This is it. That’s how you’ll die.

One of innumerable casualties in the wake of this surreal destruction, caused by no one else than the man you were still helplessly in love with. Well, at least the people responsible for this chaos all wore his stupidly handsome face, though the innocence in his eyes despite everything being long since absent in theirs.

You’re cowering in a corner of the nearest safehouse, huddled in there with countless other civilians as you start to reminisce and regret in the face of doom.

Maybe you should have told Mark about your feelings after all. Not that there ever was an appropriate moment to do so, between his relationship with Amber and Eve seamlessly afterwards. Both were amazing women in their own right, and you could never think of comparing yourself to either of them. But damn it you couldn’t even be mad at those wonderful two, even through all your jealousy.

Mark and you had been childhood friends ever since you had moved into the same neighborhood as a preteen. It was a storybook-like friendship that eventually turned into a one-sided infatuation as you grew older, but not wanting to ruin your friendship you cowardly suppressed them until it was too late.

And when your friend's powers finally awakened, you found the perfect opportunity to end this bond once and for all.

You remember it as if it was yesterday: His face, so full of shock and hurt as you broke out in tears and told him you couldn’t do this anymore. It wasn’t a complete lie.

Being this close to a literal hero made you a walking target, you claimed. Even if you as an individual are insignificant in the greater picture, even if villains wouldn’t try and hurt you to get through to him, conflict seemed to follow him everywhere, so you’ll most likely get into harm’s way at some point.

It was a cheap excuse to hide the pitiful truth that you couldn’t stand to see him build a life with someone else. And in hindsight you hated yourself for having done this. Invinc- Mark had gone through so much already, suffered great losses and was carrying guilt that weighed so heavy it astonished you that he hasn’t yet broken down under all the pressure.

And to add insult to injury, you - one of his closest and most trusted friends - abandoned him out of a selfish hurt that didn’t even make up a fraction of what he felt on the regular.

Enough self-pitying. You’re not the victim here.

If – by any miracle – you survive this, the first thing you’ll do is make things right. Contact him immediately, explain yourself, and promise to overcome this silly crush to be a friend he deserves this time.

But just when you made up your mind, a loud, grating noise cut through your pondering…

…and when you looked up, you were horrified to see the view of a bright night sky.

That meant someone had not only found this place, but also effortlessly tore off the rooftop which was made up of strengthened steel.

For the fraction of a second, when your eyes met all too familiar ones, a naive hope inside of you thought it was your Invincible that had arrived, worried for your safety. But the vastly different costume – covered with blood and viscera - reminded you painfully that again it’s just wishful thinking. A dream that would never become reality, no matter how long you refuse to acknowledge it. This world’s Mark is probably fighting alongside Eve right now, not wasting a single thought about you, and you couldn't blame him.

The Viltrumite scanned the crowd for god knows what, his face falling flat as his gaze fell on you. A flash of recognition flickered in his eyes, just to be replaced by an almost predatory glint.

“Found you!” his tone was oddly cheerful, yet sent a shiver down your spine as you could barely perceive him lunging at you with his sheer inhumane speed. You were sure that now you’ll experience pain beyond your greatest imagination, praying he'd make it quick...

...but much to your surprise the impact never came.

Instead you found yourself high in the air, fighting the nausea rising in the pit of your stomach due to the way too fast ascend. Beneath you the outline of the collapsing safehouse became blurred by darkness and distance, the dust driving tears in your eyes even long after the rubble drowned out everyone's screams.

“He’ll drop me” is the only thought present in your mind, feeling tremendously selfish for not caring about the others whose death you just witnessed. Yes, soon this sociopath will make you fall to your death and laugh at your misery like it’s some kind of wicked game.

And you deserved it either way, didn’t you?

Maybe you disappointed Mark in other realities as well. That must be it, that’s the reason he went out of his way just to find you – to get his revenge for you abandoning him in his darkest hour.

Your first instinct was to scream and lash out at him, and yet you knew trying to oppose a force of nature like him was to no avail. So with no other options you cling to your captor like a lifeline.

Clutching the fabric of his costume in tight fists, you hide your face in the crook of his neck, desperately trying to shun out the reality of your situation. Your behavior earns a low chuckle from the villain, who in return wraps his arms a little tighter around you as he carries you through the sky nearly bridal style.

“Don’t tell me your Mark never brought you flying with him?” he asked nonchalantly, as if any of this wasn’t an absolutely terrifying concept for you. Concerned at your lack of response, he slowed down in midair, gently squeezing your sides. “Hey, it’s okay. I got you. We’re almost there.”

You wanted to ask where to exactly, but your voice failed you each time you tried. So you stayed cradled against his muscular chest like this, trying your best to ignore the way you felt his gaze burning into you even though you refused to open your eyes.

“There we are” he announced, carefully letting you down. And still, as soon as your legs touched solid ground again they gave up and you fell to your knees right away. Initially this foreign Mark wanted to help you, to catch you in his arms once again and reassure you that everything was gonna be alright - but upon seeing tears dwelling in your eyes he knew he had to stop himself, hands falling loosely to the sides and balling to fists in mild frustration.

For a while you remained like this, staring at each other in awkward silence while a storm of conflicting emotions was raging beneath.

“You’re safe here” Mark ultimately spoke, and looking around this place really did seem rather peaceful compared to what you've seen in the news. “The others won’t attack rural areas. We were ordered to destroy main cities and crucial infrastructures mainly.”

“By whom?” The question was burning on your tongue but it died right there, because what does it matter? Knowing wouldn’t make any difference since you couldn’t change the outcome anyways. So instead you ask “Why…why did you bring me here?”

You were already dreading the answer as your mind conjured concerning possible scenarios, however the variant merely gave you a confused puppy gaze that almost made you forget the threat he posed.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He sheepishly rubs the back of his head, avoiding your eyes. “I wanted to get you before the others would."

That sounded more like a subtle threat than a honest reassurance.

“Please…don’t hurt me…” you beg and whimmer, overwhelmed by all the recent events. You’re shaking violently, tears now wettening your cheeks. The mere sight of it - and knowing he’s responsible - shatters what’s left of his rotten heart.

“Wha- of course I won’t-" He nervously paces around, wildly gesticulating as if he's struggling to put his thoughts into words - seems like they all do have similarities after all. "Oh man, sorry. You know I suck at comminicating! Shit, I fucked up the first impression already..."

Continuing to mumbles inaudible ramblings under his breath, he grips a pillar so harshly that it's combined to dust, making you shuffle even farther away from him.

“Nonononono, please don’t be afraid of me!" he yells so loud that you wince, and the fact that he keeps making things worse upsets him even more. "I could never hurt you, I swear!"

The man in front of you looks utterly devastated, and you can't put your finger on why that is or what you have to do with it.

After all, you're no one important, especially to him. Right?

At first keeping his distance, he hesistantly approaches you while simultaneously trying to appear as harmless as possible. Hands raised in a placating manner, voice calm and quiet, he whispers "I'm so, so sorry...I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's- it's okay..." you stammer feebly to appease him, your body still paralyzed by fear. A small squeal escapes your throat as you feel his palm stroke your cheek, the blood sticking to his gloves drying on your skin.

The former hero was watching you intently, face contorting through a mixture of relief and despair. But there was something else about him - the Mark you knew never acted like this. It's probably only your imagination, but he's so...

Before you could finish your line of thoughts, he closes the gap between you and his lips crashed over yours in sheer exasperation. You could feel the heat radiating off of him as he pulled you close, the barely contained strenght of his grip both frightening and thrilling.

"Damn...I keep fucking up" he blurts out, an enamored smile playing on his lips nonetheless. "Sorry for...well, this...got a bit carried away."

It was such a bizarre view: Someone possessing an indescribable strenght, unmatched on nearly the whole universe, being reduced to a stuttering, blushing mess in the presence of a pathetic human.

He was still holding you, without any intent to let you go any time soon, blissfully unaware - or rather ignorant - of how insane this whole situation actually was.

"I always wanted more than friendship, you know?" He confessed this so casually, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world - and opposed to all logic you felt your heart flutter at his words. "But in my world I never had the guts to confess...I was too afraid to lose you completely in case you don’t reciprocate."

You shouldn't feel guilty that you briefly thought back about the Mark you once knew, wondering if he ever felt the same, and yet you did. As if you owed the one in front of you right now some kind of loyality just because he was currently pouring his heart out.

No. Stop. What are you doing here? This isn't right!

The man in front of you is a homicidal maniac who did god knows what to his homeworld, and caused mayhem and suffering across the whole globe without any remorse, just to...

...yeah, why exactly?

As if your thoughts were clearly written on your forehead, he tries to explain himself, expression turning somber as he spoke.

