocols began to bloom in Cecil's brain. The prospect of an alien invasion was one that he was already intimately familiar with. The arrival of a viltrumite scout would be nothing new.
"We will prepare." Cecil remarked.
Alex felt the tiredness of the conversation start to creep back in. He looked up to the skies. The tears and punctures in the clouds showed where the fighting had taken place.
"Contact me if you need to."
The air cracked out with a sonic boom. The GDA's director craned his neck to watch the figure dissapear into the horizon.
Cecil sighed. His trouser pocket contained a carton of cigarettes. He grunted from the bliss he felt as he lit one up. The smoke curled upwards from his lips. He muttered at a volume only he could hear, "Good job kid."
The feeling of soaring through the skies made Alex's heart feel peaceful. The cities below were full of people going about their lives; driving to work, buying groceries, waiting at stop signs. All of that felt so far-away to him.
'I'm not like them.'
He'd spent years hoping that the thought would never come. Now it had arrived, his eyes seemed to have suddenly opened to the denial he'd been living in.
The transformation of his DNA into that of a viltrumite had finally made him realise it. The battle against Omni-Man had been like a child attempting to defeat an adult. The outcome had been decided from the moment the fight started.
He could fly through the vacuum of space or walk on the surface of the sun. Even if he didn't use his powers to halt his aging, the viltrumite DNA would keep him alive for thousands of years. The human world, the world that he'd grown up in, was never designed for the being he had become. He didn't know what his place in the world was anymore.
"Alex! Are you okay? I saw on the news! What happened?" A pair of arms wrapped around him tightly.
The house had been decorated by Taylor. The walls were covered with photos of them taken all over Chicago from before they'd moved. Her research at Upstate was exactly how she'd dreamt it.
The door closed shut behind them. Alex allowed Taylor to lead him without resistance to the sofa. She held his hand gently. Her eyes were full of concern, "Alex, say something."
He realised that he hadn't answered her. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple, "Sorry, I didn't realise-"
The apology wasn't what Taylor wanted to hear. He sighed and smiled weakly, he squeezed back on her hand. The force he used was so light that only the feeling of touch registered, "-I'm okay. Omni-Man's gone now."
Taylor smiled. She cupped his cheek with her hand, "That's good."
What she cared about wasn't the fight. She wanted to know how he was doing. He knew that he'd been more guarded recently. He didn't want to shut her out. He just didn't know if anyone could understand how he felt.
He exhaled heavily, "Do you ever feel like you don't fit in?"
Taylor's heart fluttered. She felt the vulnerability in his voice. He'd been acting differently lately. The person she'd fallen in love with was still there, but it was as if some part of him was wandering lost through dark hallways.
She took a deep breath. She forced a smile, she wanted him to know how much she cared, "Sometimes."
"I always wanted to hold onto who I was. Before-before I had powers. I feel like-" Alex's head dropped.
"-I feel like I've lost that person."
Taylor gently tilted his chin back up. She looked into his eyes and saw a man wrestling with what it meant to be human. She rubbed her thumb softly against his cheek, "You're right."
Alex blinked. He tried to wrap his head around the response. The way she'd so casually agreed to the thing he feared most.
"But that doesn't have to be a bad thing." Taylor said.
She smiled, "You've been trying to hold onto the past. That's not how life works baby.
You've changed, and that's amazing. You're mourning the person you've lost, I get that. That process is important to you."
She paused. She looked deeply into his eyes, "But who you are now deserves celebrating too."
Alex stared blanky at her. Doubt crept into Taylor's mind. The fear that she'd said the wrong thing washed over her. Her stomach suddenly felt sick. She started to speak, her voice trembled, "Alex I didn't mean-"
"You're right."
She watched the smile spread across his lips. For weeks she'd felt a shadow hanging over him. Now, in his smile, she saw the joyfullness that she'd fallen for.
'I can be such an idiot.' Alex thought to himself.
"I thought that I'd failed. I always told myself that if I was different, it had to mean that something was wrong."
