September 12th, 2015 — Saturday — Skies Over the U.S. — 11:53 AM
Mark shot away from the Pentagon, slicing through the low clouds in seconds. Cold air hit his face as he climbed, searching.
There—a pink point glowing against the blue sky.
Eve was flying fast, pink energy wrapped around her body as she cut through the wind.
Mark accelerated and caught up, flying beside her.
"Hey!"
Eve turned her head, her expression softening from nervousness into something sad.
"Is it really worth quitting the Guardians now?"
Eve looked away toward the horizon, the energy around her hands trembling faintly.
"Rex... suggested staying with both me and Kate at the same time."
Mark blinked.
"What?"
Eve looked down at the ground far below—cities shrunk into patches, rivers thin as lines.
"He didn't even apologize. I told you I caught them in the act, and on top of all that, he actually tried to justify what he did." She shook her head. "You know what he told Kate?"
Mark kept pace with her, waiting.
"That you and I were together."
Mark's eyes widened.
"What? That's insane." He flew a little closer, his voice honest. "Look, it sucks talking badly about someone you were with... but that guy's a clown. You're better off without him."
Eve glanced to the side, the wind tossing her hair.
"He wasn't always like this... but he is..."
Mark let out a breath, then gave a crooked, mocking half-smile.
"At least he got beat up today. GDA dentists are gonna have their hands full."
Eve smiled—sad, but a real smile all the same.
"Yeah... sounds like he got punched over that before too, but I don't know the details."
Mark kept the smile on his face.
"Seems like he enjoys getting hit."
Mark's half-smile faded, "I'm really sorry, Eve."
She looked at him for two seconds, then looked away again, her voice low. "Thanks."
Wind rushed between them. Eve kept her eyes on the horizon until she finally spoke again.
"By the way, your brother really lost it back there. Shouldn't you go after him?"
Mark stared out at the horizon ahead, thoughtful.
"I honestly don't know. He's not usually like that. But he's been kind of different lately... I mean, different in a better way." He frowned. "Although... it was kind of the same on the day of the bomb."
Eve didn't respond.
Mark kept going.
"That gorilla guy seemed to know him... or maybe he got him confused with someone, I don't know."
Eve stayed silent.
Mark looked at her.
"I'm gonna check if Kai's home. If you need to talk, you know you can talk to me, right?"
Eve gave him a faint smile, still flying.
"I know."
Mark gave a quick nod.
Eve dropped toward the city.
Mark turned north and accelerated.
And each of them followed their own path through the empty sky.
September 12th, 2015 — Saturday — Elsewhere in the Skies Over the U.S. — 11:55 AM
Kai flew without direction—at a moderate speed, staring at the horizon without really seeing it. The wind hit his face, cooling the anger that was still burning in his chest.
"Damn it."
He turned his head to the side, already expecting the inevitable sarcastic comment from Viktor's ghost.
But nothing came.
Only emptiness.
He was starting to miss the stubborn presence of his friend's ghost.
His phone vibrated—tucked into the hidden inner pocket of his suit, along the side of his pants.
Kai stopped in midair, hovering six thousand meters above the ground.
He pulled out the phone and looked at the screen.
Cosmic: How are you, my friend? Did you take the test for the new Guardians?
Kai held the phone for a full five seconds.
He started typing, then stopped with his thumb hovering over the screen.
"Ah, you know what? It's not like I've got anything better to do anyway."
He switched conversations and opened Mark's chat.
Last online 3 hours ago.
"Yeah, of course he left his phone at home."
He closed the chat and opened Debbie's.
He typed quickly.
Kai: I'm gonna be late, let Mark know. I'm going to see a friend.
He sent it.
Put the phone away.
Turned his face toward the Atlantic.
And shot forward—full speed, breaking the sound barrier. The boom echoed through the empty sky.
Africa was seven thousand kilometers away.
He would get there in less than twenty minutes.
Back at the Pentagon, Guardians training room — 12:07 PM
The training room still had that sterile feel of a place trying to look "normal" even after so much blood had stained the floor. White lights, seats arranged without much thought in the same room where they had taken the test just hours earlier.
Robot stood at the front, posture straight, voice even.
Rex Splode was slouched in his chair with one nasty black eye. Dupli-Kate remained composed. Shrinking Rae fidgeted with her uniform, restless. Monster Girl stood off to one side. Black Samson had his arms crossed and his jaw locked, staring at Robot like this was something personal.
And Frost—she occupied one of the farthest chairs, posture attentive. The pale uniform and silent presence matched the name.
Robot got straight to the point, fitting the pieces together one by one. He talked about roles, about how each of them would cover what the Guardians were missing, and about how the team needed to operate like a single organism. No improvised heroics. No ego. Coordination. Responsibility.
Black Samson didn't wait for him to finish.
"This is ridiculous," he said, his deep voice filling the room. "I used to be a Guardian. I should be leading this. Not some pile of ones and zeros..."
Rex let out a short, bitter laugh and straightened in his seat, already irritated by everyone else's irritation.