"Back at my world I made some mistakes- no. I did so many irredeemable, atrocious things...and I only understood what truly mattered after I already lost it...after I lost you because of my actions. But I won't repeat those errors again, I swear. I promise I'll keep you safe and sound at my side to cherish you forever..."

You shouldn't feel anything but hatred and disgust at his display, yet you couldn't help but pity this forlorn, broken shell of a man that clutched you like a child would cling to their soothing blanket.

"This world's Mark, he...doesn't appreciat you." His eyes were manic, bordering on pure madness and you felt his fingers possessively digging into your flesh just shy of being painful. "But me, I would erase as many planets as it takes if only it meant being able to hold you like this for another day."

This man was truly a wolf in sheeps clothing - a vicious, instable monster that could snap any time shall your reaction not appeal to his delusions. All that's left for you to do is playing the part and hoping that the remnant of his humanity was enough to postpone a horrible fate.

So instead of answering you quietly sobbed in his vice-like embrace, tears mixing with the stains of death on his costume. You felt him rubbing soothing circles on your back, so tender and tentative you wondered just how long it's been since those hands had inflicted anything but pain.

Who would've thought that getting the one thing you had wished for an eternity could turn into a literal nightmare?

You had seen how your mother treated your brother. From a distance, you'd also watched your father stop her, say something and leave. Later while tending to Nolan's wounds, you didn't even ask. Most likely, she had voiced her hatred for us. Again. Just like when you were six and couldn't fly, she beat you until your powers surfaced. After Nolan transitioned into adulthood, you never saw her again. "I hope she never shows up again," you said, Nolan evaluating his new uniform in the mirror, glancing at your reflection. "You shouldn't say that. You still have your own transition into adulthood." You threw yourself onto the bed where you'd been sitting, covering your face with your hands. You groaned with unease. "I'd rather you be the one to beat me, brother." Nolan, his own face hidden behind his hands, gave you a pained look. He didn't want to beat you. Ever since childhood, you'd been a complete oddity. You weren't like him or the other children. You were weak. Emotional. Your mind was filled with ideas that opened doors to failure. And worst of all…Nolan's gaze softened. You never knew how to hide yourself. Every adult who laid eyes on you had tried to kill you. The weak had to be culled but there was something more in you. So many attempts on your life, and yet…

"Get up. Training time." Nolan grabbed you by the collar and pulled you to your feet as you grumbled. "You know I have a brain capable of commanding myself to stand. Stop doing that." Nolan just shoved you ahead of him as you both left the room. You were still alive.

Your transition into adulthood was the worst. As your vision blurred with your own blood, you felt warm hands shaking you. You squeezed the blood soaked hand weakly. "I don't want to die like this...lease...please," you clutched the fabric you could reach. "Do something, brother-" you coughed up blood violently. Among the people breathing their last breaths around him, it was the blood splattering onto his face that shook Nolan the most.

"Father is dead." That was what you heard from Nolan. You lay in bed, weak and in pain. Like a corpse. Your skin had grown gaunt and grey. You were paler than the uniform you wore. You looked up at Nolan standing at your bedside, clad in his protective suit. You didn't want that visor reflecting your terrible face; you wanted to see his blue irises one last time before you died. Your lips parted to say his name, but only blood came out. Nolan took your hand in his gloved one. His grip was firm, like he was promising you'd be completely safe. "I promise you'll recover." You believed Nolan. You always believed him. And he believed in you. As if that faith had kept you alive, you clawed your way out of that terrible death. But at what cost?

You sat with Nolan on a bench, silently watching the ships still dumping bodies. Even tilting your head up to the sky to stop the tears didn't help. The sky was dead too. The vibrant blue tones that reminded you of Nolan were gone. At least Nolan was still here...your precious brother, the one who'd survived the virus before you. You buried your wet cheeks into his shoulder. You felt his muscles tense at the feeling of your still weak cheeks pressing against him. Your hands hesitantly searched for his. Nolan beat you to it, holding your hand tightly in his own. For him these actions were weakness—you'd fought over this very behavior countless times before—but now...he considered himself lucky to be able to feel them. Everyone was gone, but that warmth was still there. He couldn't lose you too.

After all those losses, the responsibility on your shoulders was too much...being in the empire non-Viltrumite around, left all the work to Viltrumites. You whined as you carried the seventh box, setting it down with frustration. "I wish I'd died..." Immediately, struck your head hard enough to rattle your brain. You clutched your head with both hands, curling your lips inward as you looked at your brother, who was glaring at you with pure fury. "You're too honest for your own good, Y/n." You only mumbled an apology as he walked past. Yes, for as long as you could remember, you'd been terrible at keeping your mouth shut and it always made Nolan seethe with rage. You were the greatest example of weakness he'd ever seen in his life. But now, Nolan was harsher about it. With your numbers below fifty, you stood out far too easily. He didn't want you to die just because of that. As Nolan watched you place another box you'd brought, he continued the inventory count. His hard gaze met your tired one. Involuntarily, his eyes softened. For you, he would even become a traitor to his own people.

You were there when General Kregg gave his status report to the Grand Regent. Standing in the background, arms clasped behind your back in an at-ease position, you cast secret little glances. Had he been caught sick too? You'd never heard anything about the Grand Regent, so you were curious. From the covert looks you stole, you could say he seemed quite healthy. Your gaze drifted lightly around the room again. "You. Come here." It was impossible not to know who that authoritative tone was addressing. His gaze alone was enough. Hoping he hadn't noticed your flinch, you stepped forward, stopping a few paces behind General Kregg. "Yes, Grand Regent," you greeted, bowing your head. "Aren't you that problem child, soldier?" You blinked a few times, finally turning your gaze to him—Grand Regent Thragg. "Sir?" Seeing your lack of understanding, a slight sullenness spread across his face. It was just a question, please don't kill me…the population is already low. "That troublesome girl who came here before. You came solely because you were a massive weakness, remember?"

That's when you understood what he meant. When you were little, despite the beating meant to kill you, you had remained standing. Your trainer, enraged, had passed you off to someone with even more authority. Somehow, you'd ended up before Grand Regent Thragg's throne. Your arm bone had been protruding, your swollen, bloodied eyelids hiding your eye color from the world, your tiny body standing before him. You'd wanted to apologize even for the blood dripping from your nose, but fear had silenced you. You were too small to understand what was happening, who he was—too young to comprehend any of it. And, as Nolan would put it, too stupid. Your brain, barely keeping you upright, hadn't registered Thragg's words. All you knew was that he hadn't granted you death. Whether that could even be called mercy, you didn't know. "Yes that's me, Grand Regent." trying to suppress the growing tension inside you.

Thragg leaned back in his throne. The fact that he was evaluating you was blatantly obvious. "Hah," he rested his chin on his fist. "It's surprising that you're still standing before me after all that. I thought you wouldn't see the next day after your first visit." He rose from the throne in a way that stole your breath. Even though he wasn't close, you felt crushed by his sheer magnificence. "Yet here you are, one of the few remaining purebloods." He gestured with his finger for you to approach. For a moment, you shot a desperate look at General Kregg. Quickly obeying the command, you stopped right in front of him. His massive hand gripped your shoulder…your skin tingled with the sensation that he could tear your shoulder off at any moment. Don't piss yourself, don't piss yourself…

Thragg was enormous; you had to crane your neck all the way back just to make eye contact. Pure torture. He could crush your skull with one hand…and that thought didn't feel exaggerated in the slightest. "Has she ever taken an assignment outside the Empire?" General Kregg's voice echoed soothingly in the room behind you. "No…she hasn't, Grand Regent."

"Good. I have a mission for you." His satisfied murmur made you tense, you decided you just wanted to disappear.

When you finally left the room, you let out a relieved breath. "Hah, at least I didn't piss myself," you mumbled as if it were an achievement. You stared blankly at the massive wall of muscle passing by. For a moment, you made eye contact with that yellow gaze. You passed each other, heading in opposite directions. As you walked, you glanced over your shoulder. He had entered the Grand Regent's throne room and disappeared from sight. You turned your focus forward again. You never liked that old bastard. Something about him always unsettled you. Though, to be fair most things in this Empire unsettled you. At least regarding Conquest, you weren't alone. You'd never seen anyone look favorably upon him. No one seemed able to stomach his existence. Even your brother. Whether Nolan respected Conquest or simply ignored his existence, you didn't know, but it was clear he didn't like him. You never dwelled on why, especially not now—during your first serious mission where you could actually be useful to the Empire.

You'd long since left the planet behind, speeding through the void of space along the designated route. The hem of your uniform was pressed flat by the velocity of your flight. You'd never traveled this far before. It was insane. Your heartbeat, however, was just like that day. By chance, the death you hadn't seen until now—you had witnessed it at age five. Even that was considered a great achievement in a society like this. You still vividly remembered Nolan and the flying children in his squad that day. One of those children flew just like you did now, his hair an ashen grey reminiscent of strange clouds. As it fluttered against the wind, it truly resembled clouds. You'd been sitting on the ground watching them when it happened suddenly. It was more the sound than the sight reflected in your eyes that terrified you. That crackling sound you couldn't identify, making your skin crawl. The cloud haired boy had collapsed to the ground with a single blow. You didn't fully understand what had happened, but the horror on Nolan's face was enough to make you cry. That was the day you were introduced to death. And that was how you met Conquest.

