Chapter 13: Going Through The Motions

In the early beginnings of morning, everything was silent. The hustle and bustle of downtown had yet to start. The rooster had yet to crow. The sun had yet to decide to grace the sky. It was at this moment that Taz opened his eyes.

'I don't want to move…' He thought.

The hero was ultra comfortable in his bed. Three different clones of Kate were sprawled across the sheets in uncomfortable looking positions. It had been a long night. The original Kate lay on top of him, her head buried in the crook of his neck.

Even though he wanted to remain, there was a job to do. His hands gently caressed her soft skin before moving her off him. The covers were raised over her. Taz entered the bathroom and washed up. He tried to be quiet so as to not disturb all of the Dupli-Kates' sleep.

As he was just about finished washing up, one of the clones opened the door. She immediately wrapped her arms around his muscular back and closed her eyes. Taz could tell that she was still extremely tired. Both of them stood in front of the wall sized mirror.

"You're up early." He commented. A toothbrush was in his hand.

"I think I slept wrong…There's a crick in my neck." She complained quietly.

"Mmmm." He grunted while brushing his teeth.

Time passed as the young viltrumite cleaned up. Copy Kate basically slept while standing with her face attached to his back. She had become really clingy since they started living together. He didn't mind though. It only proved how much she cared for him. Once he finished, she spoke.

"Where are you going?" She asked. Taz knew this was the main reason she even entered the bathroom.

"There's some stuff off-world that I need to take care of." He answered.

"Will you be back in time for dinner?" She continued. The stoic hero shook his head.

"Maybe a week." He guessed.

Taz knew that it would at least take that long to reach Mars. Only if he was going at a certain speed of course. It was not the only planet he would be visiting. The viltrumite planned to finish things quickly. He sensed Invincible's departure from Earth a few days ago. The young soldier would time himself to Mark's return.

"Maybe? You don't know?" She complained. Taz shrugged before walking to the bedroom. Copy Kate followed eagerly.

"What do you mean you don't know??" She pressed the issue again.

For a split second, the uncaring hero felt a surge of annoyance. Viltrumites are easily prone to anger and violence, which is something he knew very well. The elite soldier squashed it down.

"......"

After donning his black suit, he took off the white cape. The goal of this mission was to not be in the spotlight. Copy Kate raised an eyebrow seeing the action.

"Taz!" She exclaimed quietly. The chinese beauty demanded an answer.

Taz picked the nude beauty up and placed her on the bed. He made sure to be gentle in order to not wake the other Kates. Copy Kate stared at him the entire time.

"A week. There's food in the fridge. Eat out if you don't want it. I'll be quick. I promise." He soothed her.

"But-"

"No buts." He interrupted quietly.

She frowned hearing his words. The tone of his voice implied that the conversation was over. Before she could wallow in self pity, his lips covered hers.

"I'll be as fast as possible. Trust me." He said.

Taz kissed her soft lips once again.

"Sleep." He continued. Their lips met again.

"Okay?" He finished. Copy Kate caressed his face for a few seconds. Seeing the way he coddled her, she smiled.

"Okay." She relented before vanishing. The copy had merged with the sleeping original.

The elite soldier quietly left the room. Once he reached the balcony, he took to the sky. It only took a few seconds for him to reach the atmosphere. Taz couldn't help but release a sigh. Dealing with her could be tiring sometimes.

Once he reached space, he headed in the direction the wrist guard pointed him in. The young hero eventually found himself far enough away to accelerate. His speed increased over time in a steady manner. Before he knew it, his body was like a fleck of light, flashing across the vast cosmos.

…

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The monotonous scene of space was all Taz could see. He had been traveling for a while now. Luckily for him, a change finally occurred to the situation. A spacecraft was visible from afar. It was heading in the same direction as him.

A smirk graced his face once he caught up. Invincible sat on top of the ship. The ameteur hero had just taken out a sandwich from his bag and tried to bite into it. The sandwich was as hard as a brick. It shattered from Mark's jaw strength. His expression quickly became disappointed.

Taz landed beside him and crossed his arms. Since there was no sound in space, the oblivious teen didn't notice a thing. A long time passed before Invincible turned to the side. His eyes widened and he immediately jumped up. He tried to speak, then remembered they were in space.

The elite soldier tapped a button on his wrist guard before tapping the back of his ear. He then looked at the surprised teen.

'Testing…' He transmitted. Mark raised an eyebrow.

'You have telepathy now?' He asked. Taz shook his head.

'It's technology designed for space communication. I only opened a channel.' The soldier answered.