"Oh, sure," he shot back, jerking his chin toward Samson. "The leader in... losing powers. Brilliant."
Samson's face hardened. "I'm going to pretend that was a joke, but I'd advise you to keep quiet."
"Make me." Rex stood, pointing at Samson. "Seriously, let's go get Eve back. This guy's wearing a suit that probably needs batteries."
Dupli-Kate let out a sigh like she already knew how this script ended before the fight had even started.
Shrinking Rae looked from one to the other and stood before it could turn into punches. "I thought this was supposed to be a team. Call me when you figure it out, okay?"
She walked off toward another room.
The room emptied in waves. Kate left near the end, with Frost following right after, both of them shrugging their way out of the heavy mood.
In the end, only Robot and Monster Girl remained.
The silence felt more comfortable than the conversation had.
Robot looked at her as if he were returning to first principles.
Monster Girl lifted her gaze. There was no anger on her face, but there was a kind of exhaustion that felt older than she was.
"This isn't going to work," she said flatly.
Robot stood still for a second. "Explain."
She let out a breath, like she hated having to explain her curse all over again.
"Training three times a day is impossible. Every time I transform... I get younger," she said, without drama. Just fact. "So unless you want to start changing my diapers... I can't do that."
The words landed in the room like a punch—and for the first time, Robot seemed to truly consider the human weight behind their powers.
He took a second longer than usual before answering.
"Understood," he said. And for him, that was almost an apology. "We will make adjustments."
Monster Girl nodded, no victory in the gesture. Just relief at having been heard.
Outside, the muffled sounds of training were already starting to rise—shouts, impacts, the echo of a team that still had no idea how to be a team.
And Robot remained there, standing still, staring at the glass as if he were already calculating how many pieces would break before any of this actually started working.
High above, in the observation room, behind the glass where others had once stood watching—
A fixed look, almost disgusted, was pinned to the crumbling team below.
He hadn't been there long. It looked like he had only stepped into the observation room a few minutes ago.
But that had been enough.
Omni-Man. Arms crossed.
"Pathetic."
The word came out cold, steeped in contempt for what he had just witnessed from afar.
September 12th, 2015 — Saturday — Grayson House — 12:20 PM
Mark crossed the backyard, landing lightly behind the house. The mask came off first, crumpled in his hand. He opened the kitchen door, greeted by the smell of lunch and the rhythmic sound of a knife hitting a wooden cutting board.
Debbie was there, focused on chopping vegetables, but she didn't need to look up to know who it was.
"You're home early. I thought I was going to eat lunch alone," Debbie said in that light, motherly tone.
"Change of plans," Mark muttered as he looked around the house. "Kai's not back?"
Debbie shook her head, pausing the knife for a second.
"He said he was going to see a friend. He'll be back late."
Mark stopped for a second, staring at the floor. Then he shrugged and headed straight for the fridge. He grabbed a soda can.
Pssht.
A welcome distraction from the storm of thoughts about the GDA test. "Alright then. At least I'm home to have lunch with you."
Mark crossed the living room and dropped onto the couch, stretching out a hand for the phone tossed on the coffee table. The springs groaned under his weight.
He lit up the screen.
Amber: Hii. Can I see you today? Done with your "commitment"?
William: Hey, Greyson, up for watching some movies today? Popcorn's on you.
Mark looked at the messages, thumb hovering. Then the idea formed. He typed quickly.
Mark: Yeah. I'm one hundred percent free. Want to come over?
Mark: You can come here. Amber's coming too.
William: Alright, I'll be there in half an hour.
Amber: I do! I'll be there in an hour.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket as he sprawled farther into the couch.
Meanwhile — Nairobi, Kenya (East Africa) — 9:34 PM (UTC+3)
Kai landed in the red dirt road, dust rising in a cloud around his boots. The house ahead had a rusted tin roof, raw brick walls, and a small porch, dark except for a weak yellow bulb above it that made the worn chairs gleam faintly.
He raised a hand to knock.
But before his knuckles could meet the wood, the latch turned.
Cosmic appeared in the doorway. Under the pale porch light, his human disguise looked flawless—the bracelet on his wrist pulsed with a subtle bluish glow, maintaining the brown skin and dark hair.
"Kai."
Kai pulled off the mask, revealing his face. They embraced quickly; a solid clash of shoulders, a brief pat on the back before pulling apart.
"Come in," Cosmic invited.
The living room was simple—a worn beige couch, a coffee table marked with cup rings, framed pictures on the wall. The smell of tea drifted from the kitchen. They sat down—Cosmic on the couch, Kai in a wicker chair that creaked beneath him.
"How are you? I texted you about the Guardians test." Cosmic leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
Kai dropped the mask onto the table.
"I just got out of the test. But it's not happening."
Cosmic raised an eyebrow.
"What happened?"
Kai shrugged.
"I ran into one of the guys from the group of villains that killed Viktor. The one who turned into a gorilla. He attacked me, and... well, I gave him a little taste of what he deserved and decided I'm not joining."