Despite the passage of time, he hadn't changed. Only the missing arm was a visible difference. When you and Nolan first saw him like that, you learned that your healing rate was no longer what it used to be, thanks to the virus. That trait which gave a Viltrumite such a massive advantage...had simply regressed. It became more evident each passing day that it left wounds that wouldn't fully close. According to the findings of General Kregg and those working on the virus, the dream of a pureblood Viltrumite child was just that—a dream. New offspring would be born disabled and defective. Perhaps that was the biggest reason you hadn't conceived during the recovery period after the virus. A weak generation could not be brought forth.

But neither could you remain a weak Empire. That was why you'd been given this mission. Staring at the massive yellowish planet appearing on the horizon with furrowed brows, you told yourself: I can do this. You had to. The last thing you wanted was to face the consequences of a failed mission. Since the virus, no one left had failed a mission. Because of that, you didn't even know if failure still resulted in death like it did when you numbered in the billions. Maybe you'd be the first to find out. You glanced down at your hands stretched out parallel ahead of you. You had no choice but to stain them with blood. You owed this to your Empire. When you turned your gaze back to the planet, it filled your entire vision within a breath's distance. The shock of a blow from behind emptied your lungs; unable to slow your momentum, the planet's surface rapidly became familiar to your eyes. The native inhabitants—obsidian black, strange creatures—lifted their heads, trying to comprehend the figure hurtling toward them at immense speed. Your vision was so fast it was like zooming in with a specialized weapon. One moment, a massive city was in your sight; the next, before you even crashed, you tore through a creature you'd made eye contact with—likely unable to even register your presence—with a sickening splattering sound. You didn't stop; you carved a crater in the surface shaped like your own body.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit...shit...shit...shit, shit, shiiiiit! You had felt with your entire body, how you tore through that other body, how it was crushed into nothingness. You could feel it coating the entire front of your body; it had even gotten into your mouth. As you tried to push yourself up onto your stomach with the help of your knees, desperate to escape the taste, you rubbed your tongue with your trembling hand. It did nothing. Staring at your red hands, your stomach clenched further, fighting the urge to vomit.

That's when you began to register the screams around you and the presence of the figure slowly descending from the sky. Ignoring the burning sensation the blow had left on your back and stomach, you launched yourself from that grave-like crater with immense speed, swinging a punch at your attacker. Before you even had a chance to register the face in front of you, your fist was caught with a force that threatened to shatter your knuckles, and you were flipped onto your back and slammed into the ground. You groaned in pain and before you could rise, you heard his voice, then saw him from your inverted perspective. "You're painfully weak to watch. Expecting you to actually take me when you can't even stop a single blow of mine would be absurd." Your body shot upright. Despite your fists being broken, you clenched them. You couldn't show a moment of weakness after seeing your opponent. No. Not when it was Conquest staring at you with that terrifying grin. This man could not be taken lightly—not after Nolan had told you what he'd done for this Empire. Still your brows furrowed with immense anger. "What do you think you're doing, Conquest?! What gives you the right to interfere when I'm on a mission for the Empire?! Are you a traitor or something?!" Your jaw was practically tense with rage. He continued looking down at you with an expression utterly indifferent to your furious shouting. "Ohhh, am I a traitor? I just gave you a bath. I suppose that counts as treason, ehh brat?" At his glance toward your blood-soaked body, you quickly wiped some of the blood off your face with your hand.

"I actually remember you somewhat. In all my years in the Empire, you're the only person I've ever seen cry. It was like a joke." As he descended lower from the sky, his voice sounded quite amused. It was unclear whether it was due to his expression or the surrounding chaos. Though, the area had already been completely evacuated. Conquest seemed to share your observation, his head turning to scan the surroundings. "Seems the virus favors the weak," he flashed you a grin that showed his teeth. "Am I wrong, honey lips?"

There it was. Another one of those disdainful looks you'd seen your entire life. It was enough to make you stop talking. You lunged at Conquest, throwing punch after punch as you flew, all of which he deflected. "Stop running, you fucker!" His wide grin filled your vision. "With great pleasure." He headbutted you, planting your feet into the ground and skidding you backward. Your eyelids clenched in pain as your hands flew to your bleeding, aching nose. The bastard had broken it. Before you could even pull your hand away, he lunged, driving his left arm into your stomach and hurling you through the nearby buildings like a stone. The structures you crashed through groaned and crumbled into dust like paper. A flash of white caught your eye for a moment, and you jerked your head to the side just in time. Conquest's grin let out a satisfied smack at your dodge. "Good, you're warming up." He grabbed both your arms and kicked you upward from your stomach into the sky. "Still not fast enough, though." You struggled not to cough up blood from the impact, crossing your arms in front of you to defend against Conquest, who was coming at you with tremendous speed. He threw a punch—it was a feint. You leaped sideways at high speed, bringing your clasped fists down over his head. The blow struck Conquest with immense force, instantly cratering the ground. You descended right after him, leaving no distance. You bent one knee while stretching the other leg straight forward, slamming a kick into his face with the intention of blowing his brains out, driving him deeper into the ground. Your furrowed brows almost relaxed for a moment at the feeling of him being crushed under your foot—until he grabbed your leg and hurled you into the adjacent building.

Before you even hit, you dragged your hand against the building, carving a straight gash through it. As the structure collapsed along the rift, you grabbed a massive chunk of column and hurled it at Conquest, who was getting to his feet. Licking the blood dripping from his lip, he shattered the rubble to block it—but not the surprise attack that followed: you. You drove the fist he'd already broken earlier right into the center of his face, launching him forward. But you didn't stop. Compounding your speed, you grabbed his forehead and plowed him through buildings, through people—whatever was in the way. You'd gone blind to everything, perhaps. You didn't care as the blood of the lives you tore through like lightning painted you both.

Just as you were about to slam Conquest into a massive golden structure, he suddenly bit the hand holding him. You screamed in pain. "Bitch!" you spat the word from your lips, frantically trying to yank your hand free from him. But it only accelerated the deep-set teeth tearing through your flesh. Before you could kick him away, he grabbed your legs and flipped your positions, slamming you into the ground with enough force to pop your spine out. You were certain you'd opened another crater.

With your hand still in his mouth and his weight crushing your bones like a sponge, your adrenaline was about to snap past its limit. His gaze on you was insane. Even as you slammed your other hand into his face with great force pushing him, it was useless—you couldn't break free. As you pushed, his body went with your hand due to his wild stare,but because of his weight, your pinned body felt like it would split in two from the motion. Agonized cries tore from your lips. The blood flowing from his mouth and hands had even dripped onto your pupil. Conquest, meanwhile watched with immense pleasure as the blood spread across your pupil, then drove his fist into your face. Ahh, the sensation of your bone crushing beneath his fist was so satisfying...

"There we go, beautiful." the pressure on your hand loosened, allowing it to drop like a dead weight, practically shredded. The punch he'd landed had turned your head to the side; your eyes were barely staying open when another fist smashed into the side of your face. Blood splattered loudly onto the ground. So did Conquest's fists. He was leaving merciless kisses upon your skin when, amidst the pained groans, you finally said something that made him stop.

"Hmm?" Conquest slowly tilted his head, leaning over you. You could see that filthy, satisfied smile on his face. "Did you say something, sweet face?" Your eyes, filled with pain and the realization that you were at this man's mercy, finally welled up. One side of your face was already half-crushed from the punches it had taken; the other eye barely irritated but bearing cuts on the eyelids from the force of the blows he'd landed, couldn't hold back a single tear. It all spilled out.

"Plea..e st..hop…" Conquest's yellow pupils dilated before your shattered eye. "And why exactly should I stop, dear? You're the one who started this fight, after all. Don't tell me you've lost your nerve now. As a Viltrumite, you should accept death with honor, not flee." Every word made your brain ring. The static in your ears and his voice mixed oppressively. You weren't well. Your eyes desperately drifted to the sky. Nolan…you hoped Nolan would come and save you. Helplessly, you looked back at Conquest, who contrary to before, was now cupping your shattered cheeks more gently. Though no matter how he touched your face, all you'd receive was pain. "Being in this state is your fault. You didn't ask why I came. Instead of getting an answer, you called me,someone who has served the Empire for years longer than a quarter of your pathetic lifespan, a traitor." There was nothing left of his playful tone. He was like that day with that small child, that serious gaze he reserved for the weak.

