Invincible: The Lawbreaker

Mark blinked. "Okay, damn. Just asking."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Sorry. Just… tired."

Mark gave me a once-over, his expression softening. "Yeah, I get it. You did a lot back there." His eyes flickered to the slaughter around us. "Maybe too much."

I scoffed. "What, you're gonna judge me now? We were fighting an alien invasion, Mark. They weren't gonna hold back, so why should I?"

He hesitated. "It's not about holding back. It's about, y'know… not looking like you belong in a slasher movie."

I rolled my shoulders, trying to ignore the stiffness creeping into my muscles. "I did what needed to be done."

Mark didn't push it. He just exhaled and nodded. "Yeah. You did."

"Alright," I muttered, cracking my neck. "Let's get out of here before someone starts asking questions."

Mark nodded. "Yeah, good idea."

Kate shot me a look. "And maybe, just maybe, take a shower before we talk again?"

"Nobody's talking to you, Kate." I shook my head.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh, excuse me for being concerned about the guy who just turned an entire squad of Flaxans into intergalactic roadkill."

I exhaled through my nose, pinching the bridge of it to keep my patience in check. "Kate, I appreciate the concern, really. But right now? I just want to leave, get out of this mess, and maybe sleep for the next twenty hours."

"Great idea," I muttered. "I'll see you guys later."

"Wait, how are you getting home?" Mark asked.

I smiled as I pointed to him. He shook his head, but I nodded in reply.

Mark groaned. "Dude, I just spent an entire battle flying you around."

"And now you're gonna do it one more time. C'mon, Mark. I'm too exhausted to disable gravity for that long." I patted his shoulder. "Be a pal."

He grumbled something under his breath but grabbed me by the arm anyway. "Fine. But if you throw up midair, I'm dropping you."

"Deal."

With that, Mark lifted off, carrying me through the sky. The city below was still recovering, emergency sirens echoing through the streets. Smoke billowed from the destruction left behind, but at least the fight was over.

As we flew, neither of us spoke at first. The wind rushed past us, and for a moment, it was almost peaceful. But then Mark sighed.

"Why are you so violent, Kaito? I mean, that shit is crazy."

I huffed, keeping my eyes on the distant city skyline. "Mark, I literally just saved a ton of people. You, me, and the rest of the team. The alternative was letting them rampage through the city and kill way more people."

"Yeah, but…" He hesitated, his grip on my arm tightening slightly. "The way you fight, man. It's different. It's not just about stopping them. It's like you're making sure they never come back."

"Exactly," I said flatly. "They don't deserve to."

Mark frowned. "That's a scary mindset, dude."

I rolled my eyes. "Spare me the moral compass speech. Your dad just went full exterminator mode, and I don't hear you grilling him about it."

Mark clenched his jaw. "You know that's different."

"Is it?"

He didn't respond immediately.

I sighed. "Look, Mark. I get it. You still wanna see things in black and white, but this world—our world—doesn't work that way. The Flaxans weren't gonna stop. They weren't gonna negotiate. They weren't gonna hold back. So neither did I."

He was quiet for a long moment. Then, finally, he muttered, "I just don't want you turning into someone we have to stop one day."

That one actually stung a little.

I turned my head and looked him dead in the eye. "Mark… if it ever comes to that? You better make sure you can."

He waited for a moment before finally nodding. I patted him on the back, staining his suit with blood. 

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." I waved him off.

"Bye, dude." He said before flying off.

The next day...

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I heard the phone ring, the same irritating ringtone that I had maintained for the last seven years. 

I reached for the phone and answered it reluctantly. "Hello, Lawbreaker here."

"Kaito, it's me, Cecil. I hope you're doing okay, cause I need to meet you."

I groaned, rubbing my eyes as I sat up. "Cecil, it's barely—" I glanced at my clock. 1:37 PM. "...Okay, never mind. What's up?"

"Meet me at GDA headquarters. Now." His voice was clipped, all business.

I sighed, already knowing I wasn't getting out of this. "Give me an hour."

"You have thirty minutes." Click.

I stared at my phone for a second before dropping back onto my bed with a frustrated sigh. "Of course."

Dragging myself up, I went through the motions—quick shower, fresh clothes, a protein bar I barely tasted. My body still ached from the fight, but I'd had worse.

By the time I got to the GDA, the place was buzzing. Agents rushed from room to room, hushed conversations passing between them. Something big had happened.

Cecil was waiting for me in his office, arms crossed. He barely looked up as I entered. "Took you long enough."

"You said thirty minutes. I made it in twenty-nine." I flopped into the chair across from him. "So, what's the emergency?"

"Nothing..." He told me.

...

"What do you mean by nothing?" I asked him,

"Nothing means nothing, Kaito. I called you here to make sure that you don't oversleep."

