Chapter 7: A Quick Warm Up

U.S. PENTAGON

"Thank you all for coming here today. The Guardians of the Globe were more than a group of heroes. They were icons. Those of you who pass our trials will be among the elite. The best of the best." Robot exclaimed.

A plethora of heroes could be seen inside an observation deck. An arena existed below, which could be seen through the glass wall. As the former member of Teen Team spoke, Eve could be seen facing off against a giant muscular man with blond hair. He seemed extremely confident, flexing his pecs for her.The pink heroine only raised an eyebrow in response.

The man quickly charged toward her. With a wide smile, he let loose a bunch of rapid swings. Eve dodged the attacks effortlessly. After throwing a concussive blast at his feet, the man flipped in the air. The redhead's fist glowed with pink energy before smashing into his face.

BAM

The man soared through the air before landing face first on the floor. The energy charged punch left him unconscious. Eve walked away, her face contorted with anger. She still seemed to be pissed off.

"Ouch." Invincible commented from the observation deck.

"Needless to say, not all of you will be up for the challenge. Those of you who ARE up to the challenge will succeed not just by the uniqueness of your abilities, but by the uniqueness of your tactics. The agility of your minds." Robot continued.

In the arena, a brown haired woman faced off against an ape-like man. During the fight her size would change. Eventually she grew small enough to crawl in his ear. The winner was obvious.

"And perhaps most importantly, the character of your strength and spirit. That is what truly makes a hero."

More heroes faced off in the arena. In the VIP observation deck, which was a floor above the normal one, Taz could be seen floating in the room. He sat in the air with crossed legs, his head resting on his hand. Beside him was the one and only beacon of hope, Omni Man. The two watched the selection trials with unimpressed faces.

The stoic hero had already seen Dupli-Kate's match. There was no real reason for him to still be here, but Nolan's appearance made him stay.

"What brings you here?" Taz spoke casually.

"I was just stopping by. Wanted to see if there were any strong ones in this batch." Omni Man said.

"Well, there's nothing to really see here." The elite soldier commented.

"You're right. It's pathetic. What about you? Here to watch your special friend, I presume?" Nolan joked. Taz shrugged.

"Anyways, it looks like they're done. Wanna go a few rounds?" He asked.

Omni Man thought for a while before smiling.

"Why not."

…

…

…

"It is my pleasure to introduce the new Guardians of the Globe. Black Samson, Shrinking Rae, Dupli-Kate, Monster Girl -"

"Ahahahaha!" Rex's uncontrollable laughter interrupted Robot's words. Looking at the child sized hero, he leaned down.

"Aw, look at her. She's adorable! But isn't there like an age requirement for this ride?" He continued. Monster Girl smirked.

"I dunno, you're here. Isn't there a dick size requirement?" She retorted. Rex frowned.

"I'm sorry?"

"For what? Your tiny dick? I mean, the way you've been strutting around here, you must be compensating for something."

The surrounding heroes burst into laughter. Rex looked around with embarrassment before glaring at Monster Girl. His hand shined with golden energy as he approached her.

"Somebody oughta teach you some motherfucking-"

BAM

A green fist smashed against his face, sending him through the glass and onto the arena. The child hero landed directly in front of him, her right arm replaced with a hulking green arm.

"Guess you missed my try out." She commented. Her body quickly transformed into a muscular green humanoid. Monster Girl now towered over Rex.

"Still think I'm adorable?" Her voice was now extremely deep. Before he could even stand up, another fist smashed his torso.

"Uuughh!" He grunted before crashing against the wall. A few of his bloody teeth fell into his hand.

"You little bitch." He muttered angrily. Monster Girl rushed toward him, ready to beat his face in. Rex coated his teeth in golden energy before throwing it at her.

The exploding teeth did absolutely nothing. The green giant chuckled.

"Awww, now that's adorable." She mocked. Rex angrily clenched his fist.

"I'm gonna blast that smile off your stupid, green face." He declared.

Unfortunately for him, it was the opposite. He proceeded to get his ass beat. Monster Girl pummeled him to the point that he could shit blood.

