Chapter 32: Detained

In the middle of a forest in Norway, Taz could be seen chopping wood. His axe cut into the large tree chunks. He wasn't too far from the house. Another few months had passed since Cecil's visit. The young viltrumite still hadn't donned his suit for any reason. He felt as if the world's issues were no longer his problem. Villains would continue to pop up out of the woodworks like ants. It wouldn't make any overall changes to the world. If he deemed it a worthy situation, maybe then he'd put on the suit.

"Taz, I'm heading out…" Dupli-Kate called out from the doorway. The man stopped for a second and nodded in her direction.

"...Be safe." He responded.

The chinese beauty smiled and walked over to a grey motorcycle in the driveway. It wasn't anything too sport-like. The vehicle was more of a way to traverse from the forest to the airport. A private military grade jet was waiting for her arrival. She had hero work to do.

Kate had moved some of her belongings into the forest home. Whenever she had a long downtime from work, she'd spend her time with Taz. The nonchalant heroine basically lived with him once more. Of course, she had a small home closer to civilization. It would be a pain to get to work everyday if not.

"Are you sure you don't want to come wi-"

"I'm sure." He interrupted. She couldn't help but sigh.

The chinese beauty would slightly push sometimes to see if he would become a hero again. She wanted him to see the new headquarters. The new heroes. Everything. There were no Guardians of the Globe anymore. It was now just a large task force of heroes under the New Earth Federation. Taz didn't see a reason to work with them.

Kate shook her head and started the bike. The motor roared to life and she pulled out of the driveway. In only a few moments, she was gone. The young viltrumite shook his head. He then turned back to his logs and started chopping.

'It's been almost two years…why haven't they arrived?' He thought.

Anissa said they would arrive in a year and some change. It was already close to the two year mark. Throughout this entire time, he hadn't seen Lexi at all. The stoic soldier had thrown away his social life. Now that he wasn't based in Chicago, there was almost no chance of seeing her.

It didn't bother him though. He had a feeling he'd see her again. As he labored away, his senses caught the sound of air friction. Taz floated to the top of the trees and concentrated.

"Where are we headed?" A tired voice sounded.

"Our world is known as Thraxa. It is a bland world, but ours nevertheless. Thank you for agreeing to come. Our leader requests your presence specifically. Please help us, mighty one." An alien voice responded.

The elite frowned. One of the voices sounded like Mark. The man sounded more mature, the weight of the world beating him down. He didn't sound happy at all. If anything, he sounded grumpy.

"Whatever. Let's hurry this up." Invincible grumbled. Taz wondered what was going on but eventually shook his head.

'It's none of my business.' He thought.

Mark and the bug-like alien eventually reached the atmosphere to find a cloaked spaceship hovering in place. Once they entered the vehicle, it blasted off into the void. The stoic viltrumite descended to the ground after their departure.

It was time to return to his labor. Taz slowly walked over to the shed. When he pulled open the doors, they creaked loudly which implied its age. A dead moose could be seen hanging from a hook. There was a bowl that sat directly below it filled with blood.

This was a previous catch from a hunt earlier in the morning. The young elite had a set routine for the day. It would be followed everyday, leaving him no time to worry about other things. Now that the carcass had dried, Taz raised it from the hook and cut out the meaty sections. Any unwanted organs were thrown in the trash.

The rest of the day was spent with him doing task after task. It was only when the sun began to fall that he sat down and relaxed. Smoke billowed from the chimney. The viltrumite was now sitting by the fireplace with a glass of water in his hand. A few hours of comfortable silence passed before he succumbed to habitual sleep.

…

…

…

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Taz's eyes shot open upon hearing the sound. His body jumped up from the bed. As if he teleported, he appeared next to his black suit. The wrist guard was blinking in a constant rhythm. When he tapped it, notifications popped up.

'Similar technology in vicinity. Sharing…Sharing…Both locations revealed. Expected arrival in approximately….ten minutes.'

His eyes widened upon reading it. The soldier's body became a blur. In only a second he'd donned his black skin tight suit and white cape. Right as he walked into the living room, Cecil appeared in a flash of blue light.

"Absolver, an alien spaceship is headed straight here! You only have a min-"

"I know. If you don't want to die, I suggest you leave." Taz interrupted. The old man didn't leave and peeked through one of the windows.

