A/N: EDIT: Was hoping for more feedback on this one, do let me know what you think; Dark and I worked hard on it.
Every review truly does help, large or small, any feedback is better than nothing at all.
Tada~! Right on schedule~!
Updates might be a bit scuffed this week due to my sister's surgery -have to look after her- but a promise is a promise. Dark helped bring this masterpiece to life. Be sure and thank him!
Just wanted to say, I appreciate you all! More feedback means faster updates! It's especially important, in these trying times. Every word counts and i appreciate you all! All these reviews really keep me inspired! Looking forward to hearing from you~!
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me. I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time. Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that. In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
Now then, the question you need to ask yourself, is this the prime Invincible universe...
...or one in which things go south?
You'll have to read and see~!
"Do you trust him, sir?
"I trust him not to trust us, Donald."
"Meaning...?"
"Trust is a fickle thing where Viltrumites are concerned; you can't buy that; it has to be earned."
"Then how do we earn his?"
"In his case? With War Woman, Green Ghost, anyone who can keep him distracted. Give him a damn harem if that's what it takes."
"Sir, with all due respect...the chances of this working are..."
"...higher than you might think, Donald. Trust me."
"I'll take your word for it, sir."
~Cecil.
Trust
Monster Girl hit the ground hard enough to make it weep.
Not concrete.
Not reinforced steel.
The lawn.
Dirt cratered beneath her mass, blades of grass torn up like casualties, the impact rippling outward in a silent scream of pulverized earth. For a heartbeat, nothing moved—just dust, suspended like judgment in the air.
Conquest stood over her.
Unimpressed.
His arms were crossed, chin tilted slightly. Calculating. Not angry. That would imply emotion. This was colder. Sharper.
"You're not dead," he said, voice flat. "That's progress."
She groaned, twisting as her beastly form shimmered with strain. The transformation had already started to flicker—knuckles retracting, jaw reshaping, muscles twitching where nerves overloaded. She staggered upright with a snarl, blood sliding from a split lip to drip on the grass like punctuation.
"You hit like a pissed-off tractor," she spat, dragging her arm back into place with a wet pop.
"Flatter me later," Conquest replied, then drove his knee into her ribs.
The sound wasn't a crack.
It was a squelch.
Monster Girl flew.
Again.
She tore through a tree, bounced once, and landed in a heap that left a long furrow through the soil, dragging up roots and worm-soaked dirt. Her growl was guttural, primal—but even that dissolved into a choked gasp. Pain. Real, human pain.
Conquest didn't chase. He walked. Each step quiet. Measured. Not from caution, but from certainty.
"You think rage makes you strong?" he asked, voice carrying across the broken green. "I've watched titans die screaming and planets rip apart under fists stronger than yours. You know what they all had in common?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
"They were angry."
Monster Girl roared and lunged. Pure instinct. No form. No strategy. Just fury trying to outrun fear.
He let her close.
Then grabbed her by the face.
And slammed her into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
The lawn cratered again. This time deeper. The air vibrated with the weight of it. Windows cracked. Somewhere in the compound, an alarm chirped in confusion, as if even the systems weren't prepared for violence like this on the grass.
She didn't get up.
Her monstrous form flickered again—then collapsed, leaving bruised skin and swollen limbs. Her face was bloodied, lip torn, one eye too swollen to open.
And still, he didn't strike again.
He just crouched.
Not kind. Not gentle. Just… observant. Like a scientist dissecting a specimen to see if it still twitched.
"Amanda, was it?" he drawled, looming before her like a wave, ready to swallow her whole. You know why you're still breathing?"
She coughed. Moved her head. Somehow managed to glare at him through one blood-rimmed eye and answer his question. "Mercy...?"
He shrugged. "It's not mercy."
Her breath hitched. She waited.
"It's because I chose not to end you."
A pause. Her body trembled—more from pain than rage now.
He laughed.
Once.
It wasn't friendly.
"They keep calling me unstable," he muttered, standing up again. "Truth is, I just hate wasting time these days. And right now? You're a waste of mine."
She growled, bristling with fiery fury, but lacked the strength to rise. Wasn't hard to see why. Her arms were shot.
Surrender. She needed to surrender; knew she should. And yet...
Conquest noticed.
"Hey, hey, His peace said, her tormentor reached down, grabbed her by the ponytail, and yanked her upright, forcing her to face him. "Don't give up just yet. You can do this. You've still got a chance.
Pausing, he looked past her and spotted something she couldn't see.
"You just need the right...motivation."
Amanda gulped.
