---
Mark stood in the middle of the street, surrounded by a trail of destruction.
He stared at the damage his fight with his father had caused.
Then he heard a loud rumble, the sound of something massive collapsing.
Mark turned toward a nearby building.
Cracks were spiderwebbing up the walls—the structure was about to fall, and there were still people trapped inside.
"No..." Mark muttered, somehow finding strength from deep within himself. He shot forward, desperate to stop the building from crumbling and killing everyone inside.
But before Mark could reach it, two figures swooped in and caught the building first.
It was Martian Man and War Woman.
"Damn... this thing's heavy..." Martian Man grunted, straining to hold the structure up.
Holly struggled too, both of them giving everything they had.
Mark hovered there, stunned.
The building started to tilt forward. Inside, people began to lose their footing and fall.
A family crashed through a shattered window, falling toward the ground.
"Shit," Mark cursed, flying up and catching them midair.
"I've got you! You're safe!" he reassured them.
But there were too many people falling at once—Mark couldn't save everyone by himself.
Luckily, he didn't have to.
Green Ghost swooped in, catching some of the falling civilians.
Darkwing used his grappling hooks to snatch others from the air.
Red Rush zipped around with blinding speed, evacuating the rest of the civilians near the collapsing building.
Together, the Guardians managed—barely—to clear the area.
"You can let go now—the building's clear," Darkwing said over the comms.
Martian Man and War Woman slowly lowered the remains of the structure to the ground.
The building collapsed on top of them... but seconds later, the two heroes burst free through the rubble.
"That was... incredible," Mark whispered, watching from a distance.
Above them, Nolan hovered silently, observing the scene. Then he descended, landing near his former teammates.
"Why did you do this? Are you insane?!" Mark shouted at him.
The Guardians stared Nolan down, fists clenched.
"Why, Nolan? I thought we were friends," Darkwing said bitterly.
"Friends?" Nolan sneered. "Maybe once. Not anymore."
"This is all your fault, Mark," Nolan continued. "Your stubbornness got these people killed. If you hadn't interfered, none of this would've happened."
"Different?" Mark shot back. "I don't give a damn about your plans."
"You think you can just come here and slaughter our people? We won't let you," Holly growled.
"And who's gonna stop me? You?" Nolan mocked, his voice dripping with arrogance. "You're nothing but a bunch of weaklings."
"We'll see about that," Martian Man said, stepping forward.
Mark tensed. He had to stop his father. He clenched his fists, ready to move.
Suddenly, Nolan lunged at Aquarus.
Red Rush reacted in a blur, pushing Aquarus out of harm's way just in time.
Nolan's strike missed, leaving him exposed.
Mark, despite his injuries, launched himself at Nolan, grabbing his arm.
Nolan snarled and slammed his free fist into Mark, sending him flying.
Seeing the opening, War Woman swung her mace into Nolan's head, stunning him.
But not for long—Nolan grabbed her arm, squeezing.
Before he could retaliate further, Green Ghost phased through him and struck a blow to his back, actually managing to hurt him—a rare feat.
Nolan roared and tried to crush Green Ghost, but Red Rush whisked her out of harm's way.
Mark struggled back to his feet and flew toward his father again, grabbing Nolan around the waist.
"Idiot..." Nolan muttered, driving his fist into Mark's back and slamming him to the ground.
"Ahh!" Mark gasped, face-planting onto the rubble.
Aquarus blasted Nolan with a torrent of water. It didn't hurt him much, but it did obscure his vision.
Martian Man and War Woman moved in, each landing a powerful blow to either side of Nolan's head.
"Agh!" Nolan groaned, clutching his ears as blood started to leak out. His enhanced senses were now working against him—his hearing had become a weakness.
"You bastards..." Nolan hissed, furious.
Blinded by rage, he lunged at War Woman.
Mark grabbed Nolan's ankle, trying to hold him back.
"Let go, damn it!" Nolan barked, kicking Mark aside and sending him crashing into another building.
Nolan swung at War Woman, and this time Red Rush wasn't fast enough.
"No..." Red Rush muttered in horror.
But before Nolan could land the hit, Darkwing activated a sonic device.
It emitted a high-frequency sound that only Viltrumites could hear—painfully.
"Ahh!" Mark cried out too, dropping to his knees, hands over his ears.
They couldn't stop. They had to use this to weaken Nolan.
"You piece of shit..." Nolan snarled, clutching his head as he glared at Darkwing.
"Did Cecil make this?" Nolan growled, furious.
The sonic waves didn't kill him, but they disoriented him enough to make him vulnerable—and he hated it.
