Chapter 20: Dirty Men

WHIFF

A fist imbued with pink energy tore through the air. It missed its target, a kick connecting with a torso. Two figures were fighting back and forth in a sequence that resembled a type of dance. They were even in strength, one having more technique than the other.

"Uhhff!" Eve grunted from an attack. She was struggling to land hits.

Invincible could be seen far in the distance. Broken stone soldiers could be seen around him. Eve had cleared the rock army. The ameteur hero lay in the dirt, his body covered in blood and bruises. He was unable to overcome the greek woman's battle skills.

Taking a shaky breath, Mark attempted to stand up. He could see Eve and War Woman II going at it. Constructs and blasts lit up the surroundings as the heroine did her best.

"I have to help her…" He muttered before clenching his fist. Utilizing the strength left in his body, he launched toward them.

The greek woman barely turned her head to see the hero's approach. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. After jumping over a low swipe from Atom Eve, she finally spoke.

"Haven't you learned your lesson?" She mocked.

The fight began in earnest. This time it was a two versus one situation. It didn't seem too much of a problem for the villain besides having to focus more. The pink heroine was the most dangerous to her, but it was still manageable. Unknown to her, that was only because Eve hadn't fully grasped the extent of her own powers.

Even then, she couldn't help but be wary of the last man. The cold one who didn't speak much. He was a threat. The way he dealt with her so easily…War Woman II knew that she needed to finish the job quickly and find Dupli-Kate before he dispatched the other villains.

Her ornamental baton crashed against the two heroes with precision. Invincible charged toward the warrior in an attempt to tackle her. War Woman II flipped over the attack before latching onto his back. Mark tumbled in the dirt. The greek woman raised her weapon to crush his skull. It was at this moment that she noticed two pink walls closing in from both sides.

BAM

Her arms rose to stop them from moving any further. The muscles in her arms flexed as she pushed against the constructs. The redhead stood beside them with her hands glowing. The strain could be seen through her scrunched up expression.

War Woman II's arms trembled as she slowly pushed the walls apart. They wouldn't hold for much longer. Eve's hand clenched. Another wall crashed down from above.

BAM

The impact shoved both Invincible and the villain through the ground. She was pressed into his back as the dirt gave way. Her armor dug into his back.

"Owwww! I'm still here, Eve!" Mark cried out. The pink heroine sweatdropped.

"Sorry…Just deal with it for a while!" She responded.

"You think…this can stop me?!" The greek woman roared.

Her body shook as she tried to stand. Unfortunately, all of her efforts were felt by Mark. He could feel himself being flattened as she used her strength to get up. Poor Mark.

This was the scene Taz arrived to. The vengeful warrior lying on top of Invincible's back as three energy walls pressed them into the ground. He slowly descended from the sky, catching Eve's attention. The stoic hero raised an eyebrow at the awkward situation.

"It just happened, okay…don't judge!" She remarked.

Absolver shook his head before walking over to the trapped villain. His feet quietly tapped against the grass. He eventually stopped in front of their faces.

"...You stuck?" He joked.

Invincible and War Woman II both had different reactions upons seeing him. Mark frowned in annoyance while the greek woman paled with worry. If he was back, it only meant that the other two villains failed.

"Yeah, and it hurts! Can you speed things up a bit?!" He groaned. Absolver crouched down in front of them. Seeing the warrior's expression, he smirked.

"Why the long face? You look like you've seen a ghost." He mocked. War Woman's ex lover grit her teeth in anger and despair.

"Manfilth. Only good for mating and nothing more. No brain. Just greed. You think you can speak down to me?" She retorted.

"I think I can speak to you in any type of way. After all, you're stuck here…right on top of a man. You call them filth. Do they smell bad where you're from?" He continued.

"They're filthy like animals. Covered in dirt." She responded angrily. Taz raised an eyebrow. His finger stabbed into the grass before pulling back out. It was now covered in dirt.

"Here. Have some dirt. You like it don't you?" He spoke darkly.

His finger neared her mouth. Using his other hand, he grabbed her jaw, forcing her lips to open slightly.

"Stop! What're you-"

His finger jammed into her mouth. Now all she could taste was dirt. The greek villain could only glare as it happened. It would be futile to resist. Both of them maintained heated stares.

Taz wanted to kill her but knew it was too late with Mark and Eve around. Unknowingly, he found himself doing things that resembled his caretaker. Some of Anissa's sadistic tendencies had bled over to him. Her influence was strong.

Invincible and Eve frowned seeing the interaction. It seemed a bit…off. Adrenaline was still pumping through the pink heroine, causing her to brush off the sentiment. Mark cared even less due to the pain of being squished. He needed relief.

"As much as I'd like to hear you two talk about S & M, I'm dying here. Hurry up!" He yelled.

The two broke eye contact before looking down at Mark. Her eyes lit up as she thought of something. Her arms wrapped around Invincible's neck in a crushing chokehold. A small grin appeared on her face.

"Let me go, or I kill wonder boy here." She demanded.

Absolver sighed with annoyance. His hand cupped her chin while his thumb rubbed her soft cheek.

"You know it's useless. I can stop you before your muscles even flex. All it really sounds like to me is that you want more dirt. Shall I feed you more?" He spoke.

