Scourge, Brutus, and Cypher stood in the middle of the park. Scourge was wearing a large smile on his face, Brutus looked indifferent, while Cypher was glaring. "Attention humans. We are officers of the Meridian Empire. We are here to apprehend two criminals who have taken refuge on your planet. Wilbur and Francine Robinson." Cypher said balling his fist up. "Surrender them without a fight, and we'll leave peacefully. Resist us or harbor them…"

Brutus lifted his gun and shot a blast, completely leveling a nearby building. "And we will crush you with a power with the likes of which you have never seen." Scourge said eagerly. "You have three hours to comply. Or you all die."

With that the recording ended. Wilbur and the rest of the team stood in the conference room looking concerned. Three hours. That's all they had to prepare for these monsters. The last time they fought against them they barely held their own. Now they were going to have to somehow defeat them. "This… this is bad. Like really bad." Ted said nervously.

"Couldn't tell." Eep said sarcastically. "Let's just go kick their butts."

"We cannot rush into this. We need to come up with a strategy. Where are-"

"Gone." Franny said cutting her son off. "Bob and Helen are out on a mission, their communicators are down, and even if we could currently contact them they wouldn't make it in time. Gru is on a mission as well, and AVL is being difficult about his location. I don't know where Grug is."

Wilbur balled his fist up. So it was just them. They had a huge number advantage, but that didn't mean much against them. They had to go out and stop them. They couldn't let them go on a rampage. They'd tear down the whole city. But if they fought them… he just wasn't sure that they could win. Even if they did, there was no way they'd come out unscathed.

He thought hard. He'd completed his mission. He'd prepared the others as best as he could. They'd be even more prepared now that they'd had firsthand experience with them. Maybe… maybe he should just give himself up. If all went as planned the timeline would change anyway, so his presence here wasn't really… "OW!" He winced as he felt a punch in his side.

He looked over and saw Margo glaring at him. "Don't even think about it." She said sternly.

Wilbur frowned. Had she been reading his mind? He was about to speak again, but then noticed the others staring at him too. He looked around at them confused. Could they… could they all tell what he was thinking. "Guys I-"

"Shut it." Audrey said. "We don't need mind reading powers to tell what you're thinking. If you think we're going to let you try and sacrifice yourself you got another thing coming."

Wilbur sighed. "You don't get it. I'm the one they want. If I go then all of this is over. I can lie and say mom died in the crash or something. They'd never know. You guys can be safe."

"But you wouldn't be." Kristoff said. "We're a team. We don't just abandon each other."

Wilbur looked at them pleadingly. "Guys, I'm begging you, don't do this. You have no idea how strong they are. They don't care about making money or even taking over the world. Their goal is to wipe out the earth. If we tick them off they'll kill all of us, and they won't stop there. They will exterminate this whole city." He said. "I'm not worth-"

Anna suddenly flew in front of him and flicked him on the forehead. He winced and grabbed his forehead. Before he could recover he felt Edith kick him in the leg, and then Antonio jab him in his side. "OW! What the heck guys?!" He snapped backing away from him.

"We were hoping to beat some sense into you." Anna said crossing her arms.

Antonio narrowed his eyes at him. "You don't get to decide how much your life if worth. We do." He said pointing to himself. "And we say you're worth it. So shut up, suit up, and get ready to fight. Because we're doing this, whether you want to or not."

Wilbur was about to argue, but the others already started leaving. He looked at them in shock. What was wrong with everyone? Were they seriously going to risk the safety of the earth just to defend him? Why? He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his mother. "You're confused." She stated.

"Of course I'm confused…" He said looking stressed out. "They're… they're going to get themselves killed. I can't… I can't do it again. I can't watch people close to me get slaughtered again. Especially not over me."

Franny gave him a sympathetic look. "You think of them as family Wilbur. You'd do anything to make sure they stay safe. And it's vice versa. You're their family too. You can't expect them to just sit by and let one of their family members get himself killed." She said. "The best you can do is just be there for them." With that she walked off after the team.

Wilbur watched her as she left. He balled his fist up. He knew getting close to everyone would lead to this. "Crap…" He said hanging his head.