You had destroyed everything. Shattered it all. The surroundings...you doubted anyone was alive for kilometers around. All those punches, all that effort and a few more punches—and against your face, which was on the verge of exploding, stood Conquest with only a nosebleed and minor bruises. Great...You should have listened to Nolan. If only you had trained more...despite the pain, your shattered eyelid opened as much as it could. Conquest was stroking your lips—covered in ragged cuts—with his thumb. You couldn't fully feel it, but what he was doing was clear, especially with those slightly narrowed, calm eyes. As if he hadn't just been about to send you to the other side. "I came on the Grand Regent's orders." He paused for a moment, taking in the broken sight beneath him. A grin appeared on his lips again, but this time it seemed somewhat forced. He leaned down to your level. You could feel his breath beside your face. It was searing...but his words were even more so.

"I was ordered to observe you during your mission and then ensure you produce a child for the Empire." You didn't have the strength to move your head, so your gaze frantically tried to half-focus on Conquest. You caught a glimpse of his calm stare. "You must be wondering, 'Why me?' right, dear." He pulled back above you, brushing your hair from your forehead. His hand lingered there for a while before moving to his mouth. Without breaking eye contact, he licked it with a disturbing hunger. Smacking the blood from his lips, he continued, "You are weak. The Grand Regent already doesn't expect a successful child from you for the hybrid project planned for the future." His gaze and his words were so crushing...

"And as for me...no matter what I do, I am nothing to the Empire. That makes why we were paired even more understandable, doesn't it?" He focused on your lips moving as you groaned in pain. Even being given a chance to speak was something. "I refu-"

He didn't let you finish. His gaze had been seized by that sudden coldness again. "I'll kill you. It's an order given to both of us. You don't have the luxury of refusing. Keeping that idea in your head when you can't even beat me is quite amusing." Toward the end, you watched him return to that predatory mockery with a sense of defeat. "Fine..."

Even though you knew forced consent meant nothing, his change in demeanor after your word didn't escape your notice. You just watched as he roughly grabbed your blood-soaked uniform and tore it off. First the area around your abdomen, then your torso and lower body were freed from the fabric's grip. It was inevitable...you thought, tried to convince yourself. Nolan had been on alert from the very start, while trying to recover from the virus, at the thought that someone might try to forcibly impregnate you. If he were here now...even if it meant dying, he wouldn't allow it. As the cold air kissed your skin, you didn't focus too much on the gaze turning toward you, slowly closing your eye. Unlike you, Conquest was removing his clothes piece by piece without tearing them, presumably to use them later. Your feelings didn't matter. It had always been like this...in the Viltrumite Empire, being seen as weak wasn't about your strength, but your behavior. Your thoughts and those true feelings you weren't supposed to have. Not deriving pleasure from pain, and all the rest. Perhaps even if the Empire hadn't ended up in this state, you would have been impregnated by someone stronger than you anyway. Viltrumites weren't gentle; they took what they wanted the Viltrumite way. You hoped it would end quickly. Maybe your body would pass out and you'd escape the experience altogether.

When you opened your wounded eyelid again and saw Conquest pulling out his massive cock, you jolted in place. It was a tiny movement under Conquest's weight. As he continued undressing, he just looked at you. "Quite eager, are we?" he mocked, gripping that enormous length with his hand. Pre-cum was already leaking from the tip...had this filth gotten aroused while fighting you? He slowly stroked his cock, which looked heavy and thick even in his own hand, his pre-cum dripping onto his stomach. Ignoring the pain in your mangled hand, you raised both hands in the air and screeched with all your energy. "C-calm down, calm down!"

Conquest raised an eyebrow, murmuring with amusement, "I'm calm?" He glanced at your naked body beginning to tremble beneath him. "Oh, are you scared of me?" As if shame had slapped you across the face, you tried to gather your breath. "N-no...no, I'm not scared of you. I'm scared of your dick." There it was. Conquest threw his head back and burst out laughing, then immediately leaned down until he was inches from your nose. "Don't worry. Since it's your first time, I'll try not to tear you apart." He eagerly watched the soul practically drain from your body. "Tear wha— what are you talking about..."

With a murmur that might have sounded sweet at any other time, his weight lifted off you slightly. He grabbed both your legs from under your knees, dragging your back across the dirt as he pulled you toward him. Until your pelvis met his, your cunt—which you hadn't even noticed was getting wet—pressed against him. You could clearly feel the heat radiating from that damned huge cock of his. The long white hairs on his groin brushed against your skin with every movement. Even that was enough to make your body shiver. As he threw your legs over his muscular, pillar-like shoulders, you panicked and blurted out nonsense. "Waitt let me tell you something, let me tel—haaaaaa..." His massive thumb pressed between your bodies, completely covering your hole,your eyes rolled back.

"After all that beating, you're still energetic enough to talk. Good." He rubbed the rim of your hole in circles with his thumb, spreading the leaking fluid around further. "Honestly you haven't disappointed me that much. You fought well. As you age, you have a chance to reach a good position someday." His eyes were fixed on the entrance of the hole he was caressing. He bent his thumb, pressing harder. He began pushing it in with a stretching sensation. A moan escaped your lips; your fingers clawed at the dirt around your head. Even moaning burned the wounds on your face due to the movement. Homewer he was already getting excited by your groans of pain and pleasure. "Haha, my finger alone is the size of your hole. What am I going to do with you huh..." He turned his gaze to your one remaining intact eye, rolled back in pleasure. You whined as he suddenly thrust into your cunt. "I like to talk, if you must know," he pushed his finger deeper. Your walls clung to this massive man like a vise, but it didn't stop him; he pushed further and further. He entered you until his knuckle hit home. Even this almost made you feel full. "Uggh...y..yeah...don't move..." you tried to adjust to the stretch.

But Conquest didn't wait long. He rocked his finger back and forth with a burning rhythm while the rest of his four fingers traveled toward your clit. Almost palming the front of your pussy, he fucked you with his thumb. God, your stomach tightened with every touch. You thought the vomit you'd been holding in all this time might finally come up. While one hand easily worked you over, his other found your leg. He caressed the leg draped over his shoulder from top to bottom, stopping at your ankle. Without pulling his gaze from your hole, he bit your ankle. Another pained hiss escaped your lips,but pleasure-filled moans quickly took its place.

"You're literally squelching, brat," he refocused on your hole, grinning at your own fluids that had begun to soak even his own groin. You, on the other hand were in another realm of pleasure. You felt his thrusts and touches as if they were part of your own body. Your walls seemed to be adjusting more and more, accepting pleasure in place of pain—until he pulled his finger out, leaving you with a sense of emptiness. You bit your lip with difficulty, your eyes drifting to him. Without waiting for a protest or a plea, he turned his hand over and plunged both his middle and index fingers into your hole at once. An obscene sound escaped your cunt at the new thickness and deeper reach. He watched eagerly as you clenched around him. You were barely able to focus on his face amidst the moans when he curled his fingers and hit that spot. That was it...your hips bucked up in pleasure, your body demanding more even though it couldn't possibly take it. And despite your mind's warnings, you didn't want to listen. It was pure torture. You wanted that same whiteness of his blind eye staring at you to paint your insides. "E-enough already...fuck me, damn it..." Conquest smirked beneath his mustache. "Oh? Since when are you in charge?" He added a third finger, stretching your pussy hole impossibly, tormenting it. Pleasure-filled cries replaced your moans. Despite your words, he didn't stop you from trying to move your hips. "W-we were supposed to make a baby, not finger-fuck..." even as you said it, you could be perfectly happy with just his fingers.

Conquest's thick fingers probed your walls harder as he murmured, "Then cum on my palm little one, if you want to move to the next." It was something you would have done anyway, even if he hadn't said it, but his dirty talk and the way his thrusts made your walls quiver—oh god, your stomach clenched in a way that made you lose your mind. Your walls squeezed him as tight as they could, and your pelvis clenched and trembled as if trying to hold onto something. You shamelessly squirted into his calloused palm. "Ahh. Good girl, good girl. Seems you're just as messy at this as you are at fighting." You continued to grind your hips against his palm through the aftershocks, still trying to meet the finger fucking you. After a few more wet pumps, he pulled his fingers out, leaving a sticky web of strings between you. The sound they made as they left even made your nipples stiffen painfully with excitement. He brought his bloody hand to his face, looking at the pooled mess of your release in his palm. You expected him to wipe his hand while maintaining eye contact. Not to lick it clean with that massive tongue as if it were a healing potion. The sight alone nearly made you cum again.

He gave a possessive caress down your trembling, sweat-slicked thighs, still draped over his shoulders. Even that slight movement of his iron hand made your back arch slightly. It felt so good...you wanted to imagine what it would be like if he gave you a massage. "I haven't had sex in many years," he informed you about his past experiences, gripping his angry, about-to-burst cock and aligning it with your hole. Even when the head of his cock kissed your entrance, your opening clenched. "Tsk tsk... we stretched you out so much, don't hide now." You weren't even sure if he was talking to you or your pussy, and you didn't care.