(.0.0.0.)
The Guardians were noisy.
They bickered like crows in a lightning storm.
Laughed too loud. Trained too hard. Lectured with the moral authority of war veterans and the rigidity of schoolteachers.
War Woman hit like a wrecking ball wrapped in patriotism. Her sparring sessions felt like political debates delivered through punches—and always ended in finger-wagging monologues that Naruto endured with a smile so practiced it was practically reflex.
Black Samson had questions. Too many. Questions that tried to pry, peel, analyze. "What are your limits?" "What's your power origin?" "Are you faster than the Red Rush equivalent on your world?" As if his power could be measured like rainfall.
Robot was worse.
He didn't ask. He observed. Wasn't even part of the team, but visited more often than not.
Every breath Naruto took was cataloged. Every heartbeat timed. Every flicker of movement noted with the detached enthusiasm of someone assembling a murder mystery—except the mystery was Naruto's blood, and the murder was theoretical.
None of it bothered him.
Not really.
He liked being underestimated.
Enjoyed the way they sidestepped around him in strategy meetings, unsure of where he fit. He reveled in the way they danced between caution and curiosity, not realizing the game had already started and he was ten moves ahead.
It had been a week since the incident with Kill-Cannon.
A week since Naruto had accidentally caved in a man's chest with one punch—too fast, too precise, too conditioned to hold back.
Surprisingly, Kill-Cannon was still alive.
Barely.
Last Naruto heard, he was in traction, breathing through tubes, his internal organs playing musical chairs. Some called it excessive. Others whispered the words liability. Naruto had apologized.
He'd meant it.
But part of him had also enjoyed it.
Since then, he'd been quiet. Played nice. Smiled more. Helped out on missions. Caught civilians mid-fall, posed for PR photos, kept his punches restrained -as best he could with only a few accidents and dead monsters to show for it-to just a little above mortal durability, all while folks like Red Rush and Aquarius badgered him for not having a proper "costume" just yet.
He'd have one when hew as good and ready, thank you very much. Not before. He wanted something orange and black, preferably with a cape.
In any case, he was earning trust. Building rapport. laying bricks for a house he didn't plan to live in.
And it was boring.
Unbearably boring.
He wasn't a soldier here. Not yet. Not really. He was a curiosity with a good smile. A foreign name wrapped in mystery and myth. "The new guy." "The other Viltrumite." "The one who smiles like he knows something you don't."
And maybe he did.
Because he was itching. Not for violence. Not exactly.
For challenge.
For purpose.
For something real.
So when the sky cracked open like a ruptured drum, when the clouds peeled apart like torn skin and the air sang with the hum of raw, unshaped power...
Naruto smiled.
No words. No flourish. Just that look—half wolf, half child, all hunger.
A ripple of power cascaded down from the upper stratosphere, bending clouds and setting birds to scatter like leaves in a hurricane.
Something had arrived. Something big.
The Guardians scrambled. Red alerts screamed through the compound. Sensors shorted. Systems flickered. War Woman called for positions. Black Samson cursed and reached for his gear. Robot pinged seventeen defensive simulations in less than a second.
Naruto stood still.
The wind whipped at his jacket.
His eyes narrowed, not in fear—but in longing.
In that, Father and Son were alike.
Finally.
(.0.0.0.)
She did not land.
Landing implied gentleness.
She descended; as if the sky itself parted for her arrival. As if gravity bowed in reverence and light made way.
The flames around her weren't fire. They were pressure—cosmic authority made visible, violet energy peeling off her form in strands that cracked like solar flares. Her armor -what little she wore-shimmered with the heat of her descent, flexing with each movement as if alive, wisps of plasma still coursing beneath the plating like a pulse made of war.
Above her head, a crown floated—not worn, but displayed. A strange-winged-thing of molten glass orbiting her brow, refracting distorted images of the world she had come to claim. It almost seemed to simmer, glowing with heat that didn't burn—it warned.
And her eyes?
They did not blaze.
They judged and found the world wanting.
She hovered in silence, high above the city—distant but unmistakable. Like an angel drawn from prophecy, but written in the wrong book. One where conquest wasn't sin—it was destiny.
Naruto rose to meet her.
He didn't leap.
He ascended.
The wind coiled around him as he gained altitude, the fabric of his jacket fluttering like a war banner yet to be declared; his silhouette framed by the fractured light of her presence, shadow dancing across the curve of his cheek.
She stopped twenty feet short of him. Hung there in the stratosphere, arms relaxed, body unreadable as she studied him.
