INVICTUS

[Thiccc Shaedy]

Poor guy. All of this coulda been avoided if he didn't work with those fucking bastards.

 

[loudlistner]

S3EP1 {Where do you think the best sauna is?}

After the whole thing with Angstrom Levy was over, and I had my best damn sleep since the day I came back from Flaxan, my days have been calm.


Mostly just looking over cities and dropping the crime rate just by showing my face. And honestly? It feels amazing. I'm doing more good by being present than actually fighting. It was bound to happen, but like I said, just amazing.


When that's over with, I help Cecil with whatever mission he has for me. The good old meteor-slinging. And that's actually starting to worry me.


Why are there so many meteors flying toward Earth?


Space is gigantic. This shouldn't be so common, especially when the meteors are big enough to destroy humanity if they hit.


At some point, I was worried it was some kind of attack, but they were coming from every direction. So, I let it be. Hopefully, I'm not giving myself a bigger fight in the future.


… Oh, who am I kidding? I would love a bigger fight in the future.


There was also training with this kid who turned into a giant one-eyed cyclops. The first time we met was at the beginning of training for the Guardians and other hero groups. I thought it was just another monster, but nope, he was a kid all along.


Glad all I did in that fight was remove any civilians from the area.


Anyway, the kid is energetic, but he really couldn't touch me. So sometimes, I had to let him beat me, just to stop him from crying.


And after that, Cecil wanted to know how strong I was. For a while, I was confused. Did he really have anything that could test my limits?


He wanted to know how long I could stay in magma without the need for regeneration. If I started to regenerate, I was supposed to come out, because with regeneration, it would take forever.


Funnily enough, even without regeneration, it still took too long. He told me to come out when an hour passed, and I showed no sign of getting hurt. I was actually surprised. I did get burned by Earthquake Dude when he tried to kill himself about a year and some change ago, but now, there's no harm to my body.


Maybe the fight against the Viltrumite old lady and Battle Beast did more than I thought. Oh well, good for me.


The next test he wanted to do was my speed. Go to the moon and back.


I still don't know if I have the FTL speed other Viltrumites have, but I'm sure if it becomes necessary, my patron will intervene. That's his whole thing, and I like it, especially if it comes with random power-ups out of nowhere.


But I don't seem to have that speed yet. I was moving at about Mach one hundred, give or take. It took me three hours to go and come back to Earth.


The next test was… he wanted me to hold an iceberg.


Which was not hard.


I already knew I had some type of tactical telekinesis to make sure anything I pick up doesn't break down under its own weight. It was easy enough for me to hold it without any trouble.


He even made some type of weight machine the size of a building that definitely weighed more than it should for its size, but I was able to hold it easily.


At this point, he's realizing it's pointless, and he should just give up on testing my limit.


Before I could get cocky and mouth off, Rex came in to ask how much the weight machine cost and something about not having a coffee machine.


Cecil ignored him, but not me.


"Coffee is very important for heroes risking their lives against bank robbers, Cecil. You should definitely get him a better coffee machine."


"Yes, exactly… Wait, I don't risk my life against bank robbers! You do know I fight giant babies, too, right? You're not the only one that's going to be sued for child abuse."


"Hahahahaha."


Which just made me cackle, until Donald tells us someone is trying to steal the Declaration of Independence.


Seriously? What is the use of stealing the paper?


I was just exasperated.


"Mind testing those muscles of yours?"


"Well, I won't mind, but you have to give up soon."


"Hello? Did you forget about me? I'm feeling hurt."


"Sure, I'll take Rex. Maybe he can take the aggro if need be."


"Use me as a body shield, and I will shove a bomb up your ass."


"Sure thing, Gambit knock-off."


"Who the fuck is Gambit?"


And just like that, we were off to save an American paper, the best kind of paper in the world.


When we got there, they were already flying off on some kind of hoverboard. And by the time I noticed and dropped off Rex, they were already gone. As in teleportation. If they were just flying or moving normally, I could've caught them.


But nope. Teleportation.


Screw that.


With nothing else to do, I went home and saw Oliver, who's now not an infant but a grade school kid, playing soccer. I hugged Mom and then went out to play with Oliver outside.


I wanted to play soccer, but he said he was getting bored, so we switched to baseball. Just the throwing and catching part, but still, I didn't mind. I love the small, quiet times just as much as the large and loud fights.


