"You want me to audition for The Guardians?"
Cecil nodded. He looked around the training facility they'd allocated to Clark as he spoke, "The audition's just a formality, I want you on the team."
Clark thought carefully about Cecil's request. Cecil represented the will of an agency that spanned the entire globe. He had the final say on all GDA matters. Throughout his career, he'd made decisions that his entire staff had urged against. Several of these decisions had saved the world.
He'd worked alongside the Teen Team twice to resist alien invasions. These experiences had showed him that he didn't want to be part of a group. When he changed into Omni-Man's body, he was strong enough to handle threats by himself. He didn't need the support of a team.
Clark knew how he felt about joining a team.
"Omni-Man works alone. I know I'm not as strong as him but-"
Cecil raised a hand. He shook his head, "Kid, let me stop you there."
Cecil looked into Clark's eyes, "Do you know how many people Omni-Man has saved?"
Clark was silent. He didn't have an answer, how could he?
Cecil scoffed. He slid his hands into his pockets. His sharp posture slackened, "Yeah, me neither. We've got estimates, shitty ones. How the hell do you work out how many people lived because Omni-Man's killed some fuck-faced archdemon on the eastern seabed?"
"But we've got data, heaps of it. Omni-Man's strong, and fast. But he's alone, he can't evacuate civillians and tear off a kaiju's head at the same time.
I don't want you on the team because I think you're not as good as him. Shit, we both know you're not. You could tear this whole place into pieces before I could blink, but you wouldn't stand a chance against him.
I want you on the team because you'll save lives. If Omni-Man could've put aside his pride and joined The Guardians, instead of playing by his own god-damn rules, maybe they'd still be alive. Do you get that kid? With you on the team, more people get to live."
Clark clenched his fists. Cecil's speech was blunt, and ruthless. And he was right.
'What kind of selfish prick am I? Because I don't want to join a team, more people have to die?' Clark thought to himself. He was furious, and embarassed, that he'd been thinking more about himself than the people he wanted to protect.
Clark gritted his teeth. He looked down at the ground, he felt ashamed to look at Cecil, "Thank you."
Cecil knew why Clark was thanking him. He remembered how he'd acted in his own youth. Too blinded by arrogance and ego to see the truth. The kid in front of him didn't even have hair on his chin, but he was smart enough to recognise when he was fucking up, and make the right decision. There were plenty of people twice his age who couldn't do that.
The usual harshness in Cecil's voice softened. He spoke more quietly, "You're a good kid, Clark. Go to the movies with your parents, watch a baseball game, have a life outside of this place. You'll do good work with The Guardians."
Clark heard a low electric hum. A beam of white light enveloped Cecil. Then, he was gone.
Clark stood alone in the empty training facility. His arms hung at his sides. He felt how the anger pulsed inside of him. He didn't hide from the emotion. It was there to teach him a lesson.
The anger in Clark's chest gradually began to subside. Instead of dissapearing, it became part of his resolve to do better.
The hydraulic pistons in the hidden opening above hissed. Some dirt and rocks tumbled down through the opening. Clark changed into Omni-Man's body. His body became a blur as he flew upwards. The violent displacement of air created a vacuum which grabbed the falling dirt and rocks and hurled them back out of the opening.
Clark flew through the hallways of the GDA facility where auditions for the Guardians were being held. He kept his speed low enough that it wouldn't create a disturbance. He could hear dozens of abnormal heartbeats clustered together in the centre of the facility.
A set of reinforced doors opened silently. Clark's feet settled back down onto solid ground and he walked into the audition hall. Immediately, heads turned to stare at him and judge their competition.
Nearly a hundred heroes had been invited to audition for The Guardians. Clark recognized many of them, as a child he'd collected their action figures and trading cards. Ten years ago he'd worshipped them, now he stood as their equal.
Clark might've recognised the majority of the assembled heroes, but none of them knew him. He only had two public appearances, both resisting the invasion of an alien species called the Flaxans. Importantly, during these appearances, he'd looked completely different.