He regarded her in return, this gorgeous woman bearing green skin and the curves to match, her armor alien and eccentric, her eyes blazing while as she hoisted her staff. He wasn't one to knock alien culture, but she was barely wearing, well, anything at all.
Pale aqua hair hung in a heavy braid behind her head for reasons he didn't understand she was wearing gauntlets on those green arms over hers and and what the heck were those tights? Really, it looked like she was wearing the upper half of a white corset and well...violet underwear alongside thigh high white boots to cover her legs, and grey metal bracers over her forearms and shoulders. Really, if it weren't for that half-skirt which concealed her absolutely fantastic hindquarters -and nothing else!- he would've thought her an intergalactic model of some sort.
"Scatter, vermin!" she cried out at the sight of him, voice like crystal singing across stone. Cold. Measured. Final. "My people hunger — they are in need !Stand aside or be slain !"
Vermin? Him? That was a new one.
The beast within him stirred, itching to lash out, even as he found himself amused.
Naruto tilted his head, a sliver of amusement creeping across his lips. "Now, is that any way to say hello?"
She glowered at him, eyes blazing a while and fiery white. "Do not presume to tell Universa how to complete her task!"
His eyes lit up. "Universa, eh? Great." he brought his hands together in a merry clap and sketched a sarcastic bow, shallow as his smile. "Your parents gave you one doozy of a name, didn't they?" Straightening up, he let the light catch his eyes. "Mine's a bit simpler. Vanguard, at your service."
No way he was trusting a homicidal alien lady with his real name just yet.
Irritation rolled off her in waves. "I did not ask."
"No," he allowed, but you did come crashing out of the stars to claim our planet. "Sorry about that, this one's taken."
She glowered at him, gripping her staff tight. "I will let none stand in my way!"
Itching for a fight, this one. Good. So was he, honestly.
"Are you sure about that...?"
"Enough talk." Her expression didn't shift. "I have come for your planet; I have claimed it. Step aside or be slain."
He smiled. Not kindly. Not politely.
It was his Father's smile.
That of someone who had waited for this—for her—and had finally been given permission to enjoy himself.
"You don't seem to understand." Naruto let the bow fall, and his smile grow in its absence. "This world isn't yours to claim...its mine."
.
..
...nailed it! He didn't care how corny that line sounded; he'd been waiting forever to say those words!
Universa snarled as she raised her staff, wild light swelling at its tip. "Then die with it!"
Naruto swore and blitzed her in a rush of momentum.
The sky collapsed as she opened fire.
They clashed midair.
(.0.0.0.)
Conquest paused as he heard an explosion in the distance.
A proud smile lit his scarred visage.
"That's my boy."
Bemused he looked back to the sprawled form of this so-called Monster Girl.
Monster? Bah! He'd fought foes far worse than this whelp of a lass.
Yet somehow, someway, somewhere, she was getting up again.
His grin grew savage at the sight.
"That's the spirit!"
(.0.0.0.)
Fist met plasma.
Pressure met speed.
Kinetic energy turned violent.
The impact cracked the air like a god's heartbeat. Thunder followed—not from the sky, but from the sheer volume of power in motion.
Below, the city reeled.
Windows exploded in a three-mile radius. Alarms blared. The Guardians mobilized in seconds, scrambling to coordinate containment. Civilians scattered like insects under falling glass.
Above them, gods fought.
Naruto moved like a blade unbound by friction, the wind cleaving around him in sharp gusts. Universa struck like a solar storm, every blow a radiant burst of focused destruction. Where she passed, the air shimmered; where she struck, the atmosphere screamed.
She wasn't fast.
She was inevitable.
Energy surged outward with every swing—auroras rippling from her limbs, curved lashes of force bending light and thought alike.
He loved it.
"You're early," He muttered between strikes, weaving under a lance of purple fire that shot into orbit and clipped a low-flying satellite. It sparked like a dying star before tumbling earthward.
Universa narrowed her gaze. "You knew I was coming?"
He shrugged mid-pivot, then caught her under the ribs with an upward strike that bent the air around his fist.
"Dad said someone would probably show after we softened the place up." He followed up with a spinning kick that sent her through a cloud. "Guess you got impatient."
She didn't answer with words.
She exploded from the mist, wrapped in raw gravitational force, and tackled him downward. They spiraled like comets in freefall, crashing through a skyscraper's upper floors. Steel warped. Glass vaporized. Reinforced walls screamed in protest.
By the time they hit the 40th floor, the building was already leaning.
