Chapter 40: New Problems

Another city had turned into a wasteland. In the ruins of the once vibrant place, injured heroes could be seen all around. The Teen Team had done all they could to fight the dangerous threat to the world. It was enough to deal with the first two Invincibles, but the last one was too strong.

Bits and pieces of red and yellow clothing material could be seen tumbling through the wind. It was all that was left of Rexplode. The hero had detonated himself in order to defeat the first two alternate Marks. His kamikaze attack was successful, leaving the rest of the team saddened but determined.

This determination only lasted for a minute at most, as the final alternate Mark beat the absolute shit out of them. It was the shredded Invincible in all white. It was the calm and collected one. The one who hunted children for sport.

Dupli-Kate's vision blurred as exhaustion overwhelmed her senses. Her injuries were taking its toll. Several of her copies lay dead around her. Limbs were missing and blood splattered the floor. Atom Eve leaned against her, the two finding warmth in each other. The redhead was missing a foot, which was currently in the evil Mark's hand.

Rudy had sent a plethora of Robots across the globe, but he'd left three of them with Teen Team. Now they were only pieces of scrap that laid under Invincible's feet. The alternate hero tossed Eve's bloody foot onto the floor.

"I'm disappointed. How could my other selves die to such an inferior race? They must've been too weak." He muttered.

The villain slowly approached the last two heroines. It had been a yawn inducing fight for him. Kate and Eve looked at each other and smiled. They had lost.

"We should've hung out more." The redhead admitted. Their friendship wasn't as strong as it used to be. The chinese beauty spit out some blood before responding.

"Next time let's go to the mall and try on some clothes." She suggested.

"I don't think there's a mall intact anymore." Eve exclaimed. Kate giggled weakly.

"That's why I said next time."

"In the next life?"

"...Not quite." Dupli-Kate answered.

The nonchalant heroine pulled out the frequency emitter from her suit. If all else failed, she'd summon her lover. The powerful man would descend upon them like a god, mowing down the opposition like grass. Her view of him had always been one of a superior being. She knew better. Kate would forever belong to him. This was the reason Taz didn't watch her every move. She had always been subservient, even when in disagreement.

Right before she pressed the button, a whistling sound could be heard. Everyone quickly looked upwards. A large figure could be seen falling from the sky, and he was a second away from reaching them. It was unknown how long he'd been falling. The chinese beauty's eyes widened. It was Battle Beast!

The lion man had a massive smile on his face as he locked onto the alternate Mark. Evil Invincible popped a smile as well. It seemed as if this one had some strength.

"Heh! Entertain me!" Thokk roared.

"Hmph." The viltrumite grunted in response.

The white furred warrior slammed his war hammer directly onto the alternate Mark. The blow would be met by a heavy fist. Without useless dialogue, the battle had begun.

BOOOM

A shockwave was emitted from the force. Just the wind pressure alone sent Kate and Eve flying away. Unfortunately for the villain, Battle Beast's momentum wasn't stopped. The ground beneath Invincible gave way, and a crater was formed. Thokk's wide smile turned into a frown.

"No. No way. Don't tell me that's it?!" He exclaimed with worry.

The white lion had been so excited for this fight. It couldn't be over so soon. As he stood on top of the villain, alternate Mark burst into motion. A strong chop to the back of Thokk's knee made him stumble. As he pressed the advantage, he spoke.

"Don't be so full of yourself-" His words were interrupted by the massive hammer. It slammed into his face. The blood could be seen leaving his ears in slow motion.

BOOOM

Evil Mark's body launched across the ruined city. Battle Beast sprinted right after him. The two were about to collide once more. As this battle took place, Kate and Eve were barely reaching the ground. They had been blasted far away from the scene due to the shockwave.

The redhead barely caught herself with her abilities, but it wouldn't be in time to save the chinese beauty. Kate knew that if she crashed onto the ground with this speed, there would be more than a few broken bones. A dilapidated building was in her flight path. She immediately braced herself for impact.

Before she could crash into the structure, her momentum stopped. Kate opened her eyes to see a tall and athletic woman holding her in her embrace. The strong, short haired woman donned a navy blue skin tight suit. A deep red cape flapped behind her.

"I don't know who you are, but you're late." The nonchalant hero joked.

"...That's the first thing you say?" The new woman answered with a raised eyebrow. When they gently descended to the ground, Kate spoke again.

"Who are you? How come I haven't heard of a hero like you before?"

Anissa thought for a moment. She hadn't given much thought to the name of her public persona. The only reason she wore a suit was because Taz had one and it looked cool. She was only here because the young elite had pinged her a message. He ordered her to watch over this woman.

"I'm still working on a name…And don't call me that. I'm not a hero." The powerful woman answered.

Kate raised an eyebrow at her words. The way she denied being a hero. Even her tone of voice. The way she emphasized certain vowels. It all reminded her of Taz. An understanding smile adorned her face.

"I see. Well the fighting is in that direction, and thanks for saving me." The heroine spoke with gratitude.

Anissa smiled as well before launching into the sky. The air detonated as she broke the sound barrier. It wouldn't take long to reach Thokk and the Evil Invincible.

…

…

…

"Let them go!" The original Mark yelled.

"Now, Mark. Why would I do that? You're supposed to suffer and that's what's going to happen." Angstrom Levy responded.

The real Mark could be seen rising to his feet. His body was covered in wounds. His eye goggles were shattered. In front of him was the last evil Invincible. He was extremely buff, and his hair was gray. This one had lived for an ultra long time.