Cosmic nodded, his hands resting calmly on his knees. "I understand."
Kai looked at the framed photo on the wall—Cosmic and Elise smiling months ago, fingers intertwined.
"My father was against Mark and me joining the Guardians too. According to him, we should operate independently."
The room fell silent for the span of a heartbeat. Cosmic tilted his head, slow and curious.
"You called him 'father' naturally," the alien observed. "It seems you're finally getting used to this new life. Before, you avoided calling him that."
Kai gave a faint, hollow smile and looked away.
"Yeah... well... I don't know. In a way, the world feels more and more... natural every day," he admitted, his voice stripped of its usual irony—as if the identity of this reality was finally starting to stop feeling like "the other one."
Cosmic nodded.
After a few seconds of silence, he continued. "And the void energy? Have you been using it?"
Kai leaned back, more relaxed. "Other than the eyes, the last time was that one time you helped... speaking of which, how's Elise?"
Cosmic looked at the same picture Kai had been staring at earlier.
"She's doing well. The pregnancy won't be normal, of course. Since I'm an alien, time may not behave in the usual way. But the GDA is watching closely, and we're both doctors. So... about the eyes, I think you should avoid using them too."
Kai nodded, and they stayed quiet for a few seconds.
Cosmic raised his left arm and pressed the silver bracelet. His skin began to darken—purple veins surfacing and spreading, changing the color. His eyes glowed.
Original form.
"I was about to help a village to the east. Terrorists blew up the main bridge four days ago. Supplies are stuck on the other side, and the river swelled because of the rain. Want to come? Since you're already in uniform."
Kai stood.
"Let's go."
Village to the East — 9:46 PM (UTC+3)
They flew low over the brown river—the bridge destroyed halfway across, twisted pillars jutting out from the water, the current carrying logs and trash downstream. On the other side, the village was in ruins—houses without roofs, families camped out in the street beneath makeshift tarps, barefoot children running through the wreckage.
Cosmic landed on the far bank, dust rising around him. Kai touched down right behind him.
A woman in her twenties ran up to them, a baby in her arms.
"You came!"
Cosmic nodded, already looking at the destroyed bridge.
"The supplies?"
"Three trucks. Food, medicine, tarps. Stuck over there." She pointed to the opposite side.
Kai flew to the trucks—three of them, drivers waiting nervously. He carried the first one by himself as if it were a cardboard box. Then several stacks of crates in his arms, flying over the river in seconds.
He unloaded them on the bank. Women rushed forward, handing out sacks of rice, cans of powdered milk.
Cosmic worked on the bridge—flying steel beams in from the makeshift supply yard, welding with the heat from his hands, reconnecting the pillars. Half the structure was standing again in twenty minutes.
Kai finished with the supplies and landed beside him.
An elderly woman grabbed his arm—weathered hands gripping hard.
"My son was on the bridge when it exploded. He barely made it out." Tears ran down her wrinkled face.
Kai stayed there. Listened to the whole story—ten full minutes.
Children crowded around Cosmic when he finished the bridge. He sat on the ground, letting them climb onto his purple back, telling stories about the stars while the adults crossed with the supplies.
Kai watched from a distance, leaning against a half-collapsed brick wall.
Some time later, Cosmic walked over to him.
Kai looked at him with his usual mocking tone. "Looks like you got popular—for a seven-foot purple alien."
Cosmic laughed.
"Yeah. We make a difference here."
For a few more seconds, the two of them stood there, watching the people finish handing out the supplies.
The silence lasted until Cosmic turned toward him.
"We're done here. Why don't you stay for dinner? Elise should be home by now, and she'll be happy to see you."
Kai looked back at his friend for a second before nodding. "For me, this would be lunch."
Cosmic smiled and took a few steps forward. "I keep forgetting this planet has different time zones. I never get used to it."
Then the two of them shot off into the sky.
Dinner at Cosmic's house was the opposite of the chaos at the GDA. There were no arguments about powers or conspiracies. Between bites and laughter, Kai watched the way Cosmic and Elise interacted—the almost reverent care with which the alien treated his pregnant wife, and the way Elise made Cosmic feel like he was not an "intruder" from another dimension, but simply someone who belonged there.
And in a way, Kai felt that too.
Some time later, same day — Grayson House — 6:20 PM (Chicago time)
Kai landed behind the house, African dust still clinging to his uniform. He opened the kitchen door slowly.
From the living room came loud laughter.
Mark was curled up with Amber—her legs over his, her head resting against his shoulder. William was sprawled across the other couch, a nearly empty bucket of popcorn balanced on his chest. Zombies groaned on the TV, blood spraying across the screen.
Kai froze for half a second.
Mark turned his head, saw him, and gave a quick nod toward the outside—go around.
Kai flew back out before Amber or William could turn around.
William lifted his head from the popcorn.
"I thought I heard someone come in."
Amber laughed, pressing herself more tightly against Mark.