She gripped him by the collar and hissed into his face. "You talk too much."
"And you don't hit nearly hard enough."
He grabbed her staff.
She reacted poorly to that.
"Fool! None but I can wield the Staff of Leadership."
Naruto opened his mouth.
Didn't get a chance to retort.
Universa punched him in the teeth.
Hard.
His head snapped sideways, lip split, a string of blood spinning into the air like ink in water. He turned back, smile crooked and crimson.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"…Right back at y—"
Another punch. This one into the stomach. It bent space.
But he didn't fold.
He laughed.
Then slammed his forehead into hers with enough force to create a sonic boom.
Their war raged on, mid-air and rising, both refusing to yield.
Above a city still catching its breath, violence ascended like a new sun.
(.0.0.0.)
Nolan observed them.
His eyes were cold.
Like so much ice.
(.0.0.0.)
Even the best battles cannot last forever.
They hovered in the upper stratosphere, motionless amid the hush of windless air.
Below, the city reeled. Emergency sirens pulsed across fractured silence. Columns of smoke reached toward the heavens like prayers left unanswered. Up here, there was no sound but the whisper of power still crackling faintly off their skin.
They didn't speak.
Not at first.
Not until Naruto broke the silence, voice soft, yet edged like a drawn blade. "You're fighting like someone who's already lost."
Universa didn't flinch. Her battered armor -such as it was- hissed as plasma cooled along its ridges. Her lips curled into a sneer. "My world is dying. Our core is dying. Our systems are failing. I came for what Earth has—its energy. Your loss is my survival."
He crossed both arms before his chest, content to hover. "Did it ever occur to you to just ask? We could always let you drain a power plant or something..."
"My world is eight times the size of yours. The power I need to prevent a global extinction will drain this world dry." She brandished her staff at him and he noticed the ridges his grip had left in the metal. "It pains me to have to end your life — but there is too much at stake.I cannot fail and you will not yield; you leave me no choice."
Naruto flexed his neck, the vertebrae popping softly. "Bit dramatic. But I get it."
"You're stalling," she said coldly.
"No." He floated back a pace, not retreating—granting space. "I'm thinking."
Universa's aura flared again, that violet shimmer coiling like storm surge, ready to strike.
But Naruto didn't raise a guard.
Didn't charge.
He raised a single hand.
Not in defense.
In promise.
"You want energy?" he asked, voice low, voice dangerous. "I'll give it to you."
She narrowed her eyes. "You'll what?"
"You want energy?" he continued, tone unwavering. "Don't fight me for it. I'll give it to you. Not now. Not today. But if I have to—I'll rip it out of this planet with my bare hands. Just to prove I can. Just to prove I'm capable of what you're chasing."
The atmosphere trembled.
She didn't move, didn't blink.
Because that wasn't an offer.
That was a warning dressed as a gift.
"You're bluffing,"
Naruto didn't smile, though he almost wanted to. "I'm promising."
And something in his voice shifted—subtle, sharp. The kind of tone that didn't lie. That didn't need to. Because power didn't beg.
It offered.
"Unlimited energy," he said. "Access. Partnership. But only if this world stays standing."
She stared at him.
Measured him.
"You would give that to me," she asked, voice quieter, "just like that?"
"No," Naruto retorted flatly before she could get her hopes up. "But I'd trade. I'm offering you a deal."
She looked past him to the planet below. "You're stalling for the Guardians."
"They won't stop you," he shook his head. "I might."
Universa floated in silence. The sky turned faintly orange as the sun dipped behind distant clouds, casting long shadows over the two of them.
"You're not afraid of me," she whispered.
"No." He floated closer, the pressure of him thickening the air. No glow. No aura. Just presence. Like a blade drawn but not yet swung. "I respect you. You're strong. Sharp. Strategic. The kind of threat I don't kill unless I have to."
"This energy you speak of; how do you plan to procure it without killing your planet?"
He grinned. "That would be telling."
"You have time, don't you?" he prodded her verbally, testing her limits. "Its not as though your planet's gonna go nuclear within the next week or anything, right?"
Her eyes flashed with anger at his blunt assessment, only to dim a little as she looked away. "We have a few decades, yes...but it is as you said. I was...impatient." The admission seemed to shame her a little. "Everything I do, I do for the good of my people."
He could understand that much; he felt much the same towards other Viltrumites, even if he intended to murder the ruler of said people someday.
Someday, Thragg. Someday. But for now he would play the peacekeeper.
"Then you won't mind waiting a little, surely."
Universa huffed. "I do not wish to wait."