Not when the head of his cock, despite all the preparation, was stretching you in a way that drove you mad with pleasure. "Damn..." you closed your eyes, helplessly peeling your lips with your teeth. You felt Conquest's growling, lustful breath graze your cheek. He had leaned over you, practically folding you in half with your legs on his shoulders. "I suppose some sacrifices will have to be made..." Before you could understand what he meant, he slammed his pelvic bone against yours with a resounding impact. "AHHHH—" your pupil threatened to disappear as it rolled back. You were too tight, too full. You could feel him splitting you in two. As he fully entered you, you could feel the earlier release still inside you leaking out. What you didn't know was that wasn't the only thing flowing. You were genuinely torn. Blood flowed obscenely between your joined groins. If Conquest hadn't positioned you like this, he surely would have tasted it with his tongue.

He stayed inside you for a while, planting a soft kiss on your forehead as in apology for being rough. "It's over now, it's over now…" he murmured, rubbing his face down toward your chest. It slipped from your mouth without thought. "Fuck off, ahhh." Conquest chuckled against your breasts, creating a small earthquake there. "We already are, beautiful." Ah, there it was…fucking Viltrumite traditions and purposes. You wrapped your arms around his thick, powerful neck. Even though you could barely focus through the pleasure, looking at it now,your arms seemed like mere twigs next to him. But Conquest, his face bowed toward your chest…had held his breath. His usual grin was completely wiped from his face. The sensation of those bloodied, weak arms wrapped around his neck was impossibly soft. You expected him to start moving inside you now, but he didn't. His mind had already blanked out at this foreign tenderness. You definitely hadn't meant it like that. You were just looking for something to hold onto—yes, that had to be it.

"I want to kiss you on your mouth." you couldn't help but voice that perverse desire. And those eyes that looked at everything as if it were something to be conquered turned to you. That look from those yellow eyes—the ones that made your insides tremble—made you forget the pleasure you were drowning in. These eyes were familiar. They were the same as the ones you always questioned in the mirror, wondering why no one else possessed them—those emotion-filled eyes. For Conquest to look like that…it was strange. With a hope you never imagined possible, his yellow pupil was locked onto you. It was so bright…

"Wh-what is it," you said, trying to gather your voice. You almost imagined Conquest's lips trembling slightly beneath his mustache. He drew closer to your face. You held your breath. He seemed to hold his, too, as if the words he was about to say might cause one of you to die. "Do you realize what you're implying, brat?.." You squinted slightly, his breath hitting your face. "I...don't understand what you're trying to say. You do whatever you want...but I can't? Don't be so damn honorable. I'm already taking your wrinkled dick." He grunted at your words.

He seemed to want to say something else but stepped in to correct you. "My dick isn't even wrinkled. I'm sure it would put most men in their prime to shame." You wanted to roll your eyes in embarrassment, though you didn't have much of a face left to do so, thanks to him. Without any warning, he pulled his cock almost all the way out, dragging harshly against your walls. You practically swallowed the breath you'd taken and before you could adjust to the sensation, your pelvic bones clashed together again with a rattle. "Damn it! Ahh..stop clanking our bones together.." Your nails dug into the neck you were holding onto, and he remained annoyingly unfazed.

His mustache rubbed against your bloodied face, tickling you as he kept his face close. "You wrap your arms around me like this, squeeze me tight with that damned cunt of yours, and then you spout those spoiled words...hah..." When his hips finally moved again, you squeezed your eyes shut. You could feel even the veins on his cock pressing against your walls, demanding more room, as he shifted inside you. Your toes curled inside your boots. "..you wanted me by your side." He breathed into your ear as you tilted your head in response. "Talk to me. No one talks to me. No one wants to be my friend—they think I'm unstable. Do you think I am?" As his hips moved with obscene, wet thrusts, you tried to comprehend what he was saying. Had he just opened his heart to you? Him? Conquest? You must be joking...

He seemed lost in thought after saying those words. Your ass shifted against the dirt with each thrust; being completely crushed beneath him was becoming unbearable. Your hands struggled not to slip from his neck. You tried to keep your strength steady, but it was hard. Worst of all, the pain was starting to spread in your lower body. It hurt so much. Every time he bottomed out, he pounded against that pleasure spot he'd already found and almost didn't care about, making it ache as his hips battered yours. You weren't not afraid he might break your pelvis...

"They send me from planet to planet, committing atrocities in their name....you probably already know that. I saw the way you looked at me, and that young one next to you—you're definitely one of them...but now," he straightened up over you, and your hands finally fell from his retreating form. He pressed his pelvis fully onto yours, forcing the legs he'd pulled off his shoulders open to their limits on either side. You moaned loudly at this treatment. His thrusts were even more unbearable. "..you gave me hope by wrapping your arms around me."

You were both breathless. Your moans filled the gaps between his grunts. You couldn't take it anymore. You began to cum as if having a muscle spasm. Your fluids slowly leaked out around the cock moving inside your walls. It felt suffocating, your pussy felt heavy with fullness. And despite all this, Conquest only bit his lip in pleasure. But it seemed he wasn't finished confessing to you. His eyes devoured you as he continued. "All those orders, all those achievements...and the better I get at this, the more they fear me...you fear me deep down too, don't you? No need to deny it..hahh I...I can tell from your eyes." He looked warmly at your one pleasure-glazed, half-lidded eye. He wanted to say that you feared him, but not when he'd seen the way you looked at him...it was strange in a way he didn't know how to handle. The way you looked at him...despite your weaknesses, you wouldn't be an exception, no—he wanted to push these thoughts from his mind, but not when your walls were squeezing him as if trying to milk him dry.

"I am a victim of my own success. Conquest. I don't even have a real name. Just a purpose. I can do so much more, and no one sees it." Another thrust kissed your cervix, and he painted your insides with that whiteness you desired. You came again as you felt him fill you, his cock pulsing massively inside you. God...your eye rolled back in pleasure; saliva was probably dripping from your mouth by now. Conquest let out satisfied groans, continuing to thrust and fill your womb. Even as he still poured into you like water, his seed had already begun to overflow. It was too much to hold inside. No matter, as long as you were bred it was enough. Conquest pushed your legs forward parallel, pressing himself down onto you. With this movement, your legs were pressed almost to your chest. As you spasmed beneath him, you could feel his cock hardening again. A couple more thrusts and you came again. You expected him to mock you, to say something but he just maintained his pace, staring into your eyes. Faced with this sight, you swallowed your moan and licked your lips. You felt like you were dying of thirst.

You and Conquest stared at each other like that for a while, fucking with only the sounds of your bodies filling the air. You still couldn't fathom how you hadn't passed out. If you survived this, you'd consider yourself superior even to Nolan. As you squeezed your eyes shut against the feeling of another approaching orgasm, you heard that gentle tone caress your ears. It was the voice of someone fragile, wounded. "Some days I feel so lonely I could cry. But I don't cry. I never cry. Because what would be the point? Not a single person in the entire universe would care." You strained your crushed eyelid, trying to open both eyes to look at him. His words and his movements had slowed. Conquest seemed to be staring absently at your stomach rather than at you, as if he'd just shared the universe's most guarded secret. Your lips trembled. You fought to stop moaning. You felt hot tears welling up in your eyes. You shouldn't cry. No, not for a man like this. He was ruthless, insane. Everyone said that's what he was. But...

You pressed your lips together to stop a sob from breaking free. You saw yourself in him, completely. Maybe it was foolish, but as the pressure on you lessened, you quickly pushed yourself up from the ground, trying—and failing—to wrap your arms around his massive frame. "I care."

There was no response. Just Conquest's heartbeat and your ragged breathing. For a moment you felt as if he might pull away from your touch, but you didn't even entertain that possibility. Even with him inside you, you practically folded yourself, clinging to him tighter. You pulled him closer by running your hands through his hair. Maybe you'd twisted your back terribly but you didn't care. You pressed your cheek against his. "You're not alone anymore...I swear." As if struck, Conquest released the legs he was still holding and sat back on his haunches. You didn't care about the sudden depth from straddling him. No, not when you were cheek to cheek, making eye contact with him. Not when you turned your head toward him and offered a slow, consoling kiss. Not when your hand caressed his cheek as if it were something fragile. Something fragile...hah. He would never have believed he'd be seen this way in his lifetime...touched with such tenderness, and genuinely so. Not for fighting, not for humiliation—just to feel loved.