"Probably just your imagination being scared of zombies."
Brothers' Room — 6:21 PM
Kai flew in through the open window and shut it behind him. The uniform was off in five seconds—thrown into the hamper. Gray T-shirt, jeans, sneakers. White hair messy, but acceptable.
He went back out through the window and returned by opening the kitchen door again.
"Hey."
William looked over the top of the popcorn bucket.
"You missed the greatest zombie movie marathon in history."
Kai crossed the room and dropped onto the corner couch.
"Damn. My mistake. When am I ever going to get another chance to watch bad movies with popcorn soaked in grease?"
Amber laughed and tossed a cushion at him.
"You can still do that. You just won't get to witness William screaming."
William nearly spit out his popcorn.
"Hey!"
Mark laughed, pulling Amber closer against him.
The hours passed like that—shouts at jump scares, popcorn flying, Amber hiding her face in Mark's shoulder, William swearing, "this is the last one I'm watching," Kai mocking the movies with his dry comments.
The fourth bucket of popcorn was the breaking point.
William shook the empty bucket toward the TV. "Out again."
"Don't look at me." Amber raised both hands. "I already made two."
"And I made one." Mark pointed at the bucket. "Your turn, William."
William crossed his arms. "I brought the bucket."
"The bucket doesn't count."
"Yes, it does."
Kai watched the negotiation for three seconds with the expression of someone observing a documentary about exotic animals. Then he got up from the couch.
"I'll do it." He took the bucket from William's hand before anyone could protest. "At least it's a break from the bad movies."
Amber laughed. "You keep complaining while laughing at every scene."
"Exactly. It's a sophisticated level of enjoying terrible entertainment." He turned toward the kitchen, disappearing down the hallway.
A phone vibrated on the side table.
Without looking, William stretched out an arm, picked it up, and unlocked it automatically.
The screen lit up.
It took him a second to realize the phone in his hand wasn't his.
Kiana: Hi. How are you? It's been a while.
Kiana: I wanted you to see this: [social media video link]
William slowly raised his head, looking at Mark with one eyebrow arched. He whispered toward the couch, his voice almost swallowed by the blaring TV. "Kiana? That's Kai's ex, right?"
Mark turned his head. His eyes widened. "Yeah." He reached over and took the phone.
Amber sat up straighter. "What is it? Who's Kiana? Did they break up?"
Mark scrolled through the conversation, his expression closing off little by little. "She just left for another country out of nowhere. To become an actress." He said it in the same dry tone of someone who had processed that a long time ago. "Just like that."
"She sent a link." William grabbed his own phone and typed in the address. The screen loaded.
Her profile on social media. Most recent post. Thumbnail with the logo of a Korean production company, the song title in Hangul.
The video started playing on its own. Teaser for the next season.
Scenes from the drama—slow motion, golden lighting, a sharp-featured Korean actor and Kiana together on screen. She looked up at him, and he held her face with both hands. Cut. The two of them running through a wet street. Cut. Her singing straight into the camera.
The lyrics came in with a verse in English:
"You pull me in, far stronger than gravity's hold,Among the mortals, you shine like a deity of gold.Yet there's a barrier between us, unseen and untold,And the distance stretches endless, infinitely cold.Alone, I know it eats at you inside,Living misunderstood, with nowhere to confide.Your gaze holds an energy, boundless and bright,It blinds me completely, floods me with light.Master of charming, you conquer my breath,A demigod walking the earth beneath..."
None of the three paid attention to the lyrics, or even to the title below it in Latin letters: Eyes of Infinity. The phone volume was almost muted, and their eyes went straight to the images—Kiana and the actor in a duet, him close to her in a shot that nearly turned into hand-holding. Her tilting her head while the camera spun around them.
William slowly lowered the phone without even waiting for it to finish.
"Wow." His voice came out almost impressed by how absurd it was. "That is some serious obsession with an ex. Sending him a duet with the current guy."
Amber's disgust was plain on her face. "That's cruel!"
The microwave beeped in the kitchen as it stopped spinning.
Mark stared in that direction for a second, jaw tight. Then he looked at his brother's phone on the table. Picked it up. Unlocked it—he knew the password. Opened the chat, his thumb hovering over the message for half a second.
Deleted it.
He placed the phone back on the table, screen down.
"He doesn't deserve to see that."
William nodded without saying anything else. Amber leaned back against Mark's shoulder.
The three of them turned their eyes back to the television.
Kai came back down the hall carrying the overflowing bucket, dropping onto the corner couch with the ease of someone who had missed absolutely nothing.
"Next victim." He pushed the bucket toward the middle of the table. "What's the survival rate in this one?"
"Zero." William grabbed a handful of popcorn. "And it's great."
Kai let out a short laugh and kept his eyes on the screen, his feet propped back over the arm of the couch.
When the marathon ended, William was the first to leave—9:55 PM. Amber kissed Mark at the door and left ten minutes later.
The house went quiet, but not for long.
The front door opened.