Yeah, no kidding.
Clearly this woman was used to getting her way; or perhaps she'd simply grown accustomed to it. Regardless, she had to realize brute force wasn't going to win the day. Not here. Not now. Not with him around. She might be able to fight, but quantity had a quality all its own. She was but one warrior. Earth had many. Even if she did manage by some miracle to get past him -highly unlikely!- she would be bogged down by Earth's heroes long before she gained the energy she needed for her planet.
And that was assuming Nolan didn't get his hands on her.
"Omni-Man" would have probably popped her skull like a grape right about now.
Bastard was probably watching this somewhere; best wrap things up before he got ideas...
.
..
...even if he quietly relished the idea of fighting him.
"So you don't wait." He shrugged instead, surprising Universa, throwing the intergalactic invader off balance once more. "Suppose we fight again. You'll probably die, and when you do, I'll take that staff of yours." he didn't miss the flicker of fear that flashed across her green face. "That happens, your planet's doomed. Unless your world sends another champion-
Universa bridled like the ruler she was. "I am the strongest of my people!"
"So no one else to take up the mantle, got it." he thumbed his chin, nodding once. "So they're definitely doomed.
"I do this for the good of my people, damn you!"
"Then prove it!" he slashed a hand through the air and snapped back at her, anger creeping into his voice. "Do what's best for them, not your precious pride! Last time I checked, throwing your life away in a fool's gambit won't help anyone!"
Universa grit her teeth.
"Stay awhile," his tongue betrayed him suddenly, surprising him as much as her. "This planet might surprise you;
A beat passed.
Universa stared at him.
Tilted her head a fraction of an inch, now.
She kept staring at him like that for some time, as though he were some puzzle she were trying to ponder. Naruto wasn't entirely sure he liked it. Her lips pursed, pouted for a moment; finally, the tension drained from her shoulders, and with it, the willingness to continue their brawl.
"No one has ever spoken to me in such a manner."
Naruto uncrossed his arms with a grunt. "I say it as I see it, lady.
Without warning, her lips parted in the ghost of a smile.
"…Very well," she said. "Vangaurd, was it? I will accept your terms. For now."
"Then let me be the first to say this. "Naruto extended a hand. "Welcome to Earth."
She blinked. Once, twice, thrice for good measure. "Why are you holding your hand like that?"
He did his best not to snort. "Its called a handshake."
Universa tilted her head. "I do not understand. You are not shaking your hand. You've held it perfectly still."
A snicker threatened to unman him. "Its an Earth custom."
"Is it?" she tilted her head further still. "Your planet is most strange."
Mustn't laugh at her. Absolutely not. Hold it in!
"Here, I'll show you."
He floated closer, took ahold of her free hand and held it up between them. Her eyes widened in alarm as she straightened up, but made no attempt to escape and let him have his way with her; even mimicked his motion as he pumped their intertwined hands up and down.
On a whim, Naruto dared to thread his fingers through her own.
"And this," he elaborated, unable to resist teasing her, "Is called holding hands. Familiar with this concept, are we?"
Apparently so; because Universa flushed brightly and ripped her fingers from his with an adorable sputter.
He grinned, delighted by it. "Ohhh, so they have that on your planet after all?"
Just like that, the seed was sown.
That got a reaction out of her alright; the scantily-clad woman garbled a response, choked once, then swallowed stiffly, only stumbling a little over her words. "Of course we do! You...! Do you think me a barbarian?! Only mated pairs are allowed to hold hands for more than three seconds; let alone intertwine their fingers!"
Wait, was she implying...? No, nevermind. A blond brow rose regardless. "To be fair you're wearing the skimpiest outfit I've ever seen so...
Her own brow furrowed in quiet consternation. "This is regal attire on my planet."
"Then the men of your world are lucky bastards and I envy them.
She made a confused noise. "Why...?"
How was it possible to be this naive? She balked at hand-holding as though it were an unspeakable act, yet gave no thought whatsoever to her scandalous attire.
Do not comment.
Don't say that aloud.
Don NOT make any remarks...!
He very much appreciated the view and was in no hurry to enlighten her, not when it meant unleashing her wrath all over again.
Fighting her might be fun, but it wasn't that fun.
.
..
...still...
Decency won out.
"Look," he began, scratching the back of his head, "Might wanna cover up when you had down there."
"Why?"
"Your outfit might give people ideas."
She pressed the issue, beautifully naive. "What manner of ideas?"
Best be blunt, then.