His words seemed to shock the villain. Her mental state shook a bit. Growing up, she had never been under the thumb of man. This was the first time she was forced to grovel, and bend to the whims of one. Her face fell and her actions stopped.

"Haaaaah…" Mark breathed as the air returned to his lungs.

"Good. See? Was that so hard?" Taz spoke.

Righteous fury overwhelmed the greek woman upon hearing his words. Locking eyes with the powerful hero, she gathered her spit.

PTOO

Dirt filled saliva flew toward the stoic hero. His head tilted to the side, dodging it instantly. A bit of anger rose from inside him and his eyes glowed red. The two gave each other the death glare once again.

"Alright, enough! I'm calling Cecil now!" Atom Eve yelled in annoyance.

Absolver finally stood up. Their staredown continued for a few more seconds until he turned away. War Woman II glared at his back profile as he floated into the air.

"Try anything funny, you get knocked out." Taz declared. Eve removed the wall constructs once his words finished.The villain slowly got off of Invincible. Two pink cuffs appeared around her wrists.

"Finally…" The injured Mark exclaimed in relief.

…

…

…

Cecil eventually arrived with a platoon of black ops soldiers. The villain was put into a thick steel transport cell that would keep her until they got to headquarters. Absolver informed the two heroes that he would meet them there, since he had to go pick up Kate.

It only took a few seconds for him to arrive. The sliding door of the train car was opened, revealing his lover. The beauty sat with her back to the wall, her hands playing with sticks and twigs. She didn't even respond to the door opening.

"Kate."

"........" She didn't respond.

"Kate…it's done. We're going to headquarters."

"...Why?"

"For debriefing." He responded.

Taz walked over to her and moved a strand of hair behind her ear. Kate's expression didn't change, seemingly on the verge of anger and depression. He ignored it and picked her up. The heroine wrapped her arms around his neck for stability.

Once she was secure in his embrace, he slowly floated into the sky. He couldn't help but sigh. His cheek rubbed against hers for a moment.

"Don't be so down. Should I cook for you when we get home?" He soothed her. The chinese beauty frowned.

"You know why I'm so down. Remember when I told you why I'm still a hero despite being weak?! I bet you don't even care…Forget it." She pouted. Taz realized that she probably thought he killed War Woman II.

"Of course I remember. Why are you acting like I'm a brand new person? Nothing has changed between us." The young viltrumite exclaimed.

"You ARE a brand new person. I guess I'm learning the real you right now, huh?" She spoke with sarcasm. The disappointment was evident. The viltrumite shook his head.

"It's still me. It's always been me."

"Sure…" She droned. Her tone implied that she didn't believe him.

"Keep acting like this and I'll spank you." He said. Kate's eyes widened in anger.

"What? Now is NOT the time to-" Her words stopped upon seeing his playful expression. There wasn't any heat behind his words. It seems he hadn't changed as much as she thought.

"Shut up." She finally said. A small smile appeared on her lips. His attempt to cheer her up seemed to work a bit.

The two soared through the air for a while until they reached their destination. As they entered the holding cell, the Guardians could be seen along with Invincible and Atom Eve. Cecil and Donald stood in front of the yellow glass where War Woman II was being detained. They pretended as if Kate wasn't being carried the whole time. Even when in disagreement, the two wouldn't let go of each other. The elite soldier's arm acted like a chair as he held her to his chest.

The debriefing went by quickly as the entire event was explained. The story was stretched a bit when it came to Absolver. He didn't mention Gridlock at all, since only he and Kate saw him. The chinese beauty said nothing to refute his claim.

The entire time, the greek woman glared through the yellow glass at Taz. The powerful man seemed to have gained a new obsessive enemy. He'd have to teach her the way of man if she ever broke out.

When Kate saw the villain behind the glass, she turned to her lover with surprised eyes. Her face lit up with joy upon realizing the woman was still alive. She couldn't help but rain kisses on his neck. The viltrumite's eyes squinted while he enjoyed her affection.

"Athletes, I swear. They never care about a time and place." Eve muttered under her breath.

Once the debriefing was over, Cecil motioned for Absolver to stay. Kate had no choice but to remain since she was being carried by him. She'd reached her walking quota for the day. Taz and the old man walked over to the side, away from the heroes.

"I didn't ask earlier, but what happened to Red Eye?" He questioned. The elite soldier gave a thumbs down to the ground. It meant 'six feet under.' Cecil rubbed his temples.

"Dammit! Absolver, we needed him! He worked for the government. He was an insider." He exclaimed.

"He should've thought about that before he almost killed Dupli-Kate." Taz responded.

The chinese beauty listened to their conversation, not really knowing what to say about it. Cecil was talking as if they had done this a thousand times. Had Taz been telling her the truth this whole time? She was beginning to believe that it wasn't so bad.

Cecil clicked his tongue before walking away in frustration. It's not like he could scold Absolver. After violently grabbing Donald, they left the area. Only Invincible and Eve remained at this point.

"So what now?" Eve said. Taz raised an eyebrow.

"Now I go home. What else?" He answered as if it was obvious. The pink heroine rolled her eyes. Kate gave her an apologetic smile. Mark on the other hand, spoke up.

"I was thinking of going on a college trip with William. Anyone wanna go?"