"Got a little carried away…"
"Took a minute and a half. Spacetime energy went from 41% up to 45%…"
"These pickle freaks were seriously that weak? I smashed over a thousand of them and only got four percent energy? What a rip-off. Next time I should just fly to their homeworld and start farming them there…"
Jovian glanced at the watch on his wrist. He'd promised Debbie he'd be back in one minute—he broke his word. It took a full minute and a half.
And he couldn't help feeling disgusted by how little energy these aliens contained. According to the system's evaluation, these pickle-planet aliens were only in the "break bricks and crack walls" range, and their physical stats weren't much better than an average human on Earth. No value. No potential.
"This is yours to clean up."
After venting, Jovian hovered in the air, looked down at the Teen Team, tossed out that one sentence, then shot off at top speed toward a certain five-sided building.
"Yeah! Yeah!"
"So we're the trash mobs who get looked down on, huh?! All the dirty work and support duty lands on us, huh?!"
"You bastard…"
Rex shouted furiously at Jovian's disappearing back.
But Jovian didn't bother responding. He just filed it away—he'd settle accounts with Rex later, nice and slow.
"Mom… and Mark."
When Jovian returned to the hospital room, he saw Mark covered in blood, clutching Debbie as he shook.
For the first time, Mark had fought a true enemy—someone who killed without blinking. The pressure on him was enormous, not just physically, but mentally.
"You did great," Jovian said, patting Mark's shoulder.
For a kid, going from the high of suddenly gaining powers… to learning his father had been brutally injured by an unknown attacker… to trying to save people like a real hero and getting toyed with and beaten… and in the end not even saving anyone…
In such a short span, Mark's life had swung violently up and down. The fact that he could still keep even a shred of optimism was already impressive.
"Really, Jovian…?" Mark lifted his head.
He knew Jovian was trying to comfort him—but right now, that comfort was exactly what he needed.
"It's true," Jovian said firmly. "You're already doing really well. The first time I ever faced an opponent, I couldn't even swing my fist. Compared to that, you're incredible."
He kept praising Mark for a bit longer.
"Hearing you say that makes me feel a lot better," Mark said.
The encouragement steadied him. Little by little, his spirit came back.
"Mark, Jovian," Debbie said, standing up. "I'm fine here. You two go home. You still have school tomorrow…"
She gripped both their hands tightly.
With Nolan down, she was the only adult in the family. She had to hold the whole house up—give her kids courage and strength. It had nothing to do with superpowers or physical strength. This was just a mother loving her children.
"… "
Jovian's brow tightened slightly.
Honestly, whether other people got hurt because of his and Nolan's plan didn't bother him much.
But Debbie—his mother in this world—was the one person he couldn't face with a clear conscience.
That was why he'd been trying to talk Nolan into a gentler approach to taking control of the world.
For example: quietly controlling the Global Defense Agency, propping up puppet leaders, and ruling Earth from the shadows. There was no need for Viltrumites to stand in the spotlight. Staying hidden and controlling everything from behind the curtain was the smarter move.
And Nolan had been doing it well. When Nolan attacked the Guardians of the Globe, the very first thing people thought wasn't "Omni-Man turned evil"—they thought "Omni-Man must have been controlled."
So keep wearing the Omni-Man identity. Turn Nolan from the world's hero into the world's irreplaceable leader.
Make Earth understand it wasn't that Nolan needed them—
It was that they couldn't live without Nolan.
In short: put on a grand performance, toy with everyone on Earth, satisfy Jovian's twisted sense of fun, and still reach their final goal—ruling Earth.
That was Jovian's vision.
But how it would actually be carried out depended on Nolan—on the man lying in that hospital bed, and what he planned to do.
One thing was certain, though: they had to cripple the Global Defense Agency under Cecil's control. That was absolutely the right move.
"I'll take Mark home," Jovian said, shaking off the spiral of thoughts. He looked Debbie in the eye, promised her, and gently pulled Mark behind him.
"Okay." Debbie nodded, saying no more. With Jovian handling it, she felt safe.
"Come on, Mark," Jovian said. "Let's not make Mom worry."
"I… know." Mark swallowed whatever else he wanted to say.
He held it in, clenched his fist, and made a silent vow to get stronger—strong enough to deserve his hero name, strong enough to make the word "Invincible" actually mean something.
"…Sigh."
Besides Debbie, the other problem was his own idiot brother.
If he could, Jovian truly didn't want to trade blows with Mark.
He really didn't want to beat Mark until he was a mosaic.
No one would come out of that unscarred.
That night passed in silence…
The next day…
Jovian and Mark went to school together.
They rarely did that anymore. Mostly because Mark felt that if he kept going to school with Jovian, people would think he'd never grown up.
At school, Jovian and Mark ran into Mark's blond friend—the kid who always tagged along.
"Hey, Mark! And Jovian!"
The blond kid stared at Jovian, surprised. He knew their relationship, of course—but at school he almost never saw the two brothers together, so it stood out.
"Yeah…" Jovian didn't know the kid's name, so he just smiled and nodded.
The blond kid didn't mind. Jovian was the school's star—him not remembering someone's name was practically normal.
"Mark, why do you look so wiped out?" the blond kid asked, more curious about Mark's mood.
"Our dad was attacked," Mark said with a sigh. "He got hurt…"
"Oh—I'm sorry… God, I mean—your dad's okay, right?" The blond kid looked genuinely worried.
"For now… yeah."
Then Mark's eyes caught someone across the school.
"That's Eve, right?!"
Atom Eve was there, talking with someone.
"I'm going to go say something to her," Mark said, ready to thank her.
"Mark, of course that's Eve," the blond kid said from behind him. "Every guy in this school wants to talk to her. I'm telling you, don't bother. Didn't you just get threatened because you tried talking to Amber?"
"Excuse me," Jovian said to the blond kid with a friendly smile.
And he walked toward Eve too.
He remembered Rex talking trash about him.
So yeah—no choice.
He'd just have to steal Eve right out from under Rex, and then find a chance to take Rex out.
The thought made him giddy—pure homewrecker joy.