"The mating kind." he chuckled at the gasp she gave and barreled on. "Just warning ya. You do you, but that outfit doesn't leave much to the imagination. You're sure to turn heads like that."
Universa clutched her staff to her bosom, face gone curiously red. "You find me attractive?"
Naruto twitched. How had she drawn that conclusion?!
Still, she wasn't wrong per se.
...yes?"
"I see." she looked away from him and bit her thumb, briefly worrying it between her teeth before speaking. "This "earth" of yours is truly a treacherous place...I had no idea my chastity would be at risk...still, its much to soon, I hardly know you at all...
This woman...!
It was too much.
He couldn't hold back anymore.
Laughter tumbled past his lips and that was it; he was done, damned, doomed. He doubled over, clutching his stomach with one hand, even as the other valiantly attempted to muffle his mouth and mask his mirth. It did not succeed. He kept laughing, shoulders trembling in near silent madness.
Just what was wrong with this planet?
Universa didn't much appreciate his humor. "Why do you laugh?!" she stomped a foot against the air to no avail. "Have I said something amusing?! Enlighten me at once!"
In the end, she didn't attempt to shake his hand again. Not yet. She was much too wary for that.
But she didn't try to suck the planet dry either. And that, for now, was enough.
(.0.0.0.)
The city simmered beneath them.
Flickers of red and blue lights pulsed through the streets below like veins beneath bruised skin. Smoke curled upward in lazy spirals, painted orange by the dying sun, fading now behind distant towers and broken windows. The hum of repair crews, emergency sirens, and distant drones buzzed faintly in the air—too far to touch them. Too loud to ignore.
War Woman stepped onto the rooftop without ceremony.
She moved like someone who'd carried the weight of cities on her back before—and knew how to balance it without tipping.
Naruto didn't turn as she approached. He stood near the edge, hands tucked into his jacket pockets, gaze tilted toward the clouds as his hair stirred in the wind.
"She's just… gone?" War Woman asked, arms folding tight across her chest.
"For now," he said. "She'll be around."
His voice was calm. Controlled. But not careless.
"I gave her a reason to leave," he continued. "And a reason to come back."
War Woman exhaled through her nose. Her eyes didn't leave him. "That sounds less like a solution," she said, "and more like an invitation."
Naruto finally turned to glance at her—half a smirk pulling at his mouth, just enough to betray thought behind the expression.
"She came here ready to incinerate half the planet for fuel," he said. "I gave her something better than resistance."
She narrowed her eyes. "Which was?"
"Uncertainty," he retorted. "Possibility. I gave her a choice."
"That's not strategy," War Woman replied. "That's trust."
Perhaps it was. He didn't deny it in any case.
Instead, he looked back out over the skyline.
"People like her," he said softly, "don't respond to power. They are power. You can't outmuscle that kind of force without breaking something important. But give them a different angle? A reason to hesitate?"
He turned back to her fully, eyes sharp now—focused.
"That's the only game worth playing."
War Woman stared at him a moment longer. Studying. Judging. Not unkindly—but with the weight of experience behind every second of silence.
"You're not Omni-Man," she said finally. "But you're not simple, either."
He chuckled.
"Simple's boring."
She didn't smile. But something about her stance shifted—less guarded now. Still wary. Still anchored.
"You'd better hope she sees value in your promises," War Woman said. "Because if she doesn't…"
Naruto nodded. "I know."
It would be a shame to kill her.
They'd make powerful children together.
(.0.0.0.)
From her vantage high in the clouds, Anissa eyed her pray like a hawk.
Seemed Thragg had been right to send her after Conquest.
The old man had been acting irregular as of late.
When she'd first been given this task and told to follow him, she'd not thought much of it at first. What did she care for the whims of a mad dog? Conquest was a monster, content only with blood on his teeth. Yet so long as he lived up to his namesake and legendary strength, he would keep his place in the Vltrumite Empire. He was strong. Feared. Dominant; hence why so many of their kind avoided him like the Scourge in the first place; and why her orders weren't to engage him directly.
Conquest might be old, but he wasn't weak. Nolan, perhaps, she could handle, but she didn't fancy her chances against the former. Thragg alone could bring him to heel and no other.
But the Grand Regent hadn't the time for such menial tasks as observation, and so such fell to her.
Now she finally knew why.
She'd seen enough.
A son.
Conquest had a son; an offspring; which meant one of the strongest Viltrumites to ever exist had somehow managed to find another woman -everyone knew what had befallen him at Thragg's hands- and make her spawn with him.