"Please stop. This is hardly constructive." Robot said.

"Uh…is this okay?" Invincible asked.

"He asked for it." Eve said.

The heroes watched as Rex took a pounding. After a while, Mark flew down. He caught Monster Girl's fist.

"Okay enough." He said.

"Get lost boyscout." The green giant roared while pushing him away.

Invincible landed on the wall with his feet and jumped back toward her. His arm raised for a heavy punch.

"I said enough!"

BAM

The fist connected with her face, sending the giant all the way to the other wall. The impact caused her to immediately revert back to normal. The child sized hero held her face in pain.

"Invincible hit that little girl!" A hero exclaimed from the observation deck. Mark's eyes widened.

"Oh…shit! Um…look, I'm so sorry." He started. Monster Girl slowly stood up.

"Nah my bad. The kid thing sets me off every time." The little hero raised a hand to Rex in order to lift him to his feet. Rex ignored her hand while getting up.

"It's all good. I'm good. You're good. You hit really hard. Christ…" He groaned while limping out of the arena. Eventually, everyone was back on the observation deck.

"As I was saying, welcome to the Guardians of the Globe, Monster Girl." Robot continued.

"I'm gonna shit blood…" Rex muttered.

"Along with Rex Splode…Once he's recovered. And our final member, Atom Eve."

Eve only raised an eyebrow in response. She didn't seem too elated with being chosen.

"Robot, I can't be on the same team as Rex." She complained. The surrounding heroes turned to Rex Splode in confusion. The hero in question whistled while looking at the ceiling. Dupli-Kate shook her head while looking at Rex in disappointment. At this moment, someone spoke.

"Is that Omni Man? Who is that with him?"

The two viltrumites could be seen floating down onto the arena.

"You don't know who that is? Idiot, it's Absolver! He's dating Dupli-Kate!"

Everyone turned to Kate. The nonchalant hero scratched the back of her head. It was weird being the center of attention.

"Absolver is just a knock off Omni Man. Where did he even come from?"

"Are they about to fight?"

______

Nolan smirked. Suppressing a chuckle, he crossed his arms.

"You hear that? They're calling you a knock off." He said. Taz shrugged.

"Who cares. As long as I can fight, that's all that matters." He responded.

With the heightened senses of a viltrumite, it was easy to overhear the people in the observation deck.

"Understandable." Nolan commented.

"Besides, it's not like they'll say it to my face." He concluded. Omni Man shook his head.

"You underestimate how dumb humans can be."

Without saying another word, the two vanished from their positions. Their fists collided.

KRAKOOOM

The shockwave obliterated the rest of the glass in the observation deck. The heroes in the front were sent flying back due to the force. Other heroes quickly used their arms to cover their faces. The two fighters collided over and over again. Each impact was like a clap of thunder, gaining the attention of the entire pentagon. Cracks appeared throughout the entire room. If they continued, the building would crumble.

"We can't stay here! The place is about to blow!" One of the heroes exclaimed.

Invincible watched the battle with complete focus. It was his first time seeing a fight of this level. Eve raised her hand, constructing a shield around the entire room. The two viltrumite soldiers brawled recklessly. Taz grabbed Nolan's face and dragged him across the wall. Before any meaningful damage could be done, Omni Man threw a fist against his side.

BOOM

Taz's body rocketed across the room. When he regained his balance, he saw Nolan speeding towards him. The stoic hero quickly flipped upside down, dodging the human sized bullet. His hand caught Omni Man's leg. Raising his other arm, a heavy fist hurtled down onto Nolan's torso.

BOOM

His body smashed into the ground below. One thing that viltrumites learned in the beginning of their training was to always press the advantage. Taz would follow it. He crashed onto the older soldier's body. Even though he was on top of Nolan, punches flew between the two. There were no deadly chops, as this wasn't meant to be a death battle. The two heroes fought like trained brolic MMA fighters, attacking, defending, and countering.

Eve's pink energy shield gained several cracks, which continued to widen. The heroes watched the cracks with fear as it spanned the entire shield. Their fight was getting more intense. The shockwaves would send them flying with even more force once the shield broke. Small pieces of debris fell from the ceiling. Right before the two collided again, Omni Man raised a hand, prompting them to stop.