Debbie came in first, carrying a shopping bag. Nolan followed behind her.
Debbie hung the bag on a kitchen chair, turned, and kissed Nolan—a quick, familiar kiss. "I'm going to grab the dirty laundry to wash. I put it off all day."
Then she headed for the stairs.
Nolan crossed the living room, stopping at the entrance as he looked over his sons sprawled across the couches.
"I heard you took the test for the Guardians." His voice came out serious, but calm.
Mark and Kai looked at him from the living room—Mark seated on the couch with the remote in hand, Kai lying down with his legs draped over the armrest.
Kai nodded, unconcerned.
"And?" Nolan asked, crossing his arms.
"'And?' Of course we passed. But we're not joining."
Mark stayed quiet, only silently agreeing with what his brother had said.
Nolan walked slowly to the other couch and sat down, letting out a breath. "Good choice." Right after that, he reached toward the coffee table and picked up one of the DVDs from the stack.
"You were watching zombie movies? I haven't seen this one yet."
Mark straightened up, suddenly energized.
"Kai missed this one too."
Kai lay back down and covered his face with one arm.
"Apparently the torture is starting again."
Nolan put in the DVD. The screen lit up. Zombies groaned.
Debbie passed by the living room doorway with the basket of dirty clothes and stopped for a second. She smiled as she looked at the three of them.
Kai's white hair still stood out under the living-room light.
But there, on that couch, he belonged. Once again.
The next two weeks settled into something dangerously close to normal.The new Guardians still hadn't been seen in action.For Kai and Mark, that quiet lasted right up until it didn't.
Far from there, somewhere in Korea, someone kept staring at her phone every hour, waiting for any kind of reply even while believing she didn't deserve one.
Two weeks later — September 29th, 2015 — Tuesday — Grayson House — 3:02 PM
Mark was sitting in front of the computer, elbow resting on the desk, staring at the screen with the expression of someone who had just gotten bad news.
"Man, I can't believe this. A new issue of Science Dog is coming out and I'm broke."
Kai was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He turned his head for less than a second.
"That thing is awful. You even forced poor Amber to read it."
Mark spun the chair around, making a face.
"She liked it. She even borrowed a volume." He raised both hands. "Come on. Lend me the money this time."
Kai stretched out on the bed, arms opening wide, his back cracking softly. He kept looking at the ceiling.
"I'm broke too. Whatever money I had is gone. You should've saved before frying your cap."
Mark laughed, turning back to the monitor. "I still remember the look on their faces at Burger Mart. Totally worth it." The laugh slowly faded. Mark kept staring at the screen, more serious now, one hand no longer on the mouse. "Although... it could've started a fire. Or seriously burned someone."
Kai looked at Mark with that same tired expression as always.
"At least you've got some sense..." He let out a breath. "I'm gonna need a part-time job for college. Med school's gonna be a pain."
Mark raised an eyebrow and swiveled back around.
"I'm still surprised you picked something that easily after saying college was useless." He frowned. "I still haven't decided." Then he grimaced. "But a part-time job again? Hard pass."
Kai looked up at the ceiling with a faintly mocking expression.
"It's either that or we start charging for hero work."
In the middle of the room, the air folded.
A portal opened—circular, silent.
Kai was off the bed in half a second, dropping into a fighting stance, feet planted firmly on the floor.
Mark got out of the chair at the same time.
Then the portal revealed a dark suit, a scarred face.
Analytical eyes swept over both of them.
Cecil.
They relaxed a little when they saw him.
Cecil adjusted his suit. "I saw both of you at the Guardians tryout." He took two steps into the room, glancing over the uniforms hanging from Mark's chair. "And I saw that you didn't want to join the team..."
Silence.
Cecil turned, facing both of them.
"But based on the last few weeks, I'm assuming you still want to be heroes."
Mark gave a small nod, not dropping the uncomfortable look on his face from the way Cecil had appeared in the middle of the room.
"You've been spying on us?"
Kai stayed still, watching.
The answer was too obvious, and it came with old memories attached.
If this guy can appear out of nowhere in the middle of my room, how much does he know about me?
I was naive.
Cecil slipped a hand into his suit pocket and pulled out two tiny earpiece communicators—black, cutting-edge tech.
"We've got an incident."
Mark frowned. "Right now?" He turned to Kai. "Amber's coming over."
Kai didn't answer. He stayed silent, eyes fixed on the man who had appeared there.
Even though they had never had much direct contact, he knew exactly who Cecil was because of his father's life as a hero.
Cecil's expression hardened as he looked at Mark.
"Right now. The world isn't going to wait for you to have free time." He turned one of the earpieces between his fingers. "Normally I wouldn't ask for help, but your father is fighting a Kaiju on the other side of the planet. And the new Guardians are still a mess." Cecil looked between the two of them. "Can you handle this? Atom Eve is already on her way."
Kai exhaled, snapping back to himself.
A second later, both of them took the communicators from his hand without any more hesitation.
Cecil turned toward the portal, which was still open.