He then made me promise to bring him out heroing someday, which I really don't mind. With me out there, almost every big villain hides. And as for the small-time bank robbers and other such criminals, when he gets his powers, he should be fine.


Unless his power becomes something like mine. Where He starts normal and only gets stronger over time.


If so, then he'll have to wait until he can at least tank medium-calibre bullets before he's allowed to fight anyone.


And while we were talking about powers… He started to fly.


Oh well. It was bound to happen.


But now I was really worried.


"You promised you'd take me out tonight."


"No, I will not. Instead, we're going to test how tough you are. If a bullet can give you a bruise, you're not fighting anyone strong. But if you can handle that, then I'll let you come out with me. What do you say?"


"Alright, fine. I want to know how strong I am."


"Okay. I'll call someone to get ready for the tests you'll be going through. And… does Mom know about your powers?"


"No, she doesn't," he sulks.


"Well, you're going to have to tell her. And accept whatever grounding she gives you."


"Aww man…"


"What did you think was going to happen?"


Then I left the playground to call Cecil.


"Well, Cecil, looks like you're finally allowed near my brother. He just got his powers, and I want you to test how tough he is. Start small, and let me know if anything you throw at him even scratches him."


"The world just keeps getting better and better. I'll take care of it."


"Thank you, Cecil. Don't actually push him too hard. I just want to know if he can handle being shot by bullets. As for the rest, I'll be there to protect him, alright?"


"Yeah, sure. I'll try not to hurt him."


And then he hangs up.


Motherfucker.


That same night, I got a call from William asking me to come hang out with him and Rick.


Which… really? Why did he want me to third-wheel? He was staring at that ass like it was water and he was lost in a desert, the first time I met Rick.


But whatever. I agreed.


I'd been starting to miss William, with all the tests I'd been doing for Cecil lately.


More confusingly, though, he took me to a bowling alley.


He promised a fun time… and then brought me, a superhuman with super strength, to a bowling alley.


Was I supposed to lose on purpose?


I didn't get it, but I tried to play the game.


And for some reason, I was not able to absolutely destroy him.


I am pretty sure I can just throw the balls and hit the targets, but I could not do it while using human-level strength, and I was not petty enough to cheat by making multiple brains to help calculate trajectory and other things.


Like… I have super strength.


I should not be having a hard time throwing a ball at stationary targets and hitting them, but nope.


The ball always went to the drain.


At some point, I was wondering if he was cheating, but I could not figure out how he would do it, so I kept my mouth shut.


And of course, he kept bragging.


Hmm, maybe I should make those extra brains.


No, I won't be that petty, even if he is making it really hard.


Once our game was over, we went to William's car, and I didn't even start to ask questions before I finally realized what they really wanted me there for: I was transportation. Well, what are superpowers if you can't use them for your friends?


I flew them back to their college. I even did a loop when asked, although I didn't stop until William got sick. But hey, that's just the danger of having a superpowered friend.


The next day, Cecil came in person to take Oliver to test his powers. But Mom said he's going to the zoo first, and whatever Mom says goes. So Cecil had to book another day.


Oliver, Mom, and I had a great time looking at all the animals. And Oliver just seemed to know every aquatic animal. I knew he liked them, but still, being able to name and describe all their attributes just by looking at them? Amazing. It was a good day.


But I do be living in interesting times, so of course something had to interrupt.


Man, I wasn't even upset. It would've taken me a few minutes. I could've made a clone to deal with it. At least, that was my hope, until Cecil tells me:


"Every hero in America has been kidnapped."


Are you fucking with me right now?


"What do you mean? How did this happen?"


"We don't know for sure yet, but the only ones safe are you and Eve. I need you to both check this out."


"Fuck... how do all the heroes go missing simultaneously? Do you know their last location? Was it some type of teleportation?"


"No. There are holes at the places where the heroes were last seen, and no blood. So it's a kidnapping, not a murder."


"So we're dealing with a group capable of not only kidnapping but also imprisoning every hero in America. This would have to be an army."


"Yeah, it most likely is. I don't know if it's a cooperation between multiple crime organizations, but if the crime rate increases drastically in the next few minutes, I'll need you to replace the heroes for as long as necessary."


Fuck my life.


"Yeah... I'll do that."