"We'll have to call it here. It seems like we were too animated." Nolan said. Taz looked at the surroundings with a raised eyebrow. There were cracks and craters all over the reinforced steel arena. The sheer strength of their attacks left a mark on the fragile place.

"Tch." Taz clicked his tongue. It had barely been a few seconds. Nolan shook his head before floating away. He seemed a bit satisfied with the warm up. The two soldiers had held back a considerable amount. There was no reason to give their all. Nolan patted his shoulder.

"There's always next time. I can see that you still have some energy. Why don't you go beat up a villain or something?" He suggested. After finishing his words, he exited the room. A sonic boom could eventually be heard as he took to the skies.

Taz shook his head before floating over to the observation deck. The crowd of heroes watched him silently. It was clear to see that the earlier display left them a bit rattled. With an uncaring expression on his face, he scanned through the plethora of fodder. Eventually, he spotted Kate standing beside Robot. Seeing where he was looking, the crowd opened up a path for him.

"Did you get it out of your system?" Dupli-Kate joked as he approached her. Taz shook his head.

"Of course not." He responded. The nonchalant heroine placed a hand on her hips.

"I made it. I was chosen as a Guardian." She exclaimed happily. The elite soldier nodded.

"So I heard."

"You're not going to congratulate me?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow. Taz frowned.

"Hmph."

After pulling her into his embrace, they vanished from the area. All of the heroes looked around in confusion wondering where they went. Some of them were extremely disappointed that they could no longer eavesdrop on their conversation.

…

…

…

An hour and a half later, the two could be seen relaxing at the beach. Kate wore a black two piece bikini, emphasizing her slim curves. Taz wore gray swim trunks, emphasizing his perfectly sculpted muscles and brown skin. A shade umbrella rested on the side of the sand blankets.

"The beach, huh? An acceptable place for celebration." She joked while laying on top of him.

Her soft breasts squished against his chest. Her body was still wet having just left the water. For the first time ever, Taz was beginning to enjoy the female body. There were no orders making him do anything for Kate, unlike his caregiver.

"Congratulations." He announced quietly. The chinese beauty raised an eyebrow. Her soft lips pressed against his. She only pulled back after a few minutes.

"For?" She egged him on while placing kisses on his neck. Taz's hand rubbed her smooth skin, eventually stopping on her wonderful bottom.

"For becoming the best of the best." The young viltrumite copied Robot's words.

'At least on this backwater planet.' He thought.

"Mmmnnn...It feels good to hear that from you." She moaned in his ear. As she kissed him, one of her hands played with his hair. The other hand caressed his muscular body before reaching in his swim trunks.

At this moment, screams resounded from the water. Multiple civilians were dragged under. The ocean water was quickly turning red. Kate immediately sat up on his lap, analyzing the situation. Taz sat up as well and wrapped his arms around her smooth waist. He wanted to enjoy her soft, wet frame a while longer.

"This timing…" Taz started.

"...Is truly impeccable." Kate finished.

The stoic viltrumite moved her to the side before standing up. Seeing that she was getting up as well, he stopped her. Kate plopped back down onto the blanket.

"Take a load off. You're in the big leagues now." He said. The chinese beauty smiled and wrapped her arms around his leg. Looking up to his face, the two locked eyes.

"When you coddle me…it makes me want to do…things to you." She spoke sultrily. Taz raised an eyebrow. Not saying a word, he ran to the ocean and dived in.

A plethora of sharks could be seen dragging humans deeper into the waters. Their sharp teeth chomped down on the limbs of the innocent people. The elite soldier focused his vision, seeing even further ahead. A massive humanoid figure floated in the deep. Its head resembled a shark, with a blue skin tight suit covering the body. The carnivorous fish seemed to be delivering the human bodies to him.

The young viltrumite smirked. His eyes glowed red before thin rays swept across the ocean with precision. All of the mindless sharks found their bodies severed. Now that the victims were free, they quickly swam to the surface for air.

With a small boom, Taz accelerated toward the shark man.