I blinked. "Are you serious?"

Cecil smirked, leaning back in his chair. I slumped, looking at him. The betrayal, it's too much to take.

"Yeah, now go out there, do some scouting or something, take care of crimes."

I sighed, dragging a hand down my face. "Fine. But if I run into anything that tries to punch me in the face, I'm blaming you."

Cecil grinned. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Shaking my head, I pushed myself up from the chair and started toward the door. "Anything specific I should keep an eye out for, or am I just playing glorified neighborhood watch today?"

Cecil hummed. "Just keep your ears open. We're still piecing things together from yesterday, and I don't like loose ends."

"Got it." I threw up a lazy salute and walked out.

Okay, then, let's do the first Emorta of the month.

An Emorta is a made-up word that I made for the days when nothing special was happening.

First stop: helping some old guy with his groceries.

I was just walking down the street when I spotted him struggling with a few too many bags, one of which was seconds away from tearing apart. I stepped in, grabbed a few off his hands, and gave him a nod.

"Where to?"

The old man blinked at me, probably processing the fact that I had just appeared out of nowhere. "Uh… just down the block, son."

So I walked with him, making small talk as we went. He told me about his grandson's baseball team, his bad back, and how he swore grocery bags were getting weaker every year. I just nodded along, enjoying the simple conversation.

When we got to his place, I handed him his bags and gave him a two-finger salute. "Stay safe, old man."

"You too, son," he said with a grateful smile.

Next, I stopped a runaway bike thief.

I was sitting on a rooftop, snacking on a protein bar, when I heard a woman scream. Looking down, I saw some punk on a stolen bike, weaving through traffic like he had a death wish.

With a sigh, I leaped off the building, disabled gravity under me for a split second, and landed smoothly in front of him. He yelped and tried to swerve, but I flicked a finger, negating his momentum just enough for him to crash into a pile of garbage bags instead of an innocent pedestrian.

By the time he got his bearings, I had already yanked the bike up and held it over my shoulder. "Y'know, if you're gonna steal a bike, maybe don't do it in broad daylight?"

The guy groaned, clutching his side. "What the hell, man?"

I smirked. "Consider it a lesson in physics."

The woman ran over, breathless but grateful. "Oh my god, thank you!"

I handed her the bike, gave the thief a little wave, and walked off before the cops even showed up.

Then, I played cat rescuer.

I don't even know how the damn thing got up there, but a little girl was standing under a tree, sobbing about her missing cat.

I tilted my head back, spotting the furball perched on the highest branch, staring down like it was above all of us—literally and figuratively.

"Alright, give me a sec."

I disabled gravity just under my feet and gently floated up to the branch. The cat immediately hissed at me, not at all grateful for the rescue mission.

"Oh, don't even start. You got yourself up here."

It swiped at me, and I just sighed, grabbing it by the scruff and tucking it under my arm.

Floating back down, I placed the cat in the little girl's arms, and she beamed at me. "Thank you, mister!"

"Yeah, yeah. Tell your cat to stop doing parkour. She might get lost."

She giggled, and I ruffled her hair before walking off.

Yeah. Emortas weren't so bad, actually; they were fun sometimes. I sat down at a tall building in the middle of the city. Then, with a swish of wind, I found Mark sitting next to me. 

"Hey, Kaito. What's up?" 

"Mark. Did your... Dad come back?" I asked him.

"Yeah, he came back just yesterday, right before dinner. He even grew a beard." Mark explained.

"Yeah, time goes slower on our planet than there, remember?" I pointed out as he nodded.

He was uneasy for some reason.

"I saw the news... the guardians of the globe are dead, just like you said a few days ago," Mark told me.

"Now, do you believe there's a chance that your-" I was cut off by him.

"No! I saw him ever since I could remember, he's not that kind of a man." He retorted.

I raised my hands in mock surrender. "Alright, I get it. But just think of it, okay?"

Mark sighed, rubbing his face. "Yeah… I'll think about it. But I really hope you're wrong."

I looked at the billboard at the centre of the city, it was a news channel. And on it was... Omni-Man.

"I fought the unimaginable..." He started. "In defense of this world. I've battled alien tyrants, defeated nightmares from the deep..." 

"I've gone toe-to-toe with ancient gods..." He continued, "But no matter what threat I faced, I knew I wasn't facing it alone."

He started listing the names of the Guardians Of The Globe, "Darkwing, Aquarus, War Woman, Green Ghost, Red Rush, Martian Man, and Immortal. The Guardians Of The Globe."

"Today, we have lost titans, protectors, heroes, and we are left to wonder who are going to save us. I will as wel-" I stopped paying attention after that.