Your lips felt small against his and yet Conquest returned your kiss with an innocent affection matching your own. God, what had you done to him...turning the kiss you offered into something lustful felt like blasphemy against the sacred. And yet, you were the one who took that step. You pulled him into your arms as much as you could, demanding on his lips that he let you in. He accepted with pleasure, as if it were the greatest reward he'd ever received. Your tongues moved against each other like a blazing fire while his hands found the curve of your back. He caressed your skin, worshipping it as if saying he didn't want you to leave, didn't want this to end. It seemed less about soothing you and more about trying to reassure himself that this was real. You moved your hips through this breath-stealing, passionate kiss. Just a little movement and you were already spilling your moans onto his lips. Conquest tilted his head further down, trying to feel every vibration of them. Neither of you dared to break this passionate moment—until a laser bolt suddenly struck right beside you. Conquest's mood shifted instantly, turning toward the threat. Right. You were still on an alien planet facing the threat of conquest—the act, not the man. Forces for defense were bound to arrive eventually. You hadn't pulled your arms from around Conquest's head, still clinging to him, glaring fiercely from under his chin. Like a wolf threatening its mate... (throw me in the trash)

"I don't want to stop." You spat the words into his eyes as his hand rested on your hip, ready to separate from you. A lazy, sensual curve formed beneath his mustache—one that would make you want to tear yourself apart. "As you command, my lady." Still on top of Conquest, you vanished into the sky with sudden speed. Once you'd passed the atmospheric layers, you placed a hand on Conquest's chest, guiding him to lie on his back. He complied obediently. Your lips curved slightly, almost wanting to giggle. Damn the man you'd never wanted to face in your entire life...was now completely willingly...staying with you. You bowed your head shyly under Conquest's strange, longing gaze, looking down at where you were joined. Even that made your pussy clench. Placing your hands on his chest, you breathlessly pulled your hips up. The friction was insane—as if he hadn't just made you cum more times and left your walls sticky. You moved to slowly take him back inside, but it was so laborious you thought Conquest might take the lead again. Wrong. He had restrained himself from grabbing your hips, placing his hands behind his head, watching you with those wild eyes. "Your breasts look beautiful when they're pressed together like that." He'd said it in a tone that sounded almost like I love you as he watched your efforts to take him back inside.

You bit your lip. "Stop talking," with an insolence you didn't know where it came from. It was too late to take it back, and part of you wondered deep down what punishment he'd give you if you didn't. But Conquest just chuckled sweetly, "Okay, sweetheart." and your mind went blank. Was he really letting you talk to him like that? You shook your head, trying to dispel the thought. No it wasn't like that. It was just that the atmosphere was soft right now. Definitely. He'd make you pay for it later. Would he, though...really...as you got lost in his gaze again. Without thinking, you slammed your hips down to the base of his pelvis and took all of him in a way that stole your breath. Ah damn it...those words had slipped out in a sudden surge of emotion, but you had truly meant them. And now you had fallen in love with this man. As you began to bounce on top of him, you glanced down at him. He seemed to be enjoying the view, especially with those piercing looks he kept throwing at your chest. You leaned back slightly, planting your arms on his thighs behind you. Now completely exposed, you chased your own pleasure on top of him, moaning and looking down at him with heated eyes. God...you really wanted a child with this man's yellow eyes.

You tilted your head to the side in pleasure, exposing your neck completely. A layer of sweat ran down in a line like a river. Slowly, you turned your head toward him, almost pressing it against your shoulder. With a low gaze, you said, "If you keep ahh-looking at me like that...hah I'm going to fall in love...and if I do, believe me..." you tried to keep your voice warning, but it was hard against that giant who was listening to you so obediently. "I'll be a headache for the rest of your life ughh I'm very clingy and annoying." That's what Nolan always said, anyway...and you couldn't deny it.

"I'd accept even my death at your hands." He pulled you by the nape of your neck into another searing kiss. You were absolutely certain you'd get pregnant on the first try.

...

Nolan nearly had a heart attack when he saw your face, which looked like it had been hit by a planet. You never could have imagined him looking at you with such bulging eyes. It was like a beautiful dream you'd see while nearly dying—if it weren't for his harsh grip suddenly shaking your shoulders. "Shit, that hurts—"

"WHAT THE HELL UP TO YOU?! WHAT HAPPENED!"You squinted your crushed eye along with the good one in pain, pulling your face back as your ears literally rang. "Nolan-" His hands held you as if you might disappear while his blue eyes scanned your face as if trying to drill through it. Who had done this to you…damn it, you could barely walk. "Who…who did you run into, damn it! Tell me the one who did this is dead."

As he shook you again, you raised your hands as if to calm him. "How about we calm dow-" Nolan's face twisted harshly but his eyes were filled with nothing but pure concern. He was really looking at you like that. Oh my god...after all these years, finally. More emotional stares. God, you could cry. "Calm down?! WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU SPOUTING, LOOK AT YOURSELF! YOU LOOK LIKE A WALKING CORPSE! I SAW YOU STUMBLING EVEN FROM A DISTANCE WHILE FLYING!"

"Aaaaand I'm still aliveeee, if you look on the bright side-" He glared at you, almost snarling and you sucked in your wounded lips, which only invited them to bleed again. If Nolan weren't in front of you, you might have sucked on that irony taste as a stress reliever, but the last thing you wanted to do was set off a suddenly possessive brother. "Some things came up on the mission I took..." He looked at you impatiently as you paused. "What came up? Spit it out properly, Y/n damn it. Stop treating your life like a game!"

You couldn't explain this to Nolan in installments, not with his eyes darkening by the second. Absolutely not. You took a deep breath, closed your eyes, and just blurted out whatever came to mind. "I WAS ASSIGNED BY THE GRAND REGENT AND AT FIRST I FOUGHT CONQUEST BECAUSE I THOUGHT HE WAS TRYING TO KILL ME BUT APPARENTLY THRAGG ORDERED US BOTH TO FUCK AND MAKE A BABY AND OF COURSE I FOUND THIS OUT WAY TOO LATE SO THAT'S WHY I'M IN THIS STATE AND AND I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO CARRY OUT THE ORDER OKAY!!" There. You'd said it clearly enough. You slowly opened your eyes and looked at Nolan, who was utterly silent. His face was illuminated with pure shock. He stared at you blankly. "Conquest did what to you, did you say..."

Your gaze flickered to the ship's corridor, hoping someone would come, then back to Nolan. "Ummm...baby..?" Nolan's brain had short-circuited. His eyes roamed over your face as if wanting to believe what you'd said wasn't true, but all he saw was evidence that kicked all his hopes to the curb. His neutral expression slowly began to darken. Pure hatred and the fire of vengeance were already lit in his eyes. "I'll kill him..." he spat in a voice that made your hair stand on end. His grip on you softened. "I shouldn't have sent you alone. It was foolish to think you were ready for a solo mission, damn it." His gaze drifted to the ground thoughtfully and immediately after, he released you after a brief glance, turning his back and starting to walk away. You knew where he was going. You weren't stupid enough not to guess. You immediately grabbed his arm. "Wait, Nolan! What do you think you're doing? You wouldn't stand a chance against him—"

He shook his arm harshly, but it wasn't enough to make you let go. He grunted with displeasure. "Damn it, let me go Y/n. Stay out of my business!"

"Have you lost your damn mind, going to confront Conquest? What are you going to say? 'You old bastard, what right do you have to make a baby with my sister under orders?' And I don't even know if I'm pregnant yet and if I'm not we'll have to try again under Thragg's orders. Then what? Are you going to defy the Emperor?" Nolan gritted his teeth at your words, turning his gaze away beneath his furrowed brows. If there was one thing you knew about Nolan, it was that he was stubborn as a mule. And stubbornness was probably a trait you both shared. Hoping to break his resolve so he wouldn't do something stupid, your voice came out soft, almost pleading. "Nolan-" His gaze shifted back to you, and reluctantly softened. Nothing remained of those grand emotions from earlier. "Are...are you okay, at least?" You looked at him with slight surprise, more at how quickly he'd given in. You must have really worried him. "Hahh do I look that bad?" you said with a bit of sheepishness, your hand moving to your cheek as you tilted your head slightly—but not enough to block him from your view. He slapped you instantly with those words, spoken in a soft voice. "You look like you've been hit by a spaceship."

You puffed out your cheeks. "Well, thanks you're so kind! In fact..." your knuckles went to your lips as you giggled stupidly, your mind clearly filled with other thoughts. "You could say that's exactly what happened, eheheh.." Before you could act any more foolishly like a young girl, Nolan flicked your forehead. You hissed in pain. "Nolan!"

"Don't talk about some saggy sack of meat thousands of years older than you right in front of me, Y/n." You quickly jumped to defend against his words. "He's not at all! His body was fitter than most of you!" You finally let go of his arm, placing both hands on your cheeks, closing your eyes as the images of what you'd seen earlier filled your mind. "Besides, he was quite hotttt."