I made a clone to go into one of the holes, but once you go deep enough, it's filled. It wasn't a wall, so I couldn't just break through it. I didn't know where to go.


I really should have put a cell on my friends, so when something like this happens, I could just make a clone near them. I didn't because I thought it would be weird, but honestly, a cell would be like a teleportation beacon. It wouldn't be able to surveil them in any way.


I am definitely telling them about it, and at least a few of them are getting a cell on them.


Like, seriously, how does every hero in America get kidnapped at the same time? Whoever did this would need to know where they are constantly. They probably have access to the GDA.


Well, Cecil is going to get an earful from every hero. This will probably cause a lot of hero groups to distance themselves from the GDA, which could cause more damage than anything the criminals do, unless they kill every hero they've captured.


While I'm still worrying, Cecil tells me Rudy sent a signal from wherever they are.


Oh, thank God. At least they're not dead.


The location? Deep, deep underground, where there's literal magma. If we don't move fast, they're going to get cooked.


What do I see once Eve and I finally get there?


It was Earthquake Dude. Motherfucker.


"How? How is it you? All you do is make earthquakes!"


"Ahh, if it isn't my old friends, Token Diversity and Gender Stereotype."


"Which one am I?" I ask.


"Really, Mark? Our friends are captured and about to be cooked, and you want to know what nickname the villain gave you?"


"What? I could so be gender stereotyped! I'm super strong and have hair on my chest. I am a manly man."


"You're the token diversity," he interrupts.


"Why? Have you seen Eve take charge? She might be wearing pink, but I'd bet she was wearing the leather when she was dating Rex."


"...Man, shut up."


"He's blushing! See, Earthquake Dude? I was right!"


My joyous light bullying was rudely interrupted with tape slapped over my mouth.


"Stop talking to the villain and just capture him. Also, you should surrender before this gets ugly," Eve said.


I kept gesturing: See? She's the boss.


"Oh, it got ugly the moment Homo sapiens took their first step onto land."


"I understand you're vertically challenged, but you don't have the hair to speak for the trees," I interrupt.


He screams and slaps his gauntlets together.


I wonder how many brain cells he just lost to that one attack.


When we were trying to figure out what he did,


"Oh, don't worry. That wasn't an attack. It's how we talk."


And boom, there were a lot, and I mean a lot, of gigantic sandworms and a centipede leading them.


Fuuuuck.


Not only that, but there were lava monsters from before. And they were coming and coming, nonstop.


I made multiple clones to move all the heroes away from their cocoons, but almost all of them said no. They wanted to get their licks in. They also said there were no civilians around, so this could be just like the training exercises we do sometimes.


Well, they were right. And honestly? I didn't want to take all the glory anyway. So I did what they wanted, and everyone could fight.


And they were right. They got the fight they wanted.


I made sure anyone who was about to die got rescued, but that's all I did. Eve wanted in, too, so she joined the fight.

But it seems we were not the only ones interested in this fight.


From the same hole Eve made to get us here, Halo-style drop pods came falling down, only for Sinclair's cyborgs to come out, ready to fight. I honestly don't know why Cecil brought them out. Maybe to field-test the weapons? Well, whatever his reason, the cyborgs fought the mindless ones while the heroes focused on the sandworms.


I saw Robot shoot the eyes of the centipede, which, for a moment, confused me. What does a centipede that lives underground need eyes for? But then again, the dinosaurs speak English, so just ignore it and maybe it'll fix itself.


While every hero did great, the real MVP was Eve. She still can't manipulate meat, so she couldn't just incapacitate the monsters with a thought, but she was able to damage my body by the end of our training in Midnight City, and her power hasn't decreased.


She tore through every sandworm that so much as pointed its mouth at her. She was like a disco ball, her lasers ripping through the monsters like tofu.



I made a clone to watch Earthquake Dude in case he tried to escape, but it turned out that wasn't necessary. The protégé of Darkwing came out of nowhere and just kidnapped the old man.


Well, I know he's under Cecil's command, so he probably just threw him straight into prison.


Once the mad scientist was gone, all the centipedes and mindless ones started to retreat.


A good day's work done.


Time to put everything back to where it was.


Luckily, the mad scientist wasn't working with any other villains.


I had made a clone near space, just in case Cecil asked me to help with rising crime, but it seems there was no need.


Lucky me.