The silver mask he'd worn in the past to disguise his face, or at least the face of the body he was using, was an amateur's work. The GDA had scientists and departments who's sole job was to research experimental materials and design superhero costumes. Clark's costume had been ready the day after he'd made the call to Cecil.
Clark wore a suit of silver armour. It was made of nano-fibre, alloyed material. He'd been trying to replicate it with Atom-Eve's powers, but he was still months away from succeeding. He needed far better control than he currently had.
The armour was composed of interlocking metal plates. He wore a magnetic skintight suit underneath which allowed the plates to shift fluidly when required.
The armour was originally designed for him to use while in Invincible's body. It had to be adjusted to suit Omni-Man's larger frame.
Omni-Man was the strongest body Clark had. It was the form best suited to saving lives. He also didn't want to publicly reveal that he could change into different bodies. To the public, he would only appear in the silver armour. He would be happy if they never knew that it was Omni-Man's face beneath the silver mask.
'He's watching.' Clark thought to himself. He'd caught a glimpse of Omni-Man in the viewing gallery above the audition hall. The viltrumite warrior was expressionless. There was no emotion in his eyes as he looked at the heroes below.
Clark knew that his powers would frighten people if they found out. He didn't just borrow their abilities, he transformed into them. Part of him didn't believe that he could ever keep the nature of his powers secret, but he wanted to try for as long as possible.
When he'd walked into the audition hall, nearly a hundred new bodies had appeared in his mind. The GDA had gathered earth's greatest warriors, and he could become any one of them.
The assembled heroes waited for the audition to begin. The heroes who were familiar with each other formed groups and talked in low voices. All of them wanted a place in the new Guardians team, but there were only seven spaces.
After the final candidate had arrived, Robot addressed the group. Cecil had placed the android in charge of the soon to be decided Guardians.
"Thank you all for coming here today. The Guardians of The Globe were more than just a group of heroes. They were icons. Those of you who pass our trials will be among the elite. The best, of the best.
Needless to say, not all of you will be up to the challenge. Those of you who are up to the challenge, will succeed, not just by the uniqueness of your abilities, but by the uniqueness of your tactics, your adaptability, the agility of your minds.
And perhaps most importantly, the strength of your charecter, and spirit. That, is what truly makes a hero."
'Good speech.' Clark thought to himself. During the alien invasions, Robot had been a reliable presence. His intelligence had helped to repel the Flaxans and minimise the loss of human life. Clark had no problems following him as a leader.
"I will now assign you pairings. Rex-Splode you will go against Bug Eye. Shrinking Rae, your opponent is The Beast..." Robot listed off the first set of battle pairings for the audition.
"-Silver Giant, against Atom-Eve."
Clark heard his name called. Or at least, the superhero name the GDA had come up with for him. He didn't particularly like it, but it was bearable. He didn't have any better ideas of his own, and it was his favourite out of the list they'd provided.
The fights between heroes only lasted for a few minutes. Some ended after just a couple of seconds. The novelty of watching these heroes display their abilities right in front of his eyes kept Clark entertained. He paid closer attention to the battles of Rex-Splode and Dupli-Kate. He wondered in particular, if Dupli-Kate might have devised new ways to use their abilities since he'd seen her last. The answer was dissapointing.
When it came time for Clark's pairing, he walked down the stairs into the arena. Atom-Eve followed closely behind, her feet hovered a few inchess off the ground. Streams of pink energy held her in the air.
Until the name of her opponent was called by Robot, Atom-Eve had never heard of the Silver Giant. Thanks to the obviousness of his costume, it hadn't taken her long to work out who she was facing.
Atom-Eve and the Silver Giant stood twenty feet apart. Atom-Eve lowered her body in readiness for battle. Pink energy swirled at her fingertips. The Silver Giant stood motionless opposite her. His costume revealed almost nothing, she wasn't even sure that he was male.
