9 Chapter 8

MC POV.

I flew back to the Team, the shock on their faces was obvious along with Dupli-Kate's eye fluttering as she met mine.

Behind her were numerous parts and bodies of her dead duplicates, each death more gruesome than the other. I was always amazed at how she manages to cope with seeing 'herselves' die.

"Sentry...y-you could do that!? Since when?" Mark floated near me and asked.

"It was something new actually...when they first attacked I felt my eyes grow hotter as I feel angrier. And when I let go of that...well it's as you see" I replied.

I was going to tell him the truth soon. Once father has left for his...new life on bug world.

"You did not have to resort to such extreme measure, they were already retreating" Robot commented.

"Yeah...I mean they were already running away. You didn't have to do that." Mark chimed in.

"I didn't have to, Yes. But I needed to, to serve as a deterrent. I have warned them not to invade next time and sent a clear message to whoever they consider as superior".

"What? What message?" Rex asked.

I looked at him, his voice endlessly irritating me whenever I hear it.

I made my eyes glow red intensely before saying, "Come Back Next Time and Die" I paused after each word for effect and powered down.

I pretended to stumble and fall over, Mark managing to catch me and put my arm around over his shoulder. "H-hey! You alright?"

"N-No...I'm fine. I just need a little rest...I'll be going first..." I gently got out of his hold and flew away.

++Mark PoV++

Robb was acting...weird.

One minute he was filing over a girl he CLEARLY likes, the next he's ripping off weak alien limbs like pulling on candy.

"Way to go Psycho out there, Invincible! And what the hell? Your twin can do that!? Do both of you just get new powers when you get angrier!?" Rex exclaimed.

"I-I...I don't know. I just...say Eve and the team in danger and I got...mad? I guess..."

"Don't get me wrong, okay? That was the most amazing display of powers I've seen from newbies, but also very terrifying. Just...tell you brother not to point it at me okay?" Rex replied.

Eve elbowed Rex and reprimanded him. "Don't listen to Rex, you did great there Invincible. Your brother too...he...well" Eve struggled to find the words.

Yes...I'll have to ask him about it later. What's going on with him?

++MC POV++

I soared over a few blocks before pretending to fall over a subway tunnel. I was midway on its stairs before I stopped and cloaked myself. The suit I wore was functional enough to provide me a few minutes of invisibility.

With the cloaking on, I retrieve a sample of the most important Flaxan technologies I could find. Their guns, artillery weapons, the cheat plate and gauntlets, and most importantly their portal device.

It was an unassuming piece, that seemed more of a scanner than a transdimensional portal generator. It was still running and didn't seem to be affected by the time flow so it was a 2 in 1 find. I know they would advance more in the future but a ahead start in their foundational tech would help smooth my journey later on.

I rushed over my secret base and manage to get inside with the remaining time still cloaked. I cleaned myself and began to arrange the tech in an array over a table.

I then went to my computers and accessed Robots automaton schematics, specifically its scanners. His display in tech analysis and reverse engineering intrigued me. I found his schematics and looked over them.

After a few moments of reading and I found my answer. I was an implant on his original body, that lets him mentally control and let him receive massive amounts of input that somehow he can translate to sensory data. He literally 'feels' and 'sees' everything the automaton goes through.

The discovery was a bit of a letdown, but it did give me some utility. I reverse-engineered his implant and added a few changes of my own.

It has all the bells and whistles of the original version but none of Robot's original coding, also my version is a versatile piece that lets me access, override, and control its primary coding.

It might theoretically give me more control the longer I stay in contact. Of course, if it's my tech I can instantly control it from anywhere.

I built it into a wristband and an earpiece, then deciding to make another set and Mark. It's a bit crude but improvements need time, time I don't have...Yet.

I connected my systems to it and tinkered for a few hours before stopping.

I sat back and rested my hands for a bit, looking at the time it was already afternoon. I decided to hold the projects for now.

I got out of the base and flew towards home. On my way there, I got a call from Cecil.

"Dammit Sentry! Where the hell have you been? Your mother is-" his voice was cut off and Mom's voice replaced it.

"ROBERT GRAYSON! YOU WILL COME HERE RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR, YOU WILL ONLY EAT MEATLOAF FOR THE REST OF YOUR-" her voice was cut off again...not that I needed to hear the rest of it to prevent my stomach from churning.

"...So?" I heard Cecil's sympathy through the phone.

"...Yeah I'll be there..." I slowly shift directions and flew towards the pentagon.

GDA Headquarters.

I flew quickly and arrived in front of the door. I sighed before opening it, expecting a rigorous course of mom.

What I didn't expect was my father to be awake. The man was holding unto mother, with a smile on his face until I showed up.

His face immediately turned solemn and said "Mark, Debbie, can you excuse us for a moment? I'd like to have a word with my 'son'."