One of these earthlings? Unlikely. She'd tracked him here only recently, but the geezer had gone to ground and hidden himself well.
Unless...that woman of his...did she have a son before she died?
It was possible, she supposed. The timeline matched.
Thragg would want to know.
But if Conquest WAS still present on this planet, he was doing an admirable job of hiding, not that she'd cared enough to search. Earth was very valuable, designated as a breeding planet, its importance paramount above all else. Because of that, the old-timer had hidden himself well.
His boy, however, had been easy to find; even if she hadn't been looking for him.
He was loud. Noisy. He moved without care and fought like his father, yet unlike that mad dog, seemed willing to talk. Negotiate, even.
Which implied he wasn't quite so crazy as Conquest; not yet at least.
Curious. He seemed strong, too. How strong was he?
Anissa wanted to know.
She needed to know.
Had to know.
So she continued her vigil; watched him depart the rooftop with a brutal burst of speed, creating a sonicboom in his wake. The wind lashed at her hair, even way up here.
A savage smile split Anissa's face.
Strong, smart, AND swift?
She wanted him.
She'd never given any thought to being with another Viltrumite before. So many were...lesser than her. She knew the survivors of the Scourge well, and none of them interested her. Noisy. Braggarts. Annoying. Thragg was perhaps the sole exception in that regard-he was the pinnacle of their bloodline after all, who wouldn't want to lay with him?- yet she knew he would never deign to be with her, never lower himself to such.
But this one...it was alright, wasn't it?
She could have him.
Just a taste...
It took every ounce of her ironclad self-control not to give chase then and there; to hunt Vanguard down and test him. The thought of wrestling with him -someone who might be her equal!- made her warm. Pinning him down, or better yet, having him pin her down. A stray shiver shook her from head to toe and unbidden, she found herself clutching her arms close to herself as she rubbed her thighs together.
Oh, dear.
She was losing herself.
Calm down. Deep breaths. Inhale and exhale.
If she laid a hand on this "Vanguard" and Conquest found out...she wouldn't live to see tomorrow.
The thought centered her, somewhat.
Calm. Control yourself. Practice your breathing. In. Out. Innn. Ouuut.
At length she finally regained control of herself and breathed out ever so softly.
Nevertheless a soft, almost longing question escaped her lips. "Where did you come from?"
Perhaps Thragg needn't know about this anomaly.
Not just yet.
(.0.0.0.)
She felt like death.
She tasted it in her mouth.
Hell, she probably smelled like it too.
Monster Girl rose from the dust, limbs trembling beneath her own weight.
Her breath came in ragged bursts—each inhale sharp, edged with blood. Her knees buckled once, then locked. Skin bruised. Lip split. One eye swelling shut. And yet—she stood.
Barely.
Conquest didn't move from his spot on the scorched lawn. Arms folded. Shoulders still. He watched her not with concern, but with calculation. Like a blacksmith inspecting steel still soft from the forge, deciding how best to forge it into something new.
He grunted. Approval, maybe. Or acknowledgment.
"Again," he said.
Monster Girl groaned. "You're trying to kill me...
"If I were," he replied flatly, "you'd already be dead."
He tossed something her way. A water bottle, dented and scuffed, arcing through the air like an afterthought. She caught it clumsily. Took a sip. Spat red onto the ground. Her tongue tasted copper and heat. She took yet another drink regardless. Anything was better than the arid desert of her throat.
"You've got the hate," Conquest said, pacing slowly now, boots grinding ash and torn earth beneath them. "The anger. The claws. You've got the part everyone thinks matters."
She tilted her head, cracking her neck until it popped. "And?"
He turned to face her fully, the firelight from the shattered training ring flickering in his single visible eye.
"All you need now is discipline."
There was no lecture. No speech. Just truth, offered like a knife—handle first, but sharp all the same.
Amanda blinked at that, chest still heaving.
It made a twisted sort of sense.
All this time he'd been batting her about as a cat might a ball of yarn-no, that wasn't the right analogy. Like a cat with a mouse. That was the one. He could've killed her countless times now, yet he'd always stopped short of doing so; pausing at critical junctures, leaving opening that would've taken an arm or a leg or worse. He'd displayed restraint. Which meant...
"You're gonna train me?"
He smirked. The expression didn't soften his face. If anything, it made him look more dangerous. Like a soldier remembering war fondly.
"Someone has to."
Then—quietly. So quiet it almost didn't reach her, nearly buried beneath the wind and her heartbeat hammering in her skull:
'Sides you remind me of my kid."