"Ya!" Atom-Eve yelled. Two balls of pink energy shot out from her palms.
The Silver Giant didn't move. Atom-Eve watched the balls of energy get closer and closer. His size and the mystery of his costume had made her think that he would be a tough opponent. He wasn't even fast enough to dodge her initial attack.
Suddenly, Atom-Eve felt the air rush past her. The wall on the other side of the room grew rapidly larger in her vision. Her brain failed to process the abruptness of the change. Relying solely on instinct, she pushed out her hands in front of her. Pink energy spewed forth and rolled against the wall. At the last second, she managed to slow down enough to avoid crashing into the wall.
"What did you-"
Atom-Eve heard the roar of the wind in her ears again. Just like before, she found herself moving uncontrollably. She just about managed to capture the fleeting sensation of a hand against her back.
The spectating heroes didn't see when the Silver Giant moved. His movement speed exceeded the rate at which their eyes could capture information. They only managed to catch a glimpse of him when he momentarily paused with his hand on Atom-Eve's back.
Atom-Eve's eyes widened. She yelled and hurriedly unleashed another burst of pink energy against the wall. Despite her desperate effort, she failed to cancel out her momentum. Her shoulder slammed into the wall.
An invisble force lifted Atom-Eve's long red hair into the air. The space around her thrummed with energy. Her chest rise and fell rapidly. Her eyes darted about the room.
The Silver Giant stood in the centre of the room. His face was hidden beneath his mask. He was turned towards his opponent.
"Aah!" Atom-Eve screamed. She clapped her hands forcefully an enormous sphere of pink energy surrounded the Silver Giant.
The Silver Giant stood still for a moment. Then, just as Atom-Eve had done, he brought his palms together.
The soundwave tore through the hall. The reinforced ground shuddered under the strain. The spectating heroes felt the vibrations rumble beneath their feet.
The sphere of pink energy cracked into thousands of pieces. The Silver Giant's hands returned to his sides.
Atom-Eve felt cold sweat run down her back. She gritted her teeth and yelled again, "Aah!"
An enormous spiked hammer materialised in her hands. She twisted her body with all her strength and span it towards her opponent. The hammer's enormous velocity caused the air to shriek.
Clark watched the hammer move towards him. To him, it was no faster than a snail crawling across a leaf. It was interesting, the way Atom-Eve used her powers, but she was slow. So slow.
'Her attack would damage my armour if it lands. I'll dodge.' Clark thought to himself. The fight couldn't bring him any kind of pressure.
He moved out of the hammer's way, turning his body to avoid a spike by just a few millimeters. It was no more challenging than counting on his fingers.
Atom-Eve's breathing became heavier. Her hands trembled. She screamed and attacked again. She hurled huge pointed spears at the Silver Giant. She turned the air around him into fire, and then to steel. He tore through it as if it were made of paper.
"Aaaa!" Atom-Eve screamed again. She no longer sounded frustrated, she sounded desperate, and afraid. The Silver Giant made her feel like a helpless terrified shield. Her own image of herself was crumbling.
"Hey!"
The battle paused.
A figure in blue and yellow flew onto the battlefield. He floated in the air in front of Atom-Eve, his arms spread out protectively.
"Stop! You've won! You don't need to be cruel!" Invincible shouted angrily.
The Silver Giant looked at him silently. Throughout the battle, he hadn't said a word.
Anger surged in Mark's chest. The silver hero was just taunting her! He'd won and he refused to acknowledge it, he just let her push herself to exhaustion attacking him.
"Stop it" Mark roared. He pushed off the ground and tore through the air towards the Silver Giant. His fist was stretched out in front of him.
The attack didn't flow in slow motion like Atom-Eve's did. It was fast. If it landed, it would hurt.
