"Where are Uncle Nolan and Mark?"
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the windows. Russell came down from the second floor in slippers, rubbing his eyes, acting tired and groggy. He looked toward the kitchen and asked his aunt, Debbie, who was plating breakfast.
"Nolan and Mark went out to play baseball. Don't worry about them, eat first."
She smiled and set a plate of tomato pasta topped with fried eggs in front of him.
"Baseball?"
After washing up, Russell sat down and slowly twirled the pasta with a fork.
Father and son playing catch.The classic American bonding moment.
For Nolan, Omni-Man, to take time for something so simple, it was rare. Mark probably thought it was because he had awakened his powers. Maybe it was.
But Russell knew better.
How did Omni-Man really feel in that moment? Proud? Relieved? Dreading what came next?
He smirked faintly.
When Mark was a boy, Nolan had told him half the truth, that he was an alien from the planet Viltrum, sent to protect Earth.
"Peace-loving cosmic protectors," Nolan had said.
Lies.
The Viltrumites were conquerors. Nolan had been sent to weaken Earth for an eventual takeover.
If Mark had remained powerless, Nolan would've waited decades, until his wife and child aged and died, before beginning the conquest.
But now that Mark had awakened… Nolan had to act sooner.
That was why the Global Guard would die today.
Russell looked up at the sky through the window. It was bright and cloudless.
"Aunt Debbie, I'm not feeling well. I think I have a low fever. I'd like to stay home today."
Debbie immediately walked over and touched his forehead. Then she compared it to hers and nodded in concern.
"You do feel a little warm. I'll get you some medicine. Go rest afterward, sleep should help."
If it had been Mark making that request, she would have suspected laziness. But Russell? Always responsible. Always reliable. Always kind.
He never made trouble.
After taking the medicine, Russell climbed the stairs quietly and returned to his room.
Downstairs, Debbie dressed in her office attire, heels and a business blazer, and grabbed her bag to head out for work.
WHOOSH!
At that moment, Nolan and Mark landed on the front lawn.
Mark had just experienced a thrill like no other, playing catch with his father across the globe. A baseball hurled by Omni-Man had orbited the Earth and landed right back in his hands.
Laughing, flushed with excitement, Mark followed Nolan inside, then paused.
"Why's Russell still in his pajamas? School's about to start."
"He's not going today," Debbie said, kissing Nolan's cheek. "He's got a low fever."
"A fever?"
Mark scratched his head. He vaguely recalled that Russell had helped him during that fight with the football team a few days ago. Maybe he got hurt worse than they thought.
"Low fever, huh…"
Nolan folded his arms and stared up the stairs, eyes narrowing slightly.
Mark awakens powers two days ago. Becomes a hero yesterday. Russell's sick today.Coincidence?
Adolescence was turbulent. Jealousy, insecurity, imbalance. It was normal.
Nolan sighed. He didn't have time to worry about emotional fallout, not today.
"Don't worry about him. Go to school alone today."
"Then I'll fly there!" Mark grinned.
"Suit yourself."
Nolan gave him a wave, then went upstairs one last time to check on Russell. The boy was already drowsy from the medicine and appeared to be sleeping peacefully.
Satisfied, Nolan left the house.
Now alone, he stood in the quiet living room. He looked around at the tidy, cozy home his wife lovingly maintained.
And then, his expression hardened.
He suited up, pulled on his gloves, and with a heavy heart, flew into the sky.
From his bedroom window, Russell opened his eyes.
When he was sure Nolan was gone, he kicked off the covers, changed into a dark athletic outfit, and vanished at supersonic speed.
"Please, let me make it in time…"
He sped toward the Global Guard Headquarters, toward history.
Meanwhile…
"HELP!"
Screams echoed through the street. A dozen police officers ducked behind their squad cars, firing in vain at the armored supervillain Kill Cannon, whose prosthetic arm crackled with energy.
Bullets ricocheted harmlessly off his exosuit.
Kill Cannon raised his cannon arm, a red laser slicing a hole through a nearby building.
"Seriously? I vaporized half a building and you're still shooting pistols?" he barked.
Then
WHAM!
A yellow-and-blue blur slammed into him, sending Kill Cannon flying through a department store and crashing across another block.
Gasps rang out.
"That's Kill Cannon!""Who, who saved us?"
A young man hovered in the air, hands confidently on his hips.
"Hello. I'm… Invincible."
The crowd erupted in cheers. Mark smiled proudly.
Unbeknownst to him, far above the clouds, Omni-Man watched with a storm behind his eyes.
He looked down at his son, so full of joy and pride, and pitied him.
Pity for the innocence he was about to destroy.
After a while, Nolan turned and flew off, stopping only briefly to watch Debbie at her office, patiently helping a client choose their dream home.
His eyes softened.
Then, he closed them.
When he opened them again, the warmth was gone.
He launched into the sky like a missile, destination: Utah. Global Guard Headquarters.
All around the world, heroes received a signal:
Red Rush, in the park with his girlfriend.
Eternal Man, fresh from saving a city.
War Woman, listening to her corporate assistant.
Aquarius, lounging bored beneath the sea.
Green Ghost, Martian Man, Darkwing, each dropped everything.
The signal meant one thing: a crisis. Planetary scale.All members summoned. No exceptions.
One by one, they arrived.
Red Rush was the first, of course. Pacing restlessly, annoyed at the delay.
Then others arrived. Darkwing last, his supersonic jet slowing to a stop as it entered HQ.
Nearby, hidden in the snowy mountains, Russell watched the skies.
"Perfect timing."
Inside the base…
"Darkwing, why'd you call this emergency?"
"I didn't. Wasn't me."
"You triggered the signal."
"No, I didn't."
Confusion spread.
"System error?""A hack?"
Suddenly, Red Rush's eyes widened.
"MOVE!"
He shoved Eternal Man just in time,
BOOM!
A red blur dropped like a meteor into the room. A red cape rippling. Eyes blazing.
Omni-Man.
Shock. Silence.
"You… called us?"
No answer.
Then, chaos.
Darkwing threw a dart.War Woman lunged with her hammer.Green Ghost phased and dove.
But Omni-Man barely reacted. He wasn't watching them.
He was watching Red Rush.
The only one faster than him.
The only real threat.
CRACK!Red Rush zipped forward, punching again and again.Each strike blurred the air.But Omni-Man stood still.
Then, he caught Red Rush.
Grabbed his arm. Grabbed his skull.
SQUEEZE.
"NO—!"
Red Rush pummeled Omni-Man's chest, cracking ribs, drawing blood
but it wasn't enough.
POP.
His head burst like a melon.
Silence.
The one hope of escape, gone.
And then came the massacre.
Darkwing smashed.Aquarius crushed.Green Ghost torn apart, her gem shattered.Martian Man tried to hold Omni-Man back, was ripped in half.War Woman's neck broken.Eternal Man's head sliced off.
Omni-Man stood in a sea of blood.
Alone.
His cape soaked red. His hands shaking. He fell to his knees, exhausted.
For a moment, it was quiet.
The headquarters that had just echoed with screams was now dead silent.
Russell took a breath.
Then stepped through the broken gates.
Into the blood-soaked lair of Earth's deadliest man.
(End of Chapter 5)