Everyone took extra precautions as they got ready. Antonio and Edith packed in extra knives and throwing stars, Audrey grab a number of rare plant seeds, Kristoff took some of the strongest metals he had in his collection. They knew how tough this fight was going to be, and they wanted to be as prepared as possible.

Ted took a deep breath and grabbed his wrist. He hadn't wanted to tell the rest of the team, but he was terrified. These guys had overpowered Eep and Anna. How was his little blast of wind going to do anything to them? "Calm down." Audrey said putting a hand over his. "We'll be fine Ted. So don't worry. Just remember, we'll be beside you."

He smiled up at her. "Thanks." He said. She was right. His teammates were all right here with him. Even if he wasn't that strong on his own, they were all stronger together.

Eep looked through the weapons rack and hummed in thought. She wasn't usually one to use weapons, but this was an exception. She smiled as she found what she was looking for. "There it is." It was like it was calling out to her. "This is definitely me."

Thunk looked over at his sister. "Oh, dad's old club. You're actually going to use it? Isn't it like, ancient?" He asked looking over it.

She nodded. "Maybe, but I bet it still holds up. Besides, I want to see what they look like when I hit them over the head with this thing." She said slamming it into her palm. She smiled down at it. "Let's make dad proud." Thunk smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Dinner after this?" Antonio asked sliding some knives into his sleeve.

Margo smiled and nodded. "My turn to pick." She said. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Stay safe out there." She thought towards him. "Be careful."

He smirked at her as he scratched Gaara under his chin with his free hand. "Aren't I always?"

"No."

He chuckled. "Well, that's why I have you watching my back."

Penny stocked as many gadgets as she could. She heard barking and then turned to see Bolt looking up at her eagerly. "That's right boy, it's time to play fetch the aliens." She said patting him on the head. "Can't let the world get destroyed before we find dad now can we?" Bolt barked in agreement.

Edith sheathed her sword and took a deep breath. She was ready to go. She knew that not having any powers meant she couldn't do as much as the others, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. She looked up and then saw Dash standing in front of her. He was wearing an annoyed look on his face. "What?" She asked.

Dash crossed her arms. "That last kiss sucked." He said. Edith smirked at him. That fact that he was still thinking about something like that at a time like this, was kind of calming for her. It was as if they weren't heading into a dangerous battle. "Next time, I'm going to show you how to do it right tomboy." He said walking off.

Edith looked after him surprised, a blush creeping onto her face. "Aww." Anna cooed. She'd been watching the others getting ready for a while. All she really had to do was suit up.

Kristoff stood beside her. "You ready for this?" He asked. He knew she'd been worried about facing them again, and while Anna was always upbeat he'd been concerned she was still nervous.

Anna smiled at him. "Are you kidding me? I'm Ultra-Girl. And I have the most awesome superhero team in the world backing me up. I'll be fine." She said. Kristoff chuckled. Yep, she was fine.

Violet saw that everyone was pretty much ready, and was about to tell them to move out, when suddenly another voice cut in. "Stop!" Everyone looked towards the door and saw Wilbur walking in. He had a determined look on his face. "You guys can't just rush in there."

"Wilbur, we're doing this. You can't-"

"I'm not trying to stop you." He said cutting Penny off. "I'm just… look, I was scared okay! I lost one family already and I didn't want to lose another. But it's obvious that I'm cursed to always have a family that does stupid and reckless things." He said. They all looked at him accusingly. As if he was one to talk about being stupid and reckless.

"So, if you're going to do this, then I'm just going to have to come along and make sure you do it right." He said as he walked over to his weapons rack and began stuffing his pockets. The others all looked at him with smiles. They knew he'd end up coming along. "Bit of advice through. A head on assault probably won't work. We need a plan."

Violet walked up beside him. "Would you happen to have one?"

He smirked. "That, is an excellent question."

Scourge's eyes twitched. He was growing more impatient by the second. "They're not coming. We should just start slaughtering them. They'll be forced to come out. Or we'll just destroy everything until we find where their hiding." He said reaching for his weapon.

Brutus grabbed his hand. "No. They'll show up. They've already moved their civilians into underground shelters. They're simply making a plan. They think they can actually prepare to face us." He said cracking his neck. "This time doesn't have the resources to combat us, and their heroes are too weak or to inexperienced. Nothing they can do will prepare them for us."