Clark could have moved out of the way. Mark was just a juvenile viltrumite. His father, Omni-Man was an elite warrior who had spent thousands of years patrolling the galaxy and helping lesser civilisations. Fighting Invincible in Omni-Man's body would be like an adult facing a child.
Clark was fast enough to dodge. But he didn't.
The punch slammed into his jaw. The titanic force of the impact shifted the bones and ligaments. The skin beneath where Invincible's fist had struck reddened ever so slightly.
'It hurt.' Clark thought to himself.
The punch was painful. But not much. He could compare it to the feeling of bumping his knee against a table in his human body.
Clark raised his hand to his cheek. The metal plate where Invincible had struck was badly deformed by the impact.
Invincible floated in the air, staring in shock at his clenched fist. A dull ache spread through his knuckles. He'd imagined the Silver giant sent crashing into the wall, just like they'd done to Eve. The armoured hero hadn't retreated a single step.
'You're too hot-headed Mark. You need to learn.'
Mark was rash, and easily prone to emotional outbursts. In the battle against the flaxans, his anger had become a weapon. Anger could be a useful tool, every emotion had a part to play. But Mark couldn't allow it to control him.
Clark flew towards Mark at a speed that left the air blistering hot. The teenage half-viltrumite saw the attack coming. His eyes widened. His brain could percieve that a silver object was tearing towards him, but he couldn't raise his arms to defend in time.
Clark's fist crashed into Mark's stomach. A force that could level a mountain range poured into Mark's body. The air vanished from his lungs. The wall behind him shattered like it was made of glass, broken rubble and shards of metal flashed past his eyes.
The terrible momentum from the Silver Giant's punch didn't relent until Invincible had ripped through more than a hundred feet of solid rock. The wall where he'd slammed into was shattered as if it an earthquake had struck.
Blood trickled from the corners of Invincible's lips. His head was slumped forwards. He was breathing, but unconscious.
Omni-Man looked at his son from the viewing gallery above. His gaze was cold. The silver-armoured hero had knocked Mark unconscious with a single blow.
The strength behind the Silver Giant's fist was poorly concentrated. If he'd had better technique, the attack could've left Mark on the verge of death. Omni-Man knew what murderous intent looked like. The armoured hero hadn't intended to kill. The punch was a warning.
Mark needed to learn that weakness was a crime. As his father, and a viltrumite, it was his responsibility to teach him this. It wasn't the Silver Giant's place to do so.
But there were strings that tied his hands. Cecil was monitoring every breath he took. Debbie, poor frightened Debbie, checked Mark over for bruises every night.
Mark needed to learn about his people, his heritage. Pain would teach him about both. If he had been born on viltrum, he would've already been forced to stand against his parents in combat. If he failed to prove his worth, he would have been killed. In death, he would serve the empire forever.
The Silver Giant was strong. Omni-Man silently marked him as a threat. When he claimed earth, he would subjugate him, his strength could prove useful to the empire. If the armoured hero refused to accept viltrum's superior rule, he would slaughter him.
Atom-Eve hurriedly flew over to Mark. She transformed the rock into water which flowed out from the chasm where Mark's body was buried. The water carried him out with it as it flowed.
Atom-Eve kneeled on the ground. She shook Mark by the shoulder and called his name, "Mark! Mark are you okay?"
Mark's eyes fluttered. He was floating in a hazy world of disjointed voices and people. He suddenly heard his name being called. His eyes snapped open, "Whu-where am I?"
"Mark!" Eve cried out in relief and wrapped her arms around Mark.
Mark hissed in pain. His stomach felt like an asteroid had crashed into it. He could also feel the softness of Eve's body against his own, and smell the flowery scent of her shampoo.
Eve helped Mark to stand. She moved towards the exit, supporting Mark by the shoulder. She lowered her voice and whispered in his ear, "Thanks, but I didn't need you to save me."
Clark stood in the middle of the hall. He could feel dozens of pairs of eyes looking at him in fear, or admiration.
'Maybe I hit him too hard.' He thought to himself.