8 Chapter 7

++Robot PoV++

It has been 3 days since I sent a message to Invincible, I needed to closely examine his twin.

I had been reviewing Sentry's combat data, in an attempt to test his viability for the PROJECT. Which ironically, comprised of 2 videos and a myriad of photos of him and Invincible flying.

From what little I could gather, he seems to have all the same powers as his twin, Invincible.

Superhuman Physical Capabilities and Flight, but Sentry has exhibited the ability to create extremely powerful bursts of heat. And I feel that he's still holding back, given his toying of a Mauler twin when we first met.

A blood sample might help answer what other secrets he's still hiding. But that would be difficult, as he also seems to have the same if not more powerful durability than his twin.

All the more reason for me to-

*BEEP!* *BEEP!*

An emergency broadcast from Cecil and an alert from my Tachyon detector. Another Flaxan incursion.

"Robot! There's a situation downtown. 3 Portals just opened up and Flaxan troops are marching down the streets as we speak! Get your team together! NOW!!" Cecil threw a fit as he explained and instantly cut contact once done.

I immediately opened the Team's communications channel and sent out an urgent call to action. Atom Eve lived with her parents, while Invincible and his twin were on their way here.

Luckily for me, Rex and Dupli-Kate were nearby.

I marched towards their separate quarters only to find both empty..."Odd". I search for a few moments before deciding to respond ahead of them, searching for absent teammates is a waste of precious time.

I went back to the Hangar and found both of them there, waiting for me. Dupli-Kate had faint markings on her neck, which urged me to do a quick biological scan.

My combat calculations needed accurate data to ensure accuracy in determining chances for success.

I was...surprised at the shocking results. The markings on her neck matched Rex's teeth composition and molar arrangement. There were also traces of a very specific type of biological residue on her mouth and lips.

I had not said a word as there were more important matters to attend to, so I activated our transport vehicle and went off along with both of them.

'Proximity must be a primal cause. Or maybe Rex's attitude towards life is somehow attractive to females all over...Curious...'

++MC PoV++

Mark and I were flying towards the Bridge when Robot sent another message, another attack was happening somewhere downtown. A massive one judging from the number of portals that were opened.

We immediately diverted and headed towards the location, which wasn't hard as the smoke and explosions were getting more and more obvious as we flew closer.

"INVINCIBLE!!" a voice behind us called out to Mark. We momentarily stop and look back, seeing Eve waving at us in midair.

Mark smiled and waved back, Eve got near us and we flew together. As I observed their interactions, I noticed that Eve seemed to smile a lot more as she talks with Mark, having entirely forgotten me.

Watching them made me remember Donna, and cringe at my awkwardness. I wonder where she is now...

We landed a few moments later atop a building where the rest of the Teen Team was on.

"Uhhh...Where are you guys coming from?" the idiot-sounding Rex Splode asked as we landed.

"We met along the way, Rex" Eve replied.

"Ohhh really?? What else? Do you guys to the same school too!?" Rex...I don't even know anymore.

"Yeah, we do actually" Mark calmly replied.

"Must Be Nice!! Do you know who didn't get to go to school? Me!" Rex said disapprovingly.

I got tired of listening so I flew over him and landed near the edge, Robot and Dupli-Kate were observing the situation ahead. I used my Telescopic Vision to get a clear picture.

The Flaxen emerged with more sophisticated-looking weaponry and even bigger tanks. I noticed a few modifications and a few boxes being carted around. Certain flaxan soldiers had a device hidden behind them, I'm guessing their portal device. And all of them have wristbands.

"They seem to have developed...and look extremely prepared for a confrontation"

"What makes you say that?" Robot asked.

"Their dimension's natural time flow is distinct from ours, they may have spent a lot of time planning. It's a guess at most but being aware might give us an edge, what do you think Robot?"

"Your logic is sound. It will lessen the risk of failure if we observe for a while" he called the rest over and began to explain our course of action.

"WHAT!? Robot! The people they're-" Eve was expectedly concerned.

"The civilians have been evacuated early because of my device. We have the all-clear from Cecil himself to engage at full capacity" Robot answered before she could finish.

Eve sighed in relief and went along with our plan to wait and observe. A few minutes later, the Flaxans remained in their fit state.

"It seems that they've found a way to counteract the effects of the time flow difference, just as we suspected. The cause of this requires examination of a Flaxan" Robot concluded.

"Wa-Wait wait! You mean they did all that in 3 DAYS!?" Rex was flabbergasted.

"3 days for us, but perhaps decades for them" Robot replied as he moved forward to meet their flying vehicle and hopped on the driver's seat.

"Hmph! Who cares? I bet their bones still break!" Dupli-Kate commented as she hopped on.

"So does mine!? Ever think of that!?" Rex commented.

"Regardless, you guys have to be careful. They might have devices aimed at disabling us, so watch out for each other" I say before they flew down.

I started floating and looked at Mark, waiting.

"huh?" He seemed dazed.

"Ready for this?" Eve asked gently, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I think so..." Mark replied and we all flew after them.

I look at them fly down and focused my sight on the portals, trying to find that particular Flaxan I burned.

I found him a moment later, the scar on his face still present and a scowl was on his face. He wore a different kind of armor, one that had components finely fitted and connected to a set of gauntlets on his hands.

He was commanding the rest of his troops to quickly subdue the others and spread out into the city, which was not going to happen. Not on my watch.