The young elite grabbed a glass of water and gulped it down. He then leaned over the counter and took deep breaths to calm his nerves. Cecil's eyes widened seeing his actions. He'd never seen the viltrumite break a sweat. What threat could make him act like this?

"More viltrumites…" He muttered softly. It was the only explanation.

The room was drowned in silence. After a few seconds, the soldier calmed down. His face was calm and collected. No matter how strong he'd grown in the last few years, it was hard to lose the instinctual reverence for his homeland. It was the same feeling as when you get in trouble and know your parents would be pissed.

Taz could hear the spaceship landing outside. Without further ado, he opened the door and strode into the open. His white cape flapped behind him as he calmly waited.

HISSS

The ominous sound of mechanics unlocking and gears turning resounded. The ship door lowered to the ground to reveal four viltrumites in white uniforms. One of them was a large, bald man with brown skin. Another had white hair. The third had short black hair and a widow's peak. Each of them were shredded and sported thick mustaches.

The final viltrumite was the one and only Anissa. A grin slowly crept onto Taz's face. When he locked eyes with the woman, his smile disappeared. She didn't return the smile. Her face was cold when she saw him. The figures in white stopped a few feet away. Both sides stared at each other.

"Taz, you are to be detained for questioning. If you resist, it will only make things worse." Anissa said.

"Can't I at least get a hello?" Taz responded.

The woman raised an eyebrow. Was that a joke? Since when did he make jokes? Anissa couldn't help but think he was acting weird. Unfortunately, the humor wasn't received very well.

Cecil peaked through the blinds inside the house. His heart rate increased seeing all of the Supermen. Each of them were Omni Man level threats.

PHOOOOO

The wind picked up in intensity as the bald viltrumite approached. He didn't seem too keen on wasting time.

"You are stalling. Don't try to talk your way out of this. You wouldn't want things to get physical, right?" He growled.

"....." Taz only deadpanned.

"Enough, Lucan." Anissa ordered.

Hearing her words, the large man silently backed off. The other two viltrumites were silent as they awaited orders. They didn't seem to have any interest in this conversation. Absolver's caretaker spoke again.

"Let's go, Taz. Get on the ship." She demanded. The young elite sighed.

"All right. Let me get my-"

With a burst of air, Anissa appeared in front of him. She floated slightly to make herself look taller. The woman now loomed over him. She stared down into his eyes.

"NOW. This isn't a request. Hands." She exclaimed calmly. It was as if she knew he wouldn't do anything. She raised him after all. In all his years of life he never disobeyed her.

Taz put out his hands. A heavy pair of cuffs locked around his wrists. They were made to resist viltrumite strength. His caretaker grabbed his arm and pulled him along. Obviously, he controlled his strength to allow it to happen. All of the viltrumites returned to the ship.

As the spaceship took off, Cecil tapped his ear to make a call. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen. Absolver was captured without a fight! Were the enemies that strong?!

"Absolver has been captured. Earth's strongest defense…is gone."

______

As the ship left the planet, it jumped into hyperdrive. Anissa brought Taz into a small interrogation room. The other viltrumites went back to their posts. Once the two sat across from each other, the questioning began.

"Just from a quick glance, it doesn't look like you did much on that planet. What have you achieved there for Viltrum?" She asked.

"I acquired an army. I designated other planets for takeover. I culled the ruling class. The only thing I didn't do is assume command." He answered. His guardian shook her head.

"You know what else you did?" She started. Taz raised an eyebrow.

"...What?"

"You let a traitor escape. Are you having second thoughts about our empire?"

"...No. I didn't let anyone escape. I told you, I was overwhelmed." He lied.

"Overwhelmed by what? Just from looking around, I saw that Earth didn't have anything of worth to fight against." She retorted.

"There are plenty of…hidden tigers and crouching dragons." He spoke mysteriously. He silently thanked Kate for the chinese movies they watched together.

"...Huh." She didn't understand the phrase at all. It was Earth slang.

The interrogation went on for an hour. Anissa eventually ran out of questions. They'd been sitting there for a while now. The powerful woman stood up while speaking.

"That's all for now. Lucan wants to speak to you. I'll take you to your quarters after."

"Wait…" Taz called out. His caretaker stopped in her tracks.

"Where are we going?" He continued. Anissa smirked while approaching.