"I assumed you'd choose to help."
Kai shot a glance at Mark, then asked, "And the pay?"
Cecil stopped without fully turning around.
"If you join the team, we can talk about that."
The portal closed behind him.
The room went quiet.
Mark looked at the communicator in his hand, then at Kai.
Kai was already grabbing the uniform from the chair.
And when they shot into the sky, the last thing Mark saw was Amber ringing the front doorbell below.
"Damn it! I'm screwed."
September 29th, 2015 — Tuesday — South Dakota, U.S. — 3:16 PM
Kai flew beside Mark, the wind slicing through the air between them.
"It's no surprise he knows who we are." Kai stared at the horizon with that same bored look as always. "But it's still insane that he showed up in our room through some damn portal."
Mark nodded, twisting his mouth.
"Tell me about it. Is he really spying on us?"
Kai let out a breath.
"Charging for this is starting to make more and more sense."
Mount Rushmore appeared on the horizon—the four faces carved into gray stone, sunlight striking their surfaces. And flying toward the monument, a pink figure was glowing in the sky.
Eve.
The three of them met in midair. Their earpieces activated at the same time—Cecil's voice cutting into the channel.
"The target is Doc Seismic. He has a PhD in seismology, so he's an actual doctor. The problem is that he invented seismic gauntlets. Objective still unconfirmed. Our specialists indicate he suffered brain damage because of the gauntlets..."
Eve turned her head toward the brothers.
"Classic mad scientist case."
Cecil kept talking as the three of them accelerated.
"Do whatever is necessary to stop him. But don't forget, you're standing on a national treasure."
Mount Rushmore — 3:21 PM
The ground was screaming.
Cracks tore through the granite in every direction, orange lava bubbling from the fissures like living blood. The earthquake rolled in waves—stones breaking free from the slopes, trees collapsing, abandoned cars sliding through the parking lot.
Standing atop a split block of granite a few meters in front of the four carved faces, a man with his arms spread wide was laughing at no one in particular.
Bald. Face lined with wrinkles. White lab coat over a red T-shirt. On his hands—or rather, on his wrists—were two metallic braces too large to be gloves, packed with circuits pulsing orange.
"This profane monument should not exist!" His voice came out ragged with conviction. "I will correct this mistake by placing the true face they should be worshiping!"
Doc Seismic thrust out one arm. A new fissure split open at the base of the carved faces, cracking Lincoln's granite face right down the middle.
"Now die for failing to worship me!"
He laughed again as a massive chunk of stone broke free and started falling toward the civilians running below.
Mark reached it first.
WHOOOOSH!
He caught the slab in midair with both arms, effortlessly, then steadied himself. He turned and set the block down safely off to the side, far from the civilians.
Still hovering, he looked at Doc Seismic.
"Let's wrap this up fast. I had plans."
Doc Seismic bared his teeth.
"Insolent fool! Die!"
He brought both braces together, the circuits bursting orange. A seismic wave blasted outward in an arc.
It hit Mark in the chest.
He flew backward—out of control, spinning.
Kai shot toward Doc Seismic at the same time.
A bright pink wall materialized in front of Mark before he could crash into the carved faces. Eve was already flying beside him by the time he steadied himself.
Mark looked at her.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Eve was already assessing the situation. "We need to get those gauntlets off him."
Down below, Kai cut through the air in a straight line toward Seismic.
Doc Seismic brought his hands together—the ground split open in a local quake—and a jet of lava blasted up from beneath the rocks straight into Kai's path.
Kai halted in the air, veering aside by several meters. The lava shot past, burning the air next to his mask.
Doc Seismic used the burst from his wrist devices to launch himself upward over the rocks in uneven leaps.
Kai watched the lava dissipate.
"Yeah. Almost lost another uniform."
Mark, hovering beside Eve, turned to her and corrected her in a dry tone.
"Correction. They're not gloves. Gloves have fingers. Those are more like seismic bracers."
Eve smiled and was already turning as she accelerated toward Seismic.
Mark grabbed a loose block of granite from the ground and hurled it in an arc at the villain.
Doc Seismic turned and raised an arm.
CRAAACK!
The rock imploded in midair—fragments flying in every direction.
Seismic spread both arms wide, his braces roaring.
The earthquake hit in a wave—bigger than the others. The ground rose in surging swells of granite, throwing Mark and Eve to one side and hurling Kai backward with brute force.
CRAAAACK!
Earth split open.
A massive fissure tore through the ground between the visitors and the monument—lava boiling in the darkness below, heat rising in waves. Some civilians had fallen onto the far side, trapped on the wrong edge of the chasm.
Mark steadied Eve—his palm against her back—and shot forward.
"The ones on the left are mine!"
Eve stretched out both hands, pink energy spreading like a net across the fissure.
The civilians levitated—their screams cutting through the scorching air—as they were pulled back to safety.
Kai flew toward Seismic, who was already preparing another blast—his braces charging, orange light pulsing through the circuits.