*BANG!*

I flew and touched down heavily just a few meters from the leader, encircled by Flaxan troops and Tanks. My eyes flickered red intensely as I prepared to shoot, "Welcome back...to your hell".

++Flaxan Leader PoV++

The Scourge is back! And he delivered himself into my grasp, eyes brimming with intense red energy.

My nightmares were coming true once more, the sight of my armies burning to ashes was not easy to forget. I was unprepared for what happened before, but not now.

I have spent decades pressuring our scientists to develop a way to subdue him! And they have delivered!

"STOP!" I commanded the army around me to give way. "I will handle the Scourge myself, go keep attacking!".

" Heh...Funny" I hear the Scourge speaking my tongue in mockery. Then his red beam shot out.

*ZZZZAAP!*

My troops were cut in ways I only saw in sword battles, some were bisected while some lost their heads in the process. But all the lives that the beam passed through were either dead or burning.

"NO! NO!!!" I activated the armor and ran towards the beam's next target.

The beam drew close until it finally hit me and...

*PANG!*

...the beam was absorbed, IT WORKS!!!

"Scourge, prepare to meet your end!!"

++MC PoV++

I can't believe it... They built an energy-absorbing device that's capable of rendering an energy attack obsolete.

I watched in fascination as the device redirected the beam before it could make contact. The chest plate of the Flaxan glowed increasingly, so I decided to stop it. To see how it goes.

The chest plate kept its glow for a few seconds before returning to normal, the components on his arm seemed to channel the energy into his gauntlets.

"OPEN FIRE ON HIM!! NOW!!!" the Flaxan spoke to the others and they immediately obeyed. The lasers didn't do much damage so I just stood there, watching the tanks slowly turned and aimed.

The leader then held both hands out towards me and blasted me with a massive beam of red energy. The tanks fired at the same time, as well as the others.

*ZZZAAAP!*

I was blown away and was hurt at the attempt. The custom I so tediously upgraded was being burned away, the skin that made contact with the energy slowly heated up.

*crash* *thud!*

I was driven towards the inside of a building, a deep hold was dug around me.

I checked myself and found that I had actual small bruises on me. For the first time in years, I was hurt. Albeit only slightly, still, it was enough to reinforce my plans for the future.

I slowly got up, slightly chuckling at the irony. My wounds slowly healed.

I didn't think they would certainly build a countermeasure for me.

*BOOM!*

"I SAID NO!!" Mark's voice boomed loudly over the streets, sending a shockwave that flung the Flaxans off their feet.

*whoosh!*

Seeing the opportunity, I rushed towards the leader and grasped his throat, before pinning him on a wall far away from his army.

I ripped off his chest plate and gauntlets, and hid them somewhere I'll be able to retrieve unseen later.

*whoosh!*

Mark flew behind me and held out a hand, signaling me to give the Flaxan to him.

I look at the one-eyed Flaxan in my grasp and tapped his head for a moment, getting as much information as I can about their homeland and this new tech.

When I was done I simply turned, the Flaxan straining to be free from my grasp. I held him in Mark's direction and told him "Hmm... it's a very bad day to be you." in Flaxan before throwing him.

*boom!*

Mark immediately caught the Flaxan and slammed him down, a huge impression on the ground formed as from the impact. Mark mounted the Flaxan and began to beat it up.

*spark*

There was a small spark as the Flaxan was being beaten up, I checked and found that his wristband was destroyed.

The beaten face of the one-eyes Flaxan began to sag and darken. Which made me remember to remind them of this weakness.

"Mark, that's enough. We have to help the Team. The guy's already half-dead" I put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a little shake.

I thought for a quick minute before flying over to Robot. "Robot it's their wristbands! Something to do with their staying young!"

I went near a Flaxan and gripped its wristband, I gave it a slight squeeze and it broke into a thousand pieces. The Flaxan slowly aged in front of the Team.

Robot quickly incapacitated one and scanned its wristband, "Give me a few seconds to work on this, protect me!" he ordered and the Team moved.

Mark and I helped guard Robot and cover their backs, a few seconds later Robot emitted a sonic blast that broke every wristband within the area.

*ping!*

The entire army quickly aged rapidly, their skin turning darker and face started sagging. They all dropped their weapons and quickly made their way to the portals.

The two portals closed, leaving one still open as they dragged the still alive one-eyed Flaxan to it. He faced us and specifically looked at me and said "I'll be back Scourge...", his voice was weak.

*whoosh!*

Right as they were about to walk in, I flew and grabbed the leader and the ones holding him out. I ripped the antennae from the helpers and held them prone using telekinesis, then faced their leader.

"I know you'll be back-" I stepped forward and held up the Flaxan. I moved my mouth near his ear and said "-and I hope you will because next time...if you're enough to put up a decent fight. I'll give you a reward myself".

" But for now.." I finish and proceeded to break and rip off both his arms.

*screams* *bones breaking*

"NO!! YOU...AHH!!! WILL AHHH!!!" the Flaxan flailed and tried to stop my actions in vain. I cauterized the damage with heat vision and threw him into the portal. I grabbed the head of the other two and twisted it, before throwing them into the portal. It closed a second after the last body went through.

*sigh*

I heaved a sigh, relieved at finally ending their incursion. What I did may be cruel to look at, but it was necessary.