'Technology? Can I have one?' Invincible asked with excitement.

'Sure. Take this and press it on the back of your ear.'

In the young viltrumite's hand was a grey bead. It was smaller than a grain of rice. Mark took the gadget. After pressing to his ear, the device vanished.

'Thanks man. How do I activate it?'

'I'm just going to leave yours activated at all times. The channel will always be open so you can converse in space.' Hearing the stoic man's words, Mark frowned.

'Doesn't that mean people will hear my thoughts?' He questioned. Taz shook his head.

'You have to wish for them to hear you. The communicator is tested and true. It won't fail you.'

After speaking, his feet lifted off the floor. Taz had deemed the conversation over. He was ready to continue his mission. Invincible scratched his head.

'Hold up!' He exclaimed. The powerful man turned back to the ametuer hero.

'......'

Realizing that he wasn't going to speak, Mark smiled. His arms gestured behind his body. It was a question in the form of light hearted mockery. His hands were making the outline of a cape. Taz shrugged.

'I left the cape back home. Don't need it right now.' He answered.

'Uhuh. Where you headed?'

'That's none of your concern.' The viltrumite soldier retorted. After speaking, he flew away. Invincible pouted.

'Whatever.'

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…

Another long period of time passed by. The elite soldier flew through space, allowing his mind to wander on all sorts of things. He pondered over Kate, Viltrum, his hero occupation, and more. The main problem at this moment was that Dupli-Kate was a member of the guardians, and it was almost certain that she would die to his kin.

If he protected her it would be seen as insubordination. Such a thing was out of the question for Taz. He didn't know how his strength compared to the absolute best of the best. Conquest, Regent Thragg, Thula, and more. Their names are well known throughout all the viltrumites. This was the reason the stoic hero would hide Kate away when the moment came. By this point, Taz only knew that he had surpassed his guardian Anissa. That was all.

Betrayal meant death by execution. Resisting capture meant having the full force of Viltrum thrown toward him. To the elite soldier, fighting a world full of beings with strength similar or above him was a death sentence. As all of these thoughts swam in the young soldier's head, a small red planet could finally be seen in the distance.

'Step 1: Scan for Threats.' He chanted mentally.

Once he was close enough to use his supervision, he stopped next to one of the two moons. The young viltrumite scanned the planet with crossed arms. There was a plethora of sentient life. Unfortunately, they were extremely ugly. Taz only glanced at them before moving on. Beneath the crust was a disgusting amount of maggot-like creatures. They squirmed around like critters. It was revolting.

Taz frowned. This planet had left a bad taste in his mouth. Not only were the people ugly, but the creatures were as well. They also seemed to be hostile, if their harmless attacks against the natives was any indication. The stoic man knew that Invincible would eventually arrive here.

'I'll leave him a present. Step Two: Erase what you don't like.' He thought.

A massive amount of solar energy traveled to his eyes. Red light quickly washed over the moon. In an instant, two massive hyper beams shot through space. They traveled quickly, incinerating any debris in the way. Eventually, they drilled into the planet. The natives watched with horror as two red pillars crashed onto their world.

The lasers broke through the crust, obliterating the nests of sequids. Large explosions lit up the surface as the rays touched anything with combustion-like properties. It was like an orbit strike. An armageddon. This process would continue for a while until all of the nests were ashes. Once it was over, Taz closed his eyes.

An extreme amount of solar energy had been expended. It had been a long time since he used so much. Even though his energy was gone, he wasn't weakened. His smart atoms devoured solar energy before turning it into muscular strength. The excess remained in his body, allowing for his other abilities. For now, Taz would have to rely on only physical strength until he fully recharged.

Whatever experience Mark would've had on this planet, it would be totally different now. Nobody would dare stand up to him. It would probably be assumed that he did this as a show of force. Taz smirked before tapping his wrist. A holographic screen and keyboard appeared in front of him.

The powerful warrior typed into the hologram for a while. Once he finished, he looked at the final words.

'Planet: Mars. Threat Level: Nonexistent. Necessity Level: Low. Marked for takeover.'

Taz nodded and looked at the planet in the distance once more. There were now huge line marks across some parts of the planet. It was as if it had been cut by a knife. Even though the natives were probably cowering in fear, they would eventually realize that their infestation problem was gone.

Stepping off space, the elite soldier flew to his next destination. His wrist guard pointed him in the direction of nearby planets. Taz decided to leave this solar system and check out a different one. He would make sure to be quick. The young viltrumite already missed his bed, and the lovely pillow that came with it.