Kai didn't give him the chance.
He slammed into Doc Seismic head-on—shoulder into his chest—driving him with full force away from the center of the monument. The two of them tore through the air together.
Even then, Seismic activated the braces on impact.
The lava fissure widened.
And Seismic slipped free of Kai's hold, spinning in midair as he fell toward the open chasm.
A distorted laugh escaped him on the way down.
"I should've spent more time building a jetpack!"
Kai looked at him falling, his gaze cold behind the mask.
There's no reason to save a guy like that.
A blur of yellow and blue shot past him like a projectile.
Mark dove into the fissure.
Kai narrowed his eyes.
Down below, Seismic saw Mark and screamed.
"Die!"
His braces flared at maximum power—a column of lava erupting upward.
Mark twisted in the opposite direction in midair to avoid it.
Kai saw the orange surge rising.
"Damn it! Mark, you idiot! Every damn time!"
And shot after him.
His eyes lit blue behind the mask—Kai dropped in a vertical dive, the heat of the lava rising in waves, granite melting along the walls of the fissure. His Viltrumite body could endure it—but neither of them knew for sure how much.
In the last second, a pink wall dropped between them and the lava like a shield.
Eve, above them.
The wall held. Lava slammed into the pink energy and spilled down its sides.
Kai stopped beside Mark in midair. The two of them flew back upward, Eve's barrier parting to let them through.
The three of them landed together on the edge of the fissure, staring down at the orange glow swallowing the hole below. No sign of Seismic.
Eve looked down into the chasm, arms crossed.
"Wow. That guy really had a hot temper."
Mark laughed.
Kai dragged a hand through his white hair, breathing hard.
"What the hell, Mark?" His voice wasn't loud—it was heavy. "Why the hell did you fly after him?"
Mark turned, genuinely confused.
"The guy was gonna fall into lava. I tried to save him. That's what heroes do." He looked between the two of them. "You were just gonna let him fall?"
Kai opened his mouth, drew in a breath.
Then let it out. "There's no point talking about it."
Eve looked at Mark. "I agree that it was naive on your part."
Mark turned his head toward her with a grimace. "Seriously?"
She continued with a half-smile, "But I would've done the same thing."
Mark smiled back.
Kai rolled his eyes and rose into the air, starting to fly away slowly with his back to them.
"Right. Try putting out a fire by helping the one pouring gasoline on it. Makes perfect sense. Maybe now we can start leaving standing water around to save mosquitoes from extinction."
And he flew off into the sky.
Mark and Eve rolled their eyes at the same time, laughter slipping out as they rose after him.
As soon as they caught up to Kai, his calm voice asked the ironic question, lightly mocking.
"Didn't you have somewhere to be, Mark?"
Mark's eyes widened. "Shit! That's right!"
He shot into the sky, disappearing in seconds.
Kai shot after him.
Eve shook her head with a laugh and followed her own path.
Grayson House — 3:39 PM
Mark and Kai dove toward the back roof, slipping in through the bedroom window like gray and blue blurs. Within seconds, their uniforms were shoved into the back of the closet and civilian clothes had replaced their hero gear. They jumped back down into the yard, and finally Mark opened the front door with his key, forcing his breathing back to normal.
Amber was on the couch, arms crossed, chin slightly lifted.
Kai walked in first. He only fixed his gaze on her for a brief second, gave a curt nod, and kept walking toward the stairs without saying a word.
Amber frowned, watching Kai pass by her like a stranger before turning back to Mark.
"You made plans with me and left me waiting. It's already been thirty minutes." She uncrossed her arms, but the tension stayed in her shoulders. "Good thing I got here before your mom left for the store, or I would've been stuck waiting outside."
Mark scratched the back of his neck, avoiding direct eye contact.
"Sorry. I had to go out with my brother to deal with something real quick."
Amber looked at him, then toward the top of the stairs where Kai had just disappeared. She leaned closer to Mark, lowering her voice.
"Don't tell me he found out about the message and got mad?"
Mark hesitated, his shoulders tightening. "No, it's not like that."
Upstairs, with no zombies screaming from the TV this time, the house had gone quiet enough for every word downstairs to reach him with the kind of clarity only Viltrumite hearing could make inconveniently possible.
Footsteps echoed on the stairs. Kai reappeared, stopping halfway down with both hands in his pockets.
"What message?"
Both of them froze. Amber closed her eyes and let out a defeated sigh.
"Damn it," she muttered, almost soundlessly.
Kai descended the rest of the stairs slowly, his face a mask of indifference. He stopped at the entrance to the living room, blocking the way.
"So?"
Mark exhaled and decided to rip the bandage off all at once.
"Look, man... Kiana sent you a message the other day... a link to a post where she was with someone else."
Something passed across Kai's face—too fast to name. His shoulders didn't move, his hands stayed in his pockets, and his expression never left its usual shape.
"Maybe she sent the link by accident, I don't know," Mark continued, his voice faltering a little.
