Colosso, Invictus, and Phoebe ate lunch together.
"What you said at the meeting, about you taking care of it..." Phoebe began.
"I meant it, yes. Tomorrow I'll leave for Central Asia and deal with those rats," said Invictus.
"Alone?" asked Colosso casually.
"I'll take some soldiers with me to spend up to the process. It shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours."
"When are you going to leave?" she asked.
"Why do you ask? Are you going to miss him?"
Phoebe shot Colosso a filthy look. The plan she had in mind was incomplete, but her main objective is to escape and seek help for the insurgency.
"Early before breakfast," came the curt reply.
She nodded. "Those people in the meeting, did you handpicked them or they joined you?" she asked, trying to change the subject and avoid suspicion.
"Some of them are from my own army, but most joined during my campaign against the UN."
The next day, she tricked the guards into going to the infirmary and bring her some medicine for her 'lady problems'. When they left she quickly sneaked out and reached the ground level and quickly made her way towards the hangar. The hard part was in getting on the ship without being seen. Then she saw the supplies being stored in the cargo hold. With some difficulty, she managed to enter the aircraft without being spotted. The ride was far from comfortable but she finally reached her destination: a small town in Kazakhstan. She exited the cargo hold and quickly took cover behind a small house. She watched the soldiers searched every house, but she didn't see Invictus.
Now how do I find the insurgency?
Suddenly a gunshot was heard a soldier dropped dead. The others took cover when suddenly the rebels came out of their hiding places. A rebel appeared to her left and pointed his rifle at her.
"No! Wait! I'm not one of them!" she said quickly as she waved her arms him, but to no avail.
The rebel squeezed the trigger and Phoebe closed her eyes. She heard the bullets hit, but instead of the sound of bullets hitting flesh, she heard the sound of bullets hitting metal. Opening her eyes she saw Invictus's black cape. The rebel gasped and before he could even consider running, Invictus threw a plasma ball at him, killing him.
"Are you hurt?" he asked her.
"N-no."
"Good. What the hell were you thinking into sneaking to a warzone?!" asked Invictus and for a second Phoebe swore she saw Max underneath that black armor.
Before they could do anything, the aircraft that carried them here exploded in a giant fireball. Invictus quickly created a barrier to protect himself and Phoebe from the blast. He looked at his soldiers who were holding their ground but he knew they would die eventually since they are surrounded.
"I don't have time to drop you off at the base, so I need you to do as I say and stay behind me at all times. These people don't know who you are. They think you are with me and since you don't speak their language to explain to them the situation, they won't hesitate to kill you. Do you understand?"
Phoebe nodded and Invictus marched forward. He threw a plasma ball at the sniper and quickly gather the rebels attention. One fired a rocket at him, but he caught it with telekinesis and threw at a group of rebels. His soldiers took advantage of the distracted insurgents and quickly mowed them down. Phoebe covers her mouth at the carnage, trying her best not to vomit.
"Spread out. Kill any rebels you see and those who get in your way," order Invictus before dragging Phoebe along.
The insurgents threw everything they got at Invictus, however, they couldn't even slow him down as he cut them down one by one. Invictus and Phoebe reached the center of the town where a lone teenage girl stood there. The girl's dead gaze sent shivers down Phoebe's spine.
"Find cover," he ordered Phoebe before turning towards the girl. "You are super, aren't you?"
"You are correct Max Thunderman," a voice said as a man came into view. "Or do you prefer Invictus?"
"Xiang Li," he said and looked between the rebel leader and the girl. "I see a resemblance between you too. Is she your daughter?" he asked and Li nodded. "I have read about you, and you and your fine are normal human beings."
"That is true. Mei was never born with powers, but she got them in order to fight you."
"I've heard that you can gain powers through exposure to certain chemicals and drug therapy, however, most subjects don't survive. Those that do suffer side effects from the procedures."
Phoebe gasped. That explains the dead gaze. "How could you do that to your own daughter?!"
The former Chinese Minister turned his gaze on her. "In order to change the world, one must be willing to make great sacrifices. My daughter understood this as well and so does Invictus."
Invictus nodded. "Shame that the only thing you managed to do was getting your daughter killed," he said before teleporting behind Mei.
He brought his sword down, but just as the blade was about to touch the skin it was stopped, stunning Invictus and Phoebe. Then Invictus was pushed back by the same invisible force. He got up only to be smashed on the ground, all the while Mei was starring at the man in black armor emotionlessly. Invictus was raised in mid-air and felt how his arms and legs were being pulled with great force. He quickly teleported back to his original position, panting.
Telekinesis, but how did she know where I was going to strike? Was I predictable or...
Invictus charged at the girl and at the last moment he changed his trajectory towards her father. As he was about to cut the man down he felt the same force grabbing him from behind and slammed him on the ground again, before hitting him with all it's might in the abdomen, creating a small shockwave.
Okay, so she has telekinesis and can also read minds. The armor's shock absorbers took most of the damage but it still hurt.
Meanwhile, Phoebe couldn't believe the beating Invictus was getting and she was torn between cheering for Mei or helping Invictus. Logically, she knew that if Mei defeated Invictus, freedom can be restored, but every time Invictus got to hit her heart would ache.
"Not bad," Invictus said as he got up. "It's been quite a long time since someone could actually pose a threat to me. However, there is a reason why I'm the most powerful being on the planet," he said before some clicking sounds were heard and the armor opened up, revealing the man underneath.
Phoebe's heart leaped into her throat when she saw him. He looked like Max, but at the same time, it wasn't him. His skin was pale like it hasn't been touched by the sun in years. His baby-like face that she used to tease was no littered with scars and his chocolate brown eyes that reflected mischief were blood red filled with anger.
"It seems intelligence is not one of your strongest points. Discarding that armor will be your undoing," said Xiang.
Max smirked smugly before snapping. The armor came to life and attacked Mei. The girl's eyes widened in fear as she realized that she can read its mind. Her father realized this too, but before he could do anything Max teleported in front of him and grabbed him by the throat. "How did you know I would be here?"
Despite his predicament, the former Minister smirked. "Tell me, Lord Invictus, how much do you trust your men?"
Max narrowed his eyes, his suspicions confirmed. "Who?!" he growled.
"I will not say another word."
"I have ways of making you talk," Max said before headbutting the rebel leader, knocking him out.
He turned and saw that his armor was beating Mei to a pulp.
"Max, stop it! The girl will die!" Phobe called. Max turned to her with an emotionless expression on his face. "Max! Please!" she pleaded.
Max sighed and snapped his fingers. The armor stopped as Mei slipped into unconsciousness. Phoebe approached the wounded girl. "Don't!" Max said as he put his armor on, turning into Invictus. "She's an enemy and she might wake up."
A minute later soldiers finally appeared. One approached Invictus and saluted. "Almost all insurgents were killed, a couple of them managed to escape in a vehicle."
"Good work. What about the civilians?"
"All of them ran away."
Invictus nodded. "Secure those two," he ordered, pointing at Xiang and his daughter. "The girl is a super, tread carefully. And call a carrier."
"Yes, sir!"
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