Cypher nodded. "True. But we shouldn't underestimate them. Should they put up any resistance, crush them as thoroughly as possible." He said.

Brutus suddenly saw something on his visor. "Hmm, we have an incoming object headed our way." He said looking up towards the sky. "It's… picking up speed."

"We can't take those three in a fight. They're just too strong. The main problem is Brutus. He's physically the strongest, and he's the brains of the bunch. He'd easily be able to break down and counter strategize against our powers. So the best option I see for us is…"

A blur went by and smashed into Brutus. He went flying off and Scourge and Cypher looked as they comrade was carried off by the blur. Brutus crashed into the ground, a large crater forming under him. He shook his head and looked up to see Anna smirking down at him. "Oh, the Burtonian." He said taking out his laser.

He fired, but suddenly Kristoff slid in front of her and turned to metal, easily deflecting the blast. "I didn't come alone this time big boy." Anna said. Brutus looked around and then saw he was surrounded. Eep, Thunk, and Bolt were circled around him.

"…separate them."

Back with Scourge and Cypher, the two reminaing aliens looked surprised. They hadn't expected them to try and split them up. "Quickly, search the area and-" Before he could finish, Margo teleported above them.

"Hello." She said waving. She quickly reached down and put a hand on Scourge. "Goodbye."

They reappeared in an empty construction site. Margo jumped away as Scourge swung at her. He growled and was about to go after her, but a knife flew by his face. He turned and saw Antonio, Edith, Gaara, and Penny. Scourge sneered. "So, Robinson was too scared to face me himself? He sent his lackey's to do it instead."

Antonio pulled a blade out and chuckled. "We just figured we'd do him a favor and take out the weakest so he can focus on the big guy."

Scouge looked furious. He pulled out a double edged spear and pointed it towards them. "I will kill every single one of you earth scum." He said preparing to charge.

Cypher looked around annoyed. From what he could see in his visor, Brutus had been knocked off to the park, while Scourge had been taken to some construction site. He began moving to go find them, but suddenly a blast flew by his face. Wilbur stood across from him. Beside him were Violet, Ted, Audrey, and Dash. "Sorry, but you're not going anywhere." Violet said.

Cypher turned towards them. "Hmm, what is the earth phrase? Divide and conquer? A simple but effective strategy. I'm almost impressed." He said pulling out a high tech axe looking weapon. "But this little scheme of yours will not save you. I gave you two options, surrender or death. You've obviously chosen the latter."

"Actually, we just chose option three. Kick the crap out of you." Dash said.

Brutus swung down at Kristoff, but he managed to bock the attack. He was pushed down to one knee and struggled not to be crushed under the titan like alien. Thunk jumped up behind Brutus, bringing his hands together and slamming them into the back of Brutus head. He stumbled to the side and Eep took the chance to slam her club into his back.

He fell forward onto his knees, growling in anger. Brutus got up to charge at her, but Anna suddenly crashed down on top of him, feet first. "We brought all the heavy hitters with us this time." She said crossing her arms. "You know it's rare we fight somebody that ALL of the powerhouses on the team are faster than."

Brutus got up and swung at Anna who easily flew out of his reach. Bolt fired his laser beams and hit him dead on. The beams didn't managed to penetrate his skin, but the heat was clearly getting to him. "AH! Blast it! You filthy little earth mongrels!" He shouted angrily. He reached down and grabbed his gun before firing towards Bolt.

The canine jumped out of the way and Kristoff took the chance to uproot a nearby tree and hurled it at him. Brutus blasted it to bits, but Eep and Thunk both jumped from behind it and punched him. "Aw yeah! Sibling smack down!" Thunk shouted as they high fived.

"My turn!" Kristoff shouted before turning his skin to rubber. He bounced forward before turning his skin to diamond. He then threw his shoulder towards him. Brutus had the air knocked out of his lungs as Kristoff slammed into his stomach.

He slid back and grabbed his stomach. The others moved in to attack, but Brutus looked up with a look of pure rage. "This ends now!" He shouted before slamming his fist into the ground. The earth beneath them cracked and they were all sent flying back. "I will not be overpowered by the likes of you!" He shouted.