 

[Thiccc Shaedy]

"Ahh, if it isn't my old friends, Token Diversity and Gender Stereotype."

Click to shrink...

My guy is sooooo PC that he basically turned around and became a bigot. Like, why is the first thing he notices about Mark and Samantha their race and gender?

 

[loudlistner]

3EP2 {can't buy privacy}

I knew that the world had to be complicated. For God's sake, there are terrorists in it. So, of course, I was not surprised to see Nightwing's sidekick working with Cecil. And of course, Cecil, the leader of the world's foremost global defence organization, can't be clean.

I knew he was impressed when he saw Sinclair's work.

I have seen many, many soldiers, generals, and scientists do so much evil in harm's way to the greater good. " So many of them thought I was the monster out to destroy their civilization. Some because they did not know better, some because they did not care to know, and some because they knew and still thought doing their best to kill me was a good idea.

Every single one of them hurt their people more than me. Every time I got hit with some new chemical that melted my skin off, or a super soldier that was able to break my bones, and laser guns that eviscerated my body... all of them cost the lives of test subjects and poor civilians that had to starve to feed the war machine against a monster that does not die.

And it is the same with Cecil. He has an enemy that wants to destroy and enslave his species. For his fight against the Viltrumites, he will do anything and everything if it means humanity will survive.

For the cyborgs, I made him promise the bodies were willingly donated before death, so that helped.

For Darkwing, he was a sidekick who thought killing would be his way of following in his hero's footsteps. So if Cecil managed to convince him to work for him, however he did it, maybe with a bomb in his neck, I don't care, so long as he doesn't choose to go overboard.

Ha. I don't know what overboard even means for me anymore. I've seen too many horrific things, so of course this doesn't qualify. But that's not the same for Rudy and Eve. They saw William get hurt. They saw Rick struggle with being unable to feel human touch. So, of course, when I got a call from Rudy saying he wanted to talk, I wasn't surprised.

When I arrived, I saw every Guardian, and Eve too. So yeah, this is going to be serious.

"I called this meeting because of the help we received during the Doc Seismic attack."

"What was wrong with the help we received? Sure, the cyborgs looked unsettling, but they were useful," Black Samson followed up.

"The problem is exactly that, they were cyborgs. Humans turned into unfeeling monsters. But that wasn't the real issue. When I saw them, I was upset. So I hacked into the GDA and learned more. I found out the bodies were obtained with consent, so that's a good thing. Honestly, I was expecting worse. But then I discovered he had a list of villains he was planning to..."

"You hacked into the GDA? That's a criminal offence," said Immortal, cutting in.

"Shut up. It's not like we don't all know Cecil is shady. He's probably got cameras recording us right now," Rex tried to support... I think.

"Not currently. When I gathered everyone here, I intercepted and looped every recording device I could find."

"Are you insane? Who permitted you to do this?" Immortal looked like he was about to explode.

"I fucking knew it. I was expecting some level of tracking, but how many did you disable?"

"It doesn't matter how many recorders there were."

The Immortal does not want to see this could be bad.

"Oh, but it does. I expect some level of privacy! Was there a way to spy on me in my civilian life?"

"Rex, do you even have a civilian life?"

"Joke all you want, Rae, but I want an answer."

"Yes. There were multiple ways to monitor everyone's civilian lives."

"Motherfucker…"

"Again, it does not matter if there was a recording."

"Shove it up your self-righteous ass, Immortal."

"It does matter. We wear masks because we expect to have the safety of a civilian in our civilian lives. I don't want to meet any villain or hero or anyone affiliated with this part of my life in my civilian identity unless I ask for it. This is a betrayal of trust." Bulletproof said his part, and honestly, that is the problem, the betrayal.

"I would like to ask a question." I was getting anxious.

"What is your question, Invictus?"

"Well, Robot, I am wondering why Eve and I are here. This seems like a Guardians meeting."

"Exactly. Why are they here?"

"Samson, don't change the fucking subject like it's a TV channel you don't want to watch. This is our lives, for God's sake. Same for you, Invictus. If you can't see why trusting Cecil after this is wrong, then you are dumb."

Hmm. Rex got me.

"I involved you two in this because I would like to get your opinion on our decision, not just as a friend, but as a colleague who was personally affected by this."

"How has this personally affected me?"