He smiled lovingly at her. Taylor's eyes widened as she felt a soft pair of lips press against her own. The surprise quickly became delight. Her arms wrapped around his neck.
Alex pulled away from the kiss. He smiled. His forehead rested against Taylor's, "Thank you for putting up with me."
Taylor giggled, she planted a kiss on the tip of his nose, "The honour is all mine."
The dark cloud that had been hanging over Alex lifted with a single heartfelt conversation. Over the days that followed, the huge uptick in his mood was analysed in multiple GDA reports.
It was a relief for Cecil to see that earth's current greatest defender was no longer suffering from depression-like symptoms. Omni-Man's departure and betrayl had left the world reeling. The planet needed a new symbol of hope.
A week passed from the battle between the champion of earth and the viltrumite sent to conquer it. The world continued to need protecting and Alex was there to safeguard it. The hopeful villains and criminals who'd believed that the dissapearance of Omni-Man would give them an opportunity to wreak havoc were swiftly educated in the error of their thinking.
The world was shocked by a GDA announcement that Omega would be leaving the Guardians. The singular superhero could crush the rest of the team a dozen times over. Their presence was more of a hindrance to him than anything else.
In secret meetings across the globe, the shadowy figures who worked within or alongside the GDA expressed their pleasure at Omega's willingness to listen to instructions. That was a quality that Omni-Man had never had.
One week turned into four. A month had passed since the battle. Taylor was approaching the end of her research project. The results she'd gathered would secure funding for hundreds of children.
The potential within Mark's DNA had been thoroughly excavated. Alex had since moved on to integrating the beneficial anatomy of the lion-headed warrior. He had been informed by Cecil that the warrior was known as Battle Beast. It was a fitting title.
The integration of Battle Beast's DNA had proved a slow and complex process. The viltrumite genome was so highly evolved it could be described as perfect. Even just to improve it by a miniscule fraction of a percent required weeks.
The slow progress didn't bother Alex. By Nolan's admission he was already powerful enough to face the leader of the viltrumite race. The Grand Reagent, as Nolan referred to him, ruled over an empire that spanned an entire galaxy. With time his strength would gradually come to eclipse that of even viltrum's mightiest warrior.
Another two months passed. The monsters and villains he defeated on a daily basis only occupied a small segment of Alex's attention. His interest was much more focused on spending time with Taylor or discussing where they might want to live.
The award ceremony for her research project was scheduled for a couple days time. After that, they would no longer have a reason to remain in Upstate.
There were thousands of schools across the country. Taylor spent many evenings biting her lip and laying out the different reasons she might want to work in New York, or Illanois, or Texas. She'd graduated from the university of Michigan with stellar grades. The successful research project further added to her hireability. She would be able to find a job wherever she wanted.
"Do you think the eggs are over-cooked?" Taylor frowned at the speared eggs on her fork. The edges were ever so slightly darker than they were supposed to be.
A piece of bacon crunched between Alex's teeth. He grinned and stabbed a sausage with his fork, "Tastes pretty good to me."
Taylor rolled her eyes, "Can't you harness background energy with your molecules or something. You said you could go years without food. That's your fifth sausage! Stop stuffing your face and tell me if the eggs are overcooked!"
Alex put down his fork and held her hand. He looked soulfully into her eyes, "In the company of such radiant beauty, any meal is a delicacy."
The cheesy flirting made Taylor snort. She looked down at her plate to hide her smile, "Fine, maybe the eggs are just right."
The portions on their plates were vastly different. The "smart atoms" that comprised a viltrumite's body were like hungry soldiers. They were constantly swallowing up ambient energy. The race of alien conquerers were able to fly simply by willing their atoms to move in the chosen direction.
Every member of the viltrumite race represented the pinnacle of evolution. The mechanisms behind the absorption of ambient energy and self-propelled flight were so complex that Alex estimated he would need decades to truly understand them.