Kai looked at Amber, who dropped her gaze to the carpet. Then he looked back at his brother.
"I didn't see any message on my phone. Did she send it to you?"
Mark rubbed the back of his neck, guilt weighing on his face.
"It was sent to you... and I deleted it before you saw it."
Kai's expression hardened. "You what?"
Amber grabbed Mark's arm, stepping forward a little as if to shield him.
"Look, he did it because she was being cruel. That only would've hurt you."
Kai kept staring at Mark, ignoring Amber's interruption.
"Sorry, man. I wasn't thinking." Mark looked down at his feet, his voice barely a whisper. "I knew how hard that would hit you. I just wanted to spare you."
Kai let out a short laugh heavy with disdain, glancing between the two of them.
"Fantastic. I just found out I apparently have a personal assistant managing my social life."
"We know it was wrong!" Amber shot back, annoyed by his tone. "But he did it to protect you. You don't have to be an asshole about it."
Kai didn't answer. He just held her gaze for a moment, then turned away. He picked up the sunglasses resting on the console table by the door and put them on. It was an automatic motion. An old habit.
"Kai, wait—" Mark tried, but his brother was already out on the sidewalk.
The door closed softly behind him.
Kai walked down the street with no destination. The irritation with Mark burned hot; having Mark "clear the path" for him had struck at his pride. A pride he didn't even know he possessed. But beneath that, the image of the message he had never even read kept gnawing at the back of his mind.
Kiana wouldn't do that.
He stopped in the middle of the block and took off the sunglasses, staring at the dark lenses. They were a gift from her.
In the reflection, he saw it.
An electric blue glow pulsing involuntarily in the back of his pupils.
Reacting to his instability.
"I warned you. People change. You knew that." The voice came from behind, carrying a familiar edge of mockery.
Kai didn't bother turning around. He slowly put the sunglasses back on, his usual cynicism returning to his face along with the brown in his eyes.
"Look who's back from the dead again," Kai replied, his voice icy.
At the same time, elsewhere in the world — 3:45 PM (Chicago time)
The sea was still boiling.
Donald Ferguson stood at the edge of the rocky shoreline, phone pressed to his ear, staring at the creature lying three hundred meters off the coast. Waves slammed against its body, breaking into white foam over olive-green scales.
Huge wasn't the right word.
Huge was for things that still fit inside your field of vision.
That thing didn't.
Its serpentine body stretched from the horizon to the shore—segmented, armored, each plate of its shell thick enough to absorb a missile. Its exposed underside faced the sky, orange-red, far too organic compared to the rest of its natural armor. Its head—if it could even be called a head—was shaped like a hammer, with no visible eyes, a crown of jagged ridges across its brow, and something moving inside its mouth.
Tongues. Or tentacles.
From that distance, the distinction hardly mattered.
The vertical rings rising from its back were still partially submerged, towering out of the sea like pillars of flesh, each one the size of an office building.
Donald took all of that in and spoke into the phone with the calm of a man who had seen enough things to have retired years ago.
"Cecil. I'm looking at the thing right now." He stepped a little farther down the rocky slope, studying it. "Fifteen meters tall just at the head, not counting the body. Olive green with layered plates, orange underside. The creature's face looks like a hammer—no eyes that I can see—but there's something moving in its mouth. Tentacles or tongues. Don't ask me which."
Cecil's voice came through dry on the other end.
"And Omni-Man?"
"He's already gone." Donald scratched the side of his face. "Second time I've seen him genuinely struggle, Cecil. First time was with Russell. Took longer than I expected for this thing to go still. The monster sank about three times before it stopped moving."
"Is it dead?"
Donald narrowed his eyes, looking at the massive body rocking with the tide.
"Maybe. Or maybe not." His eyes traced the length of the creature from its head to where the rest of its body vanished beneath the water. "I'm not seeing any breathing, but with something this size... Cecil, honestly, I have no idea how anyone would even read the vital signs on this thing."
Cecil didn't hesitate.
"Freeze it. Send a team and freeze the whole monster. You never know when something like that might come in handy."
"Understood."
"And Donald."
"Yeah?"
"Don't get close."
Cecil hung up.
Donald lowered the phone and slipped it into his suit pocket. He stayed there for a few more seconds, looking at the motionless leviathan, the tide crashing against its armored flanks with the dull sound of waves hitting rock.
Could come in handy. Cecil and his collections.
He turned to go get the containment team.
The tentacle came out of nowhere.
It slid over the rocks—a massive length of wet flesh slamming against the stone two meters from Donald with a THWOOM that shook through his chest.
Donald jumped back, feet setting themselves, arms rising into a fighting stance on pure muscle memory.
He stayed like that for a full three seconds, staring at the motionless tentacle.
"Oh! Sweet Jesus!"
The tentacle didn't move again.
Donald slowly lowered his arms. Looked at his own raised fists. Looked at the fifteen-story creature that was technically dead or incapacitated in the ocean.
"Wow."
He straightened his jacket, turned on his heel, and went to get the containment team.