"He also has recordings of your civilian life."

"I am aware that he put recorders in my house; he technically owns it, so although I am not cheery, I have come to understand that."

"He also has recordings of your mother's house."

"I had asked him to stop those. Have they stopped?"

"No. They are currently ongoing."

"Well, that helps me make my decision. Can you remove the recorders from our civilian life and maybe send some drones home once in a while to make sure more are not being implanted?"

"Yes, I can do that."

"Thanks, Rudy."

"It does not matter what Cecil did. The Guardians are the best hero team there is, and if you don't like the strings attached, you are allowed to leave."

"You know what? You are right, Immortal. And I don't like the strings attached to me. So yeah, I am quitting the Guardians. Who is coming?"

"Where would we even go, Rex?"

"I don't know, Ray. But we made the Teen Team work, even with all the drama I put them through. I am sure we can handle this, too."

"Before you try to break off, I would like to say something on behalf of Cecil. While I don't agree with the intrusion, not even a little, and the same with the betrayal, I have seen the same thing happen a lot in my time in the Flaxan dimension.

For people in power, the idea of the greater good is something they have to follow. I am not asking you to follow his orders, and certainly not to trust him after this. But if he asks for help, I don't want any of you ignoring it. "

"We won't. But yeah, I am getting the fuck out of here," Rex was the first.

"Same with me. Not just the civilian life thing, but also the longer I stay here, the younger I get with all the requirements other than fighting. So yeah, goodbye."

"I can't follow a man I can't trust, and I simply can't trust Cecil." Bulletproof followed.

"Hah. It was good while it lasted." Shrinking Rae is also going.

"While this was not the purpose of the meeting I had gathered, I have also made my decision." Rudy then follows after Shrinking Rae, although he was looking at Monster Girl the whole time. I wish them luck. He had asked me about my temporal pod tech, but in reverse. Instead of slowing time in the pod, it would instead increase it. We have yet to figure it out, but I think I know what he was planning, although he will need to figure out how to make it work without affecting the mind of the patient. But he has all the time in the world to figure it out.

After we left the room, followed by Immortal telling them to remove all their belongings in two hours or he was going to throw them out in person, we all separated.

I wanted to inform Cecil and get it done with. I'll probably be homeless after this.

"Hey Cecil, I don't know if you already know this, but I have become aware of you still surveilling my mom, and I am pretty pissed. I agreed you could do that to me because I didn't want a war with the GDA, be it cold or hot. I didn't want any aggression between us. But there seems to have been a miscalculation.

I don't want aggression because you would bother me, not because you can threaten me. So, the test you were going to provide to my brother, forget that. Same with paying me. You can still call me for emergencies, but no more tests on my body to figure out a way to kill/contain me if the need ever comes. And a few other things that will come to mind in the future. "

It was a text message. I broke up with one of the most powerful men in the world over a text. Hilarious.

It only took him ten minutes to teleport near me. At least I can say he's got balls.

"You said you understand the position I'm in. Why the sudden change?"

"I did understand your position. I understood you needed to make weapons out of your soldiers, and you promised it would be with consent, which it was. Good. I understood you and your bosses needed to feel like you were doing something in case I became a threat, so I showed I was not a threat and still helped you come up with many ways to at least delay me.

But I asked you to remove my mom and brother from this. There wasn't supposed to be any surveillance on her after I gave you access to tech that is centuries ahead of current Earth. As much as I hated it, I bought their privacy.

But then I get told you broke your word. It doesn't even matter if it was not you directly; even if someone overruled you or slipped it past you, I made the deal with you. And you are the one I'm blaming. "

"Fuck. I will deal with this."

"Good luck, Cecil. I hope you keep your humanity. It is the one thing that will never betray you first."

"We can be the good guys or the guys that save the world. We can't be both."

"I hope that's just a quote from a bad fortune cookie. A world saved by the not-so-good guys seems a lot like what the Viltrumite lady proposed: a world of no hunger, no natural disasters, and no free will. Makes you feel skeevy just imagining it. Yeah."

"...Goodbye."

And with that, he was teleported out of there. Rudy sent me a drone to deal with all the recorders put in my mom's house. She was not happy, but neither was she that surprised. She did agree that nobody from the GDA is going anywhere near Oliver.

As for testing his strength, I can technically do it. It just wouldn't be very accurate.