The edge of the solar system.
Aboard the ship, Leon ran his fingers over the screen, tracing the blue planet displayed on it.
“Finally, I get to see you.
My Earth.”
As a product of Viltrum’s forced breeding program, he’d been in training since the moment he first opened his eyes — eighteen-odd years now.
Even though his memories from before he’d crossed over had been worn hazy by battle after battle of slaughter,
even though the hands he’d once used to type on a keyboard, in his past life, were now stained with the blood of hundreds of millions of lives — his own kind, aliens, all of it —
Leon still found, the instant he laid eyes on Mother Earth, that his old high school geography lessons came bubbling back up, strange as that was.
The Tropic of Cancer, monsoons, ocean currents…
And my home — it should be right around…
here.
His eyes should have welled up, but for a Viltrumite, that particular faucet was shut off most of the time.
Word was that overactive tear ducts used to be considered a defect too — and in an empire built on survival of the fittest, that gene had probably been physically weeded out long ago.
“How’s it feel, fresh blood?”
A figure drifted up beside Leon without a sound.
General Kregg — an old-guard veteran from the same era as Grand Regent Thragg.
“Blue, green — it looks a lot like the homeland I’ve seen in the records.”
By “homeland,” he naturally meant Viltrum.
Then Leon’s expression hardened, and he said:
“I’ve read the reports.
Apparently the locals down there can’t even handle a light squeeze from us.
The weak don’t deserve to enjoy something this beautiful.”
“This gem is destined to end up in the Empire’s pocket.”
Leon raised both hands toward the Earth on the screen, as if he really meant to scoop it up and take it.
Kregg nodded, pleased, the young man’s form reflected in his red cybernetic eye.
No wonder he was the best-performing kid out of this whole new batch.
Steadfast.
Loyal.
Brave.
Even if fewer than ten new lives being born couldn’t do much to reverse their functional extinction,
he could still see vigor and hope in Leon.
“But don’t forget, young man — your job is to assist Nolan.
Everything goes by his orders.”
Kregg reminded him.
“Unless, of course, you can beat him in a fight.”
“Understood.”
How very Viltrumite of him.
Leon looked out the porthole.
A streak of red flashed through the deep starfield.
Soon enough, Nolan touched down on the bridge, red cape billowing behind him.
Black hair, gray at the temples, plus a beard — he looked exactly like the newspaper editor from the old Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies.
“Kregg, I figured a routine report wouldn’t be this urgent.”
He walked up to Kregg first, then turned his attention to Leon:
“And this is?”
Kregg answered:
“Some things have happened since you left for Earth.
With the Grand Regent’s backing, we’ve got some new members now.
They just went through their coming-of-age ceremony, and they’re being assigned to serve under you as their first mission.”
He looked at Leon.
“This one’s the best of the bunch.
Couldn’t ask for a better fit to hand him to you.”
Being introduced like that, Leon naturally squared his shoulders and met Nolan’s scrutinizing gaze head-on.
Except — he caught something wary, something resistant, in it.
Then Nolan drifted right up in front of him and raised a hand:
“The best of the bunch…
prove it to me.”
For Viltrumites, getting on the same wavelength takes all of an instant.
The moment those words left his mouth, Kregg automatically took up position between the two of them, playing referee.
And Leon instantly whipped his emotions into gear — the longing to return home, eighteen years of resentment at being forced into slaughter…
His smart-atoms surged into overdrive, and his power spiked — shot through the roof!
He drew his right fist back to wind up, the disturbed air sucking the scattered paperwork in around them inward.
Bam!
The fully-charged punch tore through the air, flying straight for Nolan’s open palm.
Whoosh—
The blast of displaced air flung open both their battle-skirts and capes, and scattered the gathered papers back across the bridge.
But in the end, Nolan caught the punch clean.
Leon lowered his right hand, numbed by the recoil.
The spot where he’d landed the hit showed nothing but a faint red mark.
Of course, that wasn’t Leon going all out.
The problem was, if he had gone all out, sure, he might’ve broken through — but he wouldn’t have a hand left to speak of afterward.
Ugh.
Scared to tears by an old-timer’s sheer tankiness.
“Not bad.
But down there, you follow my orders.”
Nolan shook out his hand and held up four fingers at Leon:
“First, I want you to treat this as an independent conquest operation.
Study the materials yourself, learn how to blend in on Earth.”
“Second, don’t try to contact me.
I’ve already become one of their heroes down there, trusted deeply by the Global Defense Agency.
This is the most critical period.”
“Third, don’t use your abilities without my permission.
I don’t want a second Viltrumite discovered on Earth — it’ll spook their sensitive nerves.”
“Last — I’ve taken over your training.
Once a week, same time, same place.
I’ll teach you how to become a proper warrior.”
Nolan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, a chill seeping out of his blue eyes.
“Don’t screw it up.
You know what happens to failures.”
“Understood.”
Before setting off, Leon glanced back at Kregg:
“You really not coming down to take a look around, General?
I heard they look almost exactly like us.”
Kregg spoke proudly, his words dripping with loyalty to the Empire and contempt for the weak.
“The same skin can’t hide their weakness.
Why would I ever be interested in the weak?”
“The only thing I feel is endless admiration and sympathy — for the ones of you who actually have to live among them.”
Watching this play out, something crossed Leon’s mind, but he said nothing — just flew out of the ship, headed for Earth.
Still, underneath the excitement, there was a certain heaviness sitting in his chest.
He hadn’t just watched what happened to planets Viltrum conquered — he’d taken part in it.
Deep down, he still considered himself an Earthling.
So how could he let anyone else mess with his Earth?
Only the local gangs had the right to run wild on it…
As for Invincible — in his past life, he’d only scrolled through a few short clips of it, and wouldn’t you know it, what little memory he had left of it had been all but scrubbed clean.
Damn Viltrumite education.
You win.
All Leon could remember was that early on, someone lost to Nolan, and in the final battle, someone beat Thragg.
But him crossing over here was its own variable — who knew if this was even the main universe?
Worst case, he’d have to fight Mark too.
Suddenly, the stars streaking past came to a dead stop, and a screen of light popped up in front of Leon.
[Host detected entering the Main Storyline Zone.
Join the Strongest Alive Today █ █ █ Group Chat?]
Seeing this, the last dregs of humanity in Leon — worn down to nothing by all that killing — finally leaked back out.
Holy crap, jackpot!
A chat group, no less.
Just look at that name — sounds impressive already.
Eighteen years of life, hazy as a dream, and the cheat power finally came back home to its rightful, loyal owner.
He wiped away tears that weren’t actually there, his finger blurring into an afterimage as he stabbed the button.
[Welcome to the group chat, Viltrum’s Top Student.]
[The Tiger of West Junior High has joined the chat.]
[Not-a-God Yellow Weasel has joined the chat.]
[Mala Donkey Head has joined the chat.]
[Orange-Haired, Gold-Eyed Menace to Humanity has joined the chat.]
[Kansas Farm Boy has joined the chat.]
Immortals, packed in like sardines…
The furrow that had never left Leon’s brow finally smoothed out.
He honestly couldn’t imagine how he’d lose this round.
To be continued…
Viltrum’s Top Student — Leon (Invincible)
The Tiger of West Junior High — Yuji Itadori (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Not-a-god Yellow Weasel — Neoth, the Emperor of Mankind (Warhammer 40k)
Mala Donkey Head — Amiya (Arknights)
Orange-Haired Golden-Eyed Menace to Humanity — Gudako (Fate/Grand Order)
Kansas Farm Boy — Clark Kent / Superman (DC Comics)