Bolt jumped at him, but he swatted him away with his fist. Eep and Thunk jumped at him, but he grabbed the both of them and slammed them into the ground. "I've fought thousands of battles across the universe! I've slayed hundreds of your kind! Do you think I'll be stopped here, by mere upstarts?!" He asked angrily.

Kristoff ran at him to try and help the Crood siblings, but Brutus stood up and charged right back. The two of them clashed, and Kristoff was sent flying. He landed behind Anna who looked at the scene stunned. She grew a look of anger on her face. "Nobody tosses my friends around like that but me!" She shouted.

She flew at him. Brutus reached for his gun, but found it missing. He looked down and saw Bolt running away with his weapon in his mouth. "You wretched little-!" He reached out to grab him, but Anna slugged him in the jaw.

Bolt crushed the gun in his mouth. "Not so tough without your fancy little pea shooter are you?" Anna asked cracking her neck. Brutus scowled and threw a punch, hitting her in the face. She flew back, but managed to stop herself. "O-Okay. So maybe you are kind of tough without the gun." She said wiping some blood from her mouth. "Let's see who's tougher."

She rushed back at him and the two began to throw punches at one another. They went into an all-out slugfest, simply trying to knock the other out. Anna threw a right hook, sending Brutus' head snapping back. He flung his head forward and nailed her with a head butt.

Anna winced in pain but gritted her teeth and fought through it. "AAAAHHHHH!" She brought her fist back and then slammed it into his face. Before he could even regain his footing, Anna moved forward and hit him again. His whole world shook as her fist connect with his face once more. Anna threw another punch, and another.

She kept up the barrage of punches, not giving Brutus a single chance to retaliate. With one final uppercut, she sent him flying into the air. He crashed down onto the ground a few feet away, and Anna held her arms up in victory! "HA! I knew it! I knew I was the strongest!" She said trying to catch her breath.

As she turned to check on the others, she suddenly felt a streak of pain ring through her body. Anna screamed out and fell to the ground. Brutus smiled as he held up a laser gun. "Did you really think I wouldn't take extra precautions to deal with you Burtonian?" He said chuckling. "I never thought to match you in power. But Burtonian's are known for their overconfidence."

"I must admit, you pushed me quite far. I never expected to have to deal with you in any form of hand to hand combat." He said walking towards Anna and cracked his knuckles. The damage she'd given him clearly showed. He was limping towards him. "I'd planned to save you for Scourge, but it appears I'll have to end you myself." He said raising his fist.

He swung down, but Kristoff slide in front of him and turned to rubber. The attack landed, and Brutus found himself being bounced back. Bolt jumped forward and bit into the back of his leg. "GAH!" He barely had time to turn around before Thunk closed line him. He fell to the ground only to be body slammed by Eep.

Eep quickly rolled off him and then Kristoff and Thunk surround him. "Set him up!" Eep yelled dropping her club. Kristoff and Thunk both grabbed Brutus legs before hoisting him up into the air. Eep ran forward and jumped at him, tackling him in the chest as Kristoff and Thunk threw him down.

Brutus landed on the ground with a thundering thud. He coughed up blood and began hacking. He tried to move his arms, but couldn't. Everything… everything hurt. "What… I can't move." He said in disbelief. Between the damage taken by Anna, and the other taking him by surprise, his body was completely spent. "Impossible… by mere humans."

Anna stood over him, still cringing slightly. Kristoff moved over and help her steady herself. "I don't know what a Burto-whatever is, but that's not what makes me stronger than you." She said looking down at him. "It's my team that makes me, and all of us, stronger than you."

The others all smiled. "Let's tie this big lug up and get back to the others. They might end up needing our help." Eep said.

"Yeah. This isn't over yet." Anna agreed.

A/N: And so Brutus is dealt with! But Scourge and Cypher remain! I hope you guys like the fight scene. I kind of wanted Brutus out of the way quickly, but I tried not to make it too short. Anyway I separated them into three groups because trying to give all of them the spotlight in one big fight scene would have just been chaos.

Next chapter will be dealing with Scourge and Cypher. We're right smack dab in the climax of the story folks, and prepare for some serious action.