You saw Nolan looking at you with immense disgust. "You can't be the person I know..." You screeched in anger. "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, YOU JEALOUS JERK! THE GUY'S DICK WAS HALF THE SIZE OF YOUR ARM! SHOVE THOSE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS UP YOUR ASS!"

Nolan looked like he was about to drive his fist into the center of your head, but then gave up. It seemed you'd already received enough of a beating lately. "You're disgusting, Y/n," he said, ignoring your rebellious words. "So, did you complete the mission?"

Your brows rose slightly at the mention, facing your brother who was looking at you with his arms crossed. "Ah actually yes." Nolan raised an eyebrow, his face carrying a disbelieving expression. "Are you sure?" You laughed nervously. "Of course I did. What do you take me for?" Under Nolan's unchanging stare, you quickly rolled your eyes and grumbled. "Okay fine, you could say I didn't do it but that was because my body was exhausted! Conquest handled the matter in my place like a gentleman and took care of it!"

He looked at you with a tired, knowing expression. "So you didn't do it. And your excuse is that you were exhausted from sex?" You quickly raised your hands defensively, as if the gesture could stop his words. Your brows curved slightly in a defensive manner. "Hey hey hey! Don't overstep. What I did, you couldn't do. Yeahh maybe Conquest did my mission and I loafed around—I can't deny that—but I proved I'm stronger than you." Seeing Nolan want to retort to your absurd statement but instead staying silent and listening with curiosity, you continued. "I made him submit."

Nolan's tone was almost wanting to laugh. "You?" he said, pointing his hand at you. Even though his hand wasn't close, you smacked it down. "Yes, me! He's called Conquest, and I made him obedient, which logically makes me the conqueror!"

A part of Nolan's upper lip curled up slightly further. "You've lost your mind. That's just the kind of comment only you would make." You furrowed your brows at him. "What achievement of mine have you ever acknowledged, anyway?!"

"If you had one, I would." He turned his back on you and began walking further away into the spaceship. "RUDE BAS- UGHHH! You'll see when we get home!" You watched him disappear from sight without even glancing back once as you shook your fist and screeched after him.

When you arrived back on the Viltrumite planet along with the other spaceships, the first thing you did was look for Conquest. With Nolan. Yes, Nolan wasn't leaving your side. He'd promised not to fight Conquest. Still you were so sure that this was a verbal exception...

Reluctantly asking around for answers from those who were unwilling to give them, you finally arrived at where Conquest lived. Outside the planet. In a damned cube. No, your eyes weren't deceiving you. And it wasn't a funny joke. He lived in a damn white cube.

"Seriously, Y/n. You let yourself get fucked by someone who lives inside a sugar cube?"

Cecil, the head of the GDA, was the first to contact you as you sat in the quiet of your living room, watching the television blare with the devastating news. Headlines flashed – each more grim than the last. The damage was escalating by the minute, and with every rescue team sent to save the lives of the innocent, more lives were lost. The world felt like it was coming apart at the seams. 

“You seeing this?!” Cecil’s voice crackled through the phone, sharp and frantic, sending an uncomfortable twist through your gut. You’d never heard him like this before – not once, not since… Since everything fell apart. You grabbed the remote, silencing the TV as the sound of chaos from the broadcast still hung in the air. Your eyes shifted to the window, watching the dark sky stretch over the city, a subtle sense of dread creeping up your spine.

“These fucking Invincible variants are everywhere,” Cecil snapped, his irritation thick with something darker, something bordering panic. 

“Where do you need me?” It wasn’t concern that pushed the words from your mouth, nor worry about yourself. It was the promise you had made to the GDA months ago, after Omni-Man’s destruction of Earth. Cecil had worn you down, tried to convince you over and over to join the fight, but you’d always refused. You’d never been interested in joining some cheesy, pretentious superhero team. But now? Now the world was burning. Now, there were no more excuses. No more questions. You didn’t need to ask how you’d deal with it. Cecil will give you the coordinates.

A heavy sigh echoed through the line, exhaustion weighing down on Cecil’s voice. “The Guardian’s headquarters. One variant’s tangled up with them, and I need someone to make sure he doesn’t walk away from this fight.” 

It wasn’t that Cecil didn’t believe in Immortal and the others – they could handle powerful foes, sure. But this wasn’t just any enemy. This was Invincible. The strongest person on Earth, now multiplied. Eighteen versions of him, each with the same terrifying strength. Cecil needed someone who could match that raw power, someone who wasn’t afraid to step in when things were beyond even the Guardian’s reach.

The gravity of it all settled in. You didn’t have to say anything more. 

“You got it.” You didn’t waste a second, immediately dialing your watch to set your coordinates for the Guardian’s headquarters. The familiar ding echoed in your ear, confirming your destination. You paused for a moment, the weight of the situation creeping up on you. 

“How long do you think this will last?” The question slipped from your mouth, though you already knew the answer would be a hollow one. 

“God, I don’t know.” Cecil’s voice was tight, raw with the tension of the situation. “But the numbers don’t lie. We’re looking at a catastrophe, with lives on the line by the second. You need to go – now– before it’s too late. “ 

The finality in his voice made your stomach twist, a cold sense of urgency washing over you. No more hesitation, no more questions. You were already moving. 

In the next breath, the world around you warped and shifted, the familiar comfort of your home replaced by the stark, sterile walls of the Guardian’s headquarters. The air was heavy with tension, filled with the metallic tang of battle and the distant sounds of chaos outside. You’d prepared for this moment, tucked away your emotions, and steeled yourself for the inevitable. But nothing could have prepared you for what you were about to witness. 

As you made your way through the facility, the reality of the destruction that had already been wrought and the carnage still unfolding hit you like a wave. This wasn’t some distant theory anymore. This was real.

As you drew closer to the barricade, the air was thick with the piercing, frantic screams of those caught in the confusion. Hang in there, Immortal. The words resonated in your mind as you steadied yourself, fingers brushing the switch hidden at your waist. Every step brought you closer, but you could feel the weight of what was pressing down on you. You never imagined it would come to this – not in a million years. Never would you have thought you’d be the one forced to end Invincible’s life. He and Cecil had never seen eye to eye – his opposition to the GDA was clear, but you always respected him. Hell, you admired him. He fought for his family, for the ones he loved with a determination that you could claim for yourself.

You didn’t have that kind of bond. Not the way he did. When the GDA took you in, they gave you something to fight for, but not like that. You couldn’t help but wonder how different your life might have been if someone had fought so fiercely for you as he did for them. 

“Man, you guys are great! Has anyone told you that?” The alternate Invincible’s voice was filled with gleeful excitement, completely devoid of remorse for the destruction he was wreaking. It was as if he was savoring every moment of it like he was enjoying playing the lives of others for sport. “I wish I could’ve fought you all in my world!” 

“You monster!” Immortal shouted, his body surging toward the doppelganger, fists flying with explosive force. “You’re nothing but a pale imitation of Invincible!” 

But the variant barely flinched, almost as if Immortal’s rage was beneath him. His eyes glinted with dark amusement, a twisted smile creeping across his face as he weaved through his punches, savoring the power he held over the Guardians. It wasn’t just a battle to him – it was a performance. And he was relishing every brutal second of it. 

It was unnerving how effortlessly this Invincible absorbed the blows. He looked identical to the one you knew – same yellow, black, and blue suit – but the absence of the familiar goggles left the mask slightly askew, offering a glance at his face. That small glimpse, however, was enough to send a chill down your spine. The eyes that stared back weren’t the eyes of a hero. 

“I mean – I don’t need any more motivation to kill you. But sure, insult me.” There was something deeply unsettling in his words and smile, a twisted satisfaction that lingered like poison in the air. He delivers a sucker punch right beneath Immortal, propelling him straight up. 

But he didn’t expect the searing, agonizing heat of fire. Not just any fire – hellfire. It burned through his suit, sharp and relentless, as the flames pricked at his skin. He spun in mid-air, his expression shifting from cocky amusement to genuine surprise as he locked eyes with you. Hovering a few feet above, he sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“Well look who it is!” His grin stretched wider, and you noticed the blood dripping from his mouth, the unsettling detail sending a jolt of tension through your chest. Instinctive fear gripped you, cold and unrelenting. “Nice to see you, babe!”

You hummed, taking slow, deliberate steps toward him. “Hey, how’s it going?” Your voice was a perfect mask of indifference, deadpan and steady, your gaze unwavering. Every fiber in your body was focused on him, eyes locked onto his every movement. You could feel Immortal somewhere nearby, floating in a daze with a shattered jaw. But for now, you’d play along with his twisted game – wait for the right moment to close the distance.  

Invincible’s eyes raked over your figure, utterly unfazed by the absurdity of the situation. It was a chilling thing – how easily he could make this moment feel like something else entirely. “God, you look good!” he smirked. “Say, why don’t we do a little one-on-one, huh? For old time’s sake?” His feet lowered slowly, hovering just above the ground, but not enough for you to act – yet. “Actually, did the me from this world ever get to–” His voice trailed off, curiosity glinting in his eyes, but you felt his confidence faltering just enough for you to know that the game was far from over. 