Fortunately he didn't need to understand. It was the same way that a flower knew how to bloom and shed its petals. The flower could never possibly understand why or how it did these things. It simply blossomed because that was what it was made to do.
The radio played a popular song. Alex's shoulder swayed to the rythm while he washed up. He scrubbed the plates at a normal human speed. He found joy in doing ordinary things.
He'd also noticed that Taylor appeared more relaxed around him when he didn't use his powers. She had always loved him for who he was, not what he could do.
The conversation between Nolan and Mark had never been released to the public. The footage was held securely in a secret GDA facility. Alex obeyed most of the GDA' security protocols. Some of them he chose to ignore.
Taylor had gasped in horror when she learned how Omni-Man referred to his wife. Neither of them had ever raised it, but they were both aware of the similarities between their relationship and the one between Nolan and Debbie.
There were nights were Taylor had the same nightmare over and over. For twenty years Omni-Man had lied to his wife and son. Debbie never would've believed that the man she'd fallen for was really on earth to subjugate the human race. The thought that Alex could lie to her, just like Omni-Man had lied to Debbie, haunted her.
The bracelet on Alex's wrist suddenly started to flash red. Taylor looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow, "I'll finish the dishes. Go save the world."
Alex turned off the tap and placed a handful of cutlery in the drying rack. He kissed Taylor passionately. When he pulled away she was breathing heavily and her eyes were slightly clouded.
He grinned, "It's my turn to do the washing. I'll finish it when I get back. You already made breakfast."
Taylor grumbled, "Sure, kiss me like that then run off! Some hero!"
Alex's laughter echoed through the hallway. He called back from the front door, "Love you too!"
The wind whistled past Alex's ears. The clouds parted as he ripped through them. The feeling of flying through the air, simply by willing himself to move, never seemed to get old.
Cecil's voice crackled in his ear, "Someone's flying to earth from deep space. We're still trying to figure out who it is."
"Invincible's on his way to support."
The layers of the atmosphere passed by in a blur. The thinning air allowed Alex to accelerate faster and faster. Only in the vacuum of space could a viltrumite display their fastest speed.
'I could go so much faster.' The urge to go faster stirred in the back of his mind.
The viltrumite DNA within him cheered at the acceleration. Something deep inside himself told him that he could fly faster than he could ever possibly imagine.
'Not now.'
It wasn't the right time to experiment. The call for speed in his blood would wait for another day.
In the emptiness of space, a white cape billowed behind Alex. After the battle with Omni-Man, he had made a few changes to his costume. The most notable among them was the reveal of his face to the world.
There was nothing else like the silence of space. The quietness was beautiful. The weight that Alex usually carried on his shoulders seemed to be lifted by the silence. He felt as if he were alone in the vastness of the universe. The solitude was immensely comforting.
An orange-ish spot carving its way between the distant stars caught his attention. The unknown being appeared to notice him as he noticed it.
"Invincible-wait you're not him?" The orange-skinned alien didn't move its mouth, but Alex somehow heard the voice in his head.
The alien's tone didn't contain any aggression. It sounded surprised and slightly confused.
Alex pointed at a speck rising from earth's clouds, "That's Invincible."
He then pointed to himself, "I'm Alex."
The alien grinned, "I'm Allen! You know it's nice to meet someone from earth who doesn't immediately try to hit me!"
Alex laughed. The straight-forward and honest way that the alien spoke immediately made him want to like them.
Invincible arrived with black smoke trailing from the edges of his costume. Alex noted that the teenager's speed had increased by a decent margin.
"I'm here!"
The half-viltrumite sounded like a student who'd just arrived late to class. Alex heard his voice in the same way as Allen's.
"Invincible! Good to see you!" Allen said. The alien seemed to be permanently cheerful.
"Oh crap!" Allen's one eye widened. His body language shifted to tense battle-readiness.
"I have to warn you!"
Invincible frowned, "Warn me?"
"When I returned to the coalition of planets to tell them I'd been going to earth instead of Urath, they lost their minds! Earth is off limits!"