Mom didn't hear the faint change in his voice when he said 'son', neither did Mark.

"Nolan, I-..." Mom was about to protest when father gave him a certain look, which she understood somehow.

She got up and dragged Mark outside, "Wait. Mom! Dad just woke up!"

"I know Mark, but let's just give them time to speak" Mom answered and looked at me. Her expression was that of concern.

I waited for both of them to get out of the door before facing father.

"So...what do you want to talk about?"

"...Is it true? You have 'other' powers?" Father asked.

"Did Mark tell you that? Didn't he also say he created a sonic boom by screaming?"

*crash!*

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Father shouted and sent out a minor shockwave that shattered the surrounding glass.

I instinctively readied my heat vision, my eyes glowed red as I looked at him.

"This enough to answer!?"

"..." he stared at my glowing eyes in shock. A look of...disbelief almost, his face soon paled before he looked away.

"Whatever you're trying to do, I'm fine with it as long as you don't hurt Mom or Mark" I powered down and slowly floated towards the door.

"WAIT! Robert STOP!" Father called out.

"What?"

"I was shocked...I mean... It's been a good while since I've seen someone like you among the Viltrumites" Father replied.

"Someone like me?" I remembered the words of the ROB I met, he didn't say anything about being related to Viltrumites.

"You...well they were very few. They were born naturally among us, some kind of mutation. Other than the natural powers we get as Viltrumites, they were gifted with a few additional powers just like the one you showed. And they didn't mix well with their other Viltrumites because of it" Father replied.

'So he knows what to look out for...this is bad...' I hid my hand behind my back and clenched it, trying to keep the nervousness away. If he makes a move here, Mom and Mark won't be able to escape...

"They were powerful but also liked to keep to themselves..." Father paused for a moment and continued, "-then one day they all went away. We didn't see them again".

"Why?"

"They wanted to be separate, to build a community of their own. They took the word kryptos meaning 'hidden' and used it to describe themselves, Kryptonian. The ones who had powers not one but they knew. Years went by and we didn't meet them again...Until today, with you" Father finished and looked at me. He just started, calm and unmoving.

"..." I looked for micro expressions, listened for his heart for lies. But I got nothing, still, calm-faced.

"Robb. You're my son, and as hard as it is to believe at times...I do love you. I love my family" Father...Dad...simply stated.

"..." I didn't know what to say, a bit confused about him now.

"Oww...yeah. We'll talk about his more once I'm out of here. Can you please let your mother in?" Dad smiled as he flinched from the pain.

"...Sure" I exited the room, still confused. Mom rushed inside and towards Dad's side. I signaled Mark to say that I'll be leaving early to think.

I left and just coasted on the air, just a few miles from my secret base. I was confused about how to deal with him now.

Why did he say that?

I remembered a lot of his initial cruelty from the comics and the show, how he ended the guardians and beat up Mark so easily.

But I also remember the good he tried to do afterward, how he changed and still loved Mom despite it all.

I realized that, as I got closer to the base, that I was living with these characters now.

They were my family, along with all their flaws. And Dad is a complicated guy...given the thousands of years of repressed feelings.

Well...This got complicated.

I tried to think of other topics to prevent myself from overthinking. I went to my lab, where the flaxan tech was laid out for examination.

I lightly tapped each device before using TTK to disassemble all of its components, it took me a few minutes to scan the parts and create a blueprint I can study better.

I managed to get the basic coding architecture the Flaxan uses on their tech, which would be helpful in the future. My main focus was the time band, which I spent a few hours getting ready for their last incursion. If the flow of events follows the show.

*BEEP BEEP*

My computer alerted me of a breakout, in some high-powered prison located deep in the Nevada desert.

The alert made me smile, another show moment that most overlooked. I hastily flew away and activated my cloaking.

Nevada Desert, 5 minutes later.

I was soaring through the cold desert night, trying to find the thing that would lead me. Took me a while, but I eventually found it.

It was a drone with a surveillance camera, flying just ahead and towards Las Vegas itself. I followed it stealthily and observed its flight path, taking note of where it's been and where it's headed.

I went back a few meters and I found it.

There lay the still shifting and semi-living body of a Mauler twin. A massive mass of blood and ripped off body parts, was not anyone's idea of a treasure. Normally I would share the sentiment but what I needed was the mind of this guy. And it's DNA.

I landed just behind the head and watched it for a second. The entire right side of the brain and a half of its body was gone. I tapped each part of the body once and levitated it with me towards the base.

I arrive a few minutes later and got to work. I had prepared numerous vials for the blood, also a container filled with a special liquid to keep the brain viable. All of it was then safely kept in a temperature-controlled room.

When I was done I safely disposed of the waste matter using heat vision, reducing the mass to ashes.

I then went to my computers and accessed Robots visor feed, watching as he followed the Mauler twin in an orange jumpsuit hiding around Las Vegas.