Levy had his arm around Debbie, who in turn had Oliver in hers. The supervillain was holding the family hostage. There was a satisfied smile on his face. Everything was going his way.

"Don't touch her!" Mark roared.

He dashed toward Levy only to come face to face with the evil old man. The alternate Invincible's hand grasped his face, and slammed him to the ground. It didn't end there. A foot slammed down onto his chest over and over. Blood poured out of Mark's body as the powerful force rendered him useless.

"Don't touch her? You mean like…this?" As soon Angstrom's words finished, he grabbed Debbie's arm.

CRACK

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!" The mother cried out in pain.

The supervillain had snapped her arm. Original Mark struggled to get up but was pinned down by the heavy foot. He couldn't move. Intense rage quickly built up inside of him.

"Grrrrrr!!!!!" He growled like an animal. His fists were clenched so tight that they bled.

"Please stop…Leave us alone!" Debbie wailed.

The young Oliver was also angry. Even though he had quickly grown to the size of a kindergartener, his mentality was still that of a baby. He jumped on Levy and tried to bite him. Before he could even chomp down, the big headed villain slammed him against the wall. He fell unconscious immediately.

"Shhhh. I like it quiet…" Angstrom muttered calmly to the mother. He gently patted her head. Debbie's whimpers quickly toned down as she cried in silence.

This was the scene Taz happened upon. Once everything was confirmed, he burst into motion. This dangerous villain had been accidentally left alive in the past. Absolver wouldn't allow that to happen this time. He crashed through the ceiling, his eyes glowing red. Thin beams lashed out and severed Levy's hand.

That wasn't the end. The stoic soldier grabbed the old Mark and threw him at the supervillain. Right before the big headed man's body was crushed, a portal swallowed him up. He quickly emerged on the other side of the room.

"You…Don't think I forgot about you! What you did to my legs!" He roared in anger. The man now had high tech prosthetics. Taz couldn't give a damn.

"........"

Without saying a word, he launched toward Angstrom. A portal opened up behind the villain, and the old man Mark burst out of it. His heavy fist was raised to strike the young elite. Unfortunately, it was futile. Taz flew right through it, and effortlessly ripped off the viltrumite's head.

"W-What?! I brought him here specifically to deal with you! He didn't even last a second…" Levy exclaimed in shock.

"........"

A portal opened up and he jumped in to escape. Absolver wasn't slow on the draw, and followed right behind him. They were instantly in the clouds over Los Angeles. When the villain saw the powerful man, he threw another Evil Invincible from a new portal.

The young elite's body was like a human projectile as he flew right through the alternate Mark, turning him into chunks of flesh. The game of cat and mouse continued and Taz finally grabbed hold of Levy's calf. His fingers were like hydraulic clamps.

"...And that's the end." He finally spoke.

A fist of doom hurtled down onto the villain's torso. Right before it connected, the bigheaded man chopped off his own leg with a portal. He instantly disappeared. Taz flew in right after him. When he reached the other side, he frowned.

There were portals everywhere. They blanketed the sky around him. The sky was blood red. They were definitely no longer on Earth. The stoic viltrumite concentrated his senses in order to find which portal Levy was in. His bioelectric field allowed his hearing to reach through the other side.

Once he found the man's breath, heartbeat, and neuron impulses, he burst into the chosen portal. The big headed villain could be seen flying across an iridescent rainbow bridge as fast as he could. Everything beneath it was deep water. The bridge led to a majestic kingdom. Massive spires inlaid with gold formed a castle in the middle.

Taz stepped off the air and went beyond supersonic speeds instantly. He moved faster than he ever needed to move. The powerful man wouldn't allow this game to continue. In under a second, he teleported in front of Angstrom. His hand clutched his throat. He watched as fear appeared in Levy's eyes.

"...Unless you can survive without your head, this farce is over." Absolver stated.

"Nooooooo! I was going to bring humanity to the top of the universe! Without me, you won't even be able to return home! I was going to-"

"I don't care, and I will find a way without you." Taz interrupted.

A straight hand impaled the man's stomach. It went right through the man's body and out of his back. The young elite pulled out his arm from the villain's torso and tossed him up in the air. He then tensed his legs, the calf and thigh muscles bulging.

A boom resounded as he accelerated toward the rising Levy. His movement left a vacuum in the air. One step, and he was upon the man. An absolute fist connected with Angstrom's chin.

BOOOM

His head immediately exploded, and a shockwave was released. The blow could be heard across the area. It was as if a cannon had gone off. Angstrom Levy's body rocketed straight up into the sky, reaching the atmosphere and traveling on to space. His corpse eventually disappeared.

Taz released a small breath and incinerated the blood on his arm and hand. Only the glow of his eyes indicated his action. Now that the problem was dealt with, Absolver focused on his surroundings.

"Where…am I?" He muttered.

This civilization seemed to be way ahead of anything in the galaxy he knew. It was almost at the level of Viltrum, but not quite. It more than made up for it with the architectural design of the place. As he floated above the glowing bridge, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Halt!"

Taz turned around to see a man in golden armor with a massive greatsword. He stood on the rainbow bridge. The first thing both of them noted was the similarity in their skin color. They both had brown skin. The man's hair was covered by a helm, but his golden eyes seemed to pierce the veil of obscurity.

"......" Absolver waited to see what he would say.

"I've already foreseen your arrival. Now I ask…what business do you have in Asgard?"