Allen floated closer to Invincible. The one-eyed alien was less than a foot away, "There's a viltrumite living on your planet!"
Invincible smiled and looked away, "Oh. That."
Allen's face wrinkled with confusion. He hurriedly followed after Invincible. The half-viltrumite floated over to the moon and picked up a large rock. Then a slightly smaller one. After a moment of gritting his teeth, Mark placed down a third rock.
The small action didn't escape Alex's attention. Mark had been standoffish and cold towards him since the battle between him and Omni-Man. The gesture showed that at least the teenager had matured slightly over the past few months.
"That viltrumite was my dad. But he's not on earth anymore."
Allen's mouth widened into an o-shape. "He left?"
The Unopan gesticulated wildly with his three-fingered hands, "But-but that just doesn't happen! A viltrumite abandoning their post! It's impossible, it's unheard of!"
Mark snorted. He looked to Omega. The hero had been sat quietly on his rock, which was the smallest out of the three, without saying a word.
Mark shook his head. His fists clenched as he spoke, "My dad didn't just leave. Omega-I mean-Alex, chased him off our planet."
Allen's head whipped around. The alien's single eye stared at Alex as if he'd just been told him that he'd swallowed the sun, "You-you beat a viltrumite?"
Alex raised an eyebrow at the extreme reaction, "I was just protecting earth."
Allen leapt to his feet. He paced frantically, "This can't be possible. Nolan is one of viltrum's best warriors!"
"You really defeated him?" Allen asked again. The cheerfulness he'd first displayed was replaced by suspicion.
The orange-skinned alien suddenly gasped. His single eye bulged and stared at the hand gripping his neck. The earth-warrior looked at him with a slightly teasing smile.
Alex let go of the alien's neck. He floated slowly back to the rock he'd been sat on, "I told him that I would kill him if he refused to leave."
Mark winced as he listened. The half-viltrumite felt anger bubbling up in his chest. Then his mind flashed back to the furious look in his father's eyes as he flew towards him with his fist drawn back. Omega had stopped the punch from hitting him. The anger in his chest flowed away.
The surprises just kept coming for Allen the alien. The Unopan sat down on his rock. He rubbed the creases in his forehead, "Did-did you hurt him?"
The question had been directed at Alex, but Mark answered it. He gritted his teeth at the conflicting emotions he was feeling, "He beat him till he nearly passed out. He was bleeding all over."
Allen almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. The earth-warrior sitting calmly across from him had nearly beaten one of viltrum's mightiest warriors to death?
"The Coalition! The Coalition needs to know about this! Come with me, I'll take you to Thadeus! He'll want to meet you at once!" Allen spoke hurriedly. He flew forwards and grabbed Alex's arm. He was already thinking about what he would say when he brought Alex before the coalition council.
Allen blinked awkardly. He realised that he was unable to make the earth-warrior budge.
Alex smiled. What Allen the alien had just said piqued his attention, "What is the Coalition?"
Allen reluctantly let go of the strange five-fingered arm of earth's champion, "A power struggle's brewing in the farthest reaches of space. The Coalition is trying to unite enough worlds to stop the Viltrum empire."
Nolan had explained that viltrum would never allow earth to remain under human rule. If the planet could not be integrated into their empire, then they saw no reason for it to exist.
Alex wasn't naieve enough to belive that joining the viltrum empire would offer earth the protection Nolan had promised in his speech to persuade Mark. The viltrumites didn't want allies. They wanted slaves to fuel their conquest.
The idea of standing against an empire that spanned an entire galaxy was the stuff of nightmares. The alternative of surrendering was worse. The people of earth, including Alex, had no choice but to stand against viltrumite rule.
"I can't come with you. Nolan told us that viltrum would send a scout to investigate his dissapearance. I need to remain here on earth to protect it. But-"
Alex paused. The brief flash of murderous intent in his eyes sent a shiver down Allen's spine, "-But I want to join your coalition."