Seizing the moment, the Guardians attacked with everything they had.
Green Ghost dealt the most damage, phasing through Nolan's body and targeting his internal organs. She could only pull this off thanks to Red Rush, who kept saving her from Nolan's counterattacks.
War Woman and Martian Man pounded Nolan with brutal strikes, battering his body.
Nolan had been suffering from the sonic device for a while now, and his anger boiled over.
He set his sights on Darkwing—the one responsible—and charged with murderous intent.
Darkwing was defenseless. He was only human, just a human among gods. If the others couldn't stop Nolan, he was as good as dead.
"No!" the Guardians cried out, trying to stop him.
But Nolan got close enough. He grabbed Darkwing, ready to rip him apart.
Before he could, Mark tackled Nolan to the side.
Mark was still suffering from the sonic device himself, but he forced himself to move.
"Traitor to your own kind!" Nolan roared.
"I didn't betray anyone—you betrayed me! You betrayed Mom!" Mark shouted back, tears in his eyes.
For a brief moment, Nolan hesitated, a flicker of doubt crossing his face.
But it didn't last.
"Get off me," Nolan growled, grabbing Mark and hurling him into Darkwing—crushing the sonic device and knocking Darkwing unconscious.
"Ahh..." Mark groaned in agony.
He was almost done. He could barely stand.
The Guardians weren't doing much better either.
But neither was Nolan.
His body was bruised and bloodied, his face battered from the beating he had taken from Martian Man and War Woman.
His back was ravaged from Green Ghost's attacks.
Nolan wiped the blood from his face.
"I didn't expect you to be this much trouble," he admitted.
The truth was, they were weak compared to him—but they fought together. They supported each other. And that made them dangerous.
Plus, they had help from a Viltrumite—Mark, even if he wasn't fully strong yet.
"Let's end this," Nolan said, glaring at them.
Mark, lying nearby, struggled to rise.
He staggered toward the others, determined.
The city around them was in ruins—their battle had destroyed half of it.
"I won't let you..." Mark said through gritted teeth, his face swollen and bloodied from his father's punches.
---
Meanwhile, at GDA headquarters...
Cecil watched the battle unfold in grim silence.
Debbie sobbed as she saw the condition her son was in, heartbroken.
"Send reinforcements! Help them!" Cecil barked.
"Sir, there's not much more we can do... our people would only get in the way," one agent said hesitantly.
"I know, but—" Cecil started to argue when another agent interrupted.
"Sir, you need to see this!"
"What now?" Cecil snapped, frowning.
"Here," the agent said, pulling up a new feed.
"I want that on the main screen—now," Cecil ordered.
The images on the main monitor shifted.
They weren't showing Nolan and the Guardians anymore.
Instead, they displayed a massive red portal opening far from the battlefield.
"What the hell..." Cecil murmured.
"Sir, bad news. Looks like the aliens are back," another agent said.
Everyone immediately assumed it was the Flaxans returning.
The portal grew wider, tension thickening at GDA headquarters. As if fighting a Viltrumite wasn't enough, now they had to deal with a Flaxan invasion too.
But...
Two figures emerged from the portal. A third stood behind them.
First came a man and a woman—Henry and Eve.
But they were... different.
At first, Cecil and the others barely recognized them.
Henry wore an outfit resembling that of a king or emperor, complete with a flowing cape and a golden crown on his head.
His face was still young, but now he sported a thick beard, and he carried himself with a commanding presence.
Eve, meanwhile, had longer hair, still youthful and beautiful. She wore a queen's crown and a regal gown, her arms bare, the fabric shimmering around her.
Behind them stood an alien—clearly some sort of royal advisor.
The advisor bowed deeply to them, said a few parting words, and then returned through the portal.
---
Back at GDA...
"Who the hell are they?" one agent asked.
"I have no idea," another replied.
Cecil stared at the footage, struggling to recognize them.
Henry had a weird habit of fidgeting with his hands.
When Cecil noticed that, he immediately realized who it was.
"Send a team there now! It's them. They're back," Cecil commanded.
"Yes, sir!" an agent replied.
Cecil, meanwhile, continued speaking with Donald. His main concern was still the Guardians, who looked like they were barely holding on.
"Sir, look at this," another agent called out.
The feed switched again.
"What is it now?" Cecil demanded.
He stared at the screen.
Henry stood beside the portal, speaking briefly to Eve. Then he shot into the sky at incredible speed, breaking the sound barrier almost instantly.
"Where's he headed?" Cecil asked urgently.
"Track his trajectory—now!" he shouted.
The agents worked fast.
"Sir—he's headed for Chicago."
---