Mark was uncertain. "I am supposed to be there, but there's this feeling that I can't get rid of."

"You feel like something's off, don't you?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral.

Mark hesitated, then exhaled sharply. "Yeah… but I don't want to believe it."

I crossed my arms, looking back up at the screen, where Omni-Man continued his speech. "You don't have to believe it, Mark. You just have to be ready in case you're wrong."

He looked at me, and for a moment, I thought he was going to argue. Instead, he just sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hate this."

"Welcome to the job," I muttered.

For a while, we just stood there, watching the news report as Omni-Man continued his performance. The city around us kept moving, people mourning, others just going about their day, unaware of what was really coming.

Then, Mark spoke up. "What if I ask him? Just… straight up."

I gave him a side-eye. "And what, expect him to just confess? 'Yeah, son, I murdered the world's strongest heroes for fun. Pass the mashed potatoes.'?"

Mark winced. "Okay, maybe not like that…"

I shook my head. "Look, if you want answers, you gotta be smart about this. Omni-Man isn't just strong—he's experienced. He's been doing this way longer than you have, and he knows how to control a conversation."

Mark nodded slowly. "Yeah… I guess I should be careful."

I sighed, clapping him on the back. "Just keep your eyes open, man. And no matter what happens, don't do anything reckless."

He gave me a small, tired smile. "Coming from you, that's hilarious."

"I can take care of myself, Mark, unlike you."

Mark snorted. "Oh, screw you, dude."

I grinned. "Just saying, you're still new to all this.

Then, suddenly, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and saw a message from Cecil.

"Get to GDA. Now. Found something."

I frowned. "Shit."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Cecil. He wants me back at HQ. Says he found something."

Mark's expression shifted, uncertainty creeping in. "Something about my dad?"

"Maybe," I said. 

He nodded slowly, clearly debating whether or not to come with me. I gave him a look. "Mark, don't."

He hesitated, then sighed. "Alright. Just… keep me in the loop."

I gave him a two-finger salute before turning on my heel. "Always."

Fifteen minutes later, I was back at GDA headquarters, stepping into Cecil's office. He didn't waste time.

"What?"

Cecil didn't look up right away. He was staring at a monitor, one hand resting against his chin. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight.

"You were right to be suspicious, Kaito."

I exhaled slowly. "That doesn't sound good."

Cecil clicked a button, and the screen switched to a grainy, distorted video feed. The GDA's surveillance footage. It showed the Guardians of the Globe in their headquarters—then Omni-Man appearing out of nowhere.

Then the slaughter began.

The footage was brutal. Red Rush tried to save War Woman, only to get his head crushed. Darkwing fought desperately before his back was snapped. Green Ghost disintegrating as she tried to phase away. Omni-Man tore through them one by one, their bodies falling in heaps.

And then, the final shot—Omni-Man himself, blood-soaked, standing in the carnage.

The feed cut out. Silence hung in the room.

I let out a slow breath. "…Well. Shit."

Cecil leaned back in his chair, watching me carefully. "Yeah. Shit. Got this footage in the microbot that I placed. Can't believe I forgot about it. It was hidden in the mess, but once we scrubbed through the data… there it was.""

I crossed my arms. "So what's next? You calling in, Mark?"

Cecil shook his head. "Not yet. He's not ready."

I scoffed. "And you think I am?"

Cecil smirked. "No. But you're a wildcard. Omni-Man won't expect you to know this already."

I looked back at the screen, at the frozen image of Nolan standing over the bodies. My mind was racing. Why? Why now? What's his endgame?

Cecil sighed. "I need you to keep an eye on Mark. If Nolan makes a move, I want to know about it before it's too late."

I ran a hand down my face. "Babysitting duty, totally fun. Where'd you get that idea?"

"Yeah, Unc, I don't know, I will kill Nolan. The next time he does something suspicious, he is dead."

Cecil gave me a long, measured look. "Kaito. I get it; I do. But he's not stupid enough to come into your range; that's a fight that he can't win."

I huffed, crossing my arms. "Then I'll make sure he walks into it."

Cecil sighed, rubbing his temples. "This isn't just about strength, kid. You and I both know that brute force won't be enough here. If Omni-Man goes rogue, we're looking at a global disaster. We need to be smart."

"So, what's the plan, Cecil? Wait for him to corrupt Mark as well?"

Cecil exhaled sharply, staring at the frozen footage of Omni-Man drenched in blood. "No. But we can't rush this, either. If we make a move too soon, we lose our only chance to contain him. And if Mark gets caught in the crossfire…"

"So what? We just let him keep walking around like he didn't just commit mass murder?"

Cecil's eyes locked onto mine. "We wait until we know why he did it. Until we know what the hell he's planning."