“No,” You remarked, your tone casual. “We’re not exactly close.” But there was something in his intense stare that unsettled you – something that told you he wasn’t sharing everything, that there was more beneath the surface. “But I’m guessing in your world, that’s not the case.” 

“Sharp as ever,” he commented, a slight admiration in his voice. You could see his defenses lowering, just for a moment – a crack in his composure. You knew you needed to seize that opening. “God, I’ve missed you.” 

You raised an eyebrow, the faintest trace of surprise crossing your face. “Really?” you asked, voice steady, trying to mask any hint of emotion. Knowing how highly sensitive Invincible’s ears were, you fought to keep your cool, burying whatever reaction threatened to surface. 

But it was difficult. The entire situation was absurd, like some twisted dream, a distorted reality you couldn’t fully understand. Because the truth was, you’d never been close to Invincible – not even in the slightest. If anything, you were only acquaintances, by virtue of Cecil’s influence, a fact that had always kept the distance between you two. And that was probably the biggest barrier to any kind of connection – his life, his choices compared to yours were completely separate paths, never intersecting.

You worked for Cecil, and despite all his moral wrongdoings, you empathized with it. He had often justified his actions with the words, the greater good, in that you knew the cost of it would do. And yet, you stayed. You were bound to him, just as your parents had bound you, long before you could even understand the gravity of the pact. You were the result of a deal made in the shadows, your very existence tied to secrecy that shaped your role in this world – the dark passenger, the one who stalked the dead, the agent of the sacrilegious world. Damien Darkblood would’ve been the first to concur that you were always the outsider, never belonging to either side.

Invincible, on the other hand, had lived a life before all this. He’d had the luxury of freedom – to grow, to experience what it meant to be human before the weight of the world fell onto his shoulder. The weight you, on the other hand, were born into. The fabric of your very existence already sealed your fate long before you could even question it. Your paths were never meant to cross, and yet here you were – confronting a man you barely knew, who now stood before you as an echo of the person he used to be. 

“Yeah, it was a shame we didn’t spend much time together,” Invincible said with a tone that straddled the line between genuine and condescension. “You know before I had to kill you.” 

“Huh.” It was all you could muster, a single syllable to mask the disbelief rolling through your mind. Was this really happening? Was this how it was going to play out?

“But,” he continued, his voice softening, the edges of it pulling in something like sorrow or even remnants of a past he wasn’t sure how to navigate anymore. Finally, his feet touched the ground, and he took a slow, purposeful step toward you. His dark brown eyes locked onto yours with an intensity that was all too much to bear – something in that gaze that reminded you of the inferno you had long buried inside. It was raw, it was fierce, and it was just as dangerous as the man standing before you. “Believe me when I say this… I did care about you.” 

A bitter laugh bubbled up in your throat, but you swallowed it down. You raised a brow, your gaze was firm and unwavering as you studied him. Was this some kind of joke? “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Your voice was laced with venom, each word cutting sharper than the last. You couldn’t even begin to understand what he was trying to do – what he was hoping to achieve with these sorrowful words. His confession, if that’s what you could call it, fell flat, if anything, it only stoked the flames of your frustration. 

You looked at him with wicked disdain, your expression indifferent, though behind it, a storm was brewing. His words weren’t enough to make you falter – not even close. The audacity of him to think that now, of all times, he could manipulate you with some half-hearted attempt at remorse was laughable. It didn’t stir anything in you. It only made you sick, as the man standing before you was a hollow version of what he was supposed to be. 

You had no time for his games. Not now. Not after everything. 

With a quick motion, the air around you began to warp, thick with the heat of something far more ancient and menacing than anything in the room. The flames that burned inside you, that had always burned inside you, began to flare to life. Heat prickled against your skin, and your fists clenched as a surge of power thrummed through your veins. 

Hellfire. 

It erupted from your palms into a burst of molten energy, crackling with an intensity that could melt stone. Invincible’s eyes widened as he barely managed to block the first wave of fire. The flames scorched his skin, blackening his suit, but he did not back down, Instead, he grinned – a wide, maddening smile that only angered your temper further.

“Impressive,” he said, his voice tinged with admiration. But it was also laced with mockery too. “You think that’ll stop me?”

You didn’t respond. 

With a roar, you threw another wave of hellfire at him, more intense this. The green flames surged toward him like a tidal wave, hot enough to sear through everything in its path. He dove sideways, just narrowly escaping the inferno as it roared past him, setting the ground ablaze where he had been standing. 

mark grayson with the sweetest, most perfect s/o.. he's so incredibly down bad that even the team is embarrassed. you have the famous hero, invincible — a man posessing incredible powers and strength — weak in the knees. and you don't even know how tightly you have him wrapped around your finger.

"baaaby? i need your..—" without the chance to finish, he's already at your side in seconds and awaiting your request. it makes him all giddy when you call him pet names; baby, sweetheart, darling.. all of those things have his heart running laps, and he doesn't ever want it to stop. rex says he's making a fool of himself, mark argues by saying he's being a fool for you. making it perfectly fine to be one.

he LOOOVES, loves, loves kisses! he doesn't need it to be a make-out sesh, or if he's giving or receiving, it's just his favorite form of physical affection. if you're sleepy, he gives you a forehead kiss. if you're sad, kisses all over your pretty face. and his favorite is if you're happy, you have this tendancy to just kiss him over and over till mark's letting out smitten sighs of content. it's a bonus if you wear any type of lipstick/gloss, he wears your little marks like a PROUD boyfriend. period

mark grayson is a man who treats you like ROYALTY, carrying your bags, buying you all the pretty brands, and all he asks is to go on long, detailed rants about seance dog. he usually has to fight the urge to giggle and kick his feet cause you look at him like he's your boyfriend, and NOT a totally big nerd. which he is, who says you can't be both? infact, you're sure you love him for BEING a nerd. something about a big, tough hero.. liking a comic like seance dog. cute, sooo cute.

his favorite time of day is night time, when you're all sleepy and he pretends to be too, only to be wide awake and stifle his giggles at your sleepy clingyness. he loves the way you just.. stick to him, almost like glue. or GOD, when you run your hands through his hair — he's just got it sooo bad for you, a lovesick puppy at your side always. don't get mad at him when he shows you all the pictures he takes of you while you're sleeping, it just makes him wanna do it more, all to see that pretty look of frustration on your face.

and of course, with being a superhero, an older brother, AND a college student.. mark gets exhausted too, unimaginably so. and when he gets home, greeted by a homecooked meal, comfy clothes, his favorite movie and you, in the midst of washing the dirty dishes in his shirt — he forgets why he was in a sour mood to begin with. hell, he's got stars in his eyes as he excitedly asks you if you've prepared this all for him. dinner goes cold though, too busy pressing you up against the counter and showing you how grateful he is with his lips. ♡

totally the kind of guy to buy a polaroid camera just to collect pictures of you, and best believe he has MANY. in his wallet, in his phone, on his desk in his room.. and in fact, he had jokingly made you a shrine. realistically, it's just got all the gifts you've gotten him over the years.. but he loves it, his little corner of love, his love. his personal favorite picture is the first photobooth you two went to, he's got you carried bridal style and pressing his nose against you, causing you to have the sweetest burst of laughter — the moment perfectly captured in a single photo forever. he's sure that he'll use it to brag to every single person that he's taken, that you're his.

b4 you two were together, mark DEFINITELY tried on multiple ocassions to impress you. posted gym pictures on main (rex laughed at him for weeks), tried to dress 'cooler', and overall tried to become someone he honestly wasn't. to his surprise (and dismay), you noticed him at a cafe on a random weekend, wearing a shirt he didn't realize had a hole in the back, reading a seance dog comic. cue mark's embarrassed mumbling for excuses, before you kindly laughed off his flustered-ness, and offered to listen to him to talk about the comic he was reading.

you.

interested.

in his favorite comic.

it's like you've set off some sort of bomb, cause the boy you found interesting on campus just became ten times more attractive. again, just to highlight, a strong man with the kindest personality is just — it's immediately attractive. or it's the fact mark is just.. hot. he's undeniably a force to be reckoned with and you wanna ROCK his force deadass (sorry 🙁)

worked out in the end <3 now he deals with all your biting of his arms and fixation on messing up his hair. seriously, the whole messy hair thing can not be this serious to you...!

but it is. absolutely. put that hair gel down 💔

and for all the shit that mark's been put through, you've learned to understand him in a way he thought was impossible. for all the times he missed dates, that you slept alone in bed, when he'd disappear for months.. you always waited. patiently, lovingly, for the man you cherished so dearly.