"A little birdie told me that the traitor resides in a nearby galaxy. The planet is apparently called…Thraxa." She revealed. The young viltrumite's eyes widened.

'Nolan is there? Wait…Mark!' He exclaimed mentally. Invincible should be there as well. This could turn into a huge bloodbath.

When she saw his expression, the woman cupped his chin. She could tell that he was withholding information. Her thumb caressed his cheek.

"Did that catch your attention? Everything is going to be revealed soon…You should tell the truth now while you can. Grand Regent Thragg is the one who'll decide both of your fates. Just tell me!" She demanded.

Taz kept his mouth shut. He'd known Anissa for a long time. To him it was obvious that she was begging. She feared for his life. The last thing she wanted was for him to be given the execution penalty.

"I've already told the truth." He responded calmly. The woman's face fell. Her thumb traced his lips for a few seconds before applying pressure.

"Open." Her voice rang softly. The two locked eyes.

Taz's lips opened slightly. Her thumb slowly entered his mouth and pressed down on his tongue. The strength of her grip was gradually increasing. Her sadistic tendency was rearing its ugly head once again. When he was younger, she would almost shatter his jaw sometimes. He always did his best to not anger her. Unfortunately, times had changed. Her frustration was inevitable. Anissa leaned into his ear.

"Don't FUCK with me, Taz. I raised you to never lie. That's why it's so hard for you to do it now. You belong to ME, and you will do as I say. I'll take my time with you later." She whispered.

After pulling back her finger, she licked the saliva off her thumb. She didn't even look at him as she left the room. A small grin appeared on the stoic man's face.

'We'll see who deals with who.' He thought.

Anissa thought she was still in charge. It was too bad that she was completely wrong. Taz only wanted to know what his verdict would be before he acted. He wanted to know if his efforts and achievements would be taken into account or just thrown to the side. Did he even matter to Viltrum?

Not even ten seconds after she left, Lucan came in. The large man strutted in with glee. When he saw that the young viltrumite was still cuffed to the table, he cracked his knuckles.

"You know…I've seen the way she looks at you. I bet you think you mean something. I bet you think she cares about you. Sorry pal, but she doesn't. You're just a toy." He mocked.

Taz raised an eyebrow in confusion. This guy had no idea what their relationship was like. The stoic man couldn't help but respond to that. Any man would.

"You sound jealous." He retorted. Lucan's eyes narrowed. He slowly walked around the table and moved behind the viltrumite.

"You're going to die soon. You think Emperor Thragg allows traitors? Letting one go makes you one as well. Heh. That means it won't matter if I rough you up a bit." He growled. He immediately threw a strong right-hook fist toward the young elite's temple.

BAM

Taz's head only moved slightly to the left. It barely had any effect. The force of his attack caused the equipment in the room to scatter. Lucan frowned seeing that it didn't do anything. He raised his arm again. The stoic soldier's eyes glowed red.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. She definitely heard that." He spoke calmly.

The bald viltrumite stopped. He brushed off his sleeve before heading out. The man seemed to be a dumbass.

"Next time." He muttered. The large man wanted to put the kid into the dirt. Before he could reach the exit, Anissa walked in.

"Ma'am." He chimed in a subservient manner. She only nodded in response.

As soon as she looked away, she noticed the scattered equipment lying around. She then looked to Taz. The young elite had his face to the side as if he'd just been hit. Taz spit out a bit of blood onto the floor. His caretaker's pupils immediately narrowed to the size of a dot when she saw his blood. Only she was allowed to make him bleed.

An aura of cold rage spread through the room. The large man could feel her change of emotions. He couldn't help but sweatdrop. Without saying a word, Anissa vanished. A slender fist smashed into the bald man's gut.

BOOM

His body bent like a bow as spit mixed with blood spurt out of his mouth. Her hand instantly grasped Lucan's collar. She then utilized a large amount of strength and threw him. His body crashed through the door.

He continued to fly through another wall until he landed in the living quarters. The other viltrumites looked up from what they were doing to see Lucan sprawled out on the floor. His expression was one of shock. He couldn't believe that she attacked him because of the kid.

"Get up. I'm relocating you." Anissa spoke to her favorite viltrumite. Taz stood up with a smile.

The other viltrumites peered through the holes and saw the commander dragging the young elite down the hall. They glanced at her then back at Lucan before shrugging and returning to their own activities.