Amanda blinked again. Something unspoken caught in her throat. Her eyes stung.
"Might be able to fix that problem of yours, too...
Talk about a double whammy; this was the most attention anyone had ever paid her since she'd first caught her curse. That felt like an eternity ago, now. Probably was. Back when she'd been relatively normal. Before her constant transformations began to take their toll, leaving her younger and younger each time. The notion that someone cared enough to train her, take her under their wing, see a problem, let alone fix it...
But before the thought could fully form—
"Again," Conquest snapped. Louder now. Firmer. Command. "No mercy this time. Bite if you have to."
Her hesitation melted.
Monster Girl grinned, teeth bared like a feral thing reborn. Her body still ached. Her ribs screamed. But in that grin, there was joy.
Not because she wanted to suffer.
Because she wanted to earn it.
She launched forward.
This time, she didn't hold back.
A/N: Didn't see that coming, did you~?"
In regards to Naruto/Vanguard, there will still be more to the pairing; Dark and I simply don't want to pile it all on at once.
Pairing is going to be bonkers; though I will say this, my team and I remain hesitant to to take Eve from Mark. Unless that's what folks want to see...?
If that IS the case, might pull one from the Multiverse. Might not. We'll see; it depends on how Mark shapes out in this story.
Do you want this to remain a story? Yes? No? Maybe so? Make yourselves heard! Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? Previews are now EXPANDED, especially the one at the end, so on that note:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
BEWARE~!
(Previews!)
Nolan was at his wits end,
Why on earth was everyone checking on him?!
What was next?! Would Thragg himself fall out the sky!
x
Universa ate her spaghetti clumsily. "I do not understand this earth cuisine."
Naruto smiled fondly. "You and me both.
x
"Who are you supposed to be, exactly...?
The colorfully clad youth, nearly of an age with him, placed both fists on his hips and preened. "I'm-
*Insert Title Card*
-Invincible!"
Naruro immediately decked him in the schnoz, sending the younger boy tumbling backward through the air with a strangled cry of pain:
"No." He shook his head slowly. "You are not invincible. At all. No one is."
Dad wasn't.
Mom hadn't been.
No one was truly invincible.
"Dude!" Mark rasped, lisping his words," Not cool! You bwoke my dose!"
The blond lowered his bloody fist.
"You punched me first. I'll do a lot more than break your nose if you get in my way again."
"Whoa, hey! " the younger man raised both hands to ward him off. "Just calm down, fuck that hurts, you fucking-
x
A hand closed around his face.
"Swearing doesn't make you cool."
He tossed him up into the atmopshere.
x
"I spent my entire life training from the moment I could walk! Where did you train, MARK?! ON A FARM?!"
x
Fair game. This term pleases me.
x
EDIT: Several lines here from the now infamous Scp 096 vs Battle Beast ( Fan Animation ) on youtube. I own nothiiiiing!
"Pathetic insects. There is no honor in killing them."
...enough.
He drew himself up and stepped over the fallen fighters, regarding his attackers and the man behind the desk with keen intent.
"I don't want to hear any more speeches from you chumps." he shucked his ruined shirt, baring his chest. "Not one word. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry... hell, you're all gonna be doing that in a second. But no more words."
Lightning crackled across his skin as one struck.
His fist snapped up, backhanding the zapper clear out the building without a second glance.
Battle Beast licked his lips."Finally! A worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!"
Naruro felt something shift in his eyes then, blue snapping into feral red. "What did I just say?"
Machine Head swore. "Ah, shi-
Battle Beast lunged forward.
Naruto met him halfway.
All hell broke loose.
"What have we here? Impressive! Charging at me without hesitation...that's what I like!"
He was a talker. Ordinarily he'd have a clever quip. But right now? Rage. It was bleeding into his brain, staining his thoughts red, dying everything scarlet. He tossed him into a building.
Let go. Just let go. Let go of everything.
He refused. He was many things, but a berserker wasn't one of them.
A fist found his face through the smoke as his opponent pounced. His head snapped back in a shower of blood. He retaliated with a brusing headbutt, forcing a flinch from his foe.
"Good!" Battle Beast wiped blood from his snout. "That's what I like to see!"
Despite his bloodlust, he was calm. Calculated. His footwork was good, each punch thrown with all of his body. Ordinarily he would've called this fun.
Now?
It was just so much blood.
Battle Beast was certainly enjoying himself.
"Of all my opponents, you're the only one to last this long! That's it! MORE! I WANT MORE! GIVE ME MORE!"
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work~!
Warm regards,
~Nz.