Anissa: (Grabs Lucas' arm) Let me come with you, we got off on the wrong foot but I really want to show my good faith.
Mark: I don't trust her.
Lucas: You're coming but if you try anything unusual I'm going to kill you.
She nodded with a smile and they left, she was able to fly with them despite her stomach injury.
This stomach wound might seem very serious and deadly to a human but to a Viltrumite, it was not much because Lucas had been very surgical and precise in grabbing the heart without damaging other organs, she had not even no hemorrhage.
Very quickly, they arrived at the ship's position and immediately, Anissa rushed towards the sea monster who saw nothing coming with the speed of the Viltrumite.
Like a sniper's bullet, it passed through the monster's head from above to emerge under the mouth, destroying everything in her path, which killed the beast instantly. It was fast, it was clean and above all it was very efficient.
" Well done " Anissa heard Lucas' voice who was already behind her without her realizing it, if she was fast then Lucas was faster.
She looked at him nodding before they started rescuing the survivors from The Huge Cruise Ship and as Mark and Anissa were picking people up and dropping them off on the beach while the others waited, they suddenly heard the sounds of cries of exclamation from the other passengers behind them and when they looked behind them, they saw the large cruise ship of nearly 260,000 t heading towards the coast.
Mark: No, don't tell me...
They searched a bit until going underwater where they saw Lucas pushing the ship to shore as the passengers chanted his name, FEAR.
Anissa: Mark, your brother is monstrously strong even for a Viltrumite and especially at this age. Given his scars, he must be an experienced warrior for his age. Are you as strong as him ?
Mark: You want to extract information from us ? Do you think we're friends for me to tell you something like that ?
Anissa: I take it that you're not as strong as him then.
"He's not as strong as me but he's strong enough to beat you." Lucas said from behind them and they flinched because they didn't even know he was already there and listening to them but he continued "If I were you I wasn't going to underestimate him. Besides, I should kill you for trying to steal information from my brother."
Anissa: We thought Mark was Nowl-han's only son on Earth but you are a surprise, an excellent surprise. You are strong, fast, smart and ruthless, someone like you will be an elite among the elites among our people. We have so much to offer you. Does Nowl-han have another son among you ?
Lucas: Instead of beating you up personally for trying to get information from my brother, we're going to do it differently and it will actually be cooler. Mark will face you and if he wins, you will tell him everything he wants to know about your empire but if you win then we will answer your questions and I will even join the empire.
Anissa's eyes lit up and a smile appeared on her lips.
Mark: WHY Lucas ? We could have gotten the information about her people so why make me fight this woman ?
Lucas: Because she totally despises you deep down because of my strength. I trained you, I know how strong and skilled you are so I'm not going to let this go to waste. You can beat her Mark.
Mark accepted the fight to Anissa's greatest joy and they went a little further out on the ocean to fight with Lucas as witness to the fight and Anissa had strangely confidence in him that he would keep his word, it was a strange feeling.
" Are you ready ?" Lucas asked as both opponents nodded and then he gave the starting signal.
Mark and Anissa charged at each other and the confrontation created a shockwave. Anissa threw a punch at Mark who avoided it sideways before grabbing the woman's arm and throwing her into the void, following her closely.
No sooner had Anissa steadied herself than Mark rushed towards her and delivered a well-aimed punch to her cheek. He followed up with a left hook and a right uppercut which even made the thousand-year-old Viltrumite bleed slightly.
Anissa, realizing that she was being dominated by a kid, looked at Mark who had his boxing guard with great anger and rushed towards him.
Mark tried to punch her but she avoided him and spun around around Mark to get behind him and hold his throat with a wrench hold.
Anissa's strength was no joke and she could even stand up to Nolan if he didn't give it his all.
Mark caught in the hold was dominated by the strength of the Viltrumite over 1000 years old but his strength was no longer the same as when he had faced Nolan.
"HUUUUUUUUUUUNGH" Mark moaned loudly as he attempted a release from the woman's grip through sheer force.
Little by little, under Anissa's shocked eyes, Mark pushed his arms back more and more before she freed him of her own accord and gave him a punch that sent him into the ocean.
Mark away from her, Anissa looked at Lucas with a meaningful look as if to ask how such young Viltrumites could be so strong.
Lucas was destined to become more and more powerful very quickly all the time but what she didn't know was the ordeal that Mark underwent with his brother to become stronger too.
For months, Lucas had literally mistreated Mark day after day in extremely violent fights, often injuring him very seriously so that Mark would always surpass himself in each session.
Thanks to Art's medical technology and recovery capsules, Mark was able to recover from his serious injuries within a few hours while gradually becoming stronger and stronger.
As she was about to say something, Mark came out of the water quickly like a missile to hit Anissa who was too surprised to avoid Mark's charge which took her breath away.
The two started fighting again and Mark was getting more and more comfortable in hand to hand combat against her, he was even stronger and gradually found out for one simple reason, Anissa was far from the speed and Lucas' technique that he fought against all the time.
Used to fighting a much too strong opponent all the time, Mark had become very competent, observant, reactive and technical without realizing it and it was against Anissa that he discovered his true strength.
"Let's get this over with" Mark said before rushing towards her, Anissa tried to grab him but he avoided it and gave her a well placed uppercut before hitting her with an acrobatic kick to the chin, l The sequence was simple, very fast and required advanced precision in execution but the effect was a guaranteed knockout for the opponent.
Anissa lost consciousness and the fight too at the same time but as she fell towards the ocean, Lucas caught her before joining Mark.
Lucas: Great fight, I told you you were strong. Although I think it would have been more complicated in a death match.
Mark: I don't know if you realize the feat I just accomplished, in his book, Dad mentions this girl Anissa and she's not a little player. She is supposed to be very strong, disciplined and competent. Many adult Viltrumites fell into his hands, but I beat her ! It's all thanks to you Lucas.
Lucas: No, it's your own efforts that are paying off now, all I did was kick your ass until you were almost dead every day for months. However, as I told you, a deathmatch would have been different, she would have held back less.
Mark: So join me!! Together we can do it more easily, YOU ARE MY BROTHER !
Lucas: (sighs) Okay, but the problems of the people on this planet are my priority. Mark, every day hundreds of people are victims of crime in this world, that's my fight. Let's try to find out more about them and their intentions with her and then we'll see
Mark: You're starting to sound like an old man! Let's go home before she wakes up, she has answers to give us.
Lucas: (whispers) After 5000 years of I don't know what, of course I'm an old man.
Mark: Did you say something?
Lucas: No, I just had a song in mind, forget it. Let's go back.
They quickly returned to the mansion where they waited for Anissa to wake up to ask her questions and she kept her word by giving the requested information sometimes in an abstract way such as for their current number because she could not tell them that they were now barely fifty Viltrumites and sometimes she was clearer on information regarding individuals and their strength levels like General Kregg or their regent Thragg.
In the end, she left and they asked her to hide the information about Lucas because he didn't really plan to get involved in their intrigue but Anissa refused, saying that she didn't want to hide anything from her superiors out of duty and Lucas just shrugged in understanding.
He just wanted to be left alone but after what he heard today about the empire, He had a very bad feeling and realized it was time for him to get involved.
It was a fight that Mark definitely couldn't fight alone and now they were going to have to prepare because if the empire couldn't take over a planet they would destroy it and if more than 50 Viltrumites charge towards Earth it won't be able